The biggest issue, according to Welch, is member retention. He said too many missionaries are focused on baptisms and not integrating members well enough into their own wards. Leslie Hadfield, a BYU Africana studies professor, also expressed concern over retention on the continent.
“A lot of Africans are very spiritual, so missionaries get excited and baptize them quickly but then experience low retention,” Hadfield said, “Missionaries need to make sure people in Africa understand the church and want to join it for what it is.”
http://universe.byu.edu/2018/04/16/cult ... in-africa/
Low retention.
Boring.Christianity is the main religion in sub-Saharan Africa, comprising 63 percent of the population. Daniel Boakye, another African that Nagaishi interviewed, said the LDS church in Kumasi draws criticism because, unlike other Christian denominations, meetings do not feature cultural elements such as drumming, clapping or dancing.
“When they don’t see those things here, they are going to see the church as boring,” said African William Quaye.
According to Hadfield, music plays a big role in many African cultures outside of Ghana. She said some African cultures see pianos as bar instruments and find it strange that they are in every LDS meeting house.
Expect Africans to speak English.Africa is a highly diverse continent linguistically with an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 languages spoken. According to Hadfield, this can be a problem for missionary work when church materials are not available in a local language. Nagaishi’s research revealed the church in Ghana is often incorrectly understood as a white, English-speaking institution.
“We see members who have come who cannot read or cannot understand the English,” said Nagaishi interviewee Edmund Osei. “They’ve just left the church like that. Not that they disobey the commandments, but just because they felt themselves out of place.”
A woman’s place is in the home.Hadfield explained the economic situation in places such as Botswana can also clash with the idea of women staying home and being mothers.
“Many women have to work — whether it’s in urban areas where they have to earn a wage or in the fields,” Hadfield said, “There can be some tension or discomfort with the idea of mothers not working, depending on how people push it.”
”One true Church” is erroneous thinking?Nagaishi said there is value in learning how members living in other parts of the world view themselves within an LDS framework and, conversely, how they view The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the context of their local culture. He believes doing so may add validity to the assertion made by Mormon sociologist M. Neff Smart that throughout the world there are a number of “right” ways to worship.
“I think too many people erroneously believe the idea of ‘one true church’ means their way is the only way,” Nagaishi said. “While there are clearly certain tenets of Mormon doctrine that cannot be altered, far more of what Mormons do and think about on a day-to-day basis is a product of their interpretation of Mormon tradition.”
What a mess. Who’s been in charge of sales in the Africa division?