Anthony Uzodimma Obinna (April 15, 1928 – August 25, 1995), born in Umuelem Enyiogugu in Aboh Mbaise, (local government area of Imo State, Owerri) in Nigeria, was the first convert to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church) in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. Obinna's family were followers of a tribal religion, but while still young, Obinna became a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. He became employed as a school teacher. In 1965, Obinna had a

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

in which

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

showed him rooms in a beautiful building. In 1971, he found an article in ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'', which had a picture of this building, and he discovered it was the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a Temple (LDS Church), temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sa ...

of the LDS Church. He contacted the headquarters of the Church and received literature. The Church informed him that it had no plans to send

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

to Nigeria. However, Obinna organized an unofficial congregation of the Church while waiting to be

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

a member of the church. In 1978, after

lifted its restriction on

black people Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...

holding the priesthood (in June), in leadership training meetings before the October General Conference, a letter from Obinna pleading for missionaries to be sent hastily was one of a few that

Spencer W. Kimball Spencer Woolley Kimball (March 28, 1895 – November 5, 1985) was an American religious leader who was the twelfth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The grandson of early Latter-day Saint apostle Heber ...

read to emphasize a need to move quickly in sending missionaries to Nigeria and Ghana. In November 1978, Mormon missionaries traveled to Nigeria and baptized Obinna and a number of other converts. Immediately after his baptism, he was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and appointed as the

branch president A branch president is a leader of a "branch" congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The calling of branch president is very similar to the calling of bishop, except that instead of presiding over a ward, th ...

. It is thought that Obinna was the first black person to serve as a branch president in the Church; certainly, he was the first black man to serve in such an office in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

(although a black man in South Africa in the 1920s and 1930s had presided over a congregation designated by the Church as a branch, he was not ordained to the priesthood during his lifetime). When the branch was organized in Obinna's village, his brothers were called as his counselors in the branch presidency."Pioneers in Every Land" entry on Obinna
/ref> After his ordination to the priesthood, Obinna baptized his wife Fidelia. She served as the first black

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 1 ...

president in Africa. Obinna and his wife were

sealed Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal (em ...

in the

Logan Utah Temple The Logan Utah Temple (formerly the Logan Temple) is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was completed in 1884 and is the fourth temple built by the church. Located in the city of Logan, Utah, it was the second templ ...

in 1989.

References

Garr, Arnold K., Donald Q. Cannon and Richard O. Cowan, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History'', pp. 862–863. {{DEFAULTSORT:Obinna, Anthony 1928 births 1995 deaths Black Mormons Converts to Christianity from pagan religions Converts to Mormonism Nigerian Latter Day Saints Nigerian leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Nigerian religious leaders Nigerian schoolteachers