Church Leader Haps On Good Family Values

First Counsellor in the Stake Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Egbeda, Lagos Nigeria Stake, John Okah has urged Nigerian families to make Christ the head and foundation of their home, so that peace and happiness would abound in the nation. Okah gave this charge at the first annual semi-conference of the stake tagged “And now, remember that it is upon the rock of our redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall", held recently in Lagos. Okah also said that members of Egbeda Stake should emphasize on how to strengthen the family and make it a better place to be. "For us in this stake, the emphasis is on the family, how we can strengthen the family and make it a better place for all to be. We focus on family because if you have a stable family, you will also have a stable society, good economy and things will generally run well. A family that is built on the foundation of Christ will not have problems, and that is why the conference is very important and beneficial to our members and the entire society", he said. He claimed that the church propagated the family due to its belief that every family supposed to be together both on earth and eternity. "In this church, we have family councils where parents and children come together to discuss family issues. We need to always come together in what we call family council to discuss family issues, and it is when we refuse to do so, that we normally have issues. So, in the church, we have strong family values and we place emphasis on that", he claimed. The counsellor revealed that though the church was English-oriented, it still set up a literacy class to train baptized members of the church who did not have knowledge of English Language. "At the literacy class, people are taught the gospel of Jesus Christ at their own level. Today, we have testimonies of men and women who could neither read or write, but became literate and can now interpret the messages in the Bible, Book of Mormon and other books we have in the church, after passing through the training in the church’s literacy class. That is an avenue for the church to help those in that category", he said. Another leader in the Church, President Solomon Aliche said the church had an active translating group whose job was to translate the Bible and the books in the church to Igbo and other major languages to assist those who could not read. Aliche who was recently drafted to head one of the church branches in Owerri, Imo State also spoke on the issue of the sabbath which he claimed should not be toyed with. He added that the recommended day for sabbath is Sunday, the first day of the week. "We worship on the Lord's day which is Sunday, the first day of the week. It is the day recommended by prophets of the church for worship and we do not joke with it. As a result, we do not work, buy or sell on Sundays. We only devote the day to worship God and rest with our families. Naturally, we need rest to avoid breaking down. The problem we are having today is that some of the values are not being taught at homes. So, that is why we need time to relax with our families to discuss some family values, in the interest of the society. It is only in emergency situations that we can go against the law and not for pleasure", he claimed. Aliche further stated that God frowned at those who violated the law of Sabbath, and that any nation that did not observe the Sabbath day was bound to have calamity. He urged members of the church to remember their God, as well as serve Him with their minds and love their neighbours as themselves. Also speaking on the occasion, President Emilia Ahadjie charged the congregation to live a Christ-like lifes and ensure that they lived exemplary lives as followers of Jesus Christ. The conference which attracted guests from far and near also saw the presence of members of the six wards that make up the Stake namely; Ayobo, Egbeda, Ejigbo, Igando, Ikotun and Shasha. It also featured songs, praises, testimonies and words of exhortation. There was also priesthood leadership session, relief society session and combined adult session.