Inviting the Faithful in Angola Africa to Come to Christ - Elder Sa'ne Thompson

This episode of the Mission Stories Podcast features the experience of Elder Sa'ne Thompson, who recently returned home after serving a two-year mission in Angola, Luanda, Africa. He has been home for just two weeks.

The episode focuses primarily on the urgency of missionary work, with a specific emphasis on the principle that revelation leads to conversion.

The Angola Mission, located on the southwest coast of Africa, is a relatively new mission, having opened in 2011. The field is described as an "exciting environment" where the work is vast; Thompson reported that his mission baptizes at least 200 people a month mission-wide. However, the organizational structure is young, with only two stakes in the entire country when Thompson arrived (the second was formed right after he got there) and few organized wards. Most groups were branches or districts.

Thompson emphasized the "wide-open" nature of the work, noting that he often helped open new provinces (states) where people would stare at the missionaries because the church was strange and new to them. Many people in these areas had never even seen or heard of the Book of Mormon.

The Scope of the Work Shawn highlighted the sheer amount of work remaining, noting that only 2.05% of Americans are members of the Church of Jesus Christ, and only .22% of the world has received the restored gospel. He used the context of Angola to motivate listeners, stressing that missionaries are participating in the "great sacred work" of gathering Israel, which feels akin to the experiences of early prophets and saints.

Stories of Faith and Conversion Thompson shared marvelous stories demonstrating simple faith leading to conversion:

1. Papa Alu: A pastor who had bounced between various churches due to different problems. Seeking to know which church was true, he performed an intensive 40-day fast, sleeping outside. He received a dream showing a yellow building and three missionaries (two white, one black) holding a book. He found this exact group, and the building, on the day the group was being established as a branch. He was taught remotely and became a strong, solid member, later called as the first local branch president.
2. The Grandma: An older woman (pushing 70-80) with simple faith who often beat the missionaries to church. She wanted to know if the Book of Mormon was true, so she said a prayer, placed the book under her pillow, and received a spiritual dream.
3. Malange Province: While opening this new province, a child of a member handed a flyer to the local police commander. The commander was converted and later helped missionary efforts extensively; within four or five months, his entire street had been baptized into the Church.

Conversion vs. Numbers: They discussed the critical difference between focusing on baptism numbers and achieving true conversion. Elder Thompson realized that missionaries must teach converts to rely on the Word of God or other members, rather than making them dependent on the missionary relationship, which could cause them to leave when the missionary transferred.

Elder Thompson found that his most effective teaching focused on repentance—not merely baptism. By focusing on repentance as a daily process of growing and overcoming the natural man, he found he could better inspire people to accept the gospel and ultimately lead them to Christ. Shawn concluded the episode by echoing this call for listeners and missionaries to humbly repent, emphasizing that this is the path to coming to Christ.