“А Supervisory Type of Thing”: the Establishment and Impact of the Latter-Day Saint Mission in Postcolonial Southeastern Nigeria
Author:
David Dmitri Hurlbut
Abstract:
This article analyzes the challenges that confronted the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in establishing its official mission in southeastern Nigeria following the 1978 Priesthood Revelation, and the impact of its mission strategy on the religious and daily life of Nigerian adherents. The emergence of unofficial LDS congregations in Nigeria between the late 1940s and 1970s required the LDS Church to abandon its traditional mission focus on proselytization, and instead develop a strategy of supervision–a strategy geared towards appointing and training local church leaders, teaching adherents to be proper Latter-day Saints, and integrating congregations in the administrative hierarchy. Using documentary records and oral histories archived at the LDS Church History Library and L. Tom Perry Special Collections, this article highlights the reciprocal impact of cross-cultural encounters and the shortcomings of the LDS Church’s missionary training programs.
Keywords:
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormonism, Religion, Christianity, Southeastern Nigeria
DOI:
10.31132/2412-5717-2023-65-4-107-121
References:
1. Prior to 1978, the LDS Church prohibited Black members from holding the Priesthood–the power and authority that God has bestowed on men. Before the priesthood revelation, Black men could not be fully-fledged church members, since men must hold the priesthood in order to perform ordinances and act as leaders within the LDS Church. Until 1978, Black men could only join the faith, receive patriarchal blessings, and enter the temple to perform baptisms for the dead. This policy was ended in June 8, 1978, when LDS President Spencer Kimball received his Priesthood Revelation. On the Priesthood Revelation, see, D. Dmitri Hurlbut “The LDS Church and Problem of Race: Mormonism in Nigeria, 1946-1978,” International Journal of African Historical Studies 51, no. 1 (2018): 3. On the Priesthood Revelation, see Edward L. Kimball, “Spencer W. Kimball and the Revelation on Priesthood,” BYU Studies 47, no. 2 (2008): 5–78.
2. Rendell N. Mabey and Gordon I. Allred, Brother to Brother: The Story of the Latter-day Saint Missionaries Who Took the Gospel to Black Africa (Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, 1984), 8.
3. Mabey and Allred, Brother to Brother, 9.
4. Mabey and Allred, Brother to Brother, 12.
5. For the 1946 letter from O.J. Umondak, an Ibibio man who lived in a village outside Uyo in the Eastern region of Nigeria, see Minutes of the Apostles of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 4 (Salt Lake City, UT: Privately Published, 2010), 420, Americana Collection, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah (hereafter LTPSC).
6. Hurlbut “The LDS Church and Problem of Race,” 1. See also James B. Allen, “Would–Be Saints: West Africa before the 1978 Priesthood Revelation,” Journal of Mormon History 17 (1991): 207–47; Newell G. Bringhurst, “Mormonism in Black Africa: Changing Attitudes and Practices, 1830–1981,” Sunstone 6 (1981), 15–21; E. Dale LeBaron, “Mormonism in Black Africa,” in David J. Davies, ed., Mormon Identities in Transition (London, UK: Cassell, 1996), 80–86; Gregory A. Prince and Wm. Robert Wright, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism (Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press, 2005), 81–94; Russell W. Stevenson, For the Cause of Righteousness: A Global History of Blacks and Mormonism, 1830–2013 (Draper, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2013), 73–104.
7. Throughout this essay, I will use the adjectives “Mormon,” “Latter-day Saint,” and “LDS” interchangeably.
8. This article builds on research previously published in the International Journal of African Historical Studies, which examined the role that a movement of unofficial Nigerian Latter-day Saints played in shaping the LDS Church’s thinking about race by laying the groundwork for the 1978 Priesthood Revelation. See Hurlbut “The LDS Church and Problem of Race,” 1-16.
9. See, for instance, Andrea Bennett and Kim Fu, “Putting Eternal Salvation in the Hands of 19-Year-Old Missionaries,” The Atlantic, 20 August 2014. See also, LaMar S. [and Nyal B.] Williams Interview, 81, Church History Library, LDS Church, Salt Lake City, Utah (hereafter CHL): “the people are already there. . . . It isn’t the same situation in most missions.”
10. OH 692, LaMar S. [and Nyal B.] Williams Interview, 81, CHL: “It’s a supervisory type thing. You almost need ex-stake presidents, ex-bishops, ex-mission presidents, and so on, because of the nature of supervising these branches that are established.”
11. OH 618, Edwin Q. [ and Janath] Cannon Interview: Salt Lake City, Utah, 1980, Preface, CHL.
12. “Obituary: Rendell Noel Mabey,” Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT), 10 November 2000.
13. LaMar S. [and Nyal B.] Williams Interview, Preface, CHL.
14. Ibidem.
15. LaMar S. [and Nyal B.] Williams Interview, Preface, CHL.
16. OH 622, Reed L. [and Naomi] Clegg Interview: Salt Lake City, 1981, Preface, CHL.
17. LaMar S. [and Nyal B.] Williams Interview, 81, CHL.
18. Ibid. When Williams was sent on an exploratory fact-finding mission to Nigeria in October 1961, he was accompanied by a nineteen-year-old missionary, Marvin Reese Jones, who was on his way to serve a mission in South Africa. In his oral history, Williams described Jones as “a young boy nineteen years of age, weight about 140 pounds, 6’3” or 6’4” tall. Marvin had false teeth at that age and contact lenses. He was kind of fragile and was not suited to the rough life of Nigeria exactly, as he had lived a rather protected life. But he was a good companion” (LaMar S. Williams Interview, 6, CHL). One cannot help but wonder whether Williams’ experience in Nigeria with Jones influenced his feelings that nineteen-year-olds were not cut out for mission work in Nigeria.
19. Reed L. [and Naomi] Clegg Interview, 6, CHL.
20. Helen Lackner, “Colonial Anthropology and Indirect Rule: The Colonial Administration and Anthropology in Eastern Nigeria, 1920-1940,” in Anthology and the Colonial Encounter, ed. Talal Asad (London, UK: Ithaca Press, 1973), 135.
21. Reed L. [and Naomi] Clegg Interview, 5, CHL.
22. Ibidem.
23. Mabey and Allred, Brother to Brother, 23.
24. Missionary Department, Letter to General Authorities; Area Seventies; MTC Presidents; Stake, Mission, and District Presidents; Bishops and Branch Presidents, 24 June 2015). This letter can be found on the church’s website.
25. While there is a general LDS mission handbook, it mostly regulates behavior. It does not discuss how to handle different cultures.
26. Reed L. [and Naomi] Clegg Interview, 7, CHL.
27. Reed L. [and Naomi] Clegg Interview, 95, CHL.
28. OH 991, Shirley Jared “Bud” and Ruth Larson Interview: 10 May 1990, 2, CHL.
29. Shirley Jared “Bud” and Ruth Larson Interview, 2, CHL. Within the LDS tradition, an “investigator” is a potential adherent who is investigating the LDS Church.
30. Shirley Jared “Bud” and Ruth Larson Interview, 3, CHL.
31. Ibid.
32. OH 1416, Joseph Jones and Joyce Carol Griggs Interview: 11 November 1995, 4, CHL.
33. Joseph Jones and Joyce Carol Griggs Interview, 4, CHL.
34. “Imo State District, Aboh Branch Baptism and Confirmations: 21 November 1978,” Box 1, Folder 5, MS 21299, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, 1963–1988, CHL; Mabey, Letter to Asay, 13 February 1979, Box 1, Folder 4, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL.
35. “Imo State District, Aboh Branch Priesthood Ordinations,” Box 1, Folder 4, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL.
36. Ibid.
37. “Imo State District, Aboh Branch Baptism and Confirmations: 21 November 1978,” Box 1, Folder 5, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL.
38. “Imo State District, Aboh Branch Baptism and Confirmations: 21 November 1978,” Box 1, Folder 5, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers; Mabey, Letter to Asay, 13 February 1979, Box 1, Folder 4, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL.
39. “Imo State District, Aboh Branch Priesthood Ordinations,” Box 1, Folder 4, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL.
40. “Imo State District, Aboh Branch Baptism and Confirmations: 21 November 1978,” Box 1, Folder 5, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL.
41. “Imo State District, Aboh Branch Priesthood Ordinations,” Box 1, Folder 4, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL.
42. “Cross River State District Branch Organizations, Priesthood Ordinations: 4 March 1979,” Box 1, Folder 5, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL; “Cross River State District Baptisms and Confirmations: 4 March 1979,” Box 1, Folder 5, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL; “Cross River State District Branch Organizations, Priesthood Ordinations: 3 March 1979,” Box 1, Folder 5, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL; “Cross River State District Priesthood Ordinations: 11 Feb. 1979,” Box 1, Folder 5, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL; “Cross River State District Baptisms and Confirmations: 11 Feb. 1979,” Box 1, Folder 5, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL; “Cross River State District Organization and Priesthood Ordinations: 13 January 1979,” Box 1, Folder 5, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL; Cross River State District, Idung Imoh Branch, Baptisms, and Confirmations: 13 Jan. 1979,” Box 1, Folder 5, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL; “Rivers State–Ogbogu Groups,” Box 1, Folder 5, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL.
43. Mabey, Letter to Asay, 22 March 1979, Box 1, Folder 4, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL.
44. Ibid.
45. “Cross River State District Branch and Group Organizations, 18 March 1979 at Ikot Imo,” Box 1, Folder 5, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL.
46. Asay, Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Mabey and Mr. and Mrs. Cannon, 5 March 1979, Box 1, Folder 2, Edwin Q. Cannon Papers, CHL. Within the LDS tradition, “fellowshipping” is the act of “offering friendly companionship, serving, uplifting, and strengthening others.” See “Fellowship,” in the LDS Church, “The Guide to Scriptures,” which can be found on the church’s website.
47. “Africa West Mission, Mission Zone Conference, August 1, 1980, Enugu, Nigeria,” 2, Folder 4, MS 7516, William V. Bartholomew Papers, 1975-1981, CHL. See also LaMar S. [and Nyal B.] Williams Interview, 77, CHL; Reed L. [and Naomi] Clegg Interview, 40, CHL: “When President Espenschied arrived in the mission and made his tour, the authorities authorized him to virtually freeze all baptism, because there had been a large number and the members needed training”; Reed L. [and Naomi] Clegg Interview, 50, CHL: “[there was] a virtual freeze on baptisms, but not total.”
48. “Report of Mission to Nigeria/Ghana from Brother and Sister Bartholomew (William V. and Eleanor M.),” Folder 4, William V. Bartholomew Papers, CHL.
49. “Report of Mission to Nigeria/Ghana from Brother and Sister Bartholomew (William V. and Eleanor M.),” Folder 4, William V. Bartholomew Papers, CHL. See also Espenshied, Letter to Ingrame, 12 September 1980, Folder 4, William V. Bartholomew Papers, CHL: “[The Bartholomews] have done a great service in teaching and training local leaders[.] . . . Much of their time has been devoted to re-teaching, strengthening and upgrading the earlier baptized members so that their baptismal covenants can be totally effectual in their lives.”
50. LaMar S. [and Nyal B.] Williams Interview, 76, CHL.
51. Ibid.
52. LaMar S. [and Nyal B.] Williams Interview, 76-77, CHL.
53. LaMar S. [and Nyal B.] Williams Interview, 86 CHL.
54. Reed L. [and Naomi] Clegg Interview, 10, CHL. See also Reed L. [and Naomi] Clegg Interview, 48, CHL: No active proselyting all through, from the time we left [Salt Lake]. Even before he [President Esenschied] came were not to proselyte.”
55. Reed L. [and Naomi] Clegg Interview, 10, CHL. See also Reed L. [and Naomi] Clegg Interview, 10-11, CHL: “When we came along the great need, as Naomi said, was to train leaders. And that was essentially our assignment.”
56. Calvin C. Crane, One Year in Africa (Blackfoot, ID: Crane Publications, 1991), 38, CHL.
57. Shirley Jared “Bud” and Ruth Larson Interview, 15, CHL.
58. For more details about the African Oral History Project, see D. Dmitri Hurlbut, “LDS Materials for the Study of Postcolonial Africa,” International Journal of African Historical Studies 52, no. 2 (2019): 306-308.
59. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Akpan Frank Ekpo, Ikot Annang, Nigeria, May 29, 1988,” 12-13, Box 9, Folder 21, MSS 1937, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
60. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Susanna Ceril Ekpo, Okom, Ekert [sic] Area, Nigeria, June 2, 1988,” 7, Box 9, Folder 23, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
61. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Susanna Ceril Ekpo, Okom, Ekert [sic] Area, Nigeria, June 2, 1988,” 7, Box 9, Folder 23, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
62. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Akpan Evans, Ikot Ekong, Nigeria, May 31, 1988,” 3, Box 9, Folder 31, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
63. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Akpan Evans, Ikot Ekong, Nigeria, May 31, 1988,” 3, Box 9, Folder 31, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
64. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Malachi Daniel Essien, Okom, Eket Local Government Area, Nigeria, May 30, 1988,” 10, Box 9, Folder 28, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
65. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Malachi Daniel Essien, Okom, Eket Local Government Area, Nigeria, May 30, 1988,” 10, 11, Box 9, Folder 28, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
66. 21 October 1961, Journal, MS 1, Marvin Reese Jones Papers, CHL.
67. See, for instance, “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Akpan Frank Ekpo, Ikot Annang, Nigeria, May 29, 1988,” 16, Box 9, Folder 21, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
68. Joseph Lynn Lyon, “Alcoholic Beverages and Alcoholism,” in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism (New York, NY: Macmillan, 1992), 30-31. The scriptural justification for this practice is The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2013), 89:5.
69. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Malachi Daniel Essien, Okom, Eket Local Government Area, Nigeria, May 30, 1988,” 11, 12, Box 9, Folder 28, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
70. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Akpan Frank Ekpo, Ikot Annang, Nigeria, May 29, 1988,” 15, Box 9, Folder 21, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
71. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Malachi Daniel Essien, Okom, Eket Local Government Area, Nigeria, May 30, 1988,” 12, 13, Box 9, Folder 28, African Oral History Project, LTPSC, quote from p. 13.
72. Paul P. Pixton, “Sacrament,” in Ludlow, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1244; Calvin P. Rudd, “Children: Salvation of Children,” in Ludlow, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 268-269.
73. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Malachi Daniel Essien, Okom, Eket Local Government Area, Nigeria, May 30, 1988,” 14-15, Box 9, Folder 28, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
74. See Catechism of the Catholic Church (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1993), Section Two, Chapter One, Article Three.
75. See Article 28 of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion.
76. See The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 20: 75-79.
77. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Udoh Jackson Akpan, Ikot Ekong, Nigeria, May 31, 1988,” 14-15, Box 9, Folder 5, African Oral History Project, LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Akpan Frank Ekpo, Ikot Annang, Nigeria, May 29, 1988,” 12-13, 16, Box 9, Folder 21, African Oral History Project, LTPSC. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Nkoyo Francis Okom, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, June 2, 1988,” 17-18, Box 11, Folder 14, African Oral History Project, LTPSC. On tithing in Mormonism, see Robert F. Bohn, “A Modern Look at Tithable Income,” Sunstone 9, no. 1 (1984): 17-24; Howard Swainston, “Tithing,” in Ludlow, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1480-1482. For an example of an indigenous Nigerian church practicing tithing, see Edet, Letter to the First Presidency, 12 December 1962, Folder 65, Percy Farrow Papers, Community of Christ Library-Archives, Independence, Missouri (hereafter CCLA).
78. For examples of indigenous churches practicing baptism by immersion, see, for instance, Edet, Letter to the First Presidency, 12 December 1962, Folder 65, Percy Farrow Papers, CCLA; Friday Michael Mbon, “Brotherhood of the Cross and Star: Sociological Case Study of New Religious Movements in Contemporary Nigeria” (Ph.D. diss., University of Ottawa, 1986), 257-259. On Baptism in Mormonism, see Carl S. Hawkins, “Baptism,” in Ludlow, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 92-94.
79. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Donatus Wilson Okwere, Okom, Eket Local Government Area, Nigeria, May 30, 1988,” 16, Box 11, Folder 18, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
80. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Charles Isaac Ogbonnaya, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 9, 1988,” 3, Box 11, Folder 12, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
81. See The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 89. See also Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness (Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, 1969), 55-57; Joseph Lynn Lyon, “Alcoholic Beverages and Alcoholism,” in Ludlow, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 30-31; Joseph Lynn Lyon, “Coffee,” in Ludlow, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 289; Joseph Lynn Lyon, “Tobacco,” in Ludlow, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1482; “Minutes of the General Conference,” Millennial Star, 1 February 1852, 35; “The Word of Wisdom,” Times and Seasons, 1 June 1842, 800;
82. See also “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and William Edeh, Enugu, Anambra State, Nigeria, June 7, 1988,” 6, 12, Box 9, Folder 12, African Oral History Project, LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Ekaete David Eka, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Nigeria, June 5, 1988,” 4, Box 9, Folder 17, African Oral History Project, LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Samuel Eka, Etinan, Nigeria, June 1, 1988,” 2, 12, Box 9, Folder 18, African Oral History Project, LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Godfrey Ezechukwu, Soca Motors, Enugu, Anambra State, Nigeria, June 7, 1988,” 6, Box 9, Folder 32, African Oral History Project, LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Lazarus O. Ikpegbu, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 3, 1988,” 11, 23, Box 10, Folder 9, African Oral History Project, LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Lazarus K. Iroham, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 3, 1988,” 17, Box 10, Folder 12, African Oral History Project, LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Kalu Iche Kalu, Sr., Presidential Hotel, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, June 10, 1988,” 15, Box 10, Folder 18, African Oral History Project, LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Mbong Afaha Mbong, Etinan, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, May 29, 1988,” 22, 31, Box 10, Folder 23, African Oral History Project, LTPSC. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Clemet Chima Nwafor, Okpuala, Outside Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 10, 1988,” 14-15, Box 10, Folder 24, African Oral History Project; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Gladys Nwafor, Presidential Hotel, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, June 10, 1988,” 2, Box 10, Folder 25, African Oral History Project, LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Felix O. Nwaubani, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 9, 1988, 21, Box 10, Folder 26, African Oral History Project, LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Charles Isaac Ogbonnaya, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 9, 1988,” 15, Box 11, Folder 12, African Oral Historical Project, LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Donatus Wilson Okwere, Okom, Eket Local Government Area, Nigeria, May 30, 1988,” 17, Box 11, Folder 18, African Oral History Project, LTPSC. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Lazarus Onitchi, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 9, 1988,” 4, 13-14, 20, Box 11, Folder 21, African Oral History Project LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Reuben Okechukwu Onuoha en Route to Aba from Okpuala, Imo State, Nigeria, June 10, 1988,” 28, Box 11, Folder 24, African Oral History Project, LTPSC; “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Aloysius Stephen Otuwak, Ikwe, Ekert [sic] Area, Nigeria, June 2, 1988,” 30, Box 11, Folder 25, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
83. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Rosemary Ykachi Elendu, Presidential Hotel, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, June 10, 1988,” 13-14, Box 9, Folder 24, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
84. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Emeter Eddy, Nsukka, Anambra State, Nigeria, June 6, 1988,” 5, Box 9, Folder 11, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
85. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Emeter Eddy, Nsukka, Anambra State, Nigeria, June 6, 1988,” 5, Box 9, Folder 11, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
86. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Solomon Ikem Nwokoro, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 9, 1988,” 10, Box 10, Folder 29, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
87. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Solomon Ikem Nwokoro, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 9, 1988,” 10, Box 10, Folder 29, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
88. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Solomon Ikem Nwokoro, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 9, 1988,” 10, Box 10, Folder 29, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
89. See Jason Bruner, Living Salvation in the East African Revival in Uganda (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2017), 69.
90. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Samuel Eka, Etinan, Nigeria, June 1, 1988,” 12, Box 9, Folder 18, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
91. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Otobong John Eshiett, Etinan, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, May 29, 1988,” 9, Box 9, Folder 25, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
92. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Joseph Fred Idiokessen, Ikot Ebo Etinan, State of Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, May 28, 1988,” 23, Box 10, Folder 3, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
93. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Rosemary Ykachi Elendu, Presidential Hotel, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, June 10, 1988,” 13-14, Box 9, Folder 24, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
94. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Jonathan Madumere, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 5, 1988,” 4, Box 10, Folder 22, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
95. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Malachi Daniel Essien, Okom Eket Local Government Area, Nigeria, May 30, 1988. 10, Box 9, Folder 28, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
96. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Patrick Utchey Igwe, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 10, 1988,” 21-22, Box 10, Folder 6, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
97. “Interview Between Dale LeBaron and Patrick Utchey Igwe, Mission Headquarters, Aba, Imo State, Nigeria, June 10, 1988,” 21-22, Box 10, Folder 6, African Oral History Project, LTPSC.
98. Bertram I.N. Osuagwu, The Igbo and Their Traditions, trans. Frances W. Pritchett (1979), 1. A digital copy of this text can be found on Pritchett’s website, “About the IGBO Language: Materials Compiled by Frances W. Pritchett,” http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/igbo/secondary/secondarymaterials. html (accessed July 5, 2023). See also Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, ed. Francis Abiola Irele (New York: W.W. Norton, 2009), 13.
99. Osuagwu, The Igbo and Their Traditions, 12-14.
100. Achebe, Things Fall Apart, 4, 13-14.
101. Araba Oladokun, “The Palmwine Drinkerds’ Club,” The Nigerian Field: The International Field Studies Journal of West Africa 47, Parts 1-3 (August 1982): 3.
102. Philip Jenkins, “Letting Go: Understanding Mormon Growth in Africa,” Journal of Mormon History 35, no. 2 (2009): 23
103. On rupture and religious conversion see, Jason Bruner and David Dmitri Hurlbut, Religious Conversion in Africa (Basel, Switzerland: MDPI, 2020), 5-13.
104. The irony here, as I have argued elsewhere, is that part of the appeal of Mormonism to Nigerians was actually the points of continuity that adherents saw between their own cultures and Mormonism in its focus strong tradition, for example, of prophesy, dreaming, and divine healing. Thus points of cultural continuity existed even as the missionaries were attempting to facilitate cultural rupture. See, David Dmitri Hurlbut, “The ‘Conversion’ of Anthony Obinna to Mormonism: Elective Affinities, Socio-Economic Factors, and Religious Change in Postcolonial Southeastern Nigeria,” in Bruner and Hurlbut, Religious Conversion in Africa, 85-97.
105. See, for instance, John Olushola Magbadelo, “Pentecostalism in Nigeria: Exploiting or Edifying the Masses?,” African Sociological Review 8, no. 2 (2004): 15-29; Ruth Marshall, Political Spiritualties: The Pentecostal Revolution in Nigeria (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2009).
