Anthony Obinna

Anthony Uzodimma Obinna (15 April 1928 – 25 August 1995) was the first convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Nigeria.

Obinna's family were followers of a tribal religion but while still young Obinna became a Christian. He became employed as a school teacher.

In 1965, Obinna had a vision in which Jesus Christ showed him rooms in a beautiful building. In 1971, he found an article in "Readers Digest" which had a picture of this building and he discovered it was the Salt Lake Temple 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 to Nigeria. However, Obinna organized an unofficial congregation of the church while waiting to be baptized a member of the church. In 1978, after the LDS Church lifted its restriction on black people holding the priesthood, Mormon missionaries travelled to Nigeria and baptized Obinna and a number of other converts. Immediately after his baptism, he was ordained a priest and appointed to be the branch president. It is thought that Obinna was the first black person to serve in that office in the church; certainly he was the first black man to serve in such an office in Africa.

After his ordination to the priesthood, Obinna baptized his wife Fidelia. She served as the first black Relief Society president in Africa. Obinna and his wife were sealed in the Logan Utah Temple in 1989.

References

Garr, Arnold K., Donald Q. Cannon and Richard O. Cowan, ed. "Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History", pp. 862–863.