From Africa: Why the LDS faith is drawing so many converts | Episode 393

It took more than three decades for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to grow its membership in Kenya from a handful in the late 1980s to more than 21,000 today.

These days, though, the number of conversions is rising more rapidly in this East African country. Kenya now even has its first Latter-day Saint temple.

Such expansion brings with it challenges brought by having young lay leaders, adapting to cultural practices like “bride prices,” a kind of dowry, and finding new meetinghouses across urban and rural landscapes.

In this special “Mormon Land” episode from Nairobi, Denis Mukasa, who serves as a stake (regional) president and directs the faith’s humanitarian work in the area, and his wife, Eunice Kavaya Mukasa, describe how they met (singing in a church choir), how the church has changed from when they both joined, and how local leaders are coping with growth — and poverty.

“When I joined the church, there was a lot of negativity towards the church,” Eunice says. “But now people are being more receptive. People are listening, even if they are not joining, they can see that the church is a good place, and we as members of the church are good people.”