Ugandan Saints Journey to the Temple

By Sondra Hansen

Three families from lush, green Jinja, Uganda, the head waters of the Nile River, boarded a plane with small children and meager belongings recently, traveled through the midnight skies of Africa, to arrive in Johannesburg and spend a few precious days at the temple, full well knowing that they may never visit the temple again.

Given the distance of over 2940 kilometers (4620 miles) and their simple lifestyle, the opportunity to attend the temple more than once, in their lifetime, may not be possible for this group of faithful members.

The 24 Saints, coming from Bugembe and Walukaba, in the Jinja District, outside Kampala, Uganda, were accompanied by Marian and Wade Brown, fulltime Ugandan missionaries, and stayed in Patron Housing on the Area Office grounds during the visit.

Some of the adults had only been members for four years, so the commitment was great to visit the House of the Lord. "Their faces were beaming as they arrived early that morning," said Pam Bragge, director of Patron Housing. "Even though they had traveled all night and watched over small children, their joy and eagerness to be here brought tears to my eyes."

Many of these members' homes are small mud huts with thatched roves and austere concrete floors. At night, their beds are often mats laid out on the concrete slab. Food preparation is done over a fire outside, using a large can filled with hot charcoals.

The blessing of using running water from a faucet, hot showers, and sleeping in a bed with sheets and blankets was a luxury for these humble Saints. Many had not cooked on a stove top, so explaining how to use the kitchen appliances at Patron Housing was important for the young, slender mothers. Sister Bragge also demonstrated how a refrigerator could keep their vegetables and meat cold. Many were eager to try out the elevators in Patron Housing, and having electricity in their rooms was a joy and a wonder.

Each Ugandan shook hands with many fulltime missionaries and employees serving at the Area Office, who saw them by the fish pond and gardens, wanting to introduce themselves and smile and be part of a larger body of Latter-day Saints.

The Ugandan visitors spoke English, Luganda and Lusogo, so the temple sessions for endowments, sealings and temple marriage were conducted in English.

During one morning, Shanna Parmley, wife of Elder William W. Parmley of the Seventy, first counselor in the Africa Southeast Area presidency, spoke to the group of young and old, calling them pioneers in Uganda. Sister Parmley told stories of her early English ancestry who came to Utah Valley pulling handcarts, and then drew a parallel with her pioneer ancestry to the Ugandans, telling them that they were early Church pioneers in their land.