WARD MISSIONARY FIRESIDE NSAMBYA WARD

It was on the tenth day of September of the year two thousand and sixteen that we had one of the most remarkable activities ever! The arrangements were spot-on, the organisers (Missionaries and the Ward Mission Leader) were perfect, refreshments were long before in place and like never-before, the turn up was spontaneously uplifting. We were supposed to begin the day's program at exactly 4:00pm but due to a few challenges here and there, we found oursleves having to begin a little later at around 15min. past 4pm. The presentation began with a few readings from the Scriptures as was planned by Elder Malgas. Then Elder Dibatayi (the latter's companion) summed up his comp had prepared for the members that were shy of only two, to make a total of 60 members in attendance! Elder Schweitzer took to the pulpit and he as well presented what he had prepared for the day before we went on to view a song inspired from the "Adele-Hello" song parody which was played by ex-full-time missionaries (Parker Cressman and Conner Hein) though not serving at the time, and this acted as a way to somehow put a smile on the members' faces and it put a little more life into the whole activity. We proceeded with more teaching and training from and by the Full-time Missionaries (Elders Schweitzer, Gwazvo, Malgas, and Dibatayi) and then came a Q&A session about Missionary work. However, like never before happened, we also had a baptism at the close of the end of the activity which helped keep members involved and around to have to end the Fireside in style, with Refreshments like never before served, which saw many quote the scripture; "Eat, Drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die..." and so on and so forth. I was privileged to be the one performing the baptism and it was all a great feeling in a fun-filled atmosphere. It all ended in style and i had never before felt the Spirit more strongly in any activity in the past than what i felt in that Missionary Fireside. 

Patrick Kikulwe

Qualities of The True Church of God

1.   Eph. 4:11-14
2.   Eph. 5:23
3.   Eph. 2:19-20
4.   Eph. 4:11-14
5.   Heb. 5:4-10
6.   Isa. 45:13 and 1Peter 5:2
7.   Matt. 3:13-16
8.   Acts 8:14-17
9.   Mark 3:14-15
10. John 17:11 and John 20:17
11. Luke 24:36-39 and Acts 1:9-11
12. Amos 3:7
13. Matt. 28:19-20
14. Acts 3:19-20
15.1 Cor. 15:16 and 29

lastly but not least,

16.  Heb. 5:4, Exodus 28:1, Exodus 40:13-16
17.  Matt. 7:20

Home Teaching

Home Teaching is a sacred calling.

-It is not to be undertaken casually.

The Lord declared to the priesthood in section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants in a revelation to the prophet Joseph Smith:

-Watch over the church always, and be with and strengthen them;

-And see that there is no iniquity in the church

-"And see that the church meet together often, and also see that all the members do their duty" (D&C    20:53-55).

-"And visit the house of each member, exhorting them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties" (D&C 20:51).

That is priesthood home teaching.

-"Home Teaching, properly functioning, brings to the house of each member two priesthood bearers divinely commissioned and authoritatively called into the service by their priesthood leader and Bishop. These Home Teachers represent JESUS CHRIST  to look after the welfare of each Church member.

They are to encourage and inspire every member to discharge his duty, both family and church" 

-Home Teaching is a divine call, a divine service.

-Let us love the work and do our best so that we can receive unbounded peace, joy, and satisfaction.

-It is an inspired program.

-It is the heart of caring, of loving, of reaching out to both the active and the less active.

-It is a way of expressing our faith in action.

-It a test of true discipleship.

-It helps fulfill (D&C 64:33)

-It is the greatest church calling.

FUNDAMENTALS ESSENTIAL TO EFFECTIVE HOME TEACHING

1. Know well those you are to teach. ( know the names of all the family members, beware of         birthdays, blessings, baptisms, and marriages.)

   - Regularly review pages 8 and 9 of the Melchizedek Priesthood Handbook for some great suggestions on how to help those you home teach.

   -Be a genuine friend to the individuals and families you teach. (A friend cares, loves,listens and reaches out.)

2. Know well the message you are to deliver.

      -you should meet together to pray, review instructions from your leaders, go over the message you will take to families, and to discuss any special needs.

      -Use the message from the First Presidency printed in the Ensign and the Church's international magazines or from the church offical website(LDS.org).

       -read together the scriptures with the families you home teach especially from the Book of Mormon and always remember the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that "a man would get nearer to God by abiding [the] precepts [of the Book of Mormon],  than by any other book"

   - Teach nothing save it be the things which the Saviour and His holy prophets spake"

   - Teach with the Spirit(the single most important ingredient in this work.

    -Be men of God, walking in His ways and keeping His commandments.

     -Pray with the Spirit, with real intent, and invoke the Lord's blessings upon the individuals    and families you are teaching.

3. Truly Magnify your calling as a home teacher. 

       -make your home teaching visit early in the month to allow enough time for additional follow~up contacts as necessary.

       -Be a real shepherd of your flock.

       -make a definite appointment for each visit. Let your families know when your are coming, and respect their time.

       -Teach quality and quantity. Have quality visits, make contact with each of your families each month.

       -your goal should be 100 percent home teaching every month.

       -keep faithful track of each member you are called to home teach. (Moroni 6:4)

Adapted from 'To the Home Teachers of the Church' By President Ezra Taft Benson on 4 April 1987.

Dedicatory Prayer for the Site of the Durban South Africa Temple

By AfricaSE.lds.org

On Saturday 9 April 2016 Elder Carl B Cook, president of the Africa Southeast Area, and General Authority Seventy, dedicated the site of the Durban South Africa temple at the groundbreaking ceremony. Here is the prayer he offered.

Our beloved Heavenly Father, we unitedly bow our heads in prayer as we meet to consecrate this land for the building of the Durban South Africa Temple. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for Thy many tender mercies. We love Thee, Heavenly Father. We love Thy Son, Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for the restoration of the gospel and for the establishment of Thy Church in this land. We are grateful that Thy gospel is going forth to all who will listen. We pray that this, Thy work, may continue and even accelerate. We also pray for this nation’s leaders, that peace and prosperity may abound.

We are mindful of the rejoicing of many Saints, both those who are with us today and those who have gone beyond. We are grateful for our predecessors who helped lay a foundation for what is happening today. We pray that the veil may be thin, and that they may share in the joy of this moment.

We are grateful for modern revelation that has guided our beloved prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, to direct that a temple be built upon this sacred spot at this appointed time. May Thy Spirit abide here. We dedicate this magnificent plot of ground to the building of Thy temple, Thy holy house. Wilt thou please protect it against any destructive forces, either of nature or of man. Please watch over it and hallow it, that it may remain a suitable site for Thy temple.

We look forward with great anticipation to the building of this holy structure. We pray for those who will be working on this temple site.  Please protect them from injury. Please bless their minds and their hands that their work might be pleasing unto Thee, and that the completed temple might be a reflection of our deep love and reverence for Thee.

As the temple rises from the ground, may each of us be blessed with increased love for our fellowman. May we re-dedicate ourselves to Thy work. Please help us to prioritize our lives and make time to prepare family names for temple ordinances. We know that many individuals and families are waiting anxiously for their work to be done. May we think of them often and be inspired to do our part to help them. May Thy chosen servants in this temple district also prepare themselves to volunteer their time and talents and work in Thy holy house once it is completed.

May each of us be inspired to purify our lives and look to our Savior and His Atonement to help us overcome the things of the flesh, that we may not only enter Thy temple, but also be prepared to dwell with Thee. We desire to feel Thy love and Thy Spirit each day of our lives.

We dedicate this site unto Thee, Heavenly Father, and we pledge our faith and our support of all of Thy works. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Labour's Sadiq Khan elected mayor of London

What was never seen coming and hardly unexpected from the aftermath of the London mayorals, and whether or not it will yield fruits is yet to be substanstiated as theguardian.com reports;

Sadiq Khan has been elected mayor of London, reclaiming the post for Labour after eight years of Conservative rule and becoming the first Muslim mayor of a major western capital.

Khan took 1,310,143 votes (57%) after second preferences were taken into account, beating Conservative Zac Goldsmith into second place on 994,614 (43%). His tally gave him the largest personal mandate of any politician in UK history.

The 45-year-old son of a Pakistani bus driver beat Zac Goldsmith at the end of a sometimes bitter campaign during which the Conservatives accused Khan of being “dangerous” and “pandering to extremists”. Labour complained that Goldsmith’s campaign was Islamophobic.

In his victory speech Khan said he was “deeply humbled by the hope and trust” voters placed in him, adding: “I want to thank every single Londoner for making the impossible possible.”

He added: “I’m so proud that Londoners have today chosen hope over fear and unity over division.”

The convincing win will provide solace to the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, after a poor set of election results overnight in Scotland, England and Wales. Khan becomes the first Labour leader at City Hall since the Conservatives’ Boris Johnson unseated Ken Livingstone in 2008.

“Cosmopolitan London will be reflecting on this result that London is capable of putting race, religion and identity to one side,” said Prof Tony Travers, director of LSE London. “This is concrete evidence of that.”

Even before the result was announced, Conservatives turned on Goldsmith’s campaign. Lady Warsi, a former chairman of the Conservative party, described it as an “appalling dog-whistle campaign” and said it “lost us the election, our reputation and credibility on issues of race and religion”.

Roger Evans, the outgoing deputy mayor, said Goldsmith’s “very foolish” campaign left a “negative legacy which we in London are going to have to clear up long after the people who ran Zac Goldsmith’s campaign have gone on their way”.

“I hope we don’t do this stupid thing again by trying to bring Sadiq down by saying he is an extremist,” added Andrew Boff, a senior Tory on the London Assembly. “He is not an extremist. He went out and engaged with people with orthodox religious views. Dialogue is not assisted by shutting people out.”

Even Goldsmith’s sister, Jemima, tweeted: “Sad that Zac’s campaign did not reflect who I know him to be – an eco friendly, independent-minded politician with integrity.”

Labour also secured 12 seats on the London Assembly, the Conservatives took eight while the Greens and Ukip took two each and the Liberal Democrats were reduced to one.

The result paves the way for Khan to implement a manifesto programme that he promised would make him “a mayor for all Londoners”.

The son of a bus driver, Khan was the fifth of eight children in his family and grew up on a council estate. He has promised to make solving London’s housing crisis a key priority, and has said he will freeze fares on public transport for four years.

He said he would set a target that half of all new homes should be “genuinely affordable”, promised to boost landlord licensing and to name and shame rogue landlords. Oxford Street would be pedestrianised, he said. He would restore the capital’s air quality to legal and safe levels and be “the most pro-business mayor yet”.

In continental Europe, where the mayoral election made headline news, the focus was firmly on Khan’s religion and family background rather than his politics. Headlines in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany included: “The first Muslim mayor of London”, “First Muslim mayor of a major European capital” and “The green millionaire vs the leftwing Muslim”. (The US Drudge Report, meanwhile, went with: “Developing – first Muslim mayor of Londonistan.”)

Khan led Goldsmith, the MP for Richmond Park, for almost the whole campaign, but his lead narrowed over the last fortnight from 16 points to nine points on polling day, according to YouGov.

There was speculation that the antisemitism row surrounding Labour, which resulted in the suspension of Naz Shah MP and Ken Livingstone from the party, could dent his hopes. Khan did come second to Goldsmith in the Barnet and Camden constituency, which has a large Jewish population, leading to speculation the controversy may have affected the result.

“The Conservatives will have to have a postmortem,” said Travers. “They would have been better hacking away at Jeremy Corbyn day and night as a strategy.”

Goldsmith’s campaign, overseen by the firm led by the Tory election strategist Lynton Crosby, sought to paint Khan, whose family are from Pakistan, as a supporter of Muslim extremists.

It sent leaflets to Hindu, Sikh and Tamil voters warning that Khan was “dangerous”. It did not mention that he was a Muslim, but several recipients felt it was divisive “gutter politics”. Another letter warning that Labour wanted to tax gold jewellery owned by many Indian families was also seen as stoking community tensions.

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The home secretary, Theresa May, described the former transport minister as “unsafe” to run London at a time when we face “a significant threat of terrorism”, because of his history of defending extremists when he was a human rights lawyer.

Boris Johnson, who repeatedly joined Goldsmith on the campaign trail, had said: “In Islam and the Labour party there is a struggle going on, and in both cases Khan – whatever his real views – is pandering to the extremists.”

Khan is a married father of two who became a partner in a human rights law firm aged 27. He chaired the human rights group Liberty and was elected to parliament in Tooting in 2005. He became transport minister in the last year of Gordon Brown’s government.

If, as expected, Khan stands down from parliament, the result is set to trigger a by-election in Tooting, which Labour holds with a less than 3,000-vote majority requiring a 2.7% swing for the Conservatives to strike back.

PONDER

Lately i have been thinking...of how we are made or should i say created and- in the image of God.
And i have come to realise that like Compton in True Blood, we all have a role to play in this and the next life. Which brings me to the reason for creating this article for my "WHY WE ARE HERE" blog.

Who is Tamale Mirundi?

It is the question many of us have been and are still asking ourselves..

The President’s spokesperson is a former journalist and he intends to return to the trade in the future. The man who has two wives, loves his job and calls himself a man of the ordinary people, talks about his climb up the ladder.

It is amazing how a young John Tamale Mirundi’s desire to become a journalist was tickled. During his Senior Three in 1980, a literature teacher at Rubaga SS told Mirundi’s class to write an imaginary story. He imagined himself as a love letter being written by a lover and sent through the post office.

“In my story, the love letter was collected by my teacher; she put it in her bra, went home, stripped herself naked and began reading the love letter as I was peeping between her legs,” recollects Mirundi. Little did he know that the assignment would throw the whole school into pandemonium after his literature teacher sent his story to the head teacher.

“The headmaster asked if I had understood the assignment,” narrates Mirundi. The school administrators were all undecided as to what they should do to this teenager. However, after days of deliberations, Tamale was forgiven but on one condition.

“I am forgiving you for one thing, that you can make a good journalist,” said the headmaster to Mirundi. This was a turning point of sorts. After this incident, he never looked back; he began off as a part time writer at Munno newspaper. He further supplemented his income by vending newspapers.

His childhood

Mirundi’s mother is not sure of his age but she thinks he was born between 1960 and 1964 in Matale village, Rakai District. 

He is the ninth child of his mother. His parents are Molly Mirundi and the late Tamale Mirundi.

When tasked to explain the events that shaped him, Tamale is quick to give credit to his village. “We had cannibals and witchdoctors in our village, these are all things I witnessed firsthand,” he proudly remarks. His was a unique family in a much disciplined village. He recounts a day when nine people were killed for stealing bananas and chicken.

“Our village never tolerated indiscipline, we had no village courts but justice still prevailed.” Mirundi talks about the various men in his village that formed the core of the values he believes in. He talks of men like Petero Nswa who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Nswa was a tailor. One Christmas morning, he woke up expecting to find breakfast on the table only to find out that his wife had left for prayers. Welding a stick in his hand, he headed for the church where he found his wife kneeling infront of a St Joseph statue. He hit it and broke it into pieces. He was thus summarily excommunicated.

“I would go to Nswa’s house when it rained to find out whether his home used to receive rain. Even though he was deserted by the villagers, Nswa got even stronger and more authoritative.” 

Mirundi also remembers men like Kasumba who many thought would die after subjecting a Catholic priest to a thorough beating having caught him red-handed with his wife. There was also Rwabuchocho who slapped his mother-in-law. Rwabuchocho gained popularity because he did not suffer for his actions.

“Because of such people, I am able to comment on many things that people fear to comment on.” Mirundi explains things with clarity. Complex issues he breaks down for the peasants. You can’t help but welcome his pithy analogies – concise and full of meaning.

Mirundi says he gets his arrogance from his mother.

“I inherited my mother’s arrogance. She always had a low opinion of many people,” says Mirundi. He adds that unlike women in Matale, his mother was not involved in rumour mongering. “My mother was a bit aloof and that’s me,” Mirundi proudly explains.

Even when he stood for MP, he rejected certain things like going to a witchdoctor or paying Catholic priests to praise him in church. The constituency voters all agreed that he was a wise young man but he seemed so detached. Perhaps, that’s why he lost the elections.

A man without close friends

Mirundi grew up differently because he claims he talked very early in his life. Many people thought his mother had produced a musambwa. He grew up a loner.

“I only befriend someone when our interests meet,” says Mirundi. Like the man for whom he has served as spokesperson for 10 years, Mirundi has no close friends and he takes independent decisions. 

“There is nobody who can claim to be a close friend of mine,” he explains. He speaks in a folksy style, so characteristic of the countryside, where he was groomed.

Even though he once lost two children on the same day, this for him was not the saddest day of his life. “The day my father died hit me so hard. I admired him so much,” he says rather sadly. However, like many village bred men, his happiest day was the first time he came to Kampala in 1979.

In 1981, Mirundi impregnated a fellow student. His first son was born in the same year. This first partner of Mirundi was taken to London immediately after she delivered. Her family was very rich and to them, Mirundi was a poor person who had no future. He wishes, the same family that despised him could look where he is today and see how he has fought through all odds and finally made it.

 The real Tamale Mirundi

Mirundi’s life is based on hard stuff.

“I have a low opinion of dramactors. That’s why I condemned the banning of the play: State of The Nation: Ku Girikiti.” He wonders why at all there was a fuss over it.

He prides himself on having spoken on behalf of the president for 10 years, a job which has seen him handle very delicate situations. He speaks softly at this point and states that the world does not know how kind and disciplined he is. For the disciplinarian he seems to be, it’s surprising that he has never given his children any whipping of sorts.

“I don’t cane my children; I listen to them and advise them. Our family promotes mutual respect.” He would like to be remembered as a man who fought for ordinary people. He claims that his office at State House receives the biggest number of ordinary people on a normal day. He believes in revolutionary methods. When he speaks about land evictions, one is bound to notice that he wishes nothing more than a death sentence for land-grabbers.

“People think that I am a complicated man but that’s not true,” explains the president’s mouthpiece. He dislikes people who call him with the wrong motives at odd hours and prefers that people be brief when they call.

“I receive many phone calls. The last thing I want to hear at the end of the day is someone asking me on phone whether I remember them.” Empathy to him is core. He prefers to walk a mile in someone’s shoes before passing judgment.

Mirundi says it’s only a few myopic Baganda that judge him harshly.

“Just being a Muganda should not stop me from being a free-thinker,” he argues. He says for any progressive society, there should always be fundamental differences. “Federo is not practical yet the Baganda have been made to believe a lie that Buganda was once under federal governance.”

He says because people think he’s a complicated man, no one ever gets to bribe him. His statements are all married with praises for the president. He’s only answerable to that one man. And though his is a challenging job, he has nothing but praise for it.

“President Museveni is a person who will tell you that you are wrong even in public. The President is flexible but never deviates from the goal.”

Mirundi follows simple wisdom; but it would be a mistake to underestimate his intelligence, knowledge, or resolve. My suspicion is that Mirundi purposely retains his homespun language and explains things in parables to better communicate with the common people.

He has written a number of books, or, rather pamphlets, and these he sells cheaply. On a good day like when I interviewed him, you get to walk away with a number of them for free. Among his books include, The making of Besigye, The battle over Binazi Money and Uganda Soccer.

Growing wings

In 1998, he thought he had suffered enough at Munno and decided to start two newspapers: The Lipoota and The Voice. But he could not cope with the media transformations at that time. He was unable to compete with colour and management ushered in by William Pike at the New Vision.

When he looks back, he regrets having trained to be a journalist. For the Makerere University mass communication graduate, journalism takes time to bring results.

“Journalism has not attracted capital investment. It remains risky and no serious businessman can invest in journalism,” he explains. Mirundi cuts no slack for myopic thinkers, reflectors of other men’s thoughts. He has few kind words for academicians except for his former lecturers.

He gives credit to his political science lecturer at Makerere University, Dr [Aaron] Mukwaya who he said opened up his mind to see things which others do not see.

Future plans

Tamale plans to join mainstream journalism once again. He has already purchased a printing press which he uses to print most of his books. Besides beginning a newspaper, he will also set up a political school. Irrespective of age, political or academic background, his school will be open to everyone. He also has his investment in taxis, but he says this is not the reason he fought on the side of taxi operators against KCCA.

“The taxi industry is big and wide and until one considers this, then trying to evict taxi operators from the city is a mirage,” says Mirundi.

“Ordinary people in the informal sector are being incited because we want a clean city. No one should tamper with the ordinary person,” Mirundi warns.

Asked whether he will contest once again, his face lightens up and he brags of how popular he is in his constituency.

He tells people what they eventually will see. When he is serious, he lets out the words “Nyabo Yosephina”, and when extremely happy, he smokes and dances.

Things like the president winning elections, his predictions coming to pass are what make him euphoric. When Alintuma Nsambu lost by 46 per cent in a by-election last year, Mirundi danced because he says, “The elections had degenerated into Mengo versus Nsambu showing how unpopular the Kabaka was becoming”.

He is not easily swayed. Though he is a free-thinker, he banks on his ideological rigidity to turn debates in his favour.

Mirundi loves debates that are not marred with intimidation unlike the Mengo way that is restrictive. He has ordinary people at heart.

Although he openly talks about his two wives, Mirundi wishes to keep their names secret. He explains that one of them is approaching 30 years and the other is making 40. All in all, he is a sensitive and empathetic person. Vivacious is his face as he speaks out his heart. Mirundi can be described as a “free spirit”.

He is plainspoken, honest, optimistic and funny. His humour grabs you off the hook. Even the suspicion with which you approach him at first, vanishes into thin air once you listen to him.