Church Releases Video Depicting Ghana’s 1989 Ban on LDS Church Activities
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a video last month documenting the period of time Ghana banned Church activities.
“You Can’t Close My Heart,” the 10-minute video, documents the 18-month ban the Ghanaian government placed on Church activities due to misinformation. This ban, which started June 14, 1989, resulted in locked meetinghouses and foreign missionaries being forced to leave the country within one week.
LDS.org reports that during the ban, which became known as the “freeze,” members met in each others’ homes for sacrament services and saved their tithing for when the ban lifted.
Members stayed persistent in their faith through immersing themselves in scripture study and helping one another through home and visiting teaching. Though faced with a difficult time, Church History reports that the members learned a valuable lesson from the freeze: “The Church was not in the meetinghouse but in their hearts.”
Watch the video, shared above, or visit history.churchofjesuschrist.org to watch additional videos about the freeze in Ghana.