Ghanaian Youth Features in Global Faith Series as Accra Hosts Special Screening

 

A Ghanaian young adult is among seven participants featured in a global video series exploring faith in Jesus Christ through personal experiences and a visit to the historic Salt Lake Temple in Utah.

Favour Onyinyechukwu Okeke, from the Greater Accra Region, represents Ghana in Dedicate, a six-part series produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The other participants come from Brazil, France, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines and the United States.

The fourth episode was screened at a special gathering of young single adults at the Christiansborg Stake Center in North Ridge, Accra, attracting hundreds of attendees ahead of its worldwide release on the Church’s YouTube channel.

Sister Okeke said her involvement began after prospective participants were invited to volunteer to share their personal experiences.

“It’s honestly a great privilege. It’s an honour, and I feel very humble to represent Africa in this series, because my life is showing what the life of an average young single adult in this area is all about,” she said.

She described the experience as inspiring and said it had strengthened her faith.

“I learnt so much, and throughout the journey it’s added to my testimony,” she said.

Faith and the strength of foundations

The fourth episode takes viewers inside the Salt Lake Temple, which is undergoing extensive renovation, to examine the engineering measures being used to strengthen the 19th-century structure against earthquakes.

Between 700 and 800 construction workers are on site on any given day. The episode features YouTuber Zack Nelson and his wife, Cambry, helping the young adults understand the structural improvements through models of the temple tested on an earthquake simulator.

The building, estimated to weigh 188 million pounds, or approximately 85,000 tonnes, is supported by 98 base isolators designed to help it remain relatively stable during ground movement. About 262 miles (422 kilometres) of cables, tensioned to 10,000 pounds per square inch, also reinforce the structure by tying its stone blocks together from the foundation to the spires.

The episode draws a comparison between these engineering measures and the foundations of Christian faith. The base isolators represent Jesus Christ as a source of stability, while the cables symbolise prayer, scripture study and temple worship.

The participants also meet senior Church leaders, including Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

For Sister Okeke, the message is that faith can provide strength through difficult moments.

“In our lives, we have our own earthquakes and points where we shake and we might have cracks. But if we want to strengthen that foundation, Christ can help us. We are not perfect; we make mistakes, we fall. But one thing we were reminded of is that we are never too far from the reach of God,” she said.

Screening connects young adults

Nana Yaa Agyeiwaa, a Church member in Accra, said watching the episode with other members offered a different experience from following the earlier episodes online.

She had mainly listened to the first three episodes on YouTube while driving to work.

“Having to sit with my friends and watch it, it just felt different, because I was able to see the reactions from other people. It made it better,” she said.

She added that the episode had encouraged her to remain committed to temple attendance, even when doing so was difficult.

Ms Agyeiwaa also said the digital format could help the Church reach younger audiences who increasingly consume content online.

Brad Tate, a member of the production crew, said the series was intended to share experiences of faith with audiences across different cultures.

He expressed hope that viewers would identify with the participants’ experiences and draw encouragement from the message of faith and spiritual resilience.

Series continues into 2027

Church President Dallin H. Oaks introduced Dedicate at the conclusion of the Church’s general conference on October 4, 2026, as part of the global Salt Lake Temple Celebration.

The series follows seven young adults as they tour the temple during its renovation, meet Church leaders and reflect on faith, purpose and spiritual growth.

Episodes are being released on Sundays through November 1, 2026, with the sixth and final episode scheduled for spring 2027. Its release will coincide with preparations for the Salt Lake Temple’s public open house, scheduled for April 5 to October 1, 2027.

The episodes are available on the Church’s YouTube channel and through the Gospel Library app, with versions in several languages, including French, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.

The Church reported 122,978 members across 401 congregations in Ghana as of 2025, making the country home to the third-largest Latter-day Saint membership in Africa. The Accra Ghana Temple, the first temple in West Africa, was dedicated on January 11, 2004.