Nairobi: A memory, a new temple, and, yes . . . opposition

Many, many years ago — probably in 1979, or maybe in 1980 — my wife and I took a trip during Christmas vacation from Cairo, Egypt, to Nairobi, Kenya.  It remains one of my favorite trips of all time.  It was astoundingly cheap — as the result of some sort of special deal for American educators (for which we qualified because my wife was on the teaching faculty at Cairo American College) — and, relatively impoverished though we were back then,  we felt that we almost couldn’t afford to pass up the invitation.  Beyond Nairobi itself, we went out into safari country among the Maasai and we visited the very different (and very Islamicate) coastal city of Mombasa.  I thought that we would get back to Kenya at some point in the not too distant future, but, thus far, we never have.

At the time, I really wanted to learn Swahili.  In fact, I still sometimes think of giving it another go.  (It’s a fascinating language, with an intriguing structure and a considerable amount of borrowed Arabic vocabulary.  The word Swahili itself is Arabic for, roughly, “coastal.”).

Anyhow, while we were in Nairobi back then, I took the opportunity of visiting an evangelical Christian bookstore there.  My plan was to buy a copy of the Bible in Swahili for future use.  Which I did.  While I was in the store, though, I noticed that it contained, on its back wall, two entire shelves of anti-Mormon books and pamphlets.  I was amazed.  This was, you may recognize, only a year or two after President Spencer W. Kimball’s 1978 revelation on priesthood.  I recall thinking that it might just be possible that there were more anti-Mormon books and tracts on those two shelves than, that year, there were Latter-day Saints in all of East Africa.  Honestly, I found it oddly flattering.

So, to me, it was wonderful news back in 2009 when Elder Joseph W. Sitati was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy as the first General Authority from Kenya.  He was released as a General Authority in 2022 and given emeritus status and, although there are now a number of General Authorities — including a member of the Presidency of the Seventy — from Africa, I’m unaware, off the top of my head, of any currently-serving General Authorities from Kenya.  But it’s very gratifying now to contemplate the fact that a Latter-day Saint temple will shortly be dedicated there in Nairobi.

Which, you may be completely surprised to learn, hasn’t entirely eliminated opposition to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kenya: “Mormonism in Africa: Why the Church Must Be Concerned”

My wife and I went out to dinner last night with our usual theater-attending group of friends and neighbors and then, afterwards, enjoyed a performance of Jersey Boys at The Ruth and Nathan Hale Theater, in Pleasant Grove.  Jersey Boys was a bit of a mood-shift from Saturday night’s Chekhov, but very enjoyable; the real incongruity, though, was seeing a dual publicity poster at the Saturday-night performance that advertised The Cherry Orchard together with a forthcoming performance of High School Musical.  I thought that I had seen Jersey Boys before — it was an enormous hit on Broadway and in touring companies — but I soon realized that I had been confusing it with Forever Plaid.

I’m certainly pleased with “The Ruth,” as the still-rather-new theater facility is commonly known.  My wife and I are fond of live theater — readers here may have noticed that fondness, over the years — and The Ruth is a real step forward for live theater in Utah Valley.

I recorded two podcasts today with the folks at the Keystone podcast.  The first of the two was devoted to the witnesses of the Book of Mormon (and to arguments against their credibility), while the second focused on Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, and, to some degree at least, on comparisons between Muhammad and Joseph Smith.  I’m told that they’ll go up in a month or two, probably not directly back to back.  By the way, some readers of this blog may not be aware that I wrote a relatively brief biography of the founder of Islam several years ago — Muhammad: Prophet of God — and that, in April 2018, at the request of a member of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I published a very, very basic introductory article on the Muslim faith in the Church’s official magazine:  “Understanding Islam.”

All crusaders against religion are acutely aware of the damage wrought in this world by theism and theists.  But it’s helpful, nonetheless, to be reminded from time to time of a few representative specimens of the horrors.  Here, for instance, is a recent item from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File™:  “BYU professional programs land high marks, engineering makes big jump in U.S. News grad ranks: BYU Law earns No. 11 for new ranking on grads in federal clerkships”

But, of course, religion poisons more than just the academic side of higher education; its toxicity extends to collegiate athletics, as well:  “What BYU coach is most deserving of the ‘blue jacket’? Which Cougars coach had the biggest and brightest year? There are a few to choose from”