Akwa Mboho
Iduhe Owo eke Etiede Ikpɔŋ
Akwa Mbono Ɔfiɔŋ Duop 2025


14:2

Iduhe Owo eke Etiede Ikpɔŋ

Ndinam ikɔ-Abasi Jesus Christ esine ndinim ufaŋ nnɔ kpukpru owo ke mfiak-mmen-ndi Ufɔk Abasi Esie.

I.

Ke isua Aba-ye-duop, ami mmekpep mbaŋa edu-uwem, ke esit edide edu-uwem ikɔ-Abasi. Ami nyetɔŋɔ ye nti cookies.

Ke Chinatown eke San Francisco, udia mbubreyo eke ufɔkemana Gong esitre ye nti cookies ye ikɔ ifiɔk nte “Ndisaŋa ŋka anyan ebiet esitɔŋɔ ye ikpat kiet.”

Mfɔniso ekedude ke eti cookie kiet

Nte young adult kiet, ami mma nam nti cookies. Ke nsinede mfia ɔfɔŋ gloves, ami nyewaŋ nyuŋ nnuk mme ekara cookies oro nsin ke mbiet ufiop eke oven oro.

Ndinam inem cookies
Ewaŋde eti cookie kiet

Ke mkpaidem mi, ami ndikpep ke nti cookies inehede idi ubak-ŋkpɔ eke edu mbon Cnina. Man mbahare edu eke ɔfɔniso cookie eke mbon China, America ye Europe, ami ŋkoyom nti cookies ke ediwak ikpɔ-idut—ukem nte owo ekpedade ediwak ebiet oyom ndidiɔŋɔ ebiet emi ikaŋ obumede ke ikɔt. Itie-udia ke San Francisco, Los Angeles, ye New York esinyam nti cookies, edi idige edude ke Beijing, London, mme Sydney. Mbon America kpɔt enam-usɔrɔ Usen Nti Cookie ke Idut. Mbon China kpɔt esinɔ ntɔt eke “Nti Cookies eke America.”

Nti cookies edi inem, mmem mmem uwutŋkpɔ. Edi ukem ukpep eke ndidomo mme edinam ke nsio-nsio ndaha edu-uwem ekeme ediŋwam nnyin ndibahare edu ikɔ-Abasi. Ndien idahaemi Jehovah ke asiak mbufa ufaŋ ndikpep ido ikɔ-Abasi nte uwutŋkpɔ Ŋwed Mormon ye ŋke-mbuk prɔfesi Obufa Testament edisude.

II.

Mme owo ke ewɔwɔrɔ ke kpukpru ebiet. Etop eke United Nations owut ke million owo 281 ewɔrɔ-ekpɔŋ obio ke ofuri ererimbot. Emi edi million owo 128 akande ibat owo ke 1990 ye itie ita ke edomode ye ibat eke 1970. Ke kpukpru ebiet, ediwak ibat owo ke eyom Ufɔk Abasi Jesus Christ Mme Ndisana Owo ke Ukperedem Usen. Ofuri Sabbath, mbon ufɔk Abasi ye mme ufan etode idut emena ye obio 195 eboho ke mme ebiet Ufɔk Abasi nnyin 31,916. Nnyin itiŋ mme usem 125.

Ndisobo ye Ndisana Owo ke Albania
Ndisobo ye Ndisana Owo ke North Macedonia
Ndisobo ye Ndisana Owo ke Kosovo
Ndisobo ye Ndisana Owo ke Switzerland
Ndisobo ye Ndisana Owo ke Germany
Ndisobo ye Ndisana Owo ke Germany

Mmi-mmi-emi, ke Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Switzerland, ye Germany, ami mmokut mbufa mbon ufɔk Abasi enamde mbiet eto olive eke Ŋwed Mormon ɔwɔrɔ osu. Ke Jacob 5, Ɔbɔŋ iŋwaŋ ye mme isuŋutom esie ke esɔŋɔ mme oruŋ eto ye ŋkɔk-eto olive ke nditaŋ-mbok nyuŋ ndian ɔtɔkiet mbon emi etode nsio-nsio ebiet. Mfin emi nditɔ Abasi eboho nte otu-kiet ke Jesus Christ; Jehovah ɔnɔ ata eti usuŋ ke nditat ɔyɔhɔ uwem eke mfiak-mmen-ndi ikɔ-Abasi emi nnyin idude.

Ndibeŋe nnyin idem nnɔ obio-ubɔŋ heaven, Jesus eketiŋ ŋke-mbuk eke akwa udia-mbubreyo ye udia-usɔrɔ ndɔ. Ke mme ŋke-mbuk emi, isenowo emi ekekotde ema-enɔ ebeŋe ke ididighe. Ete-ufɔk editeme mme isuŋutom esie ete “wawara wɔrɔ ka ke mme efak ye ŋkpri efak obio” ye “ɔkpɔusuŋ ye mben-ɔkɔ” nyuŋ “da mme” ubuene, ye mmɔ emi edade unan, mbuŋɔ, ye nnan duk di. Ke editiŋ ke nkaŋ-spirit, oro edi nnyin owo kiet-kiet.

Ŋwed Abasi ete:

“Eyekot kpukpru mme idut” esin “udia-mbubreyo eke ufɔk Jehovah.”

“Mbufo eka ebeŋe usuŋ Jehovah enim, … man obio-ubɔŋ Esie ekpeka iso ke isɔŋ, man mme andiduŋ do ekeme ndibɔ enye, enyuŋ edu ke mbeŋeidem enɔ mme usen eke edidide.”

Mfin emi mbon emi ekekotde ete edi udia-mbubreyo Ɔbɔŋ eto ofuri ebiet ye edu-uwem. Ikpɔ ye ŋkpri, enyene-ŋkpɔ ye ubuene, isɔŋ-iduŋ ye ofuri ererimbot, nnyin idinam ebiet Ufɔk Abasi nnyin etie nte mme obio nnyin.

Nte akwa Apostle, Peter okut nte enyɔŋ ɔkibɔrede ŋkukut eke “akwa ɔfɔŋ ke utit mbinaŋ, … emi kpukpru oruk … unam edude ke esit.” Peter ete: “Ke akpanikɔ mmokut nte Abasi iteŋeke owo enyin. … Edi ke ofuri idut owo ekededi eke abakde [Jehovah], onyuŋ anamde nti ido, Enye adadara owo oro.”

Eti-owo Samaria

Ke ŋke-mbuk eke eti-owo Samaria, Jesus okot nnyin ete iŋwam kiet eken inyuŋ iŋwam Enye ke ufɔk-udia Esie—Ufɔk Abasi Esie. Enye okot nnyin ete idi nti mbɔhiduŋ. Eti-owo Samaria ama ɔŋwɔŋɔ ndifiak ndi nyuŋ ndinɔ-utip ukpeme eke mbon emi edude ke ufɔk-udia Esie. Ndinam ikɔ-Abasi Jesus Christ esine ndinim ufaŋ nnɔ kpukpru owo ke mfiak-mmen-ndi Ufɔk Abasi Esie.

Spirit eke “ufaŋ ke ufɔk-udia oro” esine “iduhe owo anditie ikpɔŋ.” Ini emi afo edide ufɔk Abasi, edieke afo okutde owo eketiede ikpɔŋ, mbɔk nte afo eyekɔm enye onyuŋ etie ye enye? Emi ekeme ndidi idige ido mbufo. Owo oro ekeme edibiet mme editiŋ ikɔ isio-isio akan fi. Ndien nte ededi, nte nti cookie ekpetiŋde “Usuŋisaŋ edinam-ufan ke ikɔ-Abasi ye ima ɔtɔŋɔ ye akpa ekɔm ye owo eke mitiehe ikpɔŋ.”

“Iduhe owo anditie ikpɔŋ” ŋko ɔwɔrɔ ke owo itiehe ikpɔŋ ke ekikere ye ke ŋkpɔ-Abasi. Ami ŋkesaŋa ye okop-mfuhɔ ete kiet ŋkese eyeneren esie. Ke mme isua ke edem. eyeneren oro ama okop-inem ndidi obufa deacon. Edinam ekesine ke ufɔkemana esie ndidep akpa obufa ikpa-ukot nnɔ enye.

Edi ke ufɔk Abasi, mme deacon ema esak enyen nsahi. Ikpa-ukot ekedi obufa, edi ikiyehe. Ke okopde esuene ye ubiak, ekpri deacon emi ete ke imɔ idifiak-ke ika ufɔk Abasi aba. Esit mi osuk ɔfufuhɔ ɔnɔ enye ye ufɔkemana esie.

Ke mme ntɔŋ-ntɔŋ usuŋ akade Jericho, esak nnyin owo kiet-kiet nsahi, ibɔ esuene ye ubiak, ndusuk ebiom enyuŋ esuŋi. Ndien ye mme nsio-nsio ndaha udɔŋ, nnyin owo kiet-kiet ŋko imitre ndibat, ikutke mme ikopke, ndusuk inehede inam ŋkpɔ emi abiakde mbon efen. Oro enehede edi koro ema enam se ibiakde nnyin ndien nnyin inam se ibiakde mbon efen emi Jesus Christ adade ofuri nnyin edi ufɔk-udia Esie. Ke Ufɔk Abasi Esie ye ke mme erinam ye ediomi Esie, nnyin imitiene kiet eken inyuŋ itiene Jesus Christ. Nnyin imima ndien ema nnyin, inɔ-uŋwam ndien eŋwam nnyin, ifen-inɔ ndien efen-enɔ nnyin. Mbɔk eti ke, “isɔŋ inyeneke mfuhɔ emi heav’n mikemeke ndikɔk”; mbiomo eke isɔŋ efere—idara eke Andinyaŋa nnyin edi akpanikɔ.

Ke 1 Nephi 19, nnyin ikoot ete: “Kpa Abasi Israel ke [mmɔ] ekedihi ke idak ikpat; … mmɔ ese enye ke ikpikpu. … Ke ntre mmɔ emia enye ke ikpa, ndien enye ɔyɔ oro; ndien mmɔ emia enye, ndien enye ɔyɔ oro. Iŋ, mmɔ efiari enye etap, ndien enye ɔyɔ oro.”

Ufan mi Professor Terry Warner ete ke ufik-ikpe, umia, ye mfiari-etap ikidige mme edinam emi ekesitibede ikpɔŋ kini Christ odude ke isɔŋ. Nte nnyin idade mbon efen—akpan-akpan mbon ɔbiɔŋ, mbon nsat-itɔŋ, mbon eyakde etie ikpɔŋ—edi nte nnyin idade Enye.

Ke mfiak-men-ndi Ufɔk Abasi Esie, kpukpru idifɔn-ima ke ini owo kiet mitiehe ikpɔŋ. Yak nnyin ikunehede iyɔyɔ mme edimeme. Yak nnyin inehede idara, idiɔŋɔ, isin-uŋwam inɔ, ima. Yak ufan, eyeneka ŋwan, erenowo kiet-kiet ikudi esen mme esenowo edi edi eyen ke ufɔk.

Ŋwan odude-ikpɔŋ ke ufɔk Abasi

Mfin emi ediwak ekop ndobo-ikpɔŋ ye edinim nsan-nsan. Social media ye artificial intelligence ekeme ndinam nnyin ndiyom owo edidu-mkpere ye ebuana eke owo. Nnyin iyom ndikop uyo kiet eken. Nnyin iyom ata edidu ye mfɔnido.

Etiede ye mme ufan ke ufɔk Abasi

Odu ediwak ntak emi nnyin ikerede ke nnyin iduk-ke otu ke ufɔk Abasi emi, ke etiŋde nte mbiet ete, ke nnyin itie ikpɔŋ. Nnyin imikime ndifina-idem kabaŋa usem-edeme, ndaha ufɔkemana nnyin. Ndusuk iyekere ke nnyin ikemke, ke itebe nsuŋikaŋ, iyom ndisana ke ido, ima ibiat ebuana ye owo kiet ndien ikop ubiak ye esuene, idikere kabaŋa mbet Ufɔk Abasi enye emi mme eken. Nnyin imikeme ndidi single, iwɔrɔde ke ndɔ, ebekpa mme ŋwan-akpa. Nditɔ nnyin enam uyom; nnyin inyeneke nditɔ. Nnyin ikikaha mission mme ikikureke mission edi ebabak enɔ inyɔŋ-ufɔk. Ibat oro aka iso.

Mosiah 18:21 eteme nnyin ete ikim esit nnyin idian kiet ke ima. Ami ndɔhɔ mbufo nte ekere ŋkpɔ esisit, ebiere esisit, ekuyom ediwak eto mbon efen—ndien, nte ededi, ekusɔŋ ido ye idem mbufo. Nnyin ididaha usen kiet isiak Zion. Edi “ekɔm” kiet-kiet, inem ndise-enyin kiet-kiet, eyeda Zion ekpere. Yak nnyin iwak edinim Abasi ke akpanikɔ ndien idara imek ndinim ofuri ibet Esie.

III.

Nte ukpepŋkpɔ, ke ufɔk mbuɔtidem ye ebuana Ndisana Owo, iduhe owo anditie ikpɔŋ otode ke ediomi edidu ke Jesus Christ.

Prophet Joseph Smith ekekpep ete: “Edi ubiɔŋ nnyin ndikut, mbuana ke esit nyuŋ ŋwam ndinuk ubɔŋ Ukperedem usen nka-iso, ‘emana eke mme uyɔhɔ ini … ,’ ke ini Ndisana ikɔt Abasi edibohode nte kiet ito ofuri idut, ye oruk, ye owo.”

Abasi “inamke ŋkpɔ ndomokiet ibɔhɔke ke ufɔn ererimbot; … man enye ada ofuri irenowo [ye iban] ɔnɔ idemesie. …

“… Enye okot mmɔ kpukpru owo ete edi etiene enye enyuŋ ebuana ke mfɔn esie; … ndien kpukpru owo edi ukem-ukem enɔ Abasi.”

Ŋkabare-esit ke Jesus Christ oyom nnyin ete imen ido ata owo ye edu-uwem ererimbot isio. Nte President Dallin H. Oaks ekpepde, nnyin inyene ndiyak ido-eset ye edu-uwem eke misaŋake ye ibet Abasi ndien ikabare idi Ndisana Owo eke Ukperedem Usen. Enye anam-aŋwaŋa ke, “Odu asaŋa-asaŋa ido ikɔ-Abasi, otu ufɔn ye uduak ye erinam emi ofuri mbon Ufɔk Abasi Jesus Christ Mme Ndisana Owo ke Ukperedem Usen esinamde.” Ido Ikɔ-Abasi esine edinim-idem asana, ndika ufɔk Abasi ke ofuri udua, ndikpɔŋ inaam-min, ikɔŋ, tea, ye coffee. Oro esine erinam-akpanikɔ ye nti ido, ndifiɔk ke nnyin isaŋa ika-iso idige edika enyɔŋ mme isɔŋ, ke mme ikoot Ufɔk Abasi.

Ami mmebɔ ukpep nto nti mbon ufɔk Abasi ye mme ufan ke ofuri iduŋ ye edu-uwem. Ŋwed Abasi emi ikpepde ke ediwak usem ye ndaha edu-uwem ɔsɔŋɔ ifiɔk ikɔ-Abasi. Ediwut nsio-nsio mbiet ido Christ ɔsɔŋɔ ima ye ifɔk mi kabaŋa Andinyaŋa mi. Kpukpru owo ebɔ edidiɔŋ ke ini nnyin iwutde idiɔŋɔ edu-uwem nnyin, nte President Russell M. Nelson ekekpepde, nte eyen Abasi, eyen ediomi, mbet Jesus Christ.

Emem Jesus Christ odu ɔnɔ nnyin ke idem owo kiet-kiet. Mmi-mmi-emi akparawa kiet enehede obup ete, “Elder Gong, nte ami nyesuk ŋkeme ndika heaven?” Enye edikere mme enye ekeme ndisuk mbɔ mfen-nnɔ. Ami mbup enyiŋ esie, nehede nnɔ mkpaŋ-utɔŋ, ndɔhɔ enye nte enyene nneme ye bishop esie, mmum enye mfat. Enye akadaha ye idorenyin emi odude ke Jesus Christ.

Ami mma-nsiak akparawa eren emi ke ndaha efen. Ekem ami ndibɔ anana-enyiŋ leta emi ɔtɔŋɔde nte, “Elder Gong, ŋwan mi ye ami iminyene nditɔ usukkiet … inyuŋ ika mission akaŋ mbiba.” Edi “Ami ke ofuri ini ŋkekere ke owo idinyimeke ami nduk obio-ubɔŋ celestial … koro mme idiɔkŋkpɔ ke uyen ama enehede ɔdiɔk!”

Leta aka-iso ete, “Elder Gong, ke ini afo ɔkɔdɔhɔde abaŋa akparawa erenowo ɔbɔde idorenyin erifen-nnɔ, ami ŋkɔyɔhɔ ye idara, ntɔŋɔ ndifiɔk ke ekeme ndidi [ami mmekeme ndibɔ mfen-nnɔ].” Leta oro editre ye, “Ami kemi mmema idem mi idahaemi!”

Ediomi edidu okpon ke nte nnyin iitienede kiet eken ye Jehovah ke ufɔk-udia Esie. Jehovah ɔdɔdiɔŋ kpukpru nnyin ke ini owo ndomokiet mitiehe ikpɔŋ. Ndien anie owo ɔdiɔŋɔ? Ekeme ndidi owo emi nnyin itiede ikpere ekeme ndidi ata mfɔn-ŋkan ufan ɔfɔniso cookie nnyin. Yak nnyin iyom inyuŋ inam ebiet inɔ Enye ye kiet eken ke udia-mbubreyo eke Eyenerɔŋ, ami nsuhɔre-idem mbeŋe ke edisana enyiŋ Jesus Christ, amen.

Mkpri ŋwed

  1. See “Fortune Cookies Didn’t Come from China,” Royal Examiner, Dec. 26, 2021, royalexaminer.com/fortune-cookies-didnt-come-from-china; “National Fortune Cookie Day,” Days of the Year, daysoftheyear.com/days/fortune-cookie-day.

  2. A process of cultural triangulation can also help distinguish what might be considered gospel culture, local national culture, and modern cosmopolitan culture.

  3. International Organization for Migration, World Migration Report 2024, 21, publications.iom.int/books/world-migration-report-2024. “In 2022, there were 117 million displaced people in the world, and 71.2 million internally displaced people” (World Migration Report 2024, xii).

  4. See Jacob 5.

  5. Every language and culture has words and terms that describe the tender things of the heart. Our lived fulness of His restored gospel expands as we learn from each other. Recently, Sisters Annalie (originally from Munich) and Suzy Myers, Elder Erich and Sister Christiane Kopischke, and Elder Jörg and Sister Julia Klebingat shared unique German words that speak to the heart. The feelings these words describe go beyond surface formality. They go beyond routine or duty. These feelings speak of the heart, of warm, close relationships, of spiritual joy in our divine souls. These special words in German include Gemütlichkeit and gemütlich, Heimat, Heimweh, Geborgenheit, Zuflucht, Herzensangelegenheit, Herzensmensch, and Schummerstunde (a rare and poetic term from the north).

  6. Luke 14:21, 23. Similarly, in the parable of the wedding feast, when the invited guests do not come, the king instructs his servants to go gather “as many as [they] shall find” in the “highways” (Matthew 22:9).

  7. Doctrine and Covenants 58:9; see also Doctrine and Covenants 58:6–8, 10–12.

  8. Doctrine and Covenants 65:3, 5; see also Doctrine and Covenants 33:17.

  9. Acts 10:11–12, 34–35; see also Acts 10:9–10, 13–18, 24–33, 44–48; 11:1–18; 15:6–11.

  10. The image of us coming together to each other and Him in His inn is expressed in 3 Nephi 18:32. “No one sitting alone” in our places of worship, and our continued warm ministering to each other, indeed may be the means by which we and they “return and repent, and come unto [Him] with full purpose of heart, and [He] shall heal them; and [we] shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them.”

  11. Doctrine and Covenants 104:15, 17 reminds us, “All things are [the Lord’s]” and “the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare.” Accordingly, the poor and the rich are each to help all be exalted and be made low. Likewise, King Benjamin asks, “Are we not all beggars?” Thereby the rich and poor are each obligated willingly to “impart of the substance that ye have one to another” (Mosiah 4:19, 21; see also Mosiah 4:25–27).

  12. In “Come, Ye Disconsolate” (Hymns, no. 115), Thomas Moore writes: “Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel. Here bring your wounded hearts; here tell your anguish. Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot heal.”

  13. 1 Nephi 19:7, 9. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord says, “And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also” (Luke 6:29).

  14. See Matthew 25:35–40.

  15. “No more a stranger nor a guest, but like a child at home” (“My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” Hymns—For Home and Church, Gospel Library).

  16. The gospel of Jesus Christ transcends time and culture. It is a remarkable testimony for me that the Book of Mormon teaches the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the context of an ancient cultural setting in the Americas.

  17. As taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith and his counselors in the First Presidency in Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 513; see also Ephesians 1:10.

    Today Church members live in a wide variety of political, social, and economic conditions. Our wards and branches vary in size and leadership resources. Principles of “uniformity and adaptation” can help strengthen family and His restored Church in gospel ways wherever we live (see Handbook 2: Administering the Church [2010], 17.0).

  18. 2 Nephi 26:24, 33, emphasis added; see also 2 Nephi 29; Alma 29:8. Doctrine and Covenants 90:11 promises “that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language.” This promise is fulfilled as we bring together linguistic tongues and gospel cultural language in our homes and church.

  19. See Dallin H. Oaks, “Repentance and Change,” Liahona, Nov. 2003, 37–40.

  20. Dallin H. Oaks, “Repentance and Change,” 39.

  21. See Dallin H. Oaks, “Repentance and Change,” 38–39.

  22. See Articles of Faith 1:13. As diverse branches and roots intertwine as one in Jesus Christ, we find more that is “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.” We see the first last and the last first. We rejoice as learners teach and teachers learn. All understand, are edified, and rejoice together (see Doctrine and Covenants 50:22).

  23. See Russell M. Nelson, “Choices for Eternity” (worldwide devotional for young adults, May 15, 2022), Gospel Library.

  24. Jedediah M. Grant, who served in the First Presidency with Brigham Young, reported a vision of the spirit world that included numerous kinds of beautiful flowers thriving together, perhaps as a metaphor for unity and beauty in diversity. “I have seen good gardens on this earth, but I never saw any to compare with those that were there,” he said. “I saw flowers of numerous kinds, and some with from fifty to a hundred different colored flowers growing upon one stalk.” He experienced “the beauty and glory of the spirit world, where the righteous spirits are gathered together” (“Remarks, at the Funeral of President Jedediah M. Grant, by President Heber C. Kimball,” Deseret News, Dec. 10, 1856, 317).

    President David O. McKay also recorded a dream or vision of the eternal city of God, where he saw trees, fruit, shrubbery, and flowers in perfect bloom. “I seemed to realize that trees with luscious fruit, shrubbery with gorgeously tinted leaves, and flowers in perfect bloom abounded everywhere” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay [2003], 1).