Tony Anichebe 
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has promised to preserve its pioneer baptism site in Nigeria, located in Ikot Eyo community, Nsit Ubium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
The Church, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America, conducted its first baptism of converts in Nigeria in 1978 in a River in Ikot Eyo, Nsit Ubium, as part of its missionary activities.
The leadership of the Church, led by its Director of the Church History Department, Kyle McKay, and other General Authorities, visited the river to relive the spiritual significance of its first baptism site in the country.
McKay and his wife were accompanied by Victor Bassey and Elder Adeyinka Ojediran, the First Counselor in the Africa West Area Presidency.
The delegation from the Church headquarters was received by the Ikot Eyo Stake President, President William William, members of the Church, community leaders, and the Clan Head of Ubium, Etebom Ukpong Udoewa.
Speaking at the event, McKay emphasized the importance of the visit for the spiritual growth of the Church in Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria as a whole.
“We will continue to cooperate with the local tribes and the local authorities to preserve this place because it is special to us and to the people here,” he said.
“We feel something sacred at this place and among you people, and when I say ‘these people,’ I am talking about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as those who are not.
“We may not all belong to the same church, but we are of the same family, and I believe that God smiles the broadest when all of His children come together to share love, a vision, and Jesus Christ.
“We have a monument here, and I can say from experience and from what I feel today that surely the Lord is in this place. And this is not the first time the Lord has been in this place.
“He was here in the 1970s when the baptisms were performed. He was here decades before then when people were writing to the Church, pleading for missionaries to be sent. He has been in this place for centuries.
“The reason we build monuments like this and preserve them is so that we will remember what happened here—but most of all, so that we will remember God Himself and Jesus Christ, whom He sent.
“We remember this site with reverence and gratitude, not just for what took place here, but above all, because God is in this place.”
Earlier, the Clan Head of Ubium, Etebom Ukpong Udoewa, expressed appreciation to the Church leadership for visiting its first baptism site in the country.
He urged the Church to restore the aesthetics of the river and develop it into a site for spiritual tourism.
The event featured traditional displays, musical presentations, and the decoration of McKay and his wife in traditional attire.
