Article about the Church in Africa on MSNBC.com

An interesting article on the church is up on MSNBC.com today. they do a pretty good job being fair and open-minded. There are very nice quotes form Nigerian members of the church too, and glimpse into what the church is like over there. Also a few interesting statistics. (I'm quoting from the article):

• The church has more than 250,000 members in Africa, including almost 80,000 in Nigeria
• More than 8,400 Mormon churches or meetinghouses abroad, with a new one built nearly every day.
• Among the places the church says it is particularly vibrant are Brazil and Mexico which have about 1 million Mormons each, and the Philippines, with nearly 600,000.
• More than 220,000 people a year [are] baptized abroad into the Mormon Church -- four times the 54,000 annual baptisms in the United States.

One of the members had some particularly good things to say:

Joshua Matthews Ebiloma . . . said the Mormons offered him "peace of mind" he had not found anywhere else.

Nigeria is half Muslim and almost half Christian, and proselytizing foreigners, from the United States to Saudi Arabia, are pouring millions of dollars into the African nation of 135 million to expand their faiths.

Ebiloma has sampled a range of them. He was born into a pagan family and still bears the scars of tribal markings carved into his cheeks when he was young. After attending Muslim schools as a child, he tried various Christian churches before finding what he described as "happiness and peace" in Mormonism.

Now, Ebiloma nodded and smiled as fellow Mormons told their stories. [in testimony meeting]

"It is quiet and more organized in here," Ebiloma said later. "In other churches, people are shouting at the top of their lungs, sweating so much they need a hanky. One thing I know for sure: God is not deaf." . . .

Ebiloma said that five years ago, curious about this new church, he jumped off a city bus and walked into the buildings of tile and marble. He immediately liked what he heard inside, especially that no one preached that people of other faiths were going to hell. He had soured on the many Christian pastors he saw growing rich on collection-plate cash and admired the fact that Mormon church leaders are largely unpaid and support themselves with other jobs.

Abstinence from alcohol, another church practice, was a tougher sell. But gradually, with the help of his favorite part of the church -- regular home visits from missionaries and other members -- he abandoned Guinness, his favorite drink and one heavily advertised in Nigeria.

Now, the affable father of two said, he even tries to obey the church's no-caffeine rule. Tugging proudly at his belt, he said he had dropped 50 pounds and now weighs a trim 165. "I am so happy," he said. "I am at peace."

"If you are bereaved or you have a new baby or you don't have money to pay your hospital bills, church members rally around you," he said, smiling. "You tell me: Is this a church I should leave?"

Amen.