“And this gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people”. (D&C 133:37)
Patrick Mahongo Kasaka, elder brother of Ezchiel Samukala, found the restored gospel in Kinshasa, the capital city of Congo in 1999. He then brought the good news to his family in Kananga, a small town in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Three of the Kasaka brothers, Bertin Masansa, Crispin Kasulu, and Damien Muenyi joined Patrick in embracing the gospel, got baptized and together they began a unit in Kananga. But 16 year-old Ezchiel, the last remaining of the five brothers, wanted nothing to do with the gospel despite his family’s influence.
Notwithstanding Ezchiel’s doubt about the doctrine of the LDS Church, he never associated himself with any other denomination. He continued to search more until one day his elder brother, Bertin Mansansa, invited him to attend a sacrament meeting. After the sacrament meeting, Athanase Ngandu and Constantin Mukendi, who were branch missionaries, asked him if he would listen to the message of the Restoration.
He agreed to listen because, since he was a young boy, Ezchiel had a lot of questions on his mind. As the missionaries narrated the First Vision to him, he was touched to learn how the Lord restored His gospel through a 14 year-old boy, Joseph Smith. They asked him to ponder over the three main questions in the Plan of Salvation lesson:
1-where did we live before we came on earth?
2- what is our purpose in this life?
3-where are we going after this life?
And then he was to read 2 Nephi 2:25–27 & Alma 34:32 in the Book of Mormon.
He was amazed to receive answers to the aforementioned questions through these verses and was eager for the branch missionaries to teach him the other missionary lessons. Ezchiel enjoyed the lessons and had the conviction to be baptized in November 2007.
After some months, he was called as a unit mission leader preparatory to serve a full-time mission. He was called to serve in the Ivory Coast Abidjan mission in 2013.
“The two years have filled my soul with great spiritual experiences as I converted others into the Lord’s fold,” he said.
Ezchiel received his endowment in the Accra Ghana Temple while in the Missionary Training Center in 2013. He expressed his feelings about the temple this way: “I know the Temple is a unique place on Earth where I can feel closer to my Heavenly Father and receive His loving counsels.”
Ezchiel grew up in wisdom and in stature through his relentless effort to magnify his church callings. He first served as ward mission leader in his home ward (Kananga) for four years after
Zealous towards the gospel, Ezchiel continues to anxiously engage himself in church activities in Ghana, where he currently lives. He migrated to Ghana in 2015, to further his education. During his stay, he has served in many church callings and is currently serving as counselor in the Young Men presidency in the Teshie First Ward, Teshie Ghana Stake.
Ezchiel expressed his gratitude to the Lord for how the restored gospel has blessed his life. “I am so grateful to be part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which is the only true church upon the surface of the Earth. I am grateful for the Melchizedek priesthood that I hold in this difficult dispensation, to bless my family and other fellow travelers in mortality.”
