My spouse had a person reach out to him via social media today, saying that {the person} is in Egypt and wants to join the Mormon faith, but now his life is in danger, his family is rejecting him, and he needs help. My response to my spouse was that this man is far away and the best thing for him is that he get in contact with the church members or leadership closest to his physical location.
So off I went hunting for that information; there is a new Middle East/ North Africa regional church leadership as of last year (2022). I found the email contact information, so that when my spouse has contact again with the man, he can recommend that {he} email the church. This is all aside from whether the man is honest or not. Let's just assume his story checks out.
Anyways, as part of that search, I logged into my {LDS} account and saw the map of the congregation building locations and I was amazed at how many countries the Church is in. They are in most countries in the world, with at least some representation. (I tried to photograph the screen to share the map, but it didn't go well).
On the map there are red dots for each area with one or more buildings. The majority of dots of course are in the USA and other parts of the Americas, with other dots in Europe, Far East Asia and Australia area, South Pacific, and parts of Africa.
The countries where there were no dots were Cuba, North Africa (the Muslim dominated countries), most of the Middle East, most of the "-stan" countries in the Middle East and Central Asia (again dominated by Islam), a few in Southeast Asia, China, North Korea. That's pretty much it (Greenland is likely too cold and unpopulated to get a dot).
Some countries are under-represented when it comes to the gospel.
I suppose if more Latter Day Saints learned these languages, we could speak on Social Media to these people. Jesus was known as the Prince of Peace. Peace can be spread by being friends and sharing the gospel.
I call upon all Latter Day Saints to become Bilingual families. Speaking of the American Saints in the USA, I call upon all to learn Spanish next, if English is your first language. Prophecy and current events speak of the Remnant of Jacob peoples coming here. You will be at a future greater advantage over your fellow American if you speak Spanish, and they don't. This is all aside from Politics. It just has to do with being able to communicate with these people.
Some of you, if you feel moved to because you live in a state with a higher percentage of Natives, could learn an Indigenous Native American language for the purposes of sharing the gospel and understanding more about their cultures.
I also recommend that in every family if possible, there is one family member that learns a simple conversational level of a third language. This has to do with either sharing the gospel to the "rejecting countries" or perhaps to those which are (and I hate to say this in a way) the countries most likely to attack our country or our allies. Learn:
* Russian
* Chinese
* Arabic or Farsi (Persian/Iranian).
Note: It might be easier to learn Hebrew first and then branch into those of Middle Eastern languages. The Hebrew Alphabet in my opinion is easier to master than the Arabic script, and there are some similarities in the semitic languages. {The Jews also need to be taught the gospel, some of them will accept and our scriptures say we are to teach them.}
* Korean
Right now there is a political alliance which is more for economics, but we will see with the passing of time, where the chips fall. BRICS -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. In the future there may be other countries joining that alliance.
* Although there are parts of Africa that have the gospel, there is terrible poverty and starvation in some places. This goes hand in hand with increasing tyranny from their governments and radicals.
I call upon those who feel led, to learn an African language, or to encourage the Black communities here to learn an African language.
Other languages are useful too:
Portuguese,
French,
German,
Ukrainian or other European language
Sign Language
or any other language you choose to tackle.
Learning another language doesn't just give you a skill, it actually makes your brain more intelligent.
I hope you also learn something about that country, and take the opportunity to converse with first or second generation people that have immigrated here. If those people convert to the gospel, those people can also share with their relatives back in that country.
Read the Bible or Book of Mormon in another language when you have learned some vocabulary and grammar.
https://store.churchofjesuschrist.org/usa/en/new-category/gospel-study/scriptures/5637160370.c
Good luck!!
Becoming an undivided nation of "Gentile" Israelite believer + Jewish believer is part of the process. Since Joseph was given the land of the everlasting hills (Americas; Genesis 49:26) , we should hope for that unity of all tribes to exist on both continents eventually.
