When I bought the domain name www.people.africa, I intended it to be a website that profiles successful people of African ancestry.
Think of celebrities, entrepreneurs, politicians, among others.
I prayed for God to bless me and give me direction so that my site would be successful. I believed that as I put in the hard work, I would get traffic.
However, for four years, this site stayed without content.
Do you know why?
Because every time I prayed, I got the same answer:
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these other things shall be added unto you.”
I stalled.
For four years, I did not trust in the Lord.
How did I get this answer?
Immediately after I would finish with an Amen, I would be prompted, and in my mind, I would hear: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God”—in my own voice.
It wasn’t new.
My mom constantly reminds me of this phrase whenever I face life challenges. And whenever she prays for our household, she calls on God to remember His servants and proceeds to call us by name, declaring us preachers in the Kingdom.
She marvels at the idea that I am a priest and that I have a church calling.
But how does the gospel put food on the table?
People.africa seems like a very good domain to build a publishing business on—a path toward self-reliance.
The world is becoming more and more atheist. Religion is not “cool.” Spirituality is the thing.
Where will I get an audience?
How will I monetize the site?
How will I pay the bills by dedicating a very special domain I bought to God, to minister to the people of Africa?
Whenever most people achieve a goal and get a chance to give a speech, they often say, “Put God first.”
I prayed some more, and the answer has always been the same.
But each time, more refined, with a visual structure.
And it seemed bizarre to me( I think I have little faith).
Because logically, people.africa is a very special domain, and by dedicating it to inviting people to my faith, it would be biased, and I would leave others out.
As a Christian, I thought maybe I could dedicate a category to faith and have both Christian and Muslim discourse.
I did my research on Islam. I knew about Islam, as I have worked next to mosques and even lived next to one.
In fact, my son Kharim was born next to a mosque called Al-Kareem. The word in Swahili and Arabic means the same thing: generosity—a true testament to the circumstances surrounding the birth of our firstborn son.
So, after doing research to see if I could have a dedicated space for faith, on Christianity and Islam, I found out good things about Islam.
I even fell in love with Muslim music dedicated to Allah, the God of Abraham, the same God I worship.
However, I shelved the idea of having Muslim discourse on the platform.
Muslims are passionate believers in Islam and God’s messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him), and they are ready to defend their faith—as evidenced by the current state of Islam globally.
So, there is no room for error. What if the Muslim I approach to be a contributor makes a mistake?
I love Islam and admire the dedication of true believers.
But a wrong interpretation could offend believers and be misinterpreted as an attack on the faith. Social media evidence of consequences is enough.
I shelved that idea.
So, let’s just stick to what we know, where there is room for error.
Speaking of error…
Is it just me, or do most Christians seem to worship a God they do not understand?
Is that where the phrase “Sunday Christian” comes from?
A friend once called me a kafir, telling me I worshiped a God I did not understand because I did not read the scriptures diligently or memorize them like he was taught.
Well, my current faith insists on scripture study.
Does that mean I’m no longer a kafir when I diligently study the scripture?
I prayed. I prayed. I prayed.
I decided to try and implement the bizarre idea of putting God first.
Which means I could starve.
(O ye of little faith! — that was me. Or is that still me?)
A holistic wellbeing approach, guided by God.
And to do that, use the most comprehensive volume of Christian scripture available to guide 13 key areas of life that form a foundation for how we live, love, and become:
Faith, Mind, Body, Work, Money, Social, Civic, Family, Safety, Habitat, Leisure, Charity, and Intellect.
I’ve been hesitant. I think I have low trust in the Lord. I think I have little faith in God.
Yet I have a testimony—and my testimony is unshaken.
It was shaken by Brigham Young and those of his school of thought after him.
While the policy has changed, the belief still stands, and the damage still lives on.
People still struggle with their prejudices, but the scriptures have made me understand why.
We are different because the greatest commandment is love.
And God, in His infinite wisdom, decreed the greatest law to be love—and made us different.
Wow. A law is decreed, and a test is given.
I sustain Brigham Young’s calling.
Why?
As soon as I shifted my focus away from who runs the church to who leads the church, my testimony became solid—unshaken.
How do you do that?
By first focusing on the scriptures, and then the Holy Ghost.
I listen to the words of the prophet and call upon the Holy Spirit to discern.
For history has proven: man is not infallible.
Read your scriptures. You will understand the importance of obedience.
And appreciate the enduring faith of Black Latter-day Saints unshaken by prejudice-driven policies. But to understand them, you will have to understand the history of the United States of America.
They knew the attitudes of people leading the church, and the general population.
They instead chose to focus on the divine immortal, who had declared more than 2,000 years ago that the temple is open to all nations.
But the leadership at that time thought otherwise, reading scriptures through their already prejudiced lenses.
I believe the Book of Mormon is an irony.
I believe God, in His infinite wisdom, saw it fit to bring the scripture at a time of racial tension in America.
And it was interpreted at the time the way it was interpreted—and the bigger picture was forgotten.
The Book of Mormon lures prejudiced, holier-than-thou readers with microaggressions that mirror white supremacy into identifying with the Nephites, then subverts and reveals they are the ones actually being condemned, for their racist lens.
As an African, I have often struggled with the Book of Mormon’s seemingly outright racist teachings.
But now I know better.
I know many people blessed with melanin in its different shades struggle with the church’s past history.
This is why I say: I’m going to starve.
How do I use a domain name such as people.africa to preach holistic wellbeing guided by the most comprehensive volume of scriptures?
Scriptures associated with a church that has a prejudiced past with the very people I intend to minister to?
Why me, Lord?
Why my precious domain name that should be inclusive?
Clearly, I will not have an audience.
I have the right message for someone who understands and the wrong audience, because the majority will misunderstand and be reminded of the past.
But for four years, I have not moved.
For four years, the message has been the same.
The church numbers show that the uptake of the gospel in Africa is at an all-time high.
Is this a sign that people thirst—and I could help my brothers and sisters quench their thirst and clarify doctrine from policy, and vice versa?
Why such a burden?
Why me?
But I’m reminded of the worth of a soul. And the vision of Lehi—for our numbers will be few.
Those few I will reach.
And I trust I will not starve.
I’ve decided to obey.
Here, it is all about teaching 13 key areas of life, guided and rooted in scriptures, and ensuring what we provide is culturally relevant.
Welcome!