David William Eka (born 20 May 1945 in

Etinan, Nigeria Etinan is located within the South South part of Nigeria and constitutes one of the Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Areas in the oil rich Akwa Ibom State. Known for its agricultural and arts craft products, the area forms one of ...

) was the first

stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine h ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. He was president of the Aba,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Stake Stake may refer to: Entertainment * '' Stake: Fortune Fighters'', a 2003 video game * ''The Stake'', a 1915 silent short film * "The Stake", a 1977 song by The Steve Miller Band from '' Book of Dreams'' * ''Stakes'' (miniseries), a Cartoon Netw ...

and is often regarded as one of the founding pioneer members of the church in Nigeria. Eka has also served as an

area seventy Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of Je ...

and as a

mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending on ...

in the LDS Church. Eka was born in

. He was the oldest of eight children of William Udo Eka and his wife Lucy Eduok Inyang Eka. His father was a carpenter. Eka himself was trained as a carpenter by his father. He was in his first year studying at a technical school when Nigeria was plunged into war. He committed to God that if he survived the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

he would devote his life to serving others. On at least one occasion he states that his life was saved by guidance from a divine voice which made him feel he was being preserved to do a later work for the Lord. Eka was first introduced to the LDS Church by an uncle, who had moved to live in the state of California in the United States and had then joined the LDS Church, in the early 1970s. His uncle had sent him a copy of The

book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

among other Church materials. In 1974, Eka married Ekaete Dennis Akpan. Starting in 1976 he pursued advanced education in England in instrumentation and control engineering while his wife also studied business and management. He often met

LDS missionaries Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and communi ...

in England but did not then join the church. LeBaron, E. Dale, "David W. Eka" in Garr, Arnold K.,

Donald Q. Cannon Donald Quayle Cannon (born 1936) is a retired professor at Brigham Young University who specializes in Latter-day Saint history, particularly early Latter-day Saint history and international Latter-day Saint history. As a young man, Cannon was a ...

and

Richard O. Cowan Richard Olsen Cowan (born 1934) is a historian of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and a former professor in the Church History Department of Brigham Young University (BYU). He was one of the longest-serving BYU faculty a ...

, ed., ''Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint Church History'' p. 325–327. Eka got his bachelor's degree in electronics engineering from

Teesside Polytechnic , mottoeng = Deeds Not Words , established = 1930 – Constantine Technical College1969 – as Teesside Polytechnic 1992 – gained university status , type = Public , endowment = £0.23 m (2019/20) , chancellor ...

. Eka is an engineer by profession. After returning to Nigeria, Eka joined the LDS Church in September 1979, less than a year after the first LDS baptisms in Nigeria. The baptism was performed by Spencer J. Palmer who had come on a short visit to Nigeria. Shortly after his baptism, he helped translate the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

into Efik. A short time after his baptism, Eka was called as a counselor in the Africa West mission presidency, and in this position under four mission presidents. Eka worked for Nigerian AGIP Oil Company Ltd. (NAOC) which he retired from as head of production support.''

Church News The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the ''MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is ...

'', 9 June 2007. Eka served as a

branch president A branch president is a leader of a "branch" congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The calling of branch president is very similar to the calling of bishop, except that instead of presiding over a ward, the ...

, counselor to four different mission presidents,

district president A district of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is a geographical administrative unit composed of a number of congregations called branches. A district is a subdivision of a mission of the church and in many ways is an ...

, and in 1988 became president of the newly organized Aba Nigeria Stake. In 1990, Eka became a Regional Representative of the Twelve Apostles. From 1997 to 2001 he served as an

Area Authority Seventy Seventy is a Priesthood (LDS Church), priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood (Latter Day Saints), Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priestho ...

. From 2001 to 2004 he served as president of the Nigeria Lagos Mission of the church. After the dedication of the

Aba Nigeria Temple The Aba Nigeria Temple is the 121st operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). History The intent to construct the temple in Aba, in the state of Abia, to serve the nation's 68,000 Latter-day Saints was ann ...

, Eka became a sealer in that temple. In April 2007, Eka was again called as an area seventy in the church. He was again released as an area seventy in April 2009 general conference. Beginning in 2019, Eka served as president of the

. Eka and his wife Ekaete are the parents of seven children.

Notes

References

* David William Eka, "Growing with the Church", in

E. Dale LeBaron Elwin Dale LeBaron (October 8, 1934 – December 3, 2009) was a Canadian scholar of the Latter Day Saint movement and a professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University (BYU). He is known for his work on the history of the Churc ...

(ed.) (1990). ''"All are Alike unto God": Fascinating conversion stories of African Saints'' (Salt Lake City, Utah:

Bookcraft Bookcraft was a major publisher of books and products for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). History In 1940, LDS Church president Heber J. Grant asked the church's ''Improvement Era'' magazine to compile his ...

) pp. 55–64. * Alexander B. Morrison (1990). ''The Dawning of a Brighter Day: The Church in Black Africa'' (Salt Lake City, Utah:

Deseret Book Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of bookstores throughout the western United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), the ...

) pp. 90–91. {{DEFAULTSORT:Eka, David W. 1945 births Alumni of Teesside University Area seventies (LDS Church) Converts to Mormonism Living people Mission presidents (LDS Church) Mormon missionaries in Nigeria Nigerian leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Nigerian Mormon missionaries Regional representatives of the Twelve Translators from English 21st-century Mormon missionaries Translators of the Book of Mormon 21st-century translators Nigerian expatriates in the United Kingdom Temple presidents and matrons (LDS Church) Missionary linguists