Edward Dube (born 12 May 1962) has been a general authority of

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) since April 2013. He is the first

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

an and the second black African to be a general authority.Stack, Peggy Fletcher
"New leaders named for Mormon young women"
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'', 6 April 2013. Retrieved on 22 February 2020. Dube was born in Chirumanzu,

to Clement Dube and his wife, Rosemary."Elder Edward Dube"
''

Liahona Liahona may refer to: *Liahona (Book of Mormon), in the Book of Mormon, a brass ball of "curious workmanship" that provided directions for Lehi and his party while traveling * ''Liahona'' (magazine), a periodical published by The Church of Jesus Chr ...

'', May 2013, p. 139. Dube was first introduced to the LDS Church when his employer, Leaster Heath, who he worked for as a servant, gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon. Dube first attended an LDS Church meeting in the Kwekwe Branch in February 1984, where he initially felt uncomfortable, feeling as if he was "in a servant relationship with most of the members of the branch". That quickly changed as he and branch members were able to share feelings about the Book of Mormon. He was baptized in August 1984.R. Scott Lloyd
"New General Authority: Elder Edward Dube"
'' Church News'', 20 April 2013. Dube has a diploma in education from the Zimbabwe D. E. College and studied entrepreneurship at the University of South Africa. Dube then worked for the

Church Educational System The Church Educational System (CES) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non–Latter-day Saint elementary, sec ...

, eventually serving as a country director for Zimbabwe and in other administrative positions. He also oversaw the expansion of seminaries and institutes into Zambia and Malawi.

LDS Church service

Dube served as a full-time missionary for the church from 1986 to 1988. He initially served in the church's South Africa Johannesburg Mission, which at the time included Zimbabwe, and then in the newly created Zimbabwe Harare Mission when the mission was split in 1987. Dube has served in the LDS Church as a branch president, district president and counselor in a

mission presidency 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 1999, Dube became president of the first

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organized in Zimbabwe. From 2009 until 2012, he served as president of the Zimbabwe Harare Mission. He was made an area seventy in 2012 and served for a year prior to becoming a member of the

First Quorum of the Seventy First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

on 6 April 2013. Dube was the first Zimbabwean to serve as a mission president. In August 2013, Dube began serving as second counselor in the presidency of the church's Africa West Area, taking up residence in Ghana and assisting in overseeing Church operations in that country and several other west African nations. In October 2013, Dube spoke in general conference. In his talk ''Look Ahead and Believe'' he reminded Latter-day Saints that "In the sight of the Lord, it is not so much what we have done or where we have been but much more where we are willing to go." A few years later he was assigned to church headquarters and moved his residence to Utah. Among these assignments was overseeing the ''Be One'' celebration of the 40th anniversary of the revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy males, along with

Joseph W. Sitati Joseph Wafula Sitati (born 16 May 1952) has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since 2009, when he became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He is the church's first black African ge ...

and Claudio R. M. Costa. In August 2018, Dube became first counselor in the presidency of the Africa West Area, thus returning his residence to Ghana. In November 2018, he participated in the groundbreaking of the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple. In August 2020, Dube became a counselor in the presidency of the Africa South Areaannouncement of 2020 area presidency assignments
/ref> taking up residency in South Africa, to assist in overseeing church operations in that country as well as about ten other countries, including his native Zimbabwe.

Personal life

Among those he taught as a missionary was the family of Naume Keresia Salazini, although she was later baptized by her brother who had previously joined the LDS Church. After his mission, Dube renewed his acquaintance with Salazini and they were married in 1989 in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe. They were

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in the

Johannesburg South Africa Temple The Johannesburg South Africa Temple is the 36th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). History In April 1981, LDS Church leaders announced the building of a temple in Parktown, Johannesburg, South Afr ...

in 1992. They are the parents of four children.

References

External links

Edward Dube: Latter-day Saint official profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dube, Edward 20th-century Mormon missionaries 21st-century Mormon missionaries Zimbabwean Mormon missionaries Zimbabwean general authorities (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) Area seventies (LDS Church) Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Living people Church Educational System instructors Mormon missionaries in Zimbabwe University of South Africa alumni Black Mormons Converts to Mormonism 1962 births People from Midlands Province Zimbabwean expatriates in South Africa Expatriates in Ghana Zimbabwean expatriates in the United States