Emanuel Abu Kissi (born 24 December 1938) is a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian medical doctor, founder of a medical clinic, and leader in

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). He was originally one of only a few black Africans to have 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 Jes ...

in the church. He was the official head of the LDS Church in Ghana during its "freeze" in 1989–90, and has worked extensively to increase interfaith relationships in Ghana.

Biography

Kissi was born in Abomosu, Ghana. He studied medicine in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1979, while completing training in surgery in

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

, Cheshire, England, he joined the LDS Church. After his return to Ghana, Kissi and his wife, Elizabeth, who is a nurse, established a medical clinic in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

which they named Deseret Hospital. The hospital at times has been aided by groups of LDS Church members from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He has also been involved with trying to coordinate humanitarian medical care by other doctors in Ghana. Kissi was among those featured in the film ''Lives of Service'' about Latter-day Saints of African descent. Initially after his return to Ghana, Kissi was a professor at Legon University medical school and was working as a general surgeon at Korle Bu Hospital. Marvin K. Gardner
"Ghanaian Branch President Visits Utah"
''

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

'', September 1981, pp. 74–75. The first Latter-day Saint he met in Ghana was Priscilla Sampson-Davis who was reading the

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

while waiting for treatment at the hospital.

Church leadership

By 1982, Kissi was serving the LDS Church as a

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 ...

in Ghana. He had also been 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 ...

, and in the late 1980s he was a counselor in the presidency of the Ghana Accra

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. Then in June 1989, the government of Ghana suspended all meetings of the LDS Church and expelled all foreign church representatives. Kissi was designated as the official head of the church in Ghana, a position he held until "The Freeze" was over in November 1990. At the same time, from 1989 to 1991, he was

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the Ghana Accra Mission. After this Kissi served the church as a regional representative, then as a counselor in the mission presidency. Kissi was serving as

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

of the Accra Ghana Lartebiokorshie

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 ...

before being called as an area seventy, a position he held from 2002 to 2007. In 2004, he spoke at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU) on the growth 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 ...

. Kissi was present at the groundbreaking of the

Accra Ghana Temple The Accra Ghana Temple is the 117th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). History The building of the Accra Ghana Temple was announced on February 16, 1998. Years before the temple was announced, LDS C ...

in 2001.

Publications

Kissi wrote ''Walking in the Sand: A History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ghana'', which was edited by Matthew K. Heiss and published

BYU Press Brigham Young University Press (BYU Press) is the university press of Brigham Young University (BYU). History Brigham Young University Press was formed in 1967 through the consolidation of BYU's various publishing activities into one central or ...

in 2004. It was reviewed by William Olsen. Kissi also has written a book review of ''Black and Mormon'' for ''

BYU Studies ''BYU Studies Quarterly'' is an academic journal covering a broad array of topics related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormon studies). It is published by the church-owned Brigham Young University. The journal is abstracted ...

''. An article by Kissi was published in the ''

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 ...

'' and ''

'' in 2004.Kissi, Emmanuel A.
"Book of Mormon Principles: Our Eternal Choices"
''

'', February 2004 p. 27
"Book of Mormon Principles: Our Eternal Choices"
''

'', February 2004, p. 27.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kissi, Emmanuel A. 1938 births Area seventies (LDS Church) Converts to Mormonism Ghanaian leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Ghanaian Mormon missionaries Ghanaian surgeons Ghanaian writers Ghanaian male writers Living people Mission presidents (LDS Church) Mormon missionaries in Ghana Patriarchs (LDS Church) Regional representatives of the Twelve Black Mormons Ghanaian expatriates in the United Kingdom English-language writers from Ghana