Joseph Wafula Sitati (born 16 May 1952) 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 nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) since 2009, when he became a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He is the church's first

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n general authority and the second general authority of black African descent.

Peggy Fletcher Stack Peggy Fletcher Stack is an American journalist, editor, and author. Stack has been the lead religion writer for '' The Salt Lake Tribune'' since 1991. She and five other journalists at the ''Salt Lake Tribune'' won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Loca ...

"Spiritual satisfaction: Africa's 'Mormon superstar' is first black African LDS general authority"
''

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History A ...

'', 2009-04-17.

Early years

Sitati is a native of

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. He has a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in mechanical engineering from the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a collegiate research university based in Nairobi. It is the largest university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dates back to 1956, it did not become an independent univer ...

. He worked in the oil and gas industries (such as Total Oil) as well as for Reach the Children, for which he was also a member of their international board. Immediately prior to his call 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 o ...

in the LDS Church, Sitati was the church's director of public affairs in Africa.

LDS Church service

Sitati first attended the LDS Church in 1985 and became a member in March 1986. In 1989, he became the church's first

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 a ...

in Kenya.Gerald W. Jensen and Carolyn Jensen
"First stake in Kenya created"
''

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 t ...

'', 2001-09-29. He and his wife and children were the first Kenyans to go to an LDS Church

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. At that point, the LDS Church was not fully recognized in Kenya, so Sitati organized tight knit groups of nine to meet together in meetings because this was the most allowed by the laws at the time for unrecognized religions. Sitati also became 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 ha ...

in Kenya when the Nairobi Kenya Stake was organized in 2001. On 3 December 1991, 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 ...

, Sitati and his wife and children became the first Kenyan family to receive the church's sealing ordinance. In 2004, Sitati became 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 ...

of the church and in 2007 he became the

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 ...

of the

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 ...

Uyo Uyo is the capital city of Akwa Ibom in South South Nigeria. Ibibio is the language spoken in Uyo. It became the capital on September 23, 1987 when Akwa Ibom was created from the former Cross River State. According to the 2006 Nigerian Cens ...

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 ...

General authority

Sitati was still a mission president at the time of his call to the First Quorum of the Seventy in April 2009. He served as a counselor in the church's Africa West

Area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

from 2010 to 2013, residing in Ghana but overseeing church operations in seven countries with regular travel to many of them, and with supervisory oversight on any efforts to open and operate the church in another roughly seven west African countries. He then served for a time as an assistant executive director of the church's Temple Department. In October 2015, he gave a significant address on the LDS Church in Africa at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

's "black, white and Mormon" conference. Sitati spoke at the Sunday afternoon session of general conference on October 4, 2009, where he stated the LDS Church is a "global faith." Sitati spoke again in the April 2015 general conference on the subject of the commandment to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth, saying that God has not revoked this commandment. During the church's October 2022 general conference, Sitati was released as a general authority and given emeritus status. He also spoke during the conference.

Advisor assignment

After his time with the West Africa Area, Sitati was transferred to church headquarters and took up residence in Utah. Sitati became an adviser to the church magazines in 2014. In 2015, Sitati became the editor of the church magazines, succeeding Craig A. Cardon, who in turn succeeded Sitati as one of the advisers. Sitati also served as assistant executive director of the church's Priesthood and Family Department, and later as an assistant executive director of the Missionary Department and member of the boundary and leadership change committee. Sitati served as one of three general authority seventies who oversaw the work of the church's committee planning the "Be One" celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the priesthood revelation, along with Claudio R. M. Costa and

Edward Dube Edward Dube (born 12 May 1962) has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) since April 2013. He is the first Zimbabwean and the second black African to be a general authority.Stack, Peggy Fletcher" ...

Area presidency

From August 2018 to August 2020, Sitati served as a counselor in the presidency of the church's Africa Southeast Area, residing in South Africa but overseeing the church in about 15 countries with regular travel to many of them. In November 2018, Sitati, along with Neil L. Andersen, met with Kembo Mohadi, Vice President of Zimbabwe. In August 2020, Sitati became president of the newly created Africa Central Area, based in Nairobi, Kenya. The area had over 600,000 members of the LDS Church when it was organized.

Personal life

Sitati and his wife, Gladys, are the parents of five children. A talk she gave was the most recent and final in the book entitled ''At The Pulpit: 185 years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women''.

References

External links

General Authorities and General Officers: Elder Joseph W. Sitati"Elder Joseph W. Sitati,"
'' Liahona'', May 2009, p. 137
"Full joy found in principles of the gospel"
''

'', 23 May 2009 *

"Pioneers in East Africa"
''

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 ...

'', October 1994, p. 21
Black past remembered bio of Sitatiblacklds.org article on Sitati
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sitati, Joseph W. 1952 births 21st-century Mormon missionaries Area seventies (LDS Church) Black Mormons Converts to Mormonism Kenyan Mormon missionaries Kenyan general authorities (LDS Church) Living people Members of the First Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) Mormon missionaries in Nigeria Mormonism and race University of Nairobi alumni Kenyan expatriates in the United States Kenyan expatriates in Ghana Kenyan expatriates in Nigeria Kenyan expatriates in South Africa