05/09/2026
On June 14, 1989, the government of Ghana banned all activities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the country.
That day, police and soldiers wielding machine guns rushed into the Ghana Accra Mission home and ordered everyone to leave. Emelia Ahadjie, a mission secretary, courageously decided to stay.
“I stood bold, like Esther of old, and say, ‘If I perish, I perish’ (Esther 4:16),” she recounted. ”When they open the door, they were furious. ‘We told you guys to leave, and you are still here.’ I was afraid. How about if they shot me? How about if they beat me? I was looking straight into their eyes, tears running down my cheeks, but after saying the prayer silently in my heart, I was able to gather courage and told them, ‘I’m here because of you; if we all leave, who would you talk to?’”
Her husband, President Richard Ahadjie, who served as president of the Koforidua Branch at the time, went to the mission home but was not allowed to enter. He saw Ghana Accra Mission President Gilbert Petramalo surrounded by soldiers. Richard Ahadjie attempted to return home but was detained, escorted to the police station and placed in a cell.
“They said they need to take my reports. ‘What really are you people doing in your church?’” said Ahadjie, who was released but instructed to return to the station each day while police investigated the Church. “I felt so bad that through the worship of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, one would find himself in a police station in such a manner.”
Foreign missionaries were sent home, meetinghouses were locked, and Latter-day Saints were prohibited from assembling for worship. For the next year and a half, members were permitted to hold meetings only in their homes.
or the Saints in Ghana, this period became known as “The Freeze.”
Reflecting on the experience, Emmanuel A. Kissi, who served as acting president of the Ghana Accra Mission from 1989 to 1991, said, “Why shouldn’t we be free to serve our God?”
The Freeze is among several stories highlighting the importance and value of religious freedom in the “Voices for Faith” Church News documentary series on BYUtv. The first episode aired in April 2026.
The Freeze lasted from June 14, 1989, until Nov. 30, 1990. During that time, Richard and Emelia Ahadjie said, a member of their branch had a farm in the forest. They woke before 4 a.m. and walked miles to hold a small sacrament service in the forest each Sunday.
“By the time we get here, we are exhausted, but the sacrament has been prepared, and we see our brethren seated, the joy and happiness comes back, and we realize that, yes, we are doing what the Lord expects us to do as leaders of the Church and then also as Saints,” Richard Ahadjie said.
Added Emelia Ahadjie: “The Lord is mindful of His children, and so He provided a place for us to continue with our worship. We are marching forward with faith.”
At the same time, members prayed for the government to lift its restrictions so the Church could return to normal activity.
Emelia Ahadjie was permitted into the mission office because she was the only one remaining who understood how to use the telex machine, which was connected to a dedicated point-to-point telephone switch. It was capable of quickly printing text-based messages from Church headquarters in Salt Lake City or Europe Area headquarters in Germany.
She kept dialogue open among the government, local Church leaders and general Church leaders overseas, including the Europe Area president, Elder Richard P. Lindsay, and his counselors, Elder Alexander B. Morrison and Elder Robert E. Sackley, all General Authority Seventies.
Because of the time difference, Emelia Ahadjie said, she slept in the office — on desks. “It was very uncomfortable,” she said, but “the dialogue continued, and it went on and on and on.”
The government thought Church members might revolt, but they complied with the laws, said Prince Ankrah, a historian for the Church’s Africa West Area.
Eventually, the government recognized that it had been misinformed about the Church’s activities and operations.
“Somebody, out of haste, took a drastic decision, and all this came about. There was empirical evidence to the government that this is what they are saying, but this is what the Church is exactly doing. The government gave us a listening ear, and so we were able to satisfy all their questions in entirety,” Emelia Ahadjie said.
On Nov. 30, 1990, the government of Ghana announced The Freeze was over.
“The members were obedient,” Emelia Ahadjie said. “We waited on the Lord, and at the right time, He made all things beautiful.”
Members returned to church “with tears of joy, with gratitude for Heavenly Father listening to our prayers,” said Flint Mensah, a Latter-day Saint who experienced The Freeze...
Read more at ‘Voices for Faith’ Part 1: In defense of religious freedom – Church News
