Gervais Gerard Zang was introduced to the Church when he was studying dentistry in France in 1989. He had been investigating many different religions, searching for answers to his questions about life. Eventually, he decided to simply study the Bible on his own.
When he met the missionaries, they gave him a Book of Mormon. Brother Zang explains, “As I read, I was surprised to see that these passages strangely resembled those in the Bible.” One of the missionaries helped him understand the purpose of the Book of Mormon by drawing a point on the chalkboard and asking how many lines could be drawn through that point. “Many,” answered Brother Zang. Then the missionary drew a second point on the board. He labelled the first point “Bible” and the second point “Book of Mormon.” With the two points, Brother Zang could see that there was now only one line that led to eternal life and remarked, “This interesting geometric lesson broke something loose in my head and unblocked my thinking.”
The first time Brother Zang attended Church in September of 1989, the ward was having their annual Primary Sacrament Meeting. He reports, “I was very impressed to see these children from 3-11 years of age speaking of the gospel while the adults listened attentively. At that moment, without having finished all the missionary lessons, I had the feeling that this Church was good for me.” He was baptized just a month later.
Brother Zang says one of the reasons he became a member of the Church was the Word of Wisdom. He knew it was a good law. But the law of tithing gave him a bit of a problem. “On reasoning it out logically,” he said, “ I figured that the money I saved by not drinking, I could use to pay my tithing! That was the way I was able to accept the law of tithing in the beginning. It was after that that I learned it is actually a law of prosperity.”
When Brother Zang returned to Cameroon after finishing his schooling in France, he looked for the Church. He discovered that there were three members and one senior couple in the capital city of Younde. Within a few months, however, three members of his family were baptized, and a month later the first branch of the Church in Cameroon was formed, with Brother Zang called as the first president.
Following the proverb that “slowly and surely wins the day,” Cameroon boasted over a thousand members in six congregations by 2009. Brother Zang testifies, “I know that God is good and that He loves us all. In order to get out of the difficulties we are in, it is necessary to learn and to make sacrifices. Then we will be blessed.”
Taken from Pioneers of Cameroon, Edith and Dan Baker, August 2009