Confession of Faith: Kimberley Banjoko is a Latter-day Saint

Confession of Faith: Kimberley Banjoko is a Latter-day Saint

The model and actress who has shown interest in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for some time now is baptized and ready to be endowed. What impact will this have on her life and her relations?

The world is full of different religious beliefs with very varied values and characteristics; in all of them the salvation of the soul is important and the precepts and values that make up the different beliefs are varied. Only in Christianity there are many denominations that coexist with each other despite their differences, so believers must choose between one of them. Model and actress Lady Kimberley Banjoko is no exception to religious life and has reportedly found a home in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an interest filled with circumstances that define her interest in being a Mormon.

Origins

We all believe in something, so evidently Kimberley practiced a religion before converting to Mormonism, this was Catholicism, a religion instilled by her family in which she grew up and was raised, because in addition to attending mass every Sunday, during her youth she studied in Catholic institutions, where she collaborated with the community doing works of Charity. Kimberley was always interested in theology and in her own words religion was her favorite subject in school, where she always got good grades, but along with it, days like Easter and Christmas had a special place in her heart, not as commercial dates, but as religious holidays.

But not everything was perfect and Catholicism was made up of some things that Kimberley could not understand or at least, with which she does not feel identified. She felt that Catholicism was outdated in some aspects; she believed it was impossible that Christ had not returned since biblical times. Ideas like drinking wine in church or making offerings in the middle of the service seemed foreign to her, and it wasn't until she moved to Utah that she discovered something that she identified with.

Latter-Day Saints

Kimberley settled in Salt Lake City for work, an opportunity at a talent agency. There she discovered something that she had never been able to know: the Mormons.

Utah is the seat and the place with the highest concentration of Mormons in the entire United States, a religion founded by Joseph Smith. When Kimberley lived in New York she had no contact with these people and she was unaware of their activities, although when she was 17 years old she was visited by some missionaries in her house to which she told them that she was Catholic. Everything changed when she was in Utah, she participated in a photo session with a photographer who was interning at the operations department at the Church who told her about the grace of the religion and even offered to be visited by some missionaries. Kimberley, like many other people, had wrong ideas about Mormons, from absurd beliefs to scandals, the image of the church has been attacked on multiple occasions, however, they are kind people who, being considered strange or sectarian, are attacked by detractors, who invent rumors or establish false ideas about this Christian denomination.

But Kimberley was not carried away by these rumors or lies, she was delighted with the religion and soon began to learn more with the help of the missionaries and even attended the temple, where she was delighted with the benefits of this religion and was even able to discover the Book of Mormon: one of the most sacred texts of this church, which finally answered the many questions that Kimberley had, regarding biblical events after Jesus.

The baptism

Kimberley's baptism has been a very controversial and hidden event, because in addition to being kept secret initially, the actress had not been baptized despite being an active member in the religious community. In her own words, her baptism took so long because she wanted to be sure of what she was doing, she wanted to know the community completely and make sure that it was what she wanted, and for that it was necessary to first know the church from within and their leaders.

The baptism finally took place in May 2021, a private ceremony in a chapel in downtown Salt Lake City and recently completed a set of proxy baptisms earlier this year, for which she is already very involved in the religion. For now, her assigned temple is closed for repairs, but she maintains an active life in the community with religious fervor.

Obviously due to her show business responsibilities, Kimberley is unable to serve as a full-time missionary; however, she is currently eligible for short-term missions without the need to settle in a new location. Another way she plans to contribute to the religious community is through her own image: she is interested in contributing her talent to productions and brands related to the church.

The hard thing about being a Mormon

Although Utah is the epicenter of the Mormon community, believers in this state continue to be victims of discrimination and attacks simply because of their beliefs. Kimberley has already been the victim of one of these attacks, because according to her, while she was meeting in a cafe with missionaries, a troublemaker saw them pray and aggressively she demanded that they stop praying. This person became much more aggressive to the point of trying to throw coffee at them, so Kimberley and the missionaries opted to leave.

This is just a sample of the day-to-day life of Mormons, but there are also many misconceptions that fuel resentment towards the church even more, these misconceptions range from calling them racist, worshiping Joseph Smith, practicing polygamy or even worshiping a “Mormon god”. The list is long, but all errors contribute to the exclusion and discrimination of believers. Other misconceptions include saying they don't dance, don't use birth control, don't believe in the Bible, and even practice strange rituals. All these are baseless attacks.

Of course, although Kimberley feels safe and represented in this church, there are some things she doesn't like about this belief, such as, for example, that it takes too much time from members, especially someone as busy as she is. Also the fact that women do not hold the priesthood authority and that it excludes those who are not members of the church, such as the fact that they are not allowed entering events such as temple weddings.

The wedding 

One of the biggest unknowns regarding Kimberley's baptism is the fate of the wedding with her high-profile long term boyfriend. His own family believes that it is a mistake to be baptized in this religion and he himself does not know much about it, except for some warnings from friends who assure that Kimberley is "trapped in a sect" the truth is that she is happy and this change will not affect the wedding, since his family requires being a Christian without explicitly mentioning which denomination must be practiced in order to marry. 

Kimberley is able to convert back to Catholicism in order to get married; but this would not be accepted by the Mormon Church since it would not accept disaffiliation from this religion, since abandoning it would have negative consequences, both spiritual and social being a victim of stigma and losing contact with members of the church, as well as being able to attend events. As stated above, the his family accepts any Christian denomination; however, the Mormon Church discourages mixed faith marriages, prompting believers to convert their partner so that both can enjoy the heavenly celestial kingdom. Would he be able to convert to Mormonism? It seems a very difficult scenario and both parties are in a critical relationship regarding their possible future together.

Meanwhile, she wants her fans to know the importance of spiritual enrichment and having a meaningful life from the hand of God, because with Christ everything is possible. What she likes most is being part of a united and global community based on faith, capable of working together for spiritual good. Missions, temples, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the doctrine of spiritual revelation are some of the things she loves most about this religion.

More details coming soon 

Although Kimberley witnessed her faith to the world with her baptism, she is expected to participate in a televised interview later this year where the media expects her to reveal more details about her new belief and lifestyle. Being a new devout woman she is also expected in this space to teach others about her faith and she can answer many misconceptions as well as collaborate with church websites and blogs to spread the message of faith.

Of course, everything is not rosy, because it is enough to remember the attacks that Kimberley has faced in the past in a desperate attempt to sell news and win visits by publishing information, often false and defamatory about her. It is possible that this new belief will lead to negative attacks by the media, who only know the misconceptions and false ideas about Mormons and take advantage of people's ignorance to sell false news for profit, causing damage to the image of Kimberley in the process.

Trajectory in danger

Kimberley fans have already rushed in and fear that this new belief will have consequences for the entertainment world and its projects. The actress has already stated that The Lady Kimberley Banjoko Foundation will have no relationship with the church; however, she does not rule out the idea of collaboration and help to Mormons around the world. 

But the real problem is in the modeling catwalk, because some precepts of the church do not support the idea of publicly displaying your body, which would be against the scriptures and the gospel. Even if she were limited to modeling only in appropriate clothes, it would be difficult as the opportunities are limited with this requirement. Although this may cause disappointment in some fanatics, it is what Kimberley believes correct, an idea that is more useful for society, because she could contribute to the welfare of society and alleviate human suffering instead of choosing a high salary in exchange for showing her body. This does not mean that Kimberley is going to change, but her priorities now are focused on doing good and serving society, and any follower of Kimberley that really admires her would be proud with this decision.

Following the path of God

Kimberley's conversion may be a media event with consequences in her life. However, at all times we must remember that it is a personal decision: she is the one who makes her own decisions, and has decided to follow God's path, accepting her call to do good and make the world a better place.

It is evident that not everyone is happy with this decision and that they will not accept it so easily, but she is happy, and this is always what is important. We do not know what her future holds, but what we do know is that she will get ahead with the support of a new community, with some changes; she will continue to offer and be someone important in the entertainment world.