Difference between revisions of "Missionary Work: Cameroon, Rwanda, Uganda, India, Dominican Republic, Thailand, Southwest Asia, Guam, and Missions of the Church"

Latest revision as of 14:22, 21 February 2024

As Missionary Work of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints progresses, this page will record updates.

Cameroon and Rwanda Dedicated for Missionary Work

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, left, Elder Paul Koelliker, center, greet Mayor Masini of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo courtesy Africa Southeast Area.

In August of 2009 Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the countries of Cameroon and Rwanda for the preaching of the gospel. Elder Holland is the first known apostle to visit the two nations. Elder Holland's Africa trip took him to seven countries in all, with the other stops on his itinerary being Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Elder Paul E. Koelliker of the Seventy and Africa Southeast Area president accompanied Elder Holland during his travels.

Elder Holland dedicated the country of Cameroon on August 21, 2009, on a green hillside overlooking Cameroon's capital city of Yaounde in the company of local church leaders. Later in the day, approximately 600 people gathered to hear Elder Holland speak at Yaounde's City Center.

Elder Holland dedicated Rwanda on Aug. 27 during a sacred moment on the top of a mountain overlooking the capital city, Kigali. Elder Holland's Africa trip began in Ethiopia, where he spoke to missionaries and held a large fireside. He then presided over a stake conference in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Kinshasa DR Congo Masini Stake was split to create the Kinshasa DR Congo Kimbanseke Stake — DR Congo's eighth stake. Nearly 2,700 members gathered in two meetinghouses with the conference being broadcast from one location to the other over a local cable channel. At the stake conference, 56 men were sustained to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. Elder Holland then took advantage of a layover in Nairobi, Kenya, to disembark and speak to the zone leaders of the Kenya Nairobi Mission. In Uganda, Elder Holland presided over a meeting of 1500 Latter-day Saints. Also in Uganda, Elder Holland paid a visit to the New Hope for Africa school and orphanage. Nearly 150 orphans ages 4 to 17 live at New Hope for Africa, where the Church is providing new living quarters and other supplies for learning. Elder Holland's travels wound down with a district conference Aug. 29-30 for the Mutare Zimbabwe District. Elder Holland called Africa "one of the bright, beautiful emerging frontiers of the Church." [1]

• Church Newsroom, "Elder Stevenson Testifies of Jesus Christ in Kinshasa, DR Congo

Stakes Formed in Uganda

The First Stake Presidency in Uganda

The first stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Uganda was organized on Sunday, January 17, 2010. Almost 1,000 members met at the Kololo meetinghouse in Kampala to sustain the new stake presidency. A stake patriarch, was sustained, enabling local Latter-day Saints to receive patriarchal blessings without having to travel to Kenya.

The organization of the stake in Uganda, the 25th stake in the Africa Southeast Area, had been long anticipated by the members, some of whom had been baptized in the mid-1990s. Uganda was assigned to the Kenya Nairobi Mission at its formation in 1991. Districts in Kampala and Jinja were organized in 1992. Missionary work has concentrated in those two areas, partly due to the more than three dozen languages found in the country.

Uganda comes from a strong Christian culture and the people often express their faith in Jesus Christ. In 2005, the Uganda Kampala Mission was formed, which includes the countries of Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Southern Sudan.

The New York Times published an in-depth piece about Latter-day Saint missionaries in Uganda. The article, written by Josh Kron, explained the transformative effect missions have on the young men and women who serve, meticulously follows the active day in the life of missionaries in Uganda and clarifies common misconceptions people have of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[2]

On January 22, 2017, a third stake was organized in Uganda by splitting the Kampala Uganda Stake, creating the Kampala Uganda South Stake. As part of the changes, the Kampala Uganda Stake was renamed Kampala Uganda North Stake. The second stake was organized on November 29, 2015.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited Uganda in January 2014. He was joined by Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy. Elder Dale G. Renlund was then serving as Southeast Africa Area President. Jean B. Bingham, then Relief Society General President, visited in February 2017 with Sharon Eubank, director of Humanitarian Services and LDS Charities of the Church.

New Delhi, India Sees Church Growth

Latter-day Saint Missionaries in New Delhi, India. Mike Terry, Deseret News.

The India New Delhi Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ (established in November 2007 and includes Northern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal) is seeing growth. It is the second mission in India. William K. Jackson presided over the India New Delhi Mission from 2009 to 2012. He and his family lived in India before, since he served as a physician with U.S. Embassies abroad. When they were first there in 1990, there was one branch in New Delhi, and it was almost exclusively expatriates (non-citizens of India). When they went back in 2002, there were two branches in New Delhi — almost exclusively Indian with just a smattering of expatriates. The India New Delhi Mission was established in late 2007. By the summer of 2009 the New Delhi mission had expanded to three districts that include 19 branches across its four countries. [3]

Growth in India in 2009

Growth of the Church in southern India was indicated by the formation of three new districts in the India Bangalore Mission on Sunday, October 11, 2009. They bring to five the total number of India districts in the Mormon mission, which also has a district on the island nation of Sri Lanka.

Leaders of the five districts and other leaders of the India Bangalore Mission in 2009

India Bangalore Mission President Melvin R. Nichols (2007-2010) conducted the organizing meeting that was broadcast via the Internet for viewing by members gathered in 14 meetinghouses in India and Sri Lanka. Elder Kent D. Watson of the Seventy, first counselor in the Asia Area presidency, oversaw the meeting linked by the Internet from Hong Kong. The meeting was attended by approximately 1,978 members, believed to be the largest gathering of Latter-day Saints in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in India.

The three new districts are located in the cities of Coimbatore, Chennai, and Vishakhapatnam, key cities in the region. There are two branches in the Chennai District, four in the Coimbatore District and six in the Vishakhapatnam District. The two original districts -- Bangalore and Hyderabad -- were organized in the early 1990s and have four branches each. Total membership in the five districts is slightly more than 5,300.

The Church of Jesus Christ in India in 2023

The first stake in India was organized in Hyderabad in 2012. Church membership in India, as of 2023, is close to 15,000. There are four stakes with 45 congregations.

Reflecting the growth of the Church of Jesus Christ in India, the Bengaluru India Temple was announced in April 2018 by Church president Russell M. Nelson. Construction on the temple began in December 2020 and is expected to be completed in early 2026. President Nelson stood before a large congregation of Church members in Bengaluru, India, as the fifth stop on his 2018 global ministry tour. He said: "Our plans were to announce six new temples at conference time. The Lord told me on the eve of conference: 'Announce a temple in India.'" He emphasized, "That was the Lord's doing."[4]

Until the Bengaluru India Temple is completed, the nearest temple for members of the Church in India is the Hong Kong China Temple, which was renovated from 2019 to 2022.

• Deseret News, "In India, the story of the India LDS temple announcement is revealed," by Sarah Jane Weaver
• LDS Living, "From Arranged Marriage to Temple Sealing: A Different Kind of Latter-day Love Story"

Church Growth in the Dominican Republic

In November, 2009, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited the Dominican Republic, a country that he had visited 30 years earlier when there were just a handful of handful of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there. At the time of his 2009 visit, more than 110,000 Latter-day Saints lived in the island nation. At the end of 2023, the Church had over 147,000 members worshipping in 203 congregations.

The temple in Santo Domingo was dedicated in 2000. It was the first Latter-day Saint temple built in the Caribbean and in the Dominican Republic.

The 2023 Church-wide youth theme video, "I Can Do All Things Through Christ," was filmed entirely in the Dominican Republic with an all-Dominican crew and actors.

• Religious Studies Center, "Senior Missionaries in the Caribbean: Opening the Islands of the Sea, 1978–90," by Clinton D. Christensen

• "Elder D. Todd Christofferson Spoke to Missionaries of the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West Mission"

• "International Day of Service: 150 projects, 55,000 beneficiaries"

Largest Latter-day Saint Meetinghouse in Thailand, MTC in Thailand

Gathered for the 2010 groundbreaking for the new Pakkret, Thailand, LDS meetinghouse are Bangkok Thailand Stake President Wisit Khanakham; Mr. Santi Chusri, Pakkret government officer; Thailand Bangkok Mission President Michael S. Smith; and Pakkret Thailand District President Surakkhaka Chaimongkon.

What would be the Church's largest meetinghouse in Thailand was under construction following a groundbreaking ceremony held January 23, 2010. The new building is on a major high-profile boulevard in Moeng Than Thani, a suburb of Bangkok. The 16,350-square-foot building accommodates three branches or wards with offices for the district presidency as well. The chapel has the capacity for 230 people, increasing to 1,000 when opened up into the cultural hall. There are 17 classrooms, and the building will be capable of housing a stake in the future. Besides a basketball court inside the building, there will be another outside on the grounds. Parking for 84 cars is available.[5]

According to Rittrong Wangsuwan of the Church's Thailand Physical Facilities Department, Thailand has 19 Church-owned meetinghouses plus 18 rental buildings for 42 congregations. There are four stakes in Thailand, as of the end of 2023.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opened a new missionary training center — its 10th worldwide — in Bangkok, Thailand, in January 2024.

The Thailand MTC is located in the annex adjacent to the new six-story Bangkok Thailand Temple, which was dedicated and began operations in October 2023.

The Thailand MTC will help accommodate the training of new full-time missionaries who are from Southeast Asia and other regions.

A History of Growth in Southeast Asia

Church growth in Southeast Asia is rooted in past wars in the area. During the periods of American involvement, especially in the war in Vietnam, thousands upon thousands of Americans have lived temporarily in Southeast Asia as part of military support staff and their families. "With the U.S. entrance into the Vietnam War, and the build up of U.S. military personnel in Vietnam that process was accelerated as we poured billions of dollars into the economies of Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, Korea and other countries and islands in the military theater of operation. It required logistical support of supplies and equipment both for the war and for reconstruction, and experts in all kinds of disciplines: infrastructure construction, military support facilities, telecommunications, teaching and training in modern industry and government, etc." [6]

U.S. personnel set up "facilities, bases of operations, supply depots, transit facilities, R&R travel and leisure operations, hotels, and countless other needed goods and services. Each of these disciplines – and hundreds more – required highly specialized personnel, training, and support facilities of their own. This multiplied the 150,000 actual troops “in country” in Vietnam at any given time by ten fold. In total, more than 3,000,000 U.S. servicemen and women served in Vietnam from 1959 thru 1975." Some of these people were Latter-day Saints. As residents of Southeast Asia converted to the Church, they became future leaders, as their children became future missionaries.

Among countries and territories in Asia, by far the largest increase in Church membership over 2011 through 2021 has been in the Philippines. The Philippines is also the Asian nation with the most members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, followed by Japan and South Korea.

Here are some statistics for the area:

New Stake Created in Guam

The new Barrigada Guam Stake was created under the supervision of apostle L. Tom Perry during a conference held on December 12, 2010. The creation of the stake means that local members have progressed to the point that they can fill all positions of service in their local areas. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no paid clergy. It's up to the members to fill every position in their congregations. When local leadership has not come to fruition, or numbers of members are few, then the mission and missionaries fill the slots.

"The first known members on Guam came with the U.S. armed forces during WWII, bringing groups of members to the island from 1944-45. During this time, membership grew and auxiliaries were organized within the Guam Branch. Meetings were held in military facilities, and later land was purchased and huts were used as a meetinghouse." [7]

In 1951, fundraising events by the members raised enough money to purchase land and two Quonset huts, which they used for a chapel and classrooms. The facilities were dedicated in 1953 and Guam became a dependent branch of the Oahu Hawaii Stake.

Missionaries arrived in August 1957. Buildings were constructed where the Latter-day Saints could meet, but the Guam Branch was part of the Honolulu Hawaii Stake (1970). In May 1976, the Guam Ward was divided. The first Chamorro couple to join, Don Calvo and his wife, Maria, were baptized in May 1977. The Agat Branch was created in 1978. And in 1979, Herbert J. Leddy, the first missionary of Chamorro lineage, was called to the Tennessee Nashville Mission.

The Micronesia Guam Mission was created on April 1, 1980, and selections of the Book of Mormon have been translated into Chamorro. Membership in 1995 was 1,400. Church membership in 2023 in Guam is about 2,500. Much of the growth has come from convert baptisms.

The Yigo Guam Temple, the first temple built in the Micronesia islands (and in the territory of Guam) was dedicated on May 22, 2022, by Elder David A. Bednar.

Missions of the Church

To accommodate rising numbers of missionaries (now at more than 72,000), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will open 36 new missions on July 1, 2024. This puts the total number of missions at 450 — the highest number in Church history.