As Missionary Work of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) 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 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]
New Delhi, India Sees Church Growth[]
Mormon Missionaries in New Delhi, India. Mike Terry, Deseret News.
The recently established India New Delhi Mission of the Church (which includes Northern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal) is seeing growth. William K. Jackson currently presides over the India New Delhi Mission. He and his family have 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. [2]
Growth in India[]
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.
India Bangalore Mission President Melvin R. Nichols 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 W. 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 Mormons in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in India.
Leaders of the five districts and other leaders of the India Bangalore Mission
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.
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. Today more than 110,000 Mormons live in the island nation and the Church continues to grow rapidly there as in many other parts of the world. A video posted on Newsroom today highlights Elder Ballard's visit. [3]