The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sierra Leone

As of January 1, 2011, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 8,907 members in two districts, 23 branches,[1] and one mission, in Sierra Leone.[2][3]

History

The first official meeting of the LDS Church in Sierra Leone was held in Goderich in January 1988. The first LDS missionaries arrived in May of that year. They were under the Liberia Monrovia Mission. A district was organized in Freetown in 1990. At various times in the 1990s missionaries were withdrawn due to the civil war in the country. In 1991 The Liberia Monrovia Mission was discontinued and Sierra Leone was placed under the Accra Ghana Mission. The first LDS built meetinghouse in the country was completed in Bo in 2004. In 2007 the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission was created covering both Sierra Leone and Liberia.[4] In December 2012 Jeffrey R. Holland created the first LDS stake in Sierra Leone in Freetown. In 2013 Liberia was split off to be its own separate mission.

A brief history can be found at LDS Newsroom (Sierra Leone) or Deseret News 2010 Church Almanac (Country Information: Sierra Leone)

Membership history

Year Membership[5]
1988 12
1989 200a
1993 1,900a
1995 2,400a
1999 3,564b
2004 5,712b
2009 8,054c
2012 10,084c
2014 13,078[6]

Stakes

The Freetown Sierra Leone Stake was organized on December 2, 2012 making it the 3,000th stake in the LDS church.[7][8]

Stake

Districts

Missions

2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak

After two LDS Church members died during the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the LDS Church required its missionaries remain in their apartments as a precautionary measure.[10][11] Then on August 1, 2014 the LDS Church announced that it would transfer all of its 274 missionaries out of Sierra Leone and Liberia, thereby closing the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission for the duration of the outbreak.[10][11][6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ LDS Meetinghouse Locator.Nearby Congregations (Wards and Branches).
  2. ↑ "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Sierra Leone", Newsroom, LDS Church, 31 December 2011, retrieved 2012-12-03
  3. ↑ "Country information: Sierra Leone", Church News Online Almanac, Deseret News, January 29, 2010, retrieved 2012-10-18
  4. ↑ Church News, 2010 Edition, p. 571
  5. ↑ "Country information: Sierra Leone", Deseret News Church Almanac (multiple almanacs from various years), Deseret News
  6. 1 2 Walch, Tad (1 August 2014). "Ebola outbreak prompts evacuation of LDS missionaries from two African nations". Deseret News. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  7. ↑ Historic milestone: Sierra Leone stake marks LDS Church's 3,000th, Deseret News, December 2, 2012, retrieved 2012-12-03
  8. ↑ "Country information: Sierra Leone", Church News, Deseret News, December 2, 2012, retrieved 2012-12-03
  9. ↑ "New missions bring total to 347 missions", Church News, Deseret News, February 10, 2007, retrieved 2012-12-03
  10. 1 2 "Official Statement: Missionaries Serving in Two African Nations are Reassigned". Church News. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. a August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. 1 2 Stack, Peggy Fletcher (a August 2014). "Mormon missionaries leaving Sierra Leone and Liberia". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 5 August 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

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