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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in India

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in India
AreaAsia
Members15,224 (2023)[1]
Stakes4
Districts3
Wards21
Branches24
Total Congregations[2]45
Missions2
Temples
  • 1 Under Construction
FamilySearch Centers20[3]
The Book of Mormon in Hindi.
Logo of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hindi (above) and English (below).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has been present in India since the 19th century. As of 2019, there were local members, missionaries and multiple meetinghouses of the LDS Church in the country.[4] The church stated in 2023, that there are 15,224 members from India.[5]

History

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Joseph Richards introduced the faith to India in 1851, when he arrived in Calcutta. A small branch was organized in Calcutta, but most of the members migrated to USA. As per the church's policy, all members were invited to gather in one place, the main reason being that they wanted to build the church and strengthen the priesthood leadership. Though many members of the branch migrated to the US, a small group of members continued to have meetings in Calcutta, which still exists in there even today.

In the church's history in India, there were early missionaries who visited Madras (present day Chennai), Bombay (preset day Mumbai), and other places in India, who taught the gospel. In fact, there were missionaries visiting Taj Mahal in Agra and teaching the tourists, which was filmed in one of the videos, "The Ancient America Speaks," produced by the church in 1974. There were many events in church history in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. The golden history started in 1963 at Coimbatore. This was revealed by John Aki, then president of the Hong Kong China Temple during the year 2011. Some of the first families were sealed in the Hong Kong China Temple by Anthony D. Perkins, a general authority who was the president of the church's Asia Area at that time. Perkins anticipated that church membership in that part of India would grow.[6] The movement increased in India by 1993, when missionaries began proselytizing in Bangalore.[6]

By the beginning of 2000, there were 2,435 members in four districts and eighteen branches,[4] and in 2005, there were 5,951.[7] The church holds All India Young Single Adults (YSA) conferences with the goal of helping young members of the church find a spouse.[8]

By 2013, there were about 10,000 members of the LDS Church in India.[9] This number rose to 15,224 in 2023.[1]

Year Membership Congregations Districts Stakes
2000 2,435 18 4
2005 5,951
2013 10,000
2018 13,995 45 3 4
2022 14,961 45 3 4

During the church's April 2018 general conference, church president Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple would be built in Bengaluru, India. This was one of seven new temples announced at the time, and the first to be built in India.[10]

On December 2, 2020, the ground was dug into, in order to signify the beginning of construction of the Bengaluru India Temple by Robert K. William, a native of India serving as an area seventy.[11]

Stakes & districts

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in India is located in India
Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Bengaluru
Bengaluru
Chennai
Chennai
Goa
Goa
Rajahmundry
Rajahmundry
Hyderabad
Hyderabad
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam
Mumbai
Mumbai
Kolkata
Kolkata
New Delhi
New Delhi
class=notpageimage|
Stake Centers in India (February 2023)
Green = Stake
Orange = District
Purple = meetinghouse not part of stake or district

As of February 2023, the following stakes and districts were located in India:

Stake/District Organized Mission
Bengaluru India Stake 12 Dec 1980 India Bengaluru
Chennai India District 11 Oct 2009 India Bengaluru
Coimbatore India District 11 Oct 2009 India Bengaluru
Hyderabad India Stake 1 Mar 1988 India Bengaluru
New Delhi India Stake 19 Aug 1986 India New Delhi
Rajahmundry India Stake 20 Mar 2011 India New Delhi
Visakhapatnam India District 11 Oct 2009 India New Delhi

In addition to these stakes & districts, branches with meetinghouses that are not part of a stake or district are located in Goa, Kolkata and Mumbai and are part of the India New Delhi Mission. The India South Branch (Located in the India Bengaluru Mission) and the India New Delhi Mission Branch serves individuals and families not in proximity to a church meetinghouse.

Missions

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Mission Organized
India Bengaluru Mission 1 Jan 1993
India New Delhi Mission 1 Nov 2007

The India Bengaluru Mission covers Southern India, the Maldives, and British Indian Ocean Territory. India New Delhi Mission covers Northern India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Temples

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India was included in the Bangkok Thailand Temple upon its completion on 22 October 2023. On 1 April 2018, the Bengaluru India Temple was announced to be constructed, and ground was broken in December 2020. In addition to the temple, a two-level meetinghouse, administrative offices, a distribution center, and a patron housing facility will be built on the site.

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Location:
Announced:
Groundbreaking:
Size:
Notes: 		Bengaluru, India
1 April 2018 by Russell M. Nelson[13]
2 December 2020 by Robert K. William
38,670 sq ft (3,593 m2) on a 1.62-acre (0.66 ha) site
A two-level meetinghouse, administrative offices, a distribution center, and a patron housing facility will also be built on the site.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: India", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 4 June 2023
  2. ^ Excludes groups meeting separate from wards and branches
  3. ^ India Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved August 21, 2022
  4. ^ a b "Global Mormonism: Countries: India", GlobalMormonism.BYU.edu, Brigham Young University, retrieved 2014-05-01. This online source is a reprint, with permission, from: Garr, Arnold K.; Cannon, Donald Q.; Cowan, Richard O., eds. (2000), Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, pp. 537–538, ISBN 1573458228
  5. ^ "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: India", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 4 June 2023
  6. ^ a b Banan, Aastha Atray (10 March 2012), India's Own Mormons, OPEN Magazine, retrieved 2014-05-01
  7. ^ "Country information: India", Online Church Almanac, Church News, 29 January 2010, retrieved 2014-05-01
  8. ^ Trueger, Ian (2016-12-27). "How Mormons find love in India". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  9. ^ Stewart, Briana (23 April 2013), The LDS Church in India, LDS Living, retrieved 2014-05-01
  10. ^ Weaver, Sarah Jane. "In India, the story of the India LDS temple announcement is revealed". Deseret News. Deseret News. Archived from the original on April 20, 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  11. ^ article on ground breaking for the temple
  12. ^ {{citation|url=https://news-in.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-breaks-ground-for-bengaluru-india-temple%7Ctitle=Church Breaks Ground for Bengaluru India Temple|work=Newsroom|publisher=LDS Church|date=4 December 2020|access-date=23 October 2023
  13. ^ "Seven Temples Announced as April 2018 General Conference Closes: Mormon temples to be built in Asia, Europe, North and South America". Newsroom. LDS Church. 1 April 2018.

Additional reading

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