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    Iceland

    415

    Total Church Membership

    1-in-

    4

    Congregations

    0 Wards
    4 Branches

    1

    FamilySearch Centers

    1

    History

    Guðmundur Guðmundsson and Þórarinn Hafliðason, the first Latter-day Saint missionaries to preach in Iceland, were Icelanders who had recently converted in Denmark and returned to their homeland in 1851. After Þórarinn’s untimely death, Guðmundur preached alone for almost two years. In 1853, despite ongoing opposition, he organized a branch on the Westman Islands.

    Although Icelanders continued to join the Church, immigration to North America sometimes left Iceland with no established branches. Recent converts often led the Church with the assistance of Icelandic members who returned as missionaries. Missionary work in Iceland was discontinued at the outset of World War I.

    By the end of World War II, the Church had slowly rebuilt its presence in Iceland. U.S. servicemen stationed near Keflavík formed a small congregation in 1945 and began preaching the gospel. Several missionaries from the Denmark Copenhagen Mission were reassigned to Iceland in 1975, and a branch was organized in Reykjavík the following year. The Book of Mormon was published in Icelandic in 1981, and the first meetinghouse constructed in Iceland was dedicated in 2000. A branch was organized in Selfoss in 2007.

    Although the number of Church members in Iceland remains small, Icelandic Saints form a close-knit community and recognize that “the body hath need of every member, that all may be edified together” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:110).

    For Journalist Use Only

    Gerhard Gudnason
    Reykjavik,
    Iceland
    Phone:  +354-690-6075

    Africa

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    849,568

    Members

    2,721

    Congregations

    Missions

    45Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    423

    Temples

    6Temples

    Asia

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    1,298,181

    Members

    2,113

    Congregations

    Missions

    45Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    402

    Temples

    10Temples

    Europe

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    507,748

    Members

    1,296

    Congregations

    Missions

    35Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    663

    Temples

    14Temples

    North America

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    9,637,503

    Members

    18,423

    Congregations

    Missions

    175Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    3,054

    Temples

    120Temples

    Oceania (Pacific)

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    599,065

    Members

    1,308

    Congregations

    Missions

    17Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    318

    Temples

    11Temples

    South America

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    4,320,129

    Members

    5,629

    Congregations

    Missions

    97Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    1,355

    Temples

    25Temples