Rwanda
1,537
Total Church Membership
9
Congregations
1
Missions |
History
In the 1980s and 1990s Church records listed up to seven members of the Church living in Rwanda, but individual Latter-day Saints were living without a Church organization in the country. In the early 2000s that changed as members began meeting regularly in Kigali. Nelson and Sapna Samuel, two returned missionaries from Bangalore, India, who had migrated to Rwanda, hosted early group meetings. When the first branch was organized in 2008, many of the members—including Fabien Hatangimbabazi, Yvonne Martin, Jean Marie and Agathe Rumanyika, and Ruth Opar—were Rwandans who had joined the Church in other countries and returned to their home country.
Though the Rwandan government put a moratorium on the registration of new churches that same year, Church members and leaders pressed forward in faith to prepare for the future. In 2009 Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated Rwanda for the preaching of the gospel, and in 2010 the country accepted a humanitarian missionary couple. Over the next few years, a wider range of Church programs was introduced, translation of Church literature to Kinyarwanda began, and Jackson Ndayambaje became the first missionary called from Rwanda. The Church finally received government recognition in 2013. By 2019 there were four branches in the Kigali Rwanda District.
Africa
Total Church Membership
849,568
Members
2,721
Congregations
Missions
45Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
6Temples
Asia
Total Church Membership
1,298,181
Members
2,113
Congregations
Missions
45Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
10Temples
Europe
Total Church Membership
507,748
Members
1,296
Congregations
Missions
35Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
14Temples
North America
Total Church Membership
9,637,503
Members
18,423
Congregations
Missions
175Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
120Temples
Oceania (Pacific)
Total Church Membership
599,065
Members
1,308
Congregations
Missions
17Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
11Temples
South America
Total Church Membership
4,320,129
Members
5,629
Congregations