News Release

First Presidency Welcomes Bulgarian Leader to Temple Square

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints welcomed Georgi Panayotov, Ambassador of Bulgaria to the United States, to the Church Administration Building on Temple Square on Thursday, November 14, 2024.

Ambassador Panayotov has served in his current position since May 2022. He has held various posts in Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in NATO’s foreign affairs department. He was also the permanent representative of Bulgaria to the United Nations.

Ambassador Panayotov’s visit to Utah includes stops at Welfare Square, the FamilySearch Library, Brigham Young University, the Provo Missionary Training Center and a dinner with Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially registered in Bulgaria in 1991. The Book of Mormon was published in Bulgarian in 1999, and meetinghouses were dedicated in Sofia and Plovdiv in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Today the country is home to about 2,400 Latter-day Saints in seven congregations.

Visit this page for additional history of the Church of Jesus Christ in Bulgaria.

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