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    Papua New Guinea Click here for the Pacific Newsroom

    36,626

    Total Church Membership

    1-in-

    2

    Stakes

    92

    Congregations

    10 Wards
    82 Branches

    2

    FamilySearch Centers

    2

    2

    Missions | 12 Districts

    History

    Church members visited Papua New Guinea long before the first missionaries arrived in 1980. The Port Moresby Branch (a small congregation) was organized 10 October 1979, with Athol Pike as branch president. Attending were mostly expatriates of Australia. Elder L. Douglas and Sister Eva Johnson of the Australia Brisbane Mission arrived 15 August 1980. On 19 October 1980, Maria Biai, Komara Nana, Sarah Nana, and Rhoda Baka were baptized. Some 63 investigators attended services the following Sunday.

    Elder Douglas Campbell and his wife Nita succeeded the Johnsons, and during their stay, property was obtained for a mission home and a Church building. Membership at that time had grown to 280. By October 1982, membership had reached 475 in three branches. Many of those converted had heard of the Church by word of mouth and contacted the missionaries to learn more.

    By 1983, five branches had been organized under the direction of mission president Dennis D. Flake. A Church building was completed in 1984. Also that year, two Papuans, Elders George Mauhi and Robert Goisisi, were called as full-time missionaries.

    Despite opposition, membership continued to increase. By March 1987, there were 1,450 members in nine branches. As the Church grew, more and more contacts were made in remote villages where many were interested in learning about the gospel. For example, residents of the Daru Village asked for missionaries, who arrived in July 1991. Just three months later, the Daru Branch had 160 members. During this short time, two full-time missionaries, Elders Brian Mott of Washington and Benjamin Lish of Ohio, were involved in the conversion of approximately 100 of the new branch members.

    District President Vaiba Rome, one of the early converts, led some 138 Papuans to the Sydney Australia Temple in late 1991.

    The Papua New Guinea Port Moresby Mission was created February 13, 1992. The Relief Society continues to make contributions to the branches. Some sisters have learned to read the scriptures through the Relief Society's gospel literacy effort. On 21 October 1995, Elder V. Dallas Merrell of the Seventy created the Papua New Guinea Port Moresby Stake (diocese), the first stake on the island. The stake had 2,200 members in six wards (large congregations) and one branch.

    For Journalist Use Only

    Richard Hunter
    New Zealand
    Phone:  64(9)488-5572
    Mobile: 64-21-240-7804

    E-mail

    Africa

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    791,837

    Members

    2,559

    Congregations

    Missions

    40Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    421

    Temples

    6Temples

    Asia

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    1,281,560

    Members

    2,103

    Congregations

    Missions

    45Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    368

    Temples

    8Temples

    Europe

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    503,692

    Members

    1,318

    Congregations

    Missions

    36Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    660

    Temples

    14Temples

    North America

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    9,551,107

    Members

    18,426

    Congregations

    Missions

    175Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    2,819

    Temples

    113Temples

    Oceania (Pacific)

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    591,950

    Members

    1,308

    Congregations

    Missions

    18Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    317

    Temples

    11Temples

    South America

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    4,269,273

    Members

    5,616

    Congregations

    Missions

    97Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    1,119

    Temples

    24Temples