Georgia
246
Total Church Membership
Population vs. Church Members
2
Congregations
1
Family History Centers
History
Natives of Georgia, Roman and Nana Amirkhanashvili were baptized in Hanover, Germany in 1996. Shortly after their baptisms, they returned to Georgia. An American couple, John and Rebecca Dockery, who were working at the U.S. Embassy in T’blisi, met with the Amirkhanashvilis for Sunday worship services until returning to the United States in 1998. The Amirkhanashvilis eventually immigrated to the United States. However, Latter-day Saint involvement in Georgia goes back to the late 1980s.
Doris S. Platt, a Latter-day Saint living in Utah, befriended a Georgian woman, Maya Kavtatadze, who was visiting Utah in 1987. While visiting her Georgian friend in 1992, Platt became aware of Georgia’s meager and outdated firefighting equipment. She returned to Utah and was able to arrange for the donation of two retired fire trucks that were still in good working condition. National television broadcasts showed the fire trucks, with the Salt Lake City emblem still on the doors, responding to a bombing near Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze’s car in 1995.
In June 1999, Philip and Betty Reber were assigned as the first missionary to serve in Georgia. They could not proselyte but served as humanitarian missionaries, answering questions about the Church when asked.
While the Rebers were in Georgia, they met Vazha Natroshvili, a Georgian who had been baptized in Holland some years before. They began holding worship meetings in their home. People asked the Rebers why they were in Georgia, which gave the couple an opportunity to talk about the Church. Since the Church was not registered in Georgia, the first converts, the Mamasakhlisi family and an Armenian, Hike Bagdasaryan, were baptized in Yerevan Armenia, the closest mission location in September 1999.
In September 2002, the T’blisi Branch (a small congregation) was organized. At the end of 2003, there were more than 60 Latter-day Saints in Georgia. Converts were now allowed to be baptized in Georgia, the first baptisms in Georgia were performed in September 2003.
For Journalist Use Only
Sergei Antamanov
Africa
Total Church Membership
666,508
Members
2,327
Congregations
Missions
35Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
4Temples
Asia
Total Church Membership
1,230,515
Members
2,130
Congregations
Missions
44Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
8Temples
Europe
Total Church Membership
497,436
Members
1,374
Congregations
Missions
34Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
14Temples
North America
Total Church Membership
9,419,307
Members
18,256
Congregations
Missions
173Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
110Temples
Oceania (Pacific)
Total Church Membership
572,895
Members
1,283
Congregations
Missions
17Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
10Temples
South America
Total Church Membership
4,178,375
Members
5,570
Congregations