India
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14,866
Total Church Membership
Population vs. Church Members
4
Stakes
46
Congregations
20
FamilySearch Centers
2
Missions |
History
The restored gospel reached India in 1849 through tracts from Orson Hyde and preaching by Latter-day Saint sailors. The first missionaries arrived in 1851. Over 300 Europeans and Indians joined the Church before the mission closed in 1856. A few members remained in the subcontinent into the 1930s, and three later missions to British India took place.
The first baptism in independent India took place in 1961, when Elder Spencer W. Kimball baptized Mangal Dan Dipty in New Delhi. Though a mission was not established at the time, people continued to find their way into the Church, “one of a city, and two of a family,” in different parts of the country (Jeremiah 3:14). For example, S. Paul Thiruthuvadoss was converted by a pamphlet he found in a used book store in 1954, and he began preaching the gospel near Coimbatore. In 1978 Edwin and Elsie Dharmaraju, expatriate Indians called as missionaries to their homeland, established a branch in Hyderabad.
In 1993 a mission in India was finally organized. Reactivation efforts, leadership development, and conversions led to a rapid increase in the number of branches. Visa restrictions limited the number of foreign missionaries, but local members helped carry the work forward, and Church membership in the country increased tenfold in the next 20 years, even as many members emigrated. The first stake in India was organized in Hyderabad in 2012.
For Journalist Use Only
Annie Wong
Wan Chai,
Hong Kong
Phone: 852-2910-2940
Africa
Total Church Membership
736,701
Members
2,476
Congregations
Missions
39Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
5Temples
Asia
Total Church Membership
1,259,094
Members
2,110
Congregations
Missions
45Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
8Temples
Europe
Total Church Membership
500,239
Members
1,350
Congregations
Missions
34Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
14Temples
North America
Total Church Membership
9,489,479
Members
18,476
Congregations
Missions
174Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
112Temples
Oceania (Pacific)
Total Church Membership
587,462
Members
1,301
Congregations
Missions
18Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
10Temples
South America
Total Church Membership
4,232,425
Members
5,602
Congregations