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    Papua New Guinea Click here for the Pacific Newsroom

    35,033

    Total Church Membership

    0.39% 1-in-256

    Population vs. Church Members

    2

    Stakes

    87

    Congregations

    10 Wards
    77 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

    736,701

    Members

    2,476

    Congregations

    Missions

    39Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    343

    Temples

    5Temples

    Asia

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    1,259,094

    Members

    2,110

    Congregations

    Missions

    45Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    363

    Temples

    8Temples

    Europe

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    500,239

    Members

    1,350

    Congregations

    Missions

    34Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    658

    Temples

    14Temples

    North America

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    9,489,479

    Members

    18,476

    Congregations

    Missions

    174Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    2,621

    Temples

    112Temples

    Oceania (Pacific)

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    587,462

    Members

    1,301

    Congregations

    Missions

    18Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    314

    Temples

    10Temples

    South America

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    4,232,425

    Members

    5,602

    Congregations

    Missions

    97Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    1,106

    Temples

    21Temples