The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dominican Republic
 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dominican Republic | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Area | Caribbean |
| Members | 145,397 (2021)[1] |
| Stakes | 21 |
| Districts | 9 |
| Wards | 139 |
| Branches | 62 |
| Total Congregations[2] | 201 |
| Missions | 3 |
| Family History Centers | 33[3] |
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Dominican Republic refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members in Dominican Republic. The LDS Church has had a presence in the Dominican Republic since 1978. As of December 31, 2019, there were 143,870 members in 196 congregations in Dominican Republic[1] making it the largest body of LDS Church members in the Caribbean. It also has the highest members per capita rate in the Caribbean[4]
History
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1978* | 100 |
| 1989* | 19,000 |
| 1999 | 69,466 |
| 2009 | 110,036 |
| 2019 | 143,870 |
| *Membership was published as a rounded number. Source: Wendall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall, Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac Country Information: Dominican Republic[1] | |
On 7 December 1978, the Dominican Republic was dedicated for the preaching of the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints by Apostle M. Russell Ballard.[5] The first person baptized in the country was Rodolfo N. Bodden.[5] Bodden had been introduced to the LDS Church by his friends Eddie and Mercedes Amparo, Dominican Mormons who had joined the LDS Church in New York City and had since returned to their home country, and John and Nancy Rappleye, an expatriate American couple from Utah.[5] After his baptism, Bodden held several leadership callings in LDS Church in the Dominican Republic. He was a counselor to the country's first branch president and Bodden was the first district president in the Dominican Republic.[5]
The first mission of the church in the Dominican Republic—the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo Mission—was created in 1981 when there were 2500 members in the country.[5] By 1986, there were 11,000 members and the first stake of the church in the Dominican Republic was organized in Santo Domingo, with Bodden as the country's first stake patriarch.[5] The second mission in the Dominican Republic was organized in Santiago on 1 July 1987.[5]
Temples
On 16 November 1993, the LDS Church announced that it would construct a temple in Santo Domingo.[6] On 17 September 2000, church president Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple; it was the church's 99th operating temple and the first temple built in a Caribbean country.[6]
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| Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Dedicated: Size: Style: |
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic November 16, 1993 by Gordon B. Hinckley August 18, 1996 by Richard G. Scott September 17, 2000 by Gordon B. Hinckley 67,000 sq ft (6,200 m2) on a 6.42-acre (2.60 ha) site Classic modern, single-spire design - designed by Scott Partnership and Church A&E Services | ||
Notes
- ^ a b c "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Dominican Republic", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 3 September 2021
- ^ Total Congregations is the sum of wards and branches and does not include member groups which is a smaller and/or more temporary congregation of members than wards and branches.
- ^ Category:Dominican Republic Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved August 18, 2022
- ^ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics
- ^ a b c d e f g Dario Caminero, “Membership Milestone Reached in Dominican Republic,” Ensign, January 1996, pp. 78–79.
- ^ a b Santo Domingo Dominican Republic LDS (Mormon) Temple, ldschurchtemples.com, accessed 2008-09-29.
Further reading
- Rubalcava, Boanerges (1992), "Mexico and Central America, The Church in", in Ludlow, Daniel H (ed.), Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York: Macmillan Publishing, pp. 897–902, ISBN 0-02-879602-0, OCLC 24502140.
External links
- ComeUntoChrist.org Latter-day Saints Visitor site
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Official site
