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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sierra Leone

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sierra Leone
AreaAfrica West
Members31,080 (2023)[1]
Stakes9
Districts2
Wards66
Branches24
Total Congregations[2]90
Missions1
Temples
  • 1 Under Construction
FamilySearch Centers15[3]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sierra Leone refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members in Sierra Leone. In 2022, Sierra Leone ranked as having the third most LDS Church members per capita in Africa, behind Cape Verde and Liberia.[4]

History

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Membership in Sierra Leone[5][1]
YearMembership
198812
1989*200
1995*2,400
19993,564
20045,712
20098,054
201413,078
201922,787
202228,867
*Membership was published as a rounded number.

The first official meeting of the LDS Church in Sierra Leone was held in Goderich in January 1988, with the first LDS missionaries arriving in May of that year. They were under the Liberia Monrovia Mission. A district was organized in Freetown in 1990. At various times in the 1990s, missionaries were withdrawn due to the civil war in the country. In 1991, the Liberia Monrovia Mission was discontinued and Sierra Leone was placed under the Accra Ghana Mission. The first LDS-built meetinghouse in the country was completed in Bo in 2004. In 2007, the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission was created covering both Sierra Leone and Liberia.[6] In December 2012, Jeffrey R. Holland created the first LDS stake in Sierra Leone in Freetown. In 2013, Liberia was split off to be its own separate mission.

A brief history can be found at Deseret News 2010 Church Almanac (Country Information: Sierra Leone)

Stakes and districts

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The Freetown Sierra Leone Stake was organized on December 2, 2012, making it the 3,000th stake in the LDS Church.[7][8] As of November 2024, Sierra Leone had the following stakes and districts:[9]

Stakes and Districts

Stake/District Organized Mission
Bo Sierra Leone Durba Stake 20 Oct 2024 Sierra Leone Bo
Bo Sierra Leone East Stake 1 Jun 2014 Sierra Leone Bo
Bo Sierra Leone North Stake 27 Nov 2016 Sierra Leone Bo
Bo Sierra Leone West Stake 28 Feb 1992 Sierra Leone Bo
Freetown Sierra Leone Stake 5 Nov 1991 Sierra Leone Freetown
Freetown Sierra Leone East Stake 3 Dec 2017 Sierra Leone Freetown
Freetown Sierra Leone Hill Station 10 Dec 2023 Sierra Leone Freetown
Kenema Sierra Leone Stake 25 Nov 2012 Sierra Leone Bo
Kissy Sierra Leone Stake 21 Aug 2011 Sierra Leone Freetown
Kossoh Town Sierra Leone Stake 16 Mar 2014 Sierra Leone Freetown
Makeni Sierra Leone District 21 May 2017 Sierra Leone Freetown
Moriba Town Sierra Leone District 26 Jun 2022 Sierra Leone Bo
Wellington Sierra Leone Stake 10 Oct 2021 Sierra Leone Freetown

Congregations in Sierra Leone not part of a stake or district include:

  • Kapeteh Branch
  • Koidu Branch
  • Moyamba Branch
  • Sierra Leone Freetown Mission Branch

The Sierra Leone Freetown Mission Branch serves families and individuals in Sierra Leone that is not in proximity of a meetinghouse.

Missions

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  • Sierra Leone Freetown, organized on July 1, 2007[10]
  • Sierra Bo, organized in June 2024

2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak

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After two of its members died during the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the LDS Church required its missionaries to remain in their apartments as a precautionary measure.[11][12] Then on August 1, 2014 the LDS Church announced that it would transfer all of its 274 missionaries out of Sierra Leone and Liberia, thereby closing the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission for the duration of the outbreak.[11][12][13]

Temples

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On October 5, 2019, the Freetown Sierra Leone Temple was announced by church president Russell M. Nelson.

Map
edit
Location:
Announced:
Groundbreaking:
Size: 		Freetown, Sierra Leone
5 October 2019 by Russell M. Nelson[14]
19 March 2022 by Hugo E. Martinez[15]
18,000 sq ft (1,700 m2) on a 2.9-acre (1.2 ha) site

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Sierra Leone", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 15 June 2023
  2. ^ Excludes groups meeting separate from wards and branches
  3. ^ Sierra Leone Family History Centers Map, familysearch.org, retrieved 15 June 2023
  4. ^ Membership statistics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  5. ^ Wendall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall, Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac Country Information: Sierra Leone
  6. ^ Church News, 2010 Edition, p. 571
  7. ^ Historic milestone: Sierra Leone stake marks LDS Church's 3,000th, Deseret News, December 2, 2012, archived from the original on December 6, 2012, retrieved 2012-12-03
  8. ^ "Country information: Sierra Leone", Church News, Deseret News, December 2, 2012, retrieved 2012-12-03
  9. ^ "Accra Ghana Temple District", churchofjesuschristtemples.org, retrieved February 21, 2022
  10. ^ "New missions bring total to 347 missions", Church News, Deseret News, February 10, 2007, retrieved 2012-12-03
  11. ^ a b "Official Statement: Missionaries Serving in Two African Nations are Reassigned". Church News. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  12. ^ a b Stack, Peggy Fletcher (August 2014). "Mormon missionaries leaving Sierra Leone and Liberia". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  13. ^ Walch, Tad (1 August 2014). "Ebola outbreak prompts evacuation of LDS missionaries from two African nations". Deseret News. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  14. ^ "President Nelson Announces Eight New Temples at October 2019 General Conference", Newsroom, LDS Church, 5 October 2019
  15. ^ https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2022-03-19/freetown-sierra-leone-africa-temple-groundbreaking-ceremony-beginning-of-construction-246748
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