The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Botswana

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Flag of Botswana.svg
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Botswana
Area Africa South
Members 4,031 (2022) [1]
Stakes 1
Wards 9
Branches 7
Total Congregations [2] 16
FamilySearch Centers 2 [3]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Botswana refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members in Botswana. The country's first branch was organized in 1991 with fewer than 100 members.[ citation needed ] As of 2022, there were 4,031 members in 16 congregations in Botswana. [1]

Contents

History

Membership in Botswana [4] [1]
YearMembership
1995*300
1999*700
20041,194
20091,305
20143,104
20193,653
20224,031
*Membership was published as a rounded number.

The first branch of the LDS Church in Botswana was organized in 1983.[ citation needed ] LDS Church missionaries were not sent to Botswana until 1990 and the church did not receive official recognition until 1991. Among the early converts in Botswana was Kwasi Agyare Dwomoh, a Ghanaian architect employed by the government of Botswana. Dwomoh and his family joined the church in September 1990. He became the first branch president in August 1991, and the first district president in March 1992. He and his wife were the first couple to travel from Botswana to be sealed in a temple. [5]

In 1995, all LDS Church units were included in the newly formed Roodeport South Africa Stake. The first Botswana native to serve a full-time mission for the LDS Church, Yakale Million Moroka, began serving in 1999 in the South Africa Cape Town Mission.

In the early 2000s, the church formed its first branch in Francistown in the north of Botswana. In 2009, missionaries were regularly sent there for the first time. In 2010, branches were formed in two additional cities. In 2012, a new stake was organized in Gaborone with Clement Mosiame Matswagothata as its president, and in 2013 Botswana was given its own mission.

Stake and congregations

Botswana location map.svg
Green pog.svg
Gaborone
Orange pog.svg
Kanye
Purple pog.svg
Francistown
Purple pog.svg
Kasane
Purple pog.svg
Maun
class=notpageimage|
As of December 2024, the following were located in Botswana
Green = Stake
Orange = District
Purple = Meetinghouse not part of a stake or district
Francistown has 3 meetinghouses

The Gaborone Botswana Stake was created on November 4, 2012. [6] As of December 2024, Botswana had the following congregations:

Gaborone Botswana Stake

Kanye Botswana District

Other Congregations The following congregations are located in Botswana but are not part of a stake or district:

The Botswana/Namibia Mission Branch serves families and individuals in Botswana and Namibia that is not in proximity of a meetinghouse. Congregations not part of a stake are called branches, regardless of size.

Missions

The Botswana Namibia Mission was created July 2013. [7] [8] In November 2022, the LDS Church announced creation of the South Africa Pretoria Mission in July 2023. The mission consists of the South Africa portion of the Botswana-Namibia Mission as well as a portion of the South Africa Durban Mission. In July 2023, the Botswana Namibia mission was realigned to only cover Botswana and Namibia. [9]

Namibia

Membership in Namibia [1]
YearMembership
198999
1995*200
1999261
2004402
2009605
2014793
2019952
20221,110
*Membership was published as a rounded number.
Namibia location map.svg
Orange pog.svg
Windhoek
Purple pog.svg
Swakopmund
Purple pog.svg
Ongwediva
Purple pog.svg
Kasane
class=notpageimage|
As of December 2024, the following were located in and near Namibia [10]
Orange = District (multiple meetinghouses)
Purple = Other Meetinghouse

The LDS Church reported 1,110 members in 5 congregations as well as 1 family history centers in Namibia for year-end 2022. [11] The Windhoek Namibia District was created on 8 March 2015. A family history center is located in Windhoek. [12]

Congregations

As of December 2024, the following were located in Namibia: [10]

Windhoek Namibia District
  • Katutura Branch
  • Swakopmund Branch
  • Wanaheda Branch
  • Windhoek Branch
Other Congregations

The following congregations are located in Botswana but are not part of a stake or district:

  • Botswana/Namibia Mission Branch
  • Ongwediva Branch

The Botswana/Namibia Mission Branch serves families and individuals in Botswana and Namibia that is not in proximity of a meetinghouse. Congregations not part of a stake are called branches, regardless of size.

Temples

As of December 2024, Botswana and Namibia were located in the Johannesburg South Africa Temple district.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Botswana", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 10 June 2023
  2. ↑ Excludes groups meeting separate from wards and branches
  3. ↑ Category:Botswana Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved 16 July 2021
  4. ↑ Wendall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall, Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac Country Information: Botswana
  5. ↑ E. Dale LeBaron, "Botswana" in Arnold K. Garr, et al., ed., Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000), p. 124-125
  6. ↑ Botswana stake first for the country
  7. ↑ New mission presidents by area for 2013
  8. ↑ Stack, Peggy Fletcher (16 July 2013), Mormons encounter visa hitches in new Botswana mission, Salt Lake Tribune, retrieved 22 February 2023
  9. ↑ Swenson, Madison (23 November 2022), "Church Opening Six New Missions in 2023", KSL TV 5, retrieved 13 January 2023
  10. 1 2 "Meetinghouse Locator", LDS Church, retrieved 22 February 2022
  11. ↑ "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Namibia", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 22 February 2023
  12. ↑ Category:Namibia Family History Centers Map, familysearch.org, retrieved 22 February 2023
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