History
Joseph Richards introduced the LDS Church to India in 1851, when he arrived in Calcutta. A small branch was organized in Calcutta, but most of the members migrated to the United States. As per the church's policy, all members were invited to gather in one place, the main reason being that they wanted to build the church and strengthen the priesthood leadership. Though many members of the branch migrated to the US, a small group of members continued to have meetings in Calcutta, which still exists in there even today.
In the church's history in India, there were early missionaries who visited Madras (present day Chennai), Bombay (preset day Mumbai), and other places in India, who spread their religion. In fact, there were missionaries visiting Taj Mahal in Agra and teaching the tourists, which was filmed in one of the videos, "The Ancient America Speaks," produced by the church in 1974. There were many events in church history in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. The golden history started in 1963 at Coimbatore. This was revealed by John Aki, then president of the Hong Kong China Temple during the year 2011. Some of the first families were sealed in the Hong Kong China Temple by Anthony D. Perkins, a general authority who was the president of the church's Asia Area at that time. Perkins anticipated that church membership in that part of India would grow. [6] The movement increased in India by 1993, when missionaries began proselytizing in Bangalore. [6]
By the beginning of 2000, there were 2,435 members in four districts and eighteen branches, [4] and in 2005, there were 5,951. [7] The church holds All India Young Single Adults (YSA) conferences with the goal of helping young members of the church find a spouse. [8]
By 2013, there were about 10,000 members of the LDS Church in India. [9] This number rose to 15,454 in 2024. [1]
| Year | Membership | Congregations | Districts | Stakes |
|---|
| 2000 | 2,435 | 18 | 4 | |
| 2005 | 5,951 | | | |
| 2013 | 10,000 | | | |
| 2018 | 13,995 | 45 | 3 | 4 |
| 2023 | 15,224 | 45 | 3 | 4 |
During the church's April 2018 general conference, church president Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple would be built in Bengaluru, India. This was one of seven new temples announced at the time, and the first to be built in India. [10]
On December 2, 2020, the groundbreaking ceremony was done, in order to signify the beginning of construction of the Bengaluru India Temple by Robert K. William, a native of India serving as an area seventy. [11]
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