The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Baltics

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Baltics
Mormonu baznycia Kaune.JPG
An LDS Church meetinghouse in Kaunas, Lithuania.
Area Europe North
Members 3,362 (2022) [1] [2] [3]
Districts 3
Branches 14
Missions 1
Family History Centers 9 [4]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Baltics refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members in the Baltic states namely Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Baltic Mission encompasses these countries. The first branch was organized in 1990. As of 2022, there were 3,362 members in 14 congregations.

Contents

Estonia

As of 2022, there were 1,146 members in 4 branches in the Tallinn Estonia District. There are two Family History Centers in Estonia. [1]

The first known Estonian to join the LDS Church, Tiiu Pehrson, was baptized 1951 in Sweden. [5] In the late 1980s Finnish members began to travel to Estonia. Valtteri Rotsa, a native of Tallinn, was baptized in Finland July 16, 1989 and returned to Tallinn shortly after. The first baptism in Estonia was of Enn Lembit which occurred December 16, 1989. A branch was organized in Tallinn on 28 January 1990 for Russian and Estonian speakers. This was the first branch in the former Soviet Union. The LDS Church in Estonia gained formal recognition on June 29, 1990, and was reregistered in 1994. There were nearly fifty members in Tallinn in 1990. [6] [7]

Jaanus Silla of Tallinn was the first missionary called from the Soviet Union. They entered the Missionary Training Center on January 16, 1991. [8] The Tallinn Estonia District was organized on 21 December 1997. [7]

By 1999, the LDS Church had the largest group of foreign missionaries in Estonia. [9] The Book of Mormon was translated into Estonian in 2000. [10] A revised translation was published in 2011. [11]

Tallinn Estonia District

The Tallinn Estonia District was organized on 21 December 1997. As of 2023, the district consisted of the following branches:

The Baltic Mission Branch serves individuals and families not in proximity of a meetinghouse.

Latvia

As of 2022, there were 1,273 members in five branches in the Riga Latvia District. There are three Family History Centers in Latvia. [2]

Mischa Markow, a Hungarian member briefly preached to Germans in Latvia in October 1903 with three families requesting baptism. He then left the country after being summoned to court. [12]

The first missionaries, Matthew H. Lyman and Michael G. Van Patten, arrived in Latvia on 17 June 1992. Two weeks later a missionary couple Boris and Liselotte Schiel arrived. Their first convert, Gunars Kavals, was baptized July 25 of the same year. Elder James E. Faust of the Quorum of the Twelve dedicated Latvia for missionary work on March 17, 1993. There were forty members in Latvia at time of his dedication. [13]

The first branch was organized in Latvia in Riga on 15 July 1993. In October of that year, the branch was divided between Latvian and Russian speaking congregations. The Book of Mormon was translated into Latvian and delivered in February 2001. [14] The BYU Singers performed in Riga on May 8, 2022. [15]

Riga Latvia District

The Riga Latvia District was organized on 25 January 1998. As of 2023, the district consisted of the following branches:

The Baltic Mission Branch, which is based in Riga, serves individuals and families not in proximity of a meetinghouse.

Lithuania

Friedrich Schulzke, a local religious leader (branch president) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Klaipeda, Lithuania Friedrich Schulzke.jpg
Friedrich Schulzke, a local religious leader (branch president) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Klaipėda, Lithuania

As of 2022, there were 943 members in 5 branches in the Vilnius Lithuania District. There are four Family History Centers in Lithuania. [3]

In 1907 the first missionaries arrived in what's present day Klaipėda, Lithuania (then Memel, Germany). A Branch was formed in 1909. [3] Missionaries left during the onset of World War I, but returned in World War II. In October 1926, the branch had 36 in attendance with missionaries leaving shortly after. Being the only priesthood holder, Friedrich Schulzke was left as branch president before passing away on 21 January 1937. [16] With the onset of World War II, the church lost contact with its members in Memel.

Missionaries once again arrived on 21 December 1992 following the fall of the Soviet Union. These missionaries first spoke Russian, but learned Lithuanian the following year. On 20 May 1993, Elder M. Russell Ballard dedicated Lithuania for missionary work with twenty-seven in attendance. At the time, eight missionaries were assigned to the country. [13] The previous year, there was only one member living in the country. By 1995, there were three branches in Lithuania and six Lithuanian members were called on missions. [17] In 1993 and 1994, Lithuanian television presented Church-produced programs and also focused on missionaries and their work. Seminary and institute began in 1998. In January 2021, the first copies of the Lithuanian translation of the Book of Mormon was delivered. [18]

Vilnius Lithuania District

The Vilnius Lithuania District was organized on 18 January 1998. As of 2023, the district consisted of the following branches:

The Baltic Mission Branch serves individuals and families not in proximity of a meetinghouse.

Mission

Finland Helsinki East which included the Baltics was organized July 1, 1990. On February 3, 1992, the mission was divided, the Baltics became part of the Russia St. Petersburg Mission. [19] On July 1, 1993, the mission was split again and the Baltics became part of Latvia Riga Mission. At the time there was a combined 150 members in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The Latvia Riga Mission was renamed the Lithuania Vilnius Mission on April 16, 1996, and later renamed the Baltic Mission on July 1, 2002. The Baltic Mission encompasses Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It had also included Belarus from 2012 until the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [20]

Temples

The Baltics is currently part of the Helsinki Finland Temple District.

Helsinki Finland Temple-cropped.JPG
edit
Location:
Announced:
Groundbreaking:
Dedicated:
Size:
Style:		 Espoo, Finland
2 April 2000 by Gordon B. Hinckley
29 March 2003 by D. Lee Tobler
22 October 2006 by Gordon B. Hinckley
16,350 sq ft (1,519 m2) on a 7.4-acre (3.0 ha) site
Classic elegance, single-spire design - designed by Evata Architects

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References

  1. 1 2 "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Estonia", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 10 July 2023
  2. 1 2 "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Latvia", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 10 July 2023
  3. 1 2 3 "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Lithuania", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 10 July 2023
  4. ↑ Family History Centers Map, familysearch.org, retrieved 10 July 2023
  5. ↑ Packard, David (5 September 2009), "Returning home to her native Estonia", Church News , Deseret News , retrieved 17 July 2023
  6. ↑ "Growth of Church in 'that vast empire'", Church News Archives, Deseret News, 6 November 1993, retrieved 17 July 2023
  7. 1 2 "Country Information: Estonia", Church News Online Almanac, Deseret News, 29 January 2010, retrieved 17 July 2023
  8. ↑ Hart, John L. (28 December 1991), "'Lots of opportunity to share gospel'", Church News , Deseret News , retrieved 17 July 2023
  9. ↑ "Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999: Estonia", U.S. Department of State, 9 September 1999, retrieved 17 July 2023
  10. ↑ Paul V. Johnson, "Out of the Dust," Religious Educator6(3) (2005): pp. 23–30.
  11. ↑ Mormoni raamat, "tiitelleht," 2011.
  12. ↑ "History of Church in Russian republic", Church News , Deseret News, 16 November 1991, retrieved 10 August 2023
  13. 1 2 "4 European lands dedicated", Church News , Deseret News, 12 June 1993, retrieved 10 August 2023
  14. ↑ "2010 Church Almanac: Country information: Latvia", Church News , Deseret News, 29 January 2010, retrieved 10 August 2023
  15. ↑ "May 8: Riga, Latvia", BYU Singers, Brigham Young University, May 2022, retrieved 10 August 2023
  16. ↑ Parshall, Ardis E. (28 January 2009), "Friedrich Schulzke: "It Fell to My Lot to Guide the Little Branch"", Times and Seasons, retrieved 10 September 2023
  17. ↑ "From around the world", Church News , Deseret News, 25 November 1995, retrieved 10 September 2023
  18. ↑ "2010 Deseret News Church Almanac: Country information: Lithuania", Church News , Deseret News, 29 January 2010, retrieved 10 September 2023
  19. ↑ "3 New Missions Established in Russia, Ukraine", Church News Archives, Deseret News, 15 February 1992, retrieved 17 July 2023
  20. ↑ "A Brief History of the Church in Belarus:Overview", LDS Church, retrieved 17 July 2023
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