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

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Liberia reported 8,929 members in one mission, with 24 branches in Liberia, as of 2016.[1]

Liberia Dedicated for the Preaching of the Gospel by Apostle Marvin J. Ashton. In attendance were Juanita & Philander Smartt, Alexander Morrison, Biz Kajunju, Steven Wolf, Marvin J. Ashton, Barbara Wolf, Jocelyn & J. Duffy Palmer, Thomas Peihopa.

History

The LDS Church gained a formal presence in Liberia on 3 July 1987 with the arrival of J. Duffy Palmer and his wife, Jocelyn, as the church's first full-time missionaries in the country.

The origins of the LDS Church in Liberia go back about two years farther. Joe C. Jarwhel received the address of a missionary at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah from a fellow Liberian who had just returned from a visit to Salt Lake City. Jarwhel sent a letter seeking more information about the LDS Church; this letter was forwarded to John K. Carmack, who was at the time president of the LDS Church's International Mission. Carmack sent Jarwhel a copy of the Book of Mormon. Jarwhel was a school teacher and used the Book of Mormon in his teaching.

Jarwhel's associate, John Tarsnoh, also learned of the Book of Mormon and created an organization called the Temple of Christ's Church, which began teaching the doctrines found in the book. Sometime in 1986, Thomas Peihopa, a Latter-day Saint from New Zealand who was employed in Monrovia, came in contact with this group. Peihopa taught them more of the doctrine of the LDS Church. During this time other members of the church living in Monrovia began teaching interested Liberians who were eager to learn more. Harvey Brown, an employee of USAID, began corresponding with church leadership in Salt Lake City to send full-time missionaries to Liberia due to the increasing interest in the church. In response, the Palmers were assigned to come to Liberia.

Due to the preparation for preaching that was laid by Jarwhel, Tarsnoh and Peihopa, the Palmers were able to quickly establish the LDS Church and were followed by the arrival of Philander and Juanita Smartt on 21 August as full-time missionaries. Tarsnoh was baptized on 22 August 1987 along with 46 others, mainly fellow members of his Temple of Christ's Church. The following day, two units of the church were organized, the New Krutown Unit presided over by Peihopa and the Congotown Unit presided over by Steven Wolf, an American citizen in Monrovia on a military assignment with the U.S. Coast Guard. Wolf's counselors were Mike Endecott, an American citizen working at the U.S. Embassy and new Liberian member Joseph Forkpah. The country was formally dedicated for the preaching of the gospel on 2 September 1987 by apostle Marvin J. Ashton and Alexander Morrison, the church's area president over the missions in England and Africa. The dedicatory service was conducted in the backyard garden of the home of the Wolf's along with the Palmers, the Smartts, Peihopa and Biz Kajunju.

By October 1987, church membership had increased to over 100 members. On 21 February 1988, Forkpah became the first Liberian citizen to serve as a branch president. The Liberia Monrovia Mission was organized with Palmer as president on 1 March 1988. Forkpah became the first Liberian citizen to be ordained to the office of elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood on 13 March 1988.

As civil war broke out in 1990, missionaries were transferred to Sierra Leone. Most of these missionaries were Liberians, but conditions were so bad in the country that it was felt to be safer to send them elsewhere. In 1991, the Monrovia mission was combined with the Ghana Accra Mission. A. Tarr, who had been a member less than four years and had been serving as the first counselor in the district presidency, became the church's presiding leader in Liberia with the departure of the mission president and most foreign nationals. In 1999, missionaries were able to return to Liberia. At the height of the civil war in 1992 about 70% of church members had fled the country. LDS Church leaders instructed those remaining to only hold small gatherings. Over the next seven years many church members returned, most of the eight branches that had existed at the time the war broke out were reorganized, and 43 Liberians managed to serve full-time missions in other countries, primarily Sierra Leone and Ghana.

John Tarsnoh baptized by Thomas Peihopa

In June 2000, the Monrovia Liberia Stake was organized with Toby wleboe Tweh Sr. as president. Tweh had been among the members of Tarsnoh's Temple of Christ Church prior to joining the LDS Church. In June 2007, the stake was discontinued and divided into two mission districts. The next July a new mission, the Freetown Sierra Leone Mission, which covered Sierra Leone and Liberia, was organized. Liberia was converted into its own mission in July 2013.

In 2020, the LDS Church canceled services and other public gatherings indefinitely in response to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.[2]

Membership History
Year Membership[3]
1993 1,400a
1995 1,600a
1997 2,000a
1999 2,694b
2001 3,394b
2003 4,016b
2005 4,357b
2007 4,910b
2009 5,039c
2011 5,447c
2012 5,863c
2013 6,709
2014 8,081
2015 8,929[4]
First group of 47 Liberians baptized on Aug 22, 1987.
  • a Estimated membership for December 31 of the respective year
  • b Actual Membership for December 31 of the respective year
  • c Actual Membership for January 1 of the respective year

Stakes and district

As of February 2020, the following stakes and district are in Liberia:

  • Bushrod Island Stake
  • Caldwell Stake
  • Gardnersville Stake
  • Kakata District
  • Monrovia Stake
  • Paynesville Stake

Mission

The Liberia Monrovia Mission was created in July 2013.[5] It is currently an active mission and Douglas A. Clark has been the mission president since 2017.

2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak

After two church members died during the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the LDS Church required its missionaries to remain in their apartments as a precautionary measure.[6][7] 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 Liberia Monrovia Mission for the duration of the outbreak.[6][7][4] In July 2015, a new mission president returned to Liberia to reopen the mission. New missionaries were called and a number or current missionaries were reassigned to the Liberia Monrovia Mission to assist in reopening the mission.

See also

Religion in Liberia

References
  1. LDS Newsroom (Statistical Information)
  2. Lovett, Ian. "Mormon Church Cancels Services World-Wide Amid Coronavirus Crisis", The Wall Street Journal, 12 March 2020. Retrieved on 3 April 2020.
  3. "Country information: Liberia", Deseret News Church Almanac (multiple almanacs from various years), Deseret News, archived from the original on 2014-05-12
  4. Walch, Tad (1 August 2014). "Ebola outbreak prompts evacuation of LDS missionaries from two African nations". Deseret News. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  5. New mission presidents by area for 2013
  6. "Official Statement: Missionaries Serving in Two African Nations are Reassigned". Church News. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. a August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. Stack, Peggy Fletcher (a August 2014). "Mormon missionaries leaving Sierra Leone and Liberia". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 5 August 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
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