Bahamas: Church Chronology

1978 • Utah Valley, UtahClarence E. Newry Jr. joined the Church while living in Utah as a student.

July 30, 1979 • Nassau, BahamasA small group of expatriate Latter-day Saints began meeting together. Full-time missionaries arrived later that year.

January 6, 1980 • NassauAlexandre Paul, consulate general from Haiti, and his wife, Helene Paul, accepted baptism.

1980s–1996 • NassauGovernment restrictions on foreign missionary visas led local members to take a more active role in missionary work.

January 25, 1981 • NassauThe Nassau Branch was formed, with Chris Ballard as branch president and Leona Ferrier as Relief Society president.

May 23, 1982 • NassauAntoine Ferrier was called to serve as the president of the Nassau Branch.

1985 • NassauKeith Marcellus Dean became the first Bahamian called to serve as a full-time missionary. He served in the California Fresno Mission.

July 27, 1986 • NassauNassau Bahamas Haitian Branch, a Haitian Creole-speaking unit, was created.

February 1, 1988 • NassauChurch members ran a Haitian Creole class for the community, which was attended by many, including police officers, nurses, and government officials.

April 7–8, 1988 • Nassau

Early members in the Bahamas

April 19, 1990 • NassauThe Nassau Guardian published an article on the health benefits of Latter-day Saints living the Word of Wisdom.

April 1991 • Salt Lake City, UtahA small group of Bahamian Latter-day Saints traveled to Salt Lake City to attend the general conference.

August 1992 • BahamasLatter-day Saints weathered Hurricane Andrew, which caused US$250 million in damage in the Bahamas.

December 1992 • Nassau

Nassau Branch

March 1997 • Orlando, FloridaAntoinette Russell and Clarence Newry were the first Bahamian couple to be married in the temple.

November 20, 1997 • NassauMembers gathered together as Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Bahamas for the preaching of the restored gospel.

September 15, 2002 • NassauThe New Providence Bahamas District was created.

March 18, 2004 • BahamasThe Church gained official legal recognition in the Bahamas.

April 16, 2004 • New York CityThe New York New York Stake hosted the Bahamian American Cultural Society and many attendees of Bahamian ancestry at a genealogical conference at a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in Union Square. Dr. Gail Saunders, director of the National Archives of the Bahamas, was among the distinguished presenters.

May 13, 2007 • NassauA new building was dedicated for the Freeport Branch, Grand Bahamas.

August 2011 • BahamasBahamian Saints assisted with relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

May 2014 • Fort Lauderdale, FloridaThe Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple, serving Saints in the Bahamas, was dedicated.

January 2017 • Freeport, BahamasFollowing Hurricane Matthew, the Church and Pathfinders Task Force partnered to donate $250,000 in funds to the National Emergency Management Agency of the Bahamas for relief on Grand Bahama.