Guam: Church Chronology

1944–1946 • Guam and MarianasThe first Church members on Guam were with the US military. Informal service personnel groups, which included some family members, were meeting after these islands were liberated.

October 9, 1951 • GuamUnder the direction of President Vinal Mauss of the Japanese Mission, the Guam Branch was created, with Victor A. Olsen as president. The first Relief Society was organized, with Ethel Kurihara as president.

1951–1953 • Anigua, GuamMembers raised enough money to acquire land and set up the first meetinghouse, which was dedicated in 1953.

August 25, 1955 • GuamElder Joseph Fielding Smith of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles traveled to Guam and offered a dedicatory prayer for the preaching of the gospel.

June 18, 1959 • AniguaA second meetinghouse in Anigua was dedicated by Elder Mark E. Petersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

November 11, 1962 • GuamTyphoon Karen struck Guam with winds of 280 kilometers per hour (174 miles per hour). Ninety-five percent of the homes on the island were damaged or destroyed, leaving at least 45,000 people homeless, including many Church members.

March 10, 1970 • Barrigada, GuamThe Guam Ward was established by Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who also dedicated a new meetinghouse in Barrigada at the same time.

1972 • Yigo, GuamProperty in Yigo was acquired to be used as a ward farm.

May 21, 1977 • GuamThe first CHamoru couple to join the Church, Maria Salas Calvo and Don Calvo, were baptized.

1979 • GuamHerbert J. Leddy, the first person of CHamoru heritage to be a full-time missionary, was called to serve in Tennessee.

1980–81 • GuamMemnet Panes, a local Filipina member from Agat, became the first full-time sister missionary from Guam. She served in the Illinois Chicago Mission from January 10, 1980, to July 2, 1981.

July 25, 1981 • Guam Local members organized a marathon to celebrate Pioneer Day. Sixty-six runners participated, including members of the local community.

March 13–14, 1986 • BarrigadaThe Guam Symphony Orchestra presented a concert for two nights in the newly renovated cultural hall of the Barrigada meetinghouse.

1989 • GuamSelections from the Book of Mormon in CHamoru, translated by Maria Salas Calvo, were made available in book form.

November 1989 • GuamHerbert J. Leddy was the first CHamoru member to be called as a district president.

April 6, 1990 • GuamThe first Guam District Women’s Conference was held at the Barrigada meetinghouse for all girls and women ages 10 and older. On this occasion, Renee Oatman was called as district Relief Society president and Cora Mucho was called as district Primary president.

1996 • Saipan, Northern Mariana IslandsWhen Church President Gordon B. Hinckley and Sister Marjorie Hinckley were returning from an Asia trip, their plane touched down in Saipan for refueling, and more than 70 members and missionaries rushed to the airport to meet the prophet.

February 2003 • BarrigadaThe Barrigada meetinghouse received a satellite dish, allowing the Saints in Guam to participate live in worldwide Church broadcasts, including leadership trainings and general conference.

December 12, 2010 • BarrigadaThe Barrigada Guam Stake was created, with Arthur B. Clark as president and Tamio S. Clark and Jared W. Bodine as counselors. Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who had lived for a year on Saipan as a US soldier, officiated.

August 21, 2011 • BarrigadaCyril Christopher Gittens was called as the first patriarch in the Barrigada Guam Stake.

February 12, 2016 • BarrigadaMembers of the Barrigada Guam Stake presented a Book of Mormon Pageant in Chuukese.

October 7, 2018 • Salt Lake City, Utah, USAA temple for Guam was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson at general conference.

October 25, 2018 • SaipanYutu, the strongest typhoon ever to hit the Northern Marianas, made landfall on the island of Tinian and the southern part of Saipan.

May 22, 2022 • Yigo

The Yigo Guam Temple was dedicated by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.