THIS MONTH IN CHURCH HISTORY
February 2000: The Book of Mormon Published in Malagasy
In February 2000, the Malagasy translation of the Book of Mormon was published, making it widely available to Latter-day Saints and friends in Madagascar. It was one of 12 translations published by the Church that year and appeared just seven months before the first stake was created in the country.
This translation came several years after the Church was established in Madagascar. The first branch was organized there in 1990. Under the direction of the South Africa Durban Mission, the first missionaries arrived in 1991. The Church received legal status in the country in 1993, and the Madagascar Antananarivo Mission was created in 1998. In late October 1999, Elder Richard G. Scott (1928-2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve offered a prayer of dedication for missionary work on the island of Madagascar.
Today there are two stakes and five districts in the country serving over 13,000 Latter-day Saints. The work continues to move forward.