The Church Is Here

Johannesburg, South Africa

Photograph via Getty Images

The first missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived in South Africa in 1852. In the years since, members have overcome racial and cultural barriers to build unity and friendship. Today, the Church in South Africa has:

• 69,400 members (approximately)

• 17 stakes, 195 wards and branches, 4 missions

• 2 temples (Johannesburg and Durban) and 1 announced (Cape Town)

Blessed by the Gospel

Embraced by her grandniece Thuto (on the left) and her niece Lizzie Mohodisa (on the right), Dimakatso Ramaisa (center) says living the gospel together blesses three generations.

Photograph by Papama Tungela

More about the Church in South Africa

• Facts, statistics, and history of the Church in South Africa.

• A man from South Africa fulfills his goal to attend the temple.

• The Book of Mormon has a lasting impact on members in South Africa.

• The Church donates wheelchairs and mobility aids to a South African province.

• Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicates South Africa’s second temple.

• Members share their experiences from the 1980s, when South African branches were first integrated.

Personal scripture study is a part of life for Latter-day Saints in South Africa, as it is for Latter-day Saints throughout the world.

Family scripture study is also a high priority for Church members in South Africa.

Near Cape Town, a family strolls along the beach, with Table Mountain in the background.

A group of women gathers near the Durban South Africa Temple before its dedication.

A father in Johannesburg, South Africa, teaches his children about Church resources found online.

The Durban South Africa Temple was dedicated on February 16, 2020.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband and his wife greet members following a meeting in South Africa.