The Church Is Here

Nairobi, Kenya

The first two people to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kenya were baptized and confirmed in 1979. The following year the first two missionaries, a senior couple, arrived in Kenya. By 1981 two branches were formed, in Nairobi and Kiboko. Today, the Church in Kenya has:

• 17,430 members (approximately)

• 2 stakes, 57 wards and branches, 1 mission

• 1 temple announced (Nairobi)

Finding Joy in the Lord

As a new member of the Church, Gladys Ondwari finds joy in the gospel even when she faces trials: “I’m so happy! The Lord has opened my eyes at the right time. I know Jesus Christ is my refuge when things are tough.”

Photograph by Lucy Stevenson Ewell

More about the Church in Kenya

• A young man from Kenya serves a mission in the northwest United States, where he is able to help African refugees.

• A brief profile and testimony from a young woman living in Kenya.

• A young man living in Kenya shares how Christ has strengthened him to do hard things.

• As they live the gospel, members in Kenya create havens from the pressures of the world.

• A professor of Church history recounts the growth of the Church in Chyulu, Kenya.

Nairobi city center. The first stake of the Church in Kenya was organized in Nairobi on Sept. 9, 2001.

While serving as President of the Africa Central Area, Elder Joseph W. Sitati, a Kenyan native, toured the construction site for the Nairobi Kenya Temple with other Church leaders on May 21, 2022.

Passing along family history is important. There are five FamilySearch centers in Kenya, and field agents go out and collect oral histories that they can preserve for future generations.

The Church began in Kenya with members meeting together in homes. Today, there are over 50 congregations of Saints meeting in Kenya.