The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Portugal

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Family History Centers
24[3]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Portugal refers to

members in 60 congregations in Portugal,[1] making it the third largest body of LDS Church members in Europe behind the United Kingdom and Spain. In 2019, Portugal had the most LDS Church members per capita in Europe.[4] Nearly all members are native Portuguese or permanent immigrants from former Portuguese territories.[citation needed
]

History

Membership in Portugal
YearMembership
197591
19792,098
1989*23,000
199935,248
200938,188
201945,576
202246,849
*Membership was published as an estimate.
Source: Wendall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall, Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac Country Information: Portugal[1]
The Portuguese translation of the Book of Mormon, originally published in 1939

The first meetings of the LDS Church in Portugal were among members of U.S. armed forces stationed in the country in early 1970. In April 1974, the mostly peaceful

Roman Catholicism and had restricted other faiths from proselyting. Several weeks after the fall of this Estado Novo regime, church president Spencer W. Kimball
visited Portugal and received confirmation that the LDS Church would be recognized and that the missionaries could start preaching in the country.

In November 1974,

Quorum of the Seventy came to Lisbon to preside over the newly created Portugal Lisbon Mission. Four Portuguese-speaking missionaries
were transferred to the new mission from Brazil. The first official meetings of the LDS Church were held at the home of a member of the Canadian embassy who lived in Portugal.

By July 1975, there were already about 100 Portuguese Latter-day Saints, and by July 1978, membership reached 1,000. The church's growth has steadily progressed since that time; at year-end 2016, more than 38,000 Mormons live in Portugal, organized in dozens of local congregations known as wards and branches.

Relationship with the media

The LDS Church uses a religious programming space provided on channel RTP 2 in conjunction with other religious denominations. This opportunity is made possible under Portugal's religious freedom laws. It consists of two programs, the seven-minute "People of Faith" and the 30-minute "Paths". A number of radio programs are also provided on station RDP in formats similar to television programming.

Stakes

As of February 2023, the LDS Church has 7 stakes and a district in Portugal:[5]

Stake/District Organized
Açores Portugal District 28 Mar 1982
Almada Portugal Stake 28 Mar 2021
Coimbra Portugal Stake 14 Apr 2002
Lisbon Portugal Stake 10 Jun 1981
Oeiras Portugal Stake 25 Jun 1989
Porto Portugal Stake 2 Nov 1986
Porto Portugal North Stake 28 May 1989
Setúbal Portugal Stake 6 Sep 1987

Mission

Temples

The Lisbon Portugal Temple was announced on 2 October 2010 by church president Thomas S. Monson.[6] A groundbreaking service, to signify beginning of construction, was held on 5 December 2015, with Patrick Kearon, president of the church's Europe Area, presiding. The temple was dedicated on 15 September 2019 by Neil L. Andersen.[7]

edit
Location:
Announced:
Groundbreaking:
Dedicated:
Size:
Lisboa, Portugal
2 October 2010 by Thomas S. Monson[8]
5 December 2015 by Patrick Kearon[9]
15 September 2019 by Neil L. Andersen

23,730 sq ft (2,205 m2) on a 4.6-acre (1.9 ha) site - designed by Simão Silva, ACS Architects

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Portugal", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 3 June 2023
  2. ^ Excludes groups meeting separate from wards and branches.
  3. ^ Portugal Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved August 18, 2022
  4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics
  5. ^ "Lisbon Portugal Temple", churchofjesuschristtemples.org, retrieved 2021-05-10
  6. ^ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temples
  7. LDS Church
    , 2019-09-15
  8. ^ Taylor, Scott (October 2, 2010), "President Thomas S. Monson opens conference by announcing 5 new temples", Deseret News, retrieved 11 November 2012.
  9. LDS Church
    . 5 December 2015.

External links

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