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

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Botswana
Flag of Botswana.svg
Membership3,653 (2019)[1]
Stakes1
Wards9
Branches6
Total Congregations15
Family History Centers2[2]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Botswana refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Botswana. The first branch (small congregation) was organized in 1991 with fewer than 100 members. As of 2019, there were 3,653 members in 15 congregations in Botswana.[1]

History[]

Membership in Botswana
YearMembership
1995*300
1999*700
20041,194
20091,305
20143,104
20193,653
*Membership was published as a rounded number.
Source: Wendall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall, Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac Country Information: Botswana[1]

The first branch of the LDS Church in Botswana was organized in 1983. LDS missionaries were not sent to Botswana until 1990 and the church did not receive official recognition until 1991. Among the early converts in Botswana was Kwasi Agyare Dwomoh, a Ghanaian architect employed by the government of Botswana. Dwomoh and his family joined the church in September 1990. He became the first branch president in August 1991, and the first district president in March 1992. He and his wife were the first couple to travel from Botswana to be sealed in the temple.[3]

In 1995, all LDS Church units were included in the newly-formed Roodeport South Africa Stake. The first Motswana to serve a full-time mission for the LDS Church, Yakale Million Moroka, began serving as a missionary in 1999 in the South Africa Cape Town Mission.

In the early 2000s, the church formed its first branch in Francistown in the north of Botswana. In 2009, missionaries were regularly sent there for the first time. In 2010, branches were formed in two additional cities. In 2012, a new stake was organized in Gaborone with Clement Mosiame Matswagothata as its president, and in 2013 Botswana was given its own mission.

Stake and Congregations[]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Botswana is located in Botswana
Gaborone
Gaborone
Serowe
Serowe
Francistown
Francistown
Kasane
Kasane
class=notpageimage|
As of July 2021, the following were located in Botswana
Green = Stake
Purple = Meetinghouse not part of a stake or district
Francistown has 3 meetinghouses

The Gaborone Botswana Stake was created on November 4, 2012.[4] As of July 2021, Botswana had the following congregations:

Gaborone Botswana Stake

  • Gaborone Broadhurst Ward
  • Gaborone West Ward
  • Kanye 1st Branch
  • Kanye 2nd Ward
  • Lobatse Ward
  • Mafikeng Branch (South Africa)
  • Mochudi Ward
  • Mogoditshane Ward
  • Molepolole Ward
  • Village Ward
  • Gaborone West YSA Ward

Other Congregations The following congregations are not part of a stake or district:

  • Francistown Branch
  • Gerald Branch
  • Kasane Branch
  • Monarch Branch
  • Serowe Branch

The Botswana/Namibia Mission Branch serves families and individuals not in proximity of a meetinghouse. Congregations not part of a stake are called branches, regardless of size.

Missions[]

The Botswana Namibia Mission (to be created July 2013)[5]

Temples[]

As of July 2021, Botswana was located in the Johannesburg South Africa Temple District.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Botswana", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 20 July 2021
  2. ^ Category:Botswana Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved 16 July 2021
  3. ^ E. Dale LeBaron, "Botswana" in Arnold K. Garr, et. al, ed., Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000), p. 124-125
  4. ^ Botswana stake first for the country
  5. ^ New mission presidents by area for 2013

External links[]

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