The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sweden | |
---|---|
Area | Europe North |
Members | 9,531 (2022) [1] |
Stakes | 4 |
Districts | 1 |
Wards | 25 |
Branches | 15 |
Total Congregations [2] | 40 |
Missions | 1 |
Temples | 1 |
Family History Centers | 37 [3] |
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) ( Swedish: Jesu Kristi Kyrka av Sista Dagars Heliga), headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, has been in Sweden since 1850. [4] [5]
Year | Members |
---|---|
1930 | 1,854 |
1940 | 1,614 |
1950 | 1,483 |
1960 | 2,569 |
1970 | 4,722 |
1980 | 6,888 |
1989* | 7,700 |
1999 | 8,587 |
2009 | 8,966 |
2019 | 9,649 |
*Membership was published as an estimate or rounded number. Source: Windall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall, Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac Country Information: Sweden [1] |
The Book of Mormon was translated into Swedish in 1878. [6] As with many other Scandinavian converts, Swedish LDS were encouraged to emigrate to the US and build up "Zion" there; these included the ancestors of a previous church president, Thomas S. Monson, whose grandfather, Nels Monson (born Torhamn), emigrated at the age of 16. This depleted local numbers for a number of decades, until in the late twentieth century, this policy was discontinued, and a temple built within the country itself.
As of 2021, the LDS Church counted its number of members in Sweden to be just above 9,528, divided into 5 regional units with a total of 40 congregations. [7][ verification needed] This was an increase in membership from 2014, which was 9,463. [8] The Church also maintains one temple in the country, the Stockholm Sweden Temple, in Västerhaninge.
Around 2010, a number of Swedish members of the LDS Church, including former area seventy Hans Mattsson, began to doubt the veracity of the church. [9] Marlin K. Jensen, a church general authority, and historian Richard E. Turley Jr. soon after conducted a fireside, an informal church meeting, at the Västerhaninge Chapel in Stockholm, Sweden, on November 28, 2010. [10] [11] The audio was surreptitiously recorded and sparked much discussion and interest in the blogosphere. [12] [13] [14]
As of February 2023, the following stakes were located in Sweden:
Mission | Organized |
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Göteborg Sweden Stake | 20 Nov 1977 |
Malmö Sweden Stake | 1 Sep 1996 |
Stockholm Sweden Stake | 20 Apr 1975 |
Stockholm Sweden South Stake | 20 Aug 1995 |
Umeå Sweden District | 1 Jan 1960 |
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Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Dedicated: Size: Style: |
Västerhaninge,
Sweden 1 April 1981 by Spencer W. Kimball 17 March 1984 by Thomas S. Monson 2–4 July 1985 by Gordon B. Hinckley 31,000 sq ft (2,900 m2) on a 4.47-acre (1.81 ha) site Modern adaptation of six-spire design - designed by John Sjostrom and Church A&E Services |