South Africa Cape Town Mission

About South Africa

SOUTH AFRICA
Jan. 1, 2012: Est. population, 49,052,000; Members, 57,546; Stakes, 12; Wards, 78; Branches, 73; Districts, 4; Missions, 3; Temples, 1; percent LDS; .1 or one in 1,020; Africa Southeast Area.
In August 1852, a conference was held in Salt Lake City where Jesse Haven. Leonard I. Smith, and William H. Walker were calledtoservemissionsintheCapeofGoodHope,Africa,aBritishcolony. TheyarrivedinCapeTownon19April1853. A month later, on 23 May. the missionaries ascended The Lion's Head, a mountain near Cape Town, and organized the mission with Haven aspresident. The first convert. Henry Stringer, was baptized on15June 1853.
As people began to join the Church, the missionaries organized branches. The first in Africa was organized on 16 August 1853atMowbray.fourmilesfromCapeTown. Threeweekslater,on7September,asecondbranchwasorganizedat Newlands.sixmilesfromCapeTown. Atthatmeeting.ThomasWeatherheadwassustainedasthefirstlocalbranch president.
Inspiteofagoodbeginning.ChurchgrowthslowedduetoLatter-daySaints'emigrationtoUtah. TheSouthAfrican Mission wasclosed from1865to1903withnoofficial reasonsgiven byChurch authorities.
On 25 July 1903, Latter-day Saint missionaries once again arrived in Cape Town: Warren H. Lyon, who was called to presideoverthemission.GeorgeA.Simpkins[alsospelledSimkins).ThomasL.GriffithsandWilliamR.Smith. Theyfounda fewLatter-daySaintswhohadkeptthefaithduringthelongabsenceofmissionaries. Themissionariesbaptizedtheirfirst convertson16October1904. In1905,PresidentLyonbaptizedanAfticannamedDunn,whosefatherwasaScotsmanand hismotherZulu. ThoughDunndidnotstaywiththeChurch,hewasmostlikelythefirstblackAfticanbaptizedinAfrica.
The first person of color in South Africa to join the Church and remain active in the Church was William Paul Daniels who wasbaptizedon30May1915whilevisitingfamilyinUtah. BeforereturningtoSouthAfrica,DanielsmettwicewithChurch President Joseph F. Smith, who gave Daniels ablessing that someday, perhaps in the next life, he would hold the priesthood.
After returning to South Africa. Daniels felt uncomfortable meeting with the white Church members because of South Africa'sbanonthemixingoftheraces. Themissionpresident.DonMackDalton,assignedmissionariestovisittheDaniels' home eveiy Monday night. Daniels died on 13 October 1936, firm in the faith. Alice Daniels Okkers, William P. Daniels' daughter,wasalivewhenthepriesthoodwasgrantedtoallworthymales. She.too,hadkeptthefaithandwaspresentinthe Salt Lake Temple when her parents' temple work was performed by former South African Mission president Evan P. Wright in 1980.
Following the re-establishment of the South African Mission in 1903, more missionaries were called to serve in southern Africa. MissionaiyworkexpandedthroughouttheareathatisnowSouthAfrica,thoughthemissionariestendedto concentrate their efforts inthecities and towns populated byBritish colonists. Many oftheinhabitants oftheinland settiementsspokeonlyAfrikaans,anobstaclefortheEnglish-speakingmissionaries. InhislastlettertoChurchauthorities, dated 7 April 1908, returning mission President Ralph A. Badger mentioned the two other obstacles facing missionaries in southern Africa: theissue ofrace —missionaries were discouraged from teaching blacks about theChurch until 1978 — andtheimmense sizeofthemission, bothofwhich would concern mission presidents forthenext70years.
Nicholas G. Smith, later called asanAssistant tothe Quorum ofthe Twelve Apostles in1941, presided over the South African Mission from 1913 to1921. When hearrived inCape Town, there were only 15missionaries inthefield. During WorldWar1.missionariesleftSouthAfrica. InOctober1916,SmithpurchasedavillainMowbraythathenamed"Cumorah," whichbecamethe mission homeand Church headquartersfor SouthAfrica.
For the last year and a half of Smith's tenure and the first seven months of Smith's successor. J. Wiley Sessions, the South African Mission president had no missionaries because the government had imposed restrictions on foreign nationals enteringthecountry. PresidentSessionsworkedhardtogainpermissionformissionariestoonceagainlaborinSouth Africa. WiththehelpofU.S.Sen.ReedSmoot,Sessionswassuccessful. Thefirstmissionaiy.GoldenW.Harris,arrivedin October 1921. The government, however, established a quota of 25 LDS missionaries in the mission. Iteventually rose to
564 Deseret News 2013 Church News Almanac
60missionaries by1967, butwould hinder theprogress oftheChurch until itwas lifted inthe1980s.
DuringPresidentSessions'administration,ameetinghousewasbuiltinJohannesburg. Muchofthefundsneededfor constructionweredonatedorraisedbylocalChurchmembers. Thebuildingwasdedicatedon1Februaiy1925andnamed "Ramah." ThisbuildingservedasChurchheadquartersinSouthAfricawhenthemissionofficewasmovedfromCapeTown to Johannesburg in 1960.
To meet the needs ofthe Latter-day Saints scattered throughout South Africa, the mission began publishing the "Cumorah Monthly Bulletin" on15June 1927. Itsname changed briefly to"Cumorah's Southern Cross," and later to"Cumorah's Southern Messenger," a name it retained until publication stopped in1970.
Richard E. Folland, president of the South African Mission from 1938 to 1944, presided over a total of only 50 missionariesduringhisentiretenurebecauseofWorldWar11. Soonafterhisarrival,henoticedthatthemissionarieswere doingmostoftheadministrativeandleadershipwork. OneofFolland'sfirsttaskswastohelplocalmembersassume leadershippositionsinthebranchesanddistricts. On11October1940,becauseofWorldWarII,allthemissionarieswere calledhome. FollandandhisfamilywereaskedtoremaininSouthAfrica. Healsoinstalledlocalofficerstotakechargeof branches.
JuneB.SharparrivedinCapeTowninAugust1944asthenewpresidentofthemission. Becausethewarwasstillraging inEuropeandthePacific,Sharpspenthisfirsttwoyearswithoutanymissionaries. Hetraveledaroundthecountryvisiting branchesandlookingfor'lost"Churchmembers. On16October1946,missionariesarrivedonceagaininSouthAfrica.
Asmentionedearlier,theAfrikaanslanguagewasconsideredoneoftheobstaclesfacingmissionariesinSouthAfrica. In 1949,missionPresidentEvanP. WrightaskedtheFirstPresidencyforpermissiontotranslatetheBookofMormoninto Afrikaans. HeestimatedAfrikaanswasspokenby68percentofwhiteSouthAfricans. By1951,onetractwastranslated into Afrikaans, laying thegroundwork for more AWkaans translations ofChurch literature. The Afrikaans translation ofthe Book ofMormon was introduced tothe South African Latter-day Saints on 14May 1972.
Forseveraldecades,membersinSouthAfricawantedtobevisitedbyGeneralAuthorities. Theirdesireswerefinally realized when David 0. McKay, president ofthe Church, arrived in Cape Town on 9January 1954, the first General Authority to visit the African continent.
In1953,therewereonlytwoChurch-ownedbuildingsinSouthAfrica,CumorahandRamah. LeroyH.Duncan,whowas missionpresidentfrom1953to1957,beganarrangingtohavemanymeetinghousesbuilt. Amission-widebuildingfund was organized in1949 andchapels were constructed inSprings in1954, Port Elizabeth in1956, andDurban in1956. The buildingprogramcontinuedduringthepresidencyof0.LaytonAlldredge,whoservedfrom1960to1964. Heplanned14 new meetinghouses andremodeled four ofthefive existing buildings.
Elder Marion G. Romney oftheQuorum oftheTwelve organized thefirst stake inSouth Africa 22March 1970 with Louis P.Heferaspresident ThenextlandmarkeventinthehistoryoftheChurchinSouthAfricawasthe1978revelationgranting thepriesthoodtoallworthymales. ThemajoritypopulationofSouthAfricawasblackor"coloured." Withtherevelation, the gospel could betaught toall citizens ofSouth Africa. Within six years ofthe revelation, three more stakes were organized: Sandton in1978, Durban in1981, andCape Town in1984.
Upuntil1984SouthAfricanMissionpresidentspresidedoverthewholeofSouthAfrica. Withtheliftingofthe missionary quota, the South African Mission was divided on 1July 1984, creating the South Africa Johannesburg and South Africa Cape Town missions. TheSouthAfrica Durban Mission was createdin 1988.
South African Latter-day Saints had to travel to England orthe United States to attend the temple, until the Johannesburg South Africa Temple was completed and dedicated on 24 August 1985 by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
In 1990, the Africa Area was organized with Richard P. Lindsay ofthe Seventy asfirst Area President. He and his counselors, Robert E. Sackley and JBallard Washbum, also ofthe Seventy, moved to Johannesburg todirect the work ofthe Church throughoutAfrica, whichis the first time General Authorities lived in Africa.
On 4 November 1991, Julia Mavimbella, a member ofthe Soweto Branch who joined the Church in1981, became the first blackwomanelectedbythewhitemembersoftheNationalCouncilofWomentothatorganization. Thisoccurredonlytwo monthsafterthe repealofapartheid.
President Gordon B. Hinckley visited South Africa in February 1998 and held three conferences to meet as many of the SouthAfricanLatter-daySaintsaspossible. Hemetwith5,500membersinJohannesburg,makingitthelargestgathering ofChurchmembersinSouthAfrica. HealsovisitedChurchmembersinDurbanandCapeTown.
During 2003, the 35,000 members oftheChurch inSouth Africa celebrated 150 years since the first missionaries arrived. Ayear of activities and service projects began with 91 members of the Cape Town South Africa Stake gathering on Signal Hill on19April 2003 ontheanniversary.
In 2005, membership reached 42,569.
Atemple was announced for Durban, South Africa, byPresident Thomas S. Monson on1 October 2011.

Missionary Blogs

Elder Zach Bowman
www.mymission.com/elderzachbowman
2024
Elder Thomas Cox
www.mymission.com/elderthomascox1
2024
Elder Merric Horner
www.mymission.com/eldermerrichorner
2024
Elder Colton Kerbs
www.mymission.com/eldercoltonkerbs
2024
Elder Briggs Rober
www.mymission.com/elderbriggsrober
2024
Elder Rylan Budge
www.mymission.com/elderrylanbudge
2023
Elder Dane Christensen
www.mymission.com/elderdanechristensen
2023
Elder Easton Christiansen
www.mymission.com/eldereastonchristiansen
2023
Elder Jaxon Fowers
www.mymission.com/elderjaxonfowers
2023
Elder Jared Griffin
www.mymission.com/elderjaredgriffin
2023
Elder Jason Schwitzer
www.mymission.com/elderjasonschwitzer
2023
Elder Beau Sloan
www.mymission.com/elderbeausloan
2023
Elder Trevor Anderson
www.mymission.com/eldertrevoranderson1
2022
Elder Ethan Bray
www.mymission.com/elderethanbray
2022
Elder Ethan Bray
www.mymission.com/elderethanbray1
2022
Elder Ethan Carlson
www.mymission.com/elderethancarlson
2022
Elder Jarom Bray
www.mymission.com/elderjarombray
2021
Elder Zayne Maughan
www.mymission.com/elderzaynemaughan
2021
Elder Cole Allen
www.mymission.com/eldercoleallen
2020
Elder Spencer Barbre
www.mymission.com/elderspencerbarbre
2020
Elder Brett Boyer
www.mymission.com/elderbrettboyer
2020
Elder Dalton Fox
www.mymission.com/elderdaltonfox
2020
Elder Brock Hutchings
www.mymission.com/elderbrockhutchings
2020
Elder Cason Miller
www.mymission.com/eldercasonmiller
2020
Elder Porter Smith
www.mymission.com/elderportersmith2
2020
Elder Sean Sovereign
www.mymission.com/elderseansovereign
2020
Elder Taden Stimpson
www.mymission.com/eldertadenstimpson
2020
Elder Preston Tilley
www.mymission.com/elderprestontilley1
2020
Elder Ethan Willoughby
www.mymission.com/elderethanwilloughby
2020
Elder Chandler Wright
www.mymission.com/elderchandlerwright
2020
Elder Stuart Burns
www.mymission.com/elderstuartburns
2018
Elder Thomas Grover
www.mymission.com/elderthomasgrover
2018
Elder Andrew Lane
www.mymission.com/elderandrewlane
2018
Elder Adam Heald
elderadamheald.blogspot.com
2017
Elder Andrew Fonua
elderandrewfonua.weebly.com
2017
Elder Caleb Shaw
calebsmissionblog.blogspot.com
2017
Elder Christopher Bozer
elderbozercapetownsouthafrica.wordpress.com
2017
Elder Kaden Smith
elderkadensmith.blogspot.com
2017
Mission Alumni
mission.net/south-africa/cape-town
2017
Elder Tuita Chapman
www.mymission.com/eldertuitachapman
2016
Elder & Sister Farnsworth
randyandkayssouthafricanmission.blogspot.com
2016
Elder & Sister Smith
gregandinamae.blogspot.com
2016
Elder Andrew Taylor
elderandrewtaylormission.wordpress.com
2016
Elder Sean Herrick
elderseanherrick.blogspot.com
2016
Elder Jade Mendenhall
www.mymission.com/elderjademendenhall
2016
Elder Christopher Weber
www.mymission.com/elderchristopherweber
2016
Elder Brandon Wilhelmsen
www.mymission.com/elderbrandonwilhelmsen
2016
Elder & Sister Thomas
thomascapeofgoodhopemission.blogspot.com
2015
Elder & Sister Blatter
blattermission.blogspot.com
2015
Elder & Sister Wheeler
paulandkathywheeler.blogspot.com
2015
Elder Chandler Labrum
missionsite.net/elderchandlerjeffreylabrum
2015
Elder James Rasmussen
elderjrasmussen.blogspot.com
2015
Elder Mitchell Thayne
thisismitchellsafrica.blogspot.com
2015
Elder Nivah Greening
eldergreening.blogspot.com
2015
Elder Trent Kupka
eldertrentkupka.blogspot.com
2015
Elder Trevor Truscott
eldertruscott.blogspot.com
2015
Elder & Sister Boyce
renanddebbiesmissionadventure.blogspot.com
2014
Elder & Sister Silcock
silcockcapetownmission.blogspot.com
2014
Elder Austin Prisbey
austinsadventuresinsouthafrica.blogspot.com
2014
Elder geofrery tindiwensi
www.mymission.com/eldergeofrerytindiwensi
2014
Elder & Sister Fowers
fowerssouthafrica.blogspot.com
2013
Elder & Sister Stokoe
stokoesmission.blogspot.com
2013
Elder Adrian Jones
elderadrianjones.blogspot.com
2013
Elder Brennan Tekulve
missionsite.net/elderbrennantekulve
2013
Elder Brennan Tekulve
elderbrennantekulve.blogspot.com
2013
Elder Bryan Nance
missionsite.net/elderbryanknance
2013
Elder David Cobabe
thecobabeelders.blogspot.com
2013
Elder Brian Naylor
elderbriannaylor.blogspot.com
2012
Elder Bryce Franzen
missionsite.net/elderfranzen
2012
Elder Colton Balmforth
elderbalmforth.blogspot.com
2012
Elder Dustin Haws
elderdbh.blogspot.com
2012
Elder Jordan Nilsson
missionsite.net/elderjordannilsson
2012
Elder Matthew Leach
lettersfromcapetown.wordpress.com
2012
Elder Jordan Nilsson
www.mymission.com/elderjordannilsson
2012
Elder Rob Rigby
robrigby.blogspot.com
2011
Elder Tyler Hansen
hansenmissionaryjournal.blogspot.com
2010

Address

PO Box 181
Observatory
Cape Town
7935
South Africa

Mission President

Steven J. Merrill

Region

Africa

Church Statistics

South Africa

Members: 61221
Congregations: 159
Missions: 3
Family History Centers: 69

Languages

Afrikaans, English, Xhosa, Zulu

Population

Cape Town: 3.7 million; South Africa: 51 million