As of year-end 2009, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 40,872 members, 7 stakes, 45 wards, 48 branches, 2 missions, 5 districts and 1 temple in Ghana.[1]
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) was not officially established in Ghana until 1978. However from 1969–1978 there were congregations using this name, following the Book of Mormon and hoping to be able to receive the missionaries and ordinances of the church. One of the main leaders of this group was Billy Johnson. These groups did receive recognition by the government of Ghana in 1969.
In 1978, Spencer W. Kimball received the revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy male members of the church regardless of race or color. After this, the church decided to open missions in West Africa. Merrill J. Bateman, a Brigham Young University economics professor who had often traveled to Ghana to study the cocoa industry, and Edwin Q. "Ted" Cannon made an initial trip to Ghana and Nigeria in the summer of 1978 and contacted many members of these churches that wanted to join with the LDS Church.
In November, Cannon returned to Africa as a missionary with his wife Janath Cannon and in December they went to Ghana. Here they baptized most of the pople who had been affiliated with the various groups using the church's name and from this point on congregations under the name The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in Ghana were part of the church headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
There is one temple of the church in Ghana, the Accra Ghana Temple, which was opened in 2004.[2]
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1979 | 400 |
| 1987 | 5,500 |
| 1990 | 9,000 |
| 1993 | 12,000 |
| 1999 | 17,278 |
| 2003 | 23,738 |
| 2005 | 29,315 |
| 2007 | 36,242 |
| 2008 | 38,224 |
| 2009 | 40,872 |
On January 11, 2004 the Accra Ghana Temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
| 117. Accra Ghana | |||
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Cantonments, Accra, Ghana |
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