As of year-end 2007, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) reported 4,626 members in 4 districts and 19 branches in Malaysia.[1]
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has had a presence in Malaysia for less than 40 years.
When the Singapore Mission of the church was established in 1974, Malaysia was within the boundaries of the mission. Mormon missionaries were rotated in and out of the country on 30-day tourist visas to comply with Malaysian law.
After the government granted the LDS Church recognition status in 1977, Elder and Sister Werner Kiepe were sent as senior missionaries to Malaysia. They helped acquire the first property owned by the church in Malaysia in the suburb of Kuala Lumpur. Church membership was small with many members being Americans, Australians temporarily working in the country; there were also some Chinese members living in the country.
A milestone was reached when two native Malaysian men were called in 1981 to serve as missionaries in the Singapore Mission. In the same year, a district was organized in Malaysia. In 1986, the seminary and institute program was established in the country. In 1990, King Syed Putra Jamallulail, the Raja of Perlis, was honored during a visit at the church's Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, Hawaii.[2]
In 1995, Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited Malaysia and dedicated the country for "the preaching the gospel". Convert baptisms have doubled in 1998 over those in 1997.
Ground was broken for the first meetinghouse in East Malaysia at Kota Kinabalu on 16 April 2003.[3][4] Though it was the first groundbreaking of a meetinghouse in Malaysia, it was the second meetinghouse dedicated in the country.[5]
On August 2, 2003, the Malaysia district holds its women's conference. [6] Latter-day Saint Charities, the humanitarian arm of the Church, assisted 15 Malaysian communities with providing a reliable supply of clean drinking water.[7]
| Year | Membership |
|---|---|
| 1993 | 500 |
| 1995 | 700 |
| 1997 | 800 |
| 1999 | 1,141 |
| 2001 | 1,618 |
| 2003 | 2,237 |
| 2005 | 2,917 |
| 2007 | 4,626 |
| 2008 | 5,646 |
Malaysia is within the boundaries of the church's Singapore Mission.
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