Exploratory Visits from LDS Leaders to Sao Tome and Principe and Senegal

The Church has begun to explore opportunities for missionary work in two Sub-Saharan African nations: Sao Tome and Principe and Senegal. This information was obtained through reports from senior missionaries and mission presidents. Neither Sao Tome and Principe nor Senegal has an LDS presence despite widespread religious freedom and the operation of many other missionary-focused Christian groups in both of these nations.

Sao Tome and Principe
Sao Tome and Principe has a Portuguese-speaking population of approximately 180,000 people. The nation shares many cultural similarities with other Lusophone African nations such as Angola and Cabo Verde. Most the population adheres to Catholicism or Protestantism.

The Angola Luanda Mission president visited Sao Tome and Principe within recent months. The mission president was accompanied by Sao Tomean members who had joined the Church in Angola. A small sacrament meeting was held with a handful of isolated members and investigators who reside on Sao Tome. No member group appears to have been organized.

Click here to read a case study I wrote in 2013 on prospective LDS outreach in Sao Tome and Principe.

Senegal
Inhabited by 13.6 million people, Senegal is a country located in West Africa that is 94% Muslim, 5% Christian, and 1% followers of indigenous religions. Dakar is the capital city and had an estimated population of 3.2 million people. French is the official language and there are three indigenous African languages spoken by more than one million people (Fulani [Pulaar], Serer-Sine, and Wolof). 

Senior missionaries serving in Accra, Ghana report a recent visit to Dakar to meet with isolated members and investigators. Missionaries reported that a member group currently operates in Dakar. The group operates under the Africa West Area Branch. However, none of the members in the group are native Senegalese. Most, if not all, members in the group appear from other West African nations. 

Click here to read a case study I wrote in 2014 on prospective LDS outreach in Senegal.