Updated Country Profile - Republic of Georgia

Click here to access the updated country profile for the Republic of Georgia. Georgia is located in the Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The Church organized its first branch in 2002 and assigned the first full-time missionaries in 2006. Georgia stands as the quintessential example of delays with the translation of Church materials and scriptures into the local language that have had deleterious efforts on growth. It was not until 2018 that the Book of Mormon was translated into Georgian, and this translation remains available only in digital format. The Church reports fewer than 300 members in the country. Significant problems with member attrition and a lack of self-sufficiency in the local Church have also occurred, particularly in the late 2000s when the war with Russia prompted the removal of full-time missionaries for several months. Nevertheless, major improvements with member activity and leadership development have occurred in the past couple years as attested by the number of active members doubling (without noticeable increase in total church membership), the reestablishment of a second branch in Tbilisi, and local members serving as branch presidents for both Tbilisi branches. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article.

Opportunities for expanding national outreach and proselytism remain abundant. Significant improvements have occurred for the Church in the past decade that suggest better prospects for future growth. Notable examples include improvements in religious freedom, success with strengthening membership in Tbilisi to the point that a second branch has been organized and both branches are led by local members, the translation of additional church materials and the Book of Mormon into Georgian, and the sustained operation of the member group in Rustavi. Prospects appear favorable for the organization of additional branches or member groups in lesser-reached areas of Tbilisi, as well as in additional cities. The member group in Rustavi may become a branch once there are a sufficient number of active members to fill essential callings. Negative social attitudes concerning nontraditional religious groups will likely continue to affect most Georgian’s perception of the Church. Missionary programs targeting youth may help Georgia to send more missionaries who can later return and serve in leadership positions. Self-sufficiency of the Church in Georgia remains a concern given the significant setbacks experienced in the late 2000s following the removal of foreign, full-time missionaries.

Georgian Translation of The Book of Mormon Completed and Published

The Church has finished and published its Georgian translation of the Book of Mormon. The translation can be found here. The committee to translate the Book of Mormon into Georgian was first established in early 2012. This translation has been in the works for many years and is finally available for members in the two Georgian-speaking branches located in the Republic of Georgia. The new translation will be a valuable tool and resource for proselytism, teaching, and testimony development in the Republic of Georgia. Members have previously relied in Russian translations to study the scriptures. There were 268 members in the Republic of Georgia as of year-end 2017. There are 3.7 million speakers of Georgian worldwide.

There are now 112 languages with a translation of the Book of Mormon.

City Opens for Missionary Work in Georgia

Missionaries serving in the Armenia Yerevan Mission report that a second city has opened for missionary work in the country of Georgia.  With slightly more than 100,000 inhabitants and ranked as Georgia's fourth most populous city, Rustavi opened for proselytism last month and young elders and a senior missionary couple were assigned.  Rustavi is located halfway between the capital city Tbilisi and the Azerbaijani border.  The Church assigned the first young proselytizing missionaries in March 2006 and has performed missionary activity only in Tbilisi. Missionaries report that a group has been organized in Rustavi.  It is unclear whether there are any members living in the city.

The opening of a second city in Georgia to missionary work is a significant milestone that may indicate additional prospects to expand missionary activity to additional locations.  The delay of opening a second city to missionary work for six years is concerning and has possibly resulted in missed opportunities to establish the Church in more locations when local populations were more receptive to missionary activity.  Prospects for future growth in Tbilisi and Rustavi appear modest as receptivity continues to decline and no translations of LDS scriptures are available.  One positive development within the past few years is that the Church has translated several basic proselytism materials into Georgian and that the translation of the Book of Mormon into Georgia began within the past year.

Church Pulls North American Missionaries Out of Bolivia

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints finished pulling all the North American missionaries out of the South American country of Bolivia, an action which began last Saturday. Heightening tension between separatists and the Bolivian government has been the main cause of the missionary withdrawal. 102 missionaries were transferred to Peru for the time being. There are three missions of the Church in Bolivia, so I image there are around 200 or so missionaries still serving in the country. There are 160,000 members organized in 24 stakes and nine districts. There is a temple in Cochabamba.

This year there have been two other countries where missionaries have been pulled out of entirely, which are Serbia and Georgia. Countries which have been seeing disruptions in missionary work recently include Russia (due to foreign visa renewal laws) and Sri Lanka (in the city of Kandy).

Update on Missionaries in the Republic of Geogia

The zone of missionaries currently serving in Tbilisi was evacuated to Armenia on Saturday and will probably be reassigned for the time being to serve in Armenia.

Cities Without A LDS Church Presence Blog

A few weeks ago, I began another blog about cities around the world which do not have missionaries or a congregation of the Church in them. Almost every country in the world has many cities which remain unreached as in terms of missionary work. Even countries like Brazil (with over one million members and 27 missions) still have several cities with over 100,000 inhabitants without a branch or missionaries serving there! Much has yet to be done in order to bring the message of the Gospel across the world. The new blog can be found on the right side of the page, listed under "Other Church Growth Blogs."

On a different note, I have not yet received word concerning the dozen or so missionaries serving in the Republic of Georgia and whether they have been evacuated due to the Russian invasion. Georgia currently has two branches functioning in the capital city of Tbilisi. The country was opened to missionary work just back in the spring of 2006. I will provide updates once information becomes available.

The Church in Eastern Europe

I wanted to take some time and write about the Church and Eastern Europe. The majority of the countries considered to be in Eastern Europe were opened for missionary work most recently in the early 1990s. Since that time, the Church's presence and spread into most of the largest cities, but with relatively few members. For instance, the country in Eastern Europe with the highest membership is Ukraine with around 10,200 members (out of 46 million people). However, the countries in Eastern Europe with the lowest Church membership (among countries with a Church presence) are Serbia with fewer than 300 members in three branches and Moldova with around the same number of members in two branches. There is a strong potential for future growth of the Church in Eastern Europe, especially because unlike many other places in the world, there are branches organized through these countries. If conditions change and people become more interested in religion, the Church is mobilized to need such a demand.

Below is a map of Bulgaria; a country which provides the best example of this phenomenon. Click on the map in order to see it more clearly. Each green square is a branch.

Notice how the largest city, Sofia, has several branches organized in it and that branches are scattered fairly evenly throughout the country.

Romania is another good example, and here's a map below.

Here are some exciting recent developments of the Church in Eastern Europe.

New Branches in the Baltic States, Eastern Europe and Georgia

Branches have recently (last 12 months or so) been estabished in the following cities.

• Jelgava, Latvia
• Parnu, Estonia
• Shkoder, Albania (see earlier post)
• Kosice, Slovakia
• Tbilisi, Georgia (second branch in city, the Avlabari Branch)
• Alexandria, Romania (last June)
• Pula, Croatia
• Subotica, Serbia
• Kremenchuk, Ukraine
  

Church Launches New Latvian Website

In the past week or so, the Church has launched a country website for Latvia. It is in Russian and Latvian, and is found at http://www.jezuskristusbaznica.lv/ .

Lastly, I wanted to conclude that the activity rate in these nations are actually not as low as you might think. The LDS Church News stated in the Church Almanac that there are over 1,000 temple recommend holders in Ukraine and the temple has been under construction in Kyiv for the past six months. Furthermore, there are two stakes in Eastern Europe: One in Ukraine and the other in Hungary. The Church is close to organizing stakes in St. Petersburg, Russia ; Kharkiv, Ukraine ; and Donetsk, Ukraine. As for Future missions, Serbia, Romania and Ukraine seem most likely. It will be interesting how soon missionaries will be placed in newly independent Kosovo. I imagine that Kosovo will be included with the mission in Albania, since the majority of the population is Albanian.