Updated Country Profile - Nepal

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Nepal. The Church in Nepal appears to have approximately 200 members on Church records, but only about 50 appear to regularly attend church services. Despite a low member activity rate, the Kathmandu Branch, the only branch in the entire country of 30 million people, has had more than 30 members serve full-time missions since the branch was organized in 2001 as of 2017. However, the vast majority of these returned missionaries have immigrated to India. A sacrament meeting service held twice a month began to occur in Itahari in mid-2019. There are additional cities with isolated members albeit there do not appear to be any official member groups. Government restrictions on religious freedom and the consistent emigration of active returned missionaries are the greatest barriers for growth. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article.

As local members share their faith with family and friends and missionaries return home and stay in Nepal, greater growth will occur. A second branch in Kathmandu may be organized to reduce travel time for members or from a lack of space in the current renovated meetinghouse. However, recent reports on the number of active members in Kathmandu suggest no imminent plans or prospects for more units to be created given leadership shortages. Additional groups or small branches may be organized in larger cities as returned missionaries move to these locations, share their beliefs with those around them, and have adequate leadership experience to operate congregations. Greater outreach with humanitarian missionaries will likely not occur until greater religious freedom is granted. Translations of additional Latter-day Saint scriptures into Nepali are needed, as well as Gospel study and scriptures translated into additional languages spoken by more than one million people. Literacy programs also present good opportunities for passive missionary service.

Nepali Translation of the Book of Mormon Completed

The Church has published its Nepali translation of the Book of Mormon. Translation work in Nepali began in May 2010. Currently, there are only two Nepali-speaking branches worldwide, including one branch in Nepal and one branch in Salt Lake City, Utah. There are hundreds of Nepali-speaking Latter-day Saints worldwide who primarily in the United States, Nepal, Europe, and Hong Kong. There are approximately 21 million native speakers of Nepali worldwide. To view the translation, click here. For more information about a recent celebration about the new translation, click here.

LDS Mission Outreach among Nepali-Bhutanese and Karen Refugees in Salt Lake City, Utah

At cumorah.com, we are writing a case study on recent LDS growth among Nepali-Bhutanese and Karen refugees in the Salt Lake City area. The Church opened its first Karen-speaking branch in 2009 to meet the needs of increasing numbers of Karen refugees joining the Church. The Karen are an ethnic minority group in eastern Burma who have been targetted by the current political regime in Burma, resulting in many fleeing to refugee camps in neighboring Thailand. Earlier this year, the Church opened its first Nepali-speaking branch in the United States in Salt Lake City to service an increasing number of Nepali-Bhutanese refugees joining the Church. These refugees are ethnic Nepalis who lived in Bhutan but have fled the country into refugee camps in neighboring Nepal and India and, like the Karen, are being accepted by the United States and resettled in many major cities such as Salt Lake City. We are looking for any current information on the language usage, convert retention, receptivity to LDS teachings and proselytism efforts, and humanitarian and development work relating to these two people groups. Please comment if you have additional information or insight.

Church Growth News

LDS branch officially created in Burundi

Senior couple missionaries serving in the DR Congo Lubumbashi Mission report that the first official branch has been created in the country of Burundi. LDS services have previously operated as a group. A branch once operated in Burundi in the 1990s, but was discontinued as members left the country as a result of war. Dozens of converts have been baptized since full-time missionaries were assigned last September. Prospects appear to be materializing for mission outreach to expand outside of Bujumbura in the coming months and years.

New stakes to be created

Full-time missionaries serving around the world report that new stakes will soon be created in the following locations:

• Donetsk, Ukraine
• Kananga, DR Congo
• Quetzaltenango, Guatemala area
• Granada, Nicaragua

It is unclear whether First Presidency approval has been granted for each of these potential stakes and I will provide updates once they become available.

Nepal Update

Although not recognized by the government and operating unofficially, the LDS Church in Nepal was reported by the Church to have 133 members in the sole branch headquartered in Kathmandu. No active proselytism occurs in Nepal and Nepalese youth have begun to serve full-time missions in increasing numbers in recent years.

City in Kazakhstan opening for missionary work

Full-time missionaries serving in Kazakhstan report that for the first time in LDS Church history, a second city will have full-time missionaries assigned. Only Almaty has LDS missionaries at present, but next month the capital city of Astana should also have full-time missionaries assigned. There have been plans for years to eventually open Astana for full-time missionary work and it is unclear whether current plans will materialize as past plans never came to fruition.

City in Uganda opens for missionary work; first branch to be created at the end of January

The city of Lira, Uganda has had full-time missionaries recently assigned and the Uganda Kampala Mission President will create the first branch in the city later this month. Full-time missionaries report that sacrament attendance has increased to over 50 and that there are now five priesthood holders.

New missions in 2011 rumors

Although no official plans have been announced, there has been discussion on new missions which may open in July 2011. I announced a couple months ago concerning plans to open a new mission in Lusaka, Zambia. Potential new missions which may be created this year are listed below. These potential new missions have been cited by full-time missionaries serving in the field.

• Ethiopia Addis Ababa
• Angola Luanda/Mozambique Beira
• Togo/Benin

Church planting in the United States

Full-time missionaries serving in Little Rock, Arkansas report that mission and stake leadership have experimented with church planting approaches recently. A group operates in the Little Rock area with a full-time missionary companionship assigned that has grown to 25 some members attending weekly - all of which are recent converts. Missionaries report that they started the congregation from scratch and are hoping to organize an independent branch from the group in the near future as local priesthood leadership develops. This church planting example illustrates the need for such missionary approaches worldwide for the LDS Church in order to improve convert retention, member self-sufficiency, and long-term church growth.