Elder Heber J. Grant, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Louis A. Kelsch, Horace S. Ensign and Alma O. Taylor — the first group of Latter-day Saint missionaries — arrived in the port of Yokohama, Japan, on the ship Empress of India in 1901.
On Sept. 1, the four men gathered on a wooded hill in Yokohama, which is south of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay, to bless the country for the preaching of the gospel.
Now, 125 years later, there are more than 131,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across 230 congregations in the country of more than 14,000 islands. There are seven missions and four operating temples, with another in planning.
On Aug. 30, 2026, commemorating the 125th anniversary, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke at a countrywide devotional. He testified of the power of covenants and how it helps sustain and bless people, reported the Church’s East Asia Newsroom (in English) and the Japan Newsroom (in Japanese).
“The spiritual power that comes into our lives as we honor the covenants we make with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ has been blessing the Saints in Japan for 125 years — and will continue. The work of the Lord will accelerate, according to His will and timing. And every single one of us plays a part in building up His kingdom,” he said.
Elder Bednar testified to the members of the Church in Japan: “If you will put God first, above all other things, and seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you will be blessed.”
Preaching the gospel in Japan
Elder Taylor, 19, wrote of Elder Grant’s prayer on the nation, and it is in “A Priceless Pearl: Alma O. Taylor’s Mission to Japan” in the June 2002 Ensign: “[His] tongue was loosed, and the Spirit rested mightily upon him; so much so that we felt the angels of God were near, for our hearts burned within us as the words fell from his lips. I never experienced such a peaceful influence or heard such a powerful prayer before. Every word penetrated into my very bones, and I could [have] wept for joy.”
The four missionaries worked to learn Japanese as they faced challenges with the language and culture.
Elder Grant, who would later serve as Church President, baptized Hajime Nakazawa, the first Japanese member of the Church, on March 8, 1902. Other milestones followed as Church meetings were organized and more people listened to the gospel and were baptized.
Elder Ensign, who was 29 when he went to Japan, also served as mission president from 1903 to 1905. Elder Taylor, 19, continued to serve in Japan for nine years, including as mission president from 1905 to 1910. He worked to produce the first Japanese translation of the Book of Mormon, which was published in October 1909.
Missionary work continued through the 1920s, when the mission was discontinued due to the political climate between the U.S. and Japan on immigration and other issues, according to the Church’s global history essay “The ‘Dark Ages’ of the Church in Japan” on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. A presiding elder, who was from Japan, was called and ordained. It was after World War II when Church leaders reached out to Latter-day Saints in Japan and sent them shipments of food and clothing. In 1948, the First Presidency began calling missionaries to Japan, explains “Saints, Vol. 3.”
On July 17, 1949, Elder Matthew Cowley of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came to Tokyo to dedicate the renovated mission home, explains the global history article “Here To Stay” on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. He declared that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “here to stay; we will never retreat again.”
Elder Cowley also promised that there would be many more buildings built by the Church — “even temples” — in Japan.
First stake and World Expo
In March 1970, the Tokyo Stake, the first stake in Japan — and in Asia — was organized. In Osaka, the Church had a pavilion in The World Exposition that same year. The pavilion featured a spire with the Angel Moroni statue on a white building with exhibits about the gospel and a replica of the Christus, notes “Saints, Vol. 4.”
During the seven-month event, nearly 7 million people visited the pavilion and about 650,000 Japanese people filled out contact cards, with many requesting visits from the missionaries.
“It was an exciting time for the Church in Japan,” records “Saints, Vol. 4.” In the 25 years since the end of World War II, the number of Church members had grown and there was a translation and distribution office in the country.
Building Latter-day Saint temples
In 1975, President Spencer W. Kimball ministered in Japan. During the countrywide conference on Aug. 9, 1975, President Kimball announced a temple for the country.
Then 10 years old, Seiji Tokuzawa of the Machida Ward, Tokyo Japan West Stake, traveled with his family to the conference.
“My parents and many other Saints wept with joy, but at age 10, and with four younger brothers, I could not comprehend the significance of their tears,” Tokuzawa said in an article on the East Asia Newsroom. “Today, however, I understand those feelings deeply.”
Members of the Church would work and save to go to the Laie Hawaii Temple to participate in ordinances.
The Tokyo Japan Temple was dedicated on Oct. 27, 1980, by President Kimball — it was the first house of the Lord in Asia. Tokuzawa was sealed to his wife in 1988. In 2003, his parents later served as temple president and matron of the Fukuoka Japan Temple, which was dedicated in 2000.
Tokuzawa said: “I offer my heartfelt gratitude for the Lord’s abundant love and grace, which continue to bless families from one generation to the next.”
Other temples in the country are the Sapporo Japan Temple, which was dedicated in 2016, and the Okinawa Japan Temple, dedicated in 2023. The Osaka Japan Temple was announced in October 2023 general conference.
The Church in Japan
To commemorate a century of the Church in Japan, two bronze plaques were unveiled not far from the site in the city of Yokohama where the first four missionaries to Japan offered their dedicatory prayer, reported “Centennial in Japan” on Sept. 8, 2001. The plaques are on the base of the steeples for the Yamate Ward, which was dedicated on Sept. 1, 2002, reported the Church’s East Asia Newsroom.
President Henry B. Eyring, the first counselor in the First Presidency and then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said during the April 2003 general conference about meeting with missionaries in Japan a few years prior: “I promised them that a great day would dawn in that nation. I said that there would be a great increase in the members speaking eagerly to those they met of their testimony of the restored gospel. … I know now that the great miracle, a mighty change, will come inside the members, not in the world around them.”
Throughout 2026, the area leaders have been sharing about the history of the Church in a series of articles on the East Asia Newsroom in English and Japan Newsroom in Japanese, including on translating the Book of Mormon; various pioneers, Church members and missionaries; service; and the legacy for the rising generation. Also the Asia North Area presidency designated 2026 as a year of celebration and remembrance.
The countrywide devotional on Aug. 30 also included a video presentation on the history of the Church in Japan, messages from longtime members and testimonies from children.
Bishop Haruki Konishi of the Yamate Ward said: “Through Elder Bednar’s loving message and the influence of the Holy Ghost, we gained a renewed witness that the power of the Lamb of God is being poured out upon the Lord’s covenant people in this land, and we felt anew the joy of the Savior’s gospel.”
Timeline
- Aug. 12, 1901: The first group of Latter-day Saint missionaries arrived in Japan, including Elder Heber J. Grant, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Louis A. Kelsch, Horace S. Ensign and Alma O. Taylor.
- Sept. 1, 1901: Elder Heber J. Grant blessed Japan for the preaching of the gospel.
- March 8, 1902: Hajime Nakazawa became the first convert to the Church in Japan.
- April 28, 1902: The first meeting of the Church was held in the home of Nakazawa.
- Oct. 16, 1903: The first Sunday School conducted in the Japanese language was organized.
- January 1904–September 1909: Alma O. Taylor oversaw the first translation of the Book of Mormon into Japanese. It was published in October 1909.
- January 1923: Fujiya Nara was ordained presiding elder of the Church in Japan.
- June 9, 1924: Due to rising tension between the United States and Japan, Church President Heber J. Grant discontinued the Japanese Mission.
- October 1947: Edward L. Clissold was called to reopen the Japanese Mission.
- 1955: The Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price were published in Japanese for the first time.
- March 15, 1970: The first stake of the Church in Asia, the Tokyo Stake, was organized.
- 1970: The World Exposition was in Osaka.
- Aug. 9, 1975: President Spencer W. Kimball announced that a temple would be built in Tokyo.
- Oct. 1, 1977: Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi was called as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He was the first native Japanese member to serve as a general authority.
- Oct. 27-29, 1980: President Spencer W. Kimball, President of the Church, dedicated the Tokyo Japan Temple; this was the first temple in Asia.
- June 11, 2000: President Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church, dedicated the Fukuoka Japan Temple.
- March 2011: In the wake of the magnitude 9.0 Tōhoku, or Great East Japan, earthquake and tsunami, the Church distributed 180 tons of emergency supplies.
- Aug. 21, 2016: President Russell M. Nelson, then president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, dedicated the Sapporo Japan Temple.
- Oct. 1, 2023: The Osaka Japan Temple was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson.
- Nov. 12, 2023: The Okinawa Japan Temple was dedicated by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Source: “Japan: Chronology,” Global Histories, ChurchofJesusChrist.org
