PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — People are quiet as they somberly and slowly walk the paths laid between mass graves at the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center. This site on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city, was used as a killing field by the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.
Though graves were excavated and thousands of human remains carefully removed and cataloged, every so often the soil shifts and more bones come to the surface.
“It is as if the spirits of those who died here will not lie still,” says the audio tour.
Millions of people were killed during the genocide, the tour explains — pushed into pits “as if life had no meaning.”
Elder Bun Huoch Eng, the first Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called from Cambodia, was born in 1980, one year after the communist regime ended. He had relatives who were killed. If he had been born any earlier, he could have been killed too.
“Those who survived carried deep wounds and painful memories, and I believe many Cambodian people have a deep desire for peace, healing, hope and love,” Elder Eng said.
When the Church came to Cambodia in 1994, it brought the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ to people who were searching for hope and healing, Elder Eng said.
“The Savior said, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). I have seen that promise fulfilled. ... To me, the story of the Saints in Cambodia is a story of light coming after darkness.”
Veasna Kuonno Neang, the first native Cambodian called to serve as a mission president in the country and who served in that role from 2021 to 2024, said over the three decades since the Church came to Cambodia, he has seen the Lord gather His children from humble beginnings and deep historical pain into strong, faithful stakes and branches.
“I want the global Church to know that the Latter-day Saints in Cambodia are a resilient, devoted and deeply loving people,” Neang said. “The Saints here love the Savior with all their hearts because His gospel brought light into our lives after a period of intense darkness.”
Over the three decades, Church membership has expanded from a handful of members to more than 18,000. The latest statistics from ChurchofJesusChrist.org show 30 wards and branches, two stakes and two missions.
Cambodia’s first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple — will be dedicated Sunday, Aug. 30.
‘God loves them’
On Friday evening, Aug. 28, Elder Tyler Smurthwaite and Elder Soknim Reth, full-time missionaries in the Cambodia Phnom Penh West Mission, taught a lesson in the home of newly baptized Church members who live not far from the grounds of the new Phnom Penh temple.
As the missionaries teach, they talk about the new temple and Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation.
Elder Reth is from Kampong Cham, Cambodia, about two hours from Phnom Penh. His father was a Buddhist monk before leaving that path, getting married and starting a family. When Elder Reth was 5 years old, missionaries came to his home and his parents accepted the gospel.
His family and other members in the country feel great joy for the upcoming dedication. Latter-day Saints in Cambodia have traveled to either Hong Kong or the Philippines to attend a temple.
“The first house of the Lord in Cambodia is a great blessing that people in Cambodia receive,” Elder Reth said. “They will know God loves us and He wants to save the people in Cambodia and have them to know more about the plan of salvation.”
The public open house for the new temple, which ran Aug. 15-22, saw many friends of the Church, government officials and leaders of other faiths tour the edifice. Elder Smurthwaite, from Rocklin, California, said missionaries invited many people to attend and have been answering any questions afterward.
“It has completely changed our focus and our scope of teaching as well, giving it a larger vision,” he said.
In this majority Buddhist country, one misconception about Christianity is that it separates people from their families, Elder Smurthwaite said. People may also be afraid of Christianity because they don’t know what it is. But the temple open house provided comfort to many people when they learned members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints love their families as well, he explained.
Elder Reth said many people talked about how they felt inside. “They can feel God loves them.”
A place of healing
Maly Low of Gilbert, Arizona, helped translate the Book of Mormon and other Church materials into Khmer in 2001, which allowed more people to read it in their native language. Her family fled Cambodia as refugees in the early 1970s when she was 10 years old, going through the jungle for three days and two nights to reach Thailand.
Later her family immigrated to the United States, where missionaries gave her a Book of Mormon and she was baptized. She knew the Lord had preserved her life and directed and guided her.
She remembers crying when then-Church President Russell M. Nelson announced in 2018 a temple would be built in her home country.
“I feel that the temple will help my people receive healing from physical, mental and spiritual traumas and anguish that we have suffered. Many blessings will definitely pour down from heavens like dews upon the grass, nourishing both our hearts and souls,” Low said.
The temple brings to older Church members the profound comfort of families sealed for eternity, Neang said. “It assures them that death and tragedy do not have the final say.” The temple also helps youth and young adults build a righteous legacy that honors their ancestors while guiding them in the future.
Elder Eng said the temple represents generations of faith, sacrifice and waiting. During the open house, he saw young and old members enter the temple with tears of joy. “I believe they understand that this is a holy place where families can be united and where we can serve those who have gone before us,” he said.
Looking to the future
After visitors have finished slowly walking through the Choeung Ek museum and killing field, the audio tour concludes by telling visitors, “For your sake, remember us and remember our past as you look to your future.”
Late Church President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke about the great future in the country when visiting Cambodia to offer a blessing on the land. On May 29, 1996, he prayed to God to bless the country with peace, prosperity and harmony. And he asked Church members to “look to the future with optimism and faith.”
Elder Smurthwaite sees much joy and beauty in Cambodia today. “There is beauty in the people. There’s beauty in the traffic. There’s beauty in the food. There’s beauty in the culture here. And one reason I really love the temple is when I see it, I’m reminded of Cambodia.”
When asked what he would share with people in Cambodia and around the world, Elder Reth said he wants to invite them all to open their hearts to learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. “You will know about the truth. And I know this is the truth. I know this is the plan of Heavenly Father.”
Neang said members demonstrate their testimony through quiet service, strong family ties and extraordinary faith. Cambodia is not just a place defined by its historical trials; “it is a vibrant home for Zion where the rising generation is eager to lead, serve missions and build a peaceful future.”
Church history in Cambodia
The following are highlights of Church history in Cambodia from the Church’s global histories.
1994: The Cambodian government officially recognized the Church.
1996: President Hinckley, on the banks of the Mekong River, offered a dedicatory prayer on Cambodia.
1997: Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission was organized.
1999: King Norodom Sihanouk and his wife were given copies of the Book of Mormon.
2003: The first Church-constructed meetinghouse in Phnom Penh was completed.
2014: Two stakes were created on the same day.
2018: Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple was announced.
2019: President Nelson ministered in Cambodia.
2021: Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple groundbreaking ceremony was held.
2024: The Church celebrated its 30th anniversary in Cambodia, and the Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission was split into two missions.
2026: Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple dedicated.
