Menu

Tanzania in Africa Central Area gets first stake

‘One lesson I have learned is that no one can go ahead of the Lord’s timing,' says Latter-day Saint pioneer in Tanzania

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has created its first stake in the country of Tanzania in the Africa Central Area.

The Dar es Salaam Tanzania Stake was formed from the Dar es Salaam Tanzania District on Sunday, Jan. 26, by Elder Paul B. Pieper, General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Africa Central Area presidency, and Elder George K. Munene, an Area Seventy.

Officially the United Republic of Tanzania, the country has a coastline along the Indian Ocean, the plains of the Serengeti and Mount Kilimanjaro — Africa’s highest mountain. The population of Dar es Salaam is estimated to be 8 million people. The latest statistics from ChurchofJesusChrist.org list almost 4,000 Church members in the country.

More than 1,200 members and friends gathered at the Mlimani City Social Hall on Sunday for the creation of the first stake, reported a news release from the Church’s Africa Newsroom.

President Juventus Mwesiga Rubona was called and sustained as the new stake president. His counselors are President Joel Wilson Onditi and President Alfred Regnatus Henerico.

Leaders and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meet at Mlimani City Social Hall for the creation of the Dar es Salaam Tanzania Stake on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025.
Leaders and members meet at Mlimani City Social Hall for the creation of the Dar es Salaam Tanzania Stake on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The stake comprises five wards: the Ubungo, Mbezi Beach, Kinondoni, Oysterbay and Tabata wards; and five branches: the Bunju, Tegeta, Salasala, Segerea and Kimara branches.

During the meeting, President Rubona expressed his gratitude to the Saints in Dar es Salaam, his counselors and the mission leaders for their efforts. “We now have a place of refuge where we can seek peace and safety in our lives,” he said.

In his remarks, Elder Munene spoke about the transformative power of missionary work and encouraged members to invite others to experience the blessings of the restored gospel.

As the concluding speaker, Elder Pieper testified that “God’s plan of happiness is perfect to help us return to His presence. I testify that the children in this country will someday see the temple and participate in its ordinances.”

The Dar es Salaam Tanzania Stake presidency is pictured on the day the stake was organized on Jan. 26, 2025. In the center is Stake President Juventus Mwesiga Rubona, with Joel Wilson Onditi, first counselor, on the left, and Alfred Regnatus Henerico, second counselor, on the right.
The Dar es Salaam Tanzania Stake presidency is pictured on the day the stake was organized on Jan. 26, 2025. In the center is Stake President Juventus Mwesiga Rubona, with Joel Wilson Onditi, first counselor, on the left, and Alfred Regnatus Henerico, second counselor, on the right. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Elder Laurian P. Balilemwa, now serving as an Area Seventy, was the first district president of the Dar es Salaam Tanzania District when it was created in 2005.

“I am so happy and joyful to see this happening now,” he said of the creation of the new stake. “One lesson I have learned is that no one can go ahead of the Lord’s timing. Through our natural eyes and wisdom, we felt we were ready a long time ago.”

The Church in Tanzania

Two families from the United States and Canada living in Dar es Salaam began holding meetings in 1991. Tanzania was included in the Kenya Nairobi Mission, which was created in July 1991.

The first Tanzanian citizen to be baptized was Robert Muhile, who joined the Church in Cairo, Egypt, in 1991. The first missionary couple arrived in Tanzania in February 1992, and the Church was officially registered in the country on Oct. 8, 1992. A branch was created in Dar es Salaam in December 1992.

In November 2003, then-Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles blessed the country. The Dar es Salaam Tanzania District was established on Dec. 5, 2005, with four branches.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their friends attend a meeting in the Mlimani City Social Hall in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, when the country's first stake was created on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025.
Members of the Church and their friends attend a meeting in the Mlimani City Social Hall in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, when the country's first stake was created on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

An announcement was made in November 2019 of the new Tanzania Dar es Salaam Mission, which opened on July 1, 2020. More than 300 young members and friends of the Church participated in Tanzania’s first For the Strength of Youth conference in June 2023.

In his ministry in the Africa Central Area in February 2024, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles saw the Church’s humanitarian efforts in Tanzania and held meetings for Latter-day Saints and full-time missionaries in the Tanzania Dar es Salaam Mission.

The new Dar es Salaam Tanzania Stake presidency stands with the Tanzania Dar Es Salaam Mission leaders on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025.
From left: Sister Paulina A. Eghan and President Samuel E. Eghan, mission leaders of the Tanzania Dar Es Salaam Mission; Joel Wilson Onditi, first counselor in the Dar es Salaam Tanzania Stake presidency; Stake President Juventus Mwesiga Rubona; and Alfred Regnatus Henerico, second counselor in the stake presidency, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Related Stories
First FSY conference in Tanzania draws hundreds of youth
130,000 fruit trees to bless lives in Tanzania, Africa
Refugee walks across Tanzania to be baptized after reading Book of Mormon
Missionary reconnection: Sons serve together in Tanzania 29 years after fathers
Newsletters
Subscribe for free and get daily or weekly updates straight to your inbox
The three things you need to know everyday
Highlights from the last week to keep you informed