From meetings with only a few people in the 1970s, then officially beginning in September 1993 with 30 people, membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cameroon has grown, and the Church has established its first stake in the African country.
Elder Paul B. Pieper, General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Africa Central Area presidency, and Elder Charden Ndinga, Area Seventy in the same area, organized the stake on June 1, reported the Church’s Africa Newsroom.
Elder Pieper proclaimed in the nation’s capital of Yaoundé that “from this day and forevermore, this stake will be a standard where the light of God will extend to all of Cameroon and beyond. It will be a light to this nation.”
This historical event for Cameroon shows that the gospel is spreading throughout the world, said President Pascal Thierry Onana, the newly sustained stake president of the Yaoundé Cameroon Stake.
The roots of the gospel in Cameroon go back to 1974, explains the Church’s global history section for the country. The first sacrament meeting was held with a few expatriates in attendance. Then, between 1979 and 1989, Cameroonians baptized in other countries came back to Cameroon and started holding meetings. In January 1993, the Church established the Bastos Branch.
By the time the government formally recognized the Church in September 1993, the branch had grown to 30 members, with at least 90 people attending meetings.
The number of members doubled by the end of 1993, with 60 members attending on record.
Nine hundred members attended the new stake organization in person. There are 3,327 Latter-day Saints in the country, according to the latest statistics on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. The members have been organized into five wards and four branches across the country.
“The organization has changed, but our work remains the same: to reach out, to serve, to bless and to strengthen,” Elder Pieper said.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify the Church’s history in Cameroon.
