The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany

As of December 31, 2018, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 39,917 members in 14 stakes, 152 congregations (94 wards[1] and 58 branches[1]), three missions, and two temples in Germany.[2]

An LDS meetinghouse in Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany

History
Membership
YearPop.±%
2011 38,257—    
2012 38,739+1.3%
2013 38,992+0.7%
2014 39,401+1.0%
2015 39,726+0.8%
2016 40,011+0.7%
2017 40,037+0.1%
2018 39,917−0.3%
2019 39,724−0.5%
Source: https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/germany
The Plan of salvation in German.

The first German to be converted to the LDS Church was an immigrant to the USA named Jakob Zundel in 1836.[3]

Although one British Mormon convert had briefly worked in Germany, the first official of the church to arrive in Germany was Orson Hyde on 27 June 1841 as part of his journey to Palestine. He was delayed in Frankfurt by a visa problem and began to learn German. When he returned to Germany on his trip back from Palestine, he spent 30 January to August 1842 in Regensburg and wrote "Ein Ruf aus der Wüste" ("A Cry out of the Wilderness") whilst he was there. It was published in Frankfurt and was the first LDS Church publication in the German language.[3]

The first converts were baptized in Germany in 1851. Brigham Young sent Daniel Carn to establish the first German mission in 1852 which he did in Hamburg. Carn also oversaw the publication of a German language version of the Book of Mormon which was published in Hamburg 25 May 1852. He was eventually banished from Hamburg, then a sovereign state, due to his attempts to convert Germans to Mormonism but he continued to prostelyse Germans in the then Danish territory of Schleswig-Holstein.[3]

Most early converts emigrated to the United States and, by 1854, the short-lived Hamburg branch was dissolved. Church involvement in Germany resumed in 1860, but was limited due to persecution which continued until World War I. After World War I, the government became more tolerant of religious freedom, and the church received substantial growth.

In the first half of the 20th century Germany had more converts to Mormonism than any other non-English speaking country.[4] By 1925 there were 6,125 members in the German-Austrian Mission, and 5,305 members in the Swiss-German Mission. The first German LDS meeting house was built in 1929 in Selbongen, East Prussia (now Zełwągi in Poland).[5][6]

13,402 Mormons lived in the West German (including Austria as of November 1938) and East German Missions in 1939; at least 996 members were killed during World War II, including more than 400 adult men, about 10% of priesthood holders.[7] Under the Nazi Government of 1933 - 1945, no Mormon congregation was stopped from worshipping and few individual Mormons were persecuted (and only for transgressions that any German of the time would have been punished for).[8] Gestapo agents silently attended services, likely investigating neighbors' complaints of seditious activities, but no punishment came to the church. An estimated 3-5% of adult male members joined the Nazi Party—required of state employees—and speakers avoided criticizing the government or, after the German declaration of war against the United States, emphasizing the church's relationship with that country. The government ordered the church to avoid preaching about "Jewish" topics like "Zion" and "Israel", so leaders told members to not sing hymns with such words.[7]

American Mormon missionaries' views of the government during the 1930s varied. While praising Adolf Hitler's oratory skill and approving of his unifying a politically divided country, they saw arrests of dissidents, enforcement of Nazi eugenics, and widespread fear of the regime. The Nuremberg Laws increased access to and interest in genealogical records, and some saw the monthly eintopf as similar to Fast Sunday, but mandatory Hitler Youth membership ended most Mormon auxiliary organizations for young people.[9] However, there was still opposition towards Nazism within the LDS - Helmuth Hübener ended up being beheaded for anti-Nazi activities,[10] and his colleague Karl-Heinz Schnibbe spent five years in a camp for his part.[11] Hübener was the youngest opponent of the Third Reich to be sentenced to death by the infamous Special People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) and executed.[12]

Following World War II, members of the church in Germany found themselves divided among two nations. Members continued to maintain contact with the church in the west. In the fall of 1961 three stakes were created in Berlin (Germany's first), Stuttgart and Hamburg. In 1982, the Freiberg German Democratic Republic Stake was created. On June 19, 1985, the Freiberg GDR Temple was dedicated. It is the only temple to have been constructed in what was a communist bloc country. In 1987, the Frankfurt, West Germany Temple was dedicated.[2][13]

Missions
  • Germany Berlin Mission
  • Germany Frankfurt Mission
  • Alpine German-speaking Mission (also covers Austria and parts of Switzerland)(does not exclude areas of southern Germany)

Temples

33. Freiberg Germany Temple

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
Rededicated:
 Size:
Style:
 Notes:

Freiberg, Germany
9 October 1982
29 June 1985 by Gordon B. Hinckley
4 September 2016[14] by Dieter F. Uchtdorf
14,125 sq ft (1,312 m2) on a 1 acre (0.4 ha) site
Modern, single-spire design with German influence and use of Gothic-style arches - designed by Emil B. Fetzer and Rolf Metzner
Originally without an angel Moroni statue, one was installed as part of the 2001–2002 renovations. It is the only temple ever to have been located behind the Iron Curtain.[15]

 41. Frankfurt Germany Temple

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
Rededicated:
 Size:
Style:

Friedrichsdorf, Germany
1 April 1981
28 August 1987 by Ezra Taft Benson
20 October 2019 by Dieter F. Uchtdorf
24,170 sq ft (2,245 m2) and 82 ft (25 m) high on a 5.2 acre (2.1 ha) site
Modern, detached single-spire design - designed by Church A&E Services and Borchers-Metzner-Kramer

See also

References
  1. LDS Meetinghouse Locator.Nearby Congregations (Wards and Branches).
  2. "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Germany", Newsroom, LDS Church, 31 December 2018, retrieved 2019-04-24
  3. Scharffs, Gilbert W. (2002). "Das Buch Mormon: The German Translation of the Book of Mormon". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 11 (1): 35–39. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  4. Kuehne, Raymond (2007). Mormons As Citizens Of A Communist State. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-87480-993-0.
  5. Minert, Roger P. (2009). In Harm's Way: East German Latter-day Saints in World War II. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  6. Taylor, Scott (Sep 13, 2010). "LDS Church in Poland has had long, hard journey". Deseret News. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  7. Minert, Roger P. (Fall 2010). "German and Austrian Latter-day Saints in World War II: An Analysis of the Casualties and Losses". Mormon Historical Studies. 11 (2): 1–21.
  8. Nelson, David Conley (2015). Moroni and the Swastika: Mormons in Nazi Germany. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-8061-4668-3.
  9. Embry, Jessie L. (2003). "Deliverer or Oppressor: Missionaries' Views of Hitler during the 1930". In Cannon, Donald Q.; Top, Brent L. (eds.). Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint Church History: Europe. Provo UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University. pp. 47–63.
  10. Holmes & Keele (2003), p. 241 (1995 ed.).
  11. Brian R. Holmes and Alan F. Keele (1995). When truth was treason: German youth against Hitler. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois. ISBN 0-252-06498-4.
  12. Beuys (1987).
  13. "Country information: Germany", Church News Online Almanac, Deseret News, January 29, 2010, retrieved 2012-10-18
  14. A prior rededication by Gordon B. Hinckley took place on 7 September 2002.
  15. "Freiberg Germany Temple to Be Rededicated" (Press release). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 16 August 2002. Retrieved 29 September 2006.


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