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

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) has had a presence in the Australia since 1840.

The Perth Australia Temple, completed in 2001

First missionaries, convert, and congregation

The LDS Church was introduced into Australia when William James Barratt, emigrated from England to Adelaide in November 1840.[1] He had been ordained an elder by George A. Smith, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who instructed him to share the gospel whenever he could.[1] Barratt, whose descendants still live in the Adelaide area, eventually drifted away from the church, but not until after he had baptized Robert Beauchamp, probably the first Australian convert.[2] Beauchamp later became president of the Australian Mission. Andrew and Elizabeth Anderson, also British converts, immigrated to Wellington, near Dubbo, New South Wales, with their three children in 1841. Anderson baptized several converts and in 1844 organized the church's first Australian branch in Wellington.[2]

Official LDS missionary work did not begin in Australia until John Murdock and Charles W. Wandell arrived in Sydney from Utah on 30 October 1851.[3]

The first church building was constructed in Brisbane in 1904 and the country’s first temple, located in Sydney, was completed in 1984.[3]

Current status

As of 6 April 2013, the LDS Church reported 136,617 members, 34 stakes, nine districts, 208 wards, 82 branches, and five missions.[3] There are five temples in Australia, located in the cities of Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney

The membership reported by the church in Australia is approximately 0.57% of the country's population.[4] However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics census in 2011 had only 59,770 who described themselves as Latter-day Saints or 0.28% of the population.[5] LDS Church membership statistics are different from self-reported statistics mainly because the LDS Church does not remove an individual’s name from its membership rolls based on inactivity in the church.[6][7] In 2016 census 60,867 self identified as being members of the church religion[8].

Temples

The Sydney Australia Temple was the first LDS temple built in Australia; it was dedicated in September 1984. Four additional temples were dedicated between 2000 and 2003.

28 Sydney Australia Temple Operating 30,677 sq ft (2,850 m2) 3 acres (12,141 m2) 20 September 1984 Gordon B. Hinckley edit
89 Adelaide Australia Temple Operating 10,700 sq ft (994 m2) 6.94 acres (28,085 m2) 15 June 2000 Gordon B. Hinckley edit
90 Melbourne Australia Temple Operating 10,700 sq ft (994 m2) 5.98 acres (24,200 m2) June 16, 2000 Gordon B. Hinckley edit
106 Perth Australia Temple Operating 10,700 sq ft (994 m2) 2.76 acres (11,169 m2) May 20, 2001 Gordon B. Hinckley edit
115 Brisbane Australia Temple Operating 10,700 sq ft (994 m2) 0.86 acres (3,480 m2) June 15, 2003 Gordon B. Hinckley edit

See also

References

  1. ^ a b John Devitry-Smith, "William James Barratt: The First Mormon 'Down Under'", BYU Studies, vol. 28, no. 3 (June 2007)
  2. ^ a b Ruth Goldthorpe (1989). Our Honourable Inheritance : A History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Australia (Adelaide)
  3. ^ a b c A Brief History of the Church in Australia
  4. ^ Australian Bureau of statistics list a population of 21,874,900 or claim of 0.57% and 0.24% of the population by the LDS church and Australian Bureau of statistics respectively.
  5. ^ "B14 Religious Affiliation by Sex". ABS.stat. Australia Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Membership, Retention on the Rise", Ensign, June 2007, pp. 75–80. "Church membership growth numbers are often interpreted inaccurately, which can lead to misconceptions in the media, Brother Buckner said. Therefore, it is important to clearly understand what these numbers signify. They represent the number of Church members, but they do not represent activity rates. The Church does not remove an individual’s name from its membership rolls based on inactivity."
  7. ^ "Church Statistics Reflect Steady Growth". LDS Newsroom. 11 April 2007 "it is a challenge for the Church to keep track of all of its members, especially if they do not regularly attend Sunday services. The Church does not remove an individual’s name from its membership rolls based on inactivity."
  8. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016, Cultural Diversity, TableBuilder, Findings based on use of ABS TableBuilder data

Further reading

External links

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