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

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File:Capella ss.jpg
LDS Meetinghouse in Sassari, Italy.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Italy is the Italian branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church or, informally, the Mormon Church) is a Christian restorationist denomination.

As of 2016, the LDS Church reported 25,956 members, 103 congregations and two missions in Italy.[1]

History

19th century

During the October 1849 general conference, Brigham Young called Lorenzo Snow and Joseph Toronto open missionary work in Italy. While en route to Italy, Snow called T. B. H. Stenhouse and Jabez Woodard to serve in the new mission. They arrived in Genoa on 25 June 1850, and Snow offered a prayer dedicating Italy to the preaching of the gospel and organized the Italian Mission on 19 September on a mountain peak near the city of Torre Pellice. On 27 October, Snow baptized the first convert. The first Italian-language edition of the Book of Mormon was published in London in 1852.[2]

In 1853 a group of approximately 70 Waldensians, including men, women, and children left their homes in the Piedmont Valleys and migrated to Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, after being converted by Lorenzo Snow. These Waldensians maintained their cultural heritage, while passing on their mixture of Mormon and Waldensian faiths to their descendants. Their descendants still consider themselves both Mormon and Waldensian, and have met occasionally over the many decades to celebrate both heritages.[3][4][5][6][7]

The mission closed in 1867, after everyone baptized had either migrated to Utah Territory or left the church.[2]

20th century

Unsuccessful attempts were made to resume proselytizing, but legal permission was not granted to do so. Members of the church finally returned to Italy during World War II as foreign servicemen: nearly 2,000 LDS military personnel were in the region during the mid-1940s, and there remains a LDS military presence in Italy ever since.[8]

Vincenzo Di Francesca was one of the first converts in Italy in the 20th century, and his story was documented in the 1987 LDS Church film How Rare a Possession.

In 1964 a new Italian-language translation of the Book of Mormon was published, and Ezra Taft Benson successfully negotiated with Italian government officials to allow missionary work to begin again. In early 1965, elders from the Swiss Mission were assigned to cities in Italy, and on August 2, 1966, Benson reestablished the Italian Mission, with headquarters in Florence. By 1971 there was a second mission opened in Italy, and in 1977 there were four missions: Rome, Catania, Milan, and Padova. That same year Spencer W. Kimball visited Italy, the first church president to do so. After many years of effort, formal legal status in Italy was granted to the church in 1993.[2]

Stakes

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  • Alessandria Italy Stake
  • Milan Italy East Stake
  • Milan Italy West Stake
  • Palermo Italy Stake
  • Puglia Italy Stake
  • Rome Italy East Stake
  • Rome Italy West Stake
  • Venice Italy Stake
  • Verona Italy Stake

Districts

  • Calabria Italy District
  • Florence Italy District
  • Rimini Italy District

Missions

Temple

The Rome Italy Temple was announced on October 4, 2008 by President Thomas S. Monson.

Rome Temple by Trodel.JPG

 156. Rome Italy (Under Construction) edit

Location:
Announcement:
Groundbreaking:
Coordinates:
 Size:
 Notes:

Rome, Lazio, Italy
4 October 2008
23 October 2010 by Thomas S. Monson
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40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2) on a 14.8 acre (6 ha) site
Announced at the 178th Semiannual General Conference.[9]

See also

Notes

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References

External links

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