Mormon Church Growth in New Delhi India
September 7, 2009 by DH
Filed under Mormon Asia
Mormon Church Growth in New Delhi India
The Mormon Church in India continues to grow and establish itself across all of India. While the Mormon Church is more established in the South (Bangalore area) it is also seeing growth in the North in the New Delhi area. Mormon World has written previously of a Mormon Apostle’s prophecy of a future Mormon temple in India and one of our regular contributors, Sangeetha, is an Indian convert that attended one of the Mormon congregations in Hyderabad.
Recently there was an article written by Jamshid Askar and Mike Terry from the LDS Church News about the growth of the LDS Church in New Delhi. As usual we would like to touch on a few highlights and the actual link is below. Enjoy!
Church in New Delhi moving forward
- The article mentions several times the India New Delhi Mission. This mission was created in November 2007 and serves 4 countries-Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Northern India.
- I found it personally interesting that the district president of the Pitampura Branch of the New Delhi District is only 23 years old! Meaning that because many Saints are first generation, there are probably many young members who are returned missionaries who are asked to lead and grow the Church in India. I saw this first-hand on my own mission where many young RM’s who had the experience and testimony were called to lead and serve a growing but young church.
- William K. Jackson is the President of the India New Delhi Mission. He formerly worked at U.S. embassies in Asia and Africa.
- In 1990 there was only one branch (A Mormon “branch” is a small congregation. Branches eventually becomes “wards.” and ”stakes” consist of a combination of wards and branches within a certain geographic area.) in New Delhi-mainly made up of expatriate members. By 2002 there were two branches largely made up of Indian members and leaders.
- As of July 2009 the India New Delhi mission has a total of 3 districts and and 19 branches across 4 different countries. (Mormon “districts” eventually become “stakes” much like branches becomes wards.)
- Some interesting comments by the mission president:
With the personal perspective culled from living in New Delhi for a total of eight years spread over two decades, President Jackson understands just how far the Church has come and what has to happen for sustained growth to continue.
“Growing out of old cultures is sometimes a slow and painful process, but it’s happening here,” he said. “And as we do that with the first generation, with these pioneer members, I think the rising generation will get all the benefits that a rising generation should get growing up in the Church with all its programs and all its blessings, with the expectations of serving missions and marrying in the temple. …
“The districts are anxious to become stakes so they can have the blessings of stakehood, including a patriarch. Interestingly enough, our goal is not to establish stakes. That will happen when it’s ready to happen. I think our goals here among other things would be to establish the Church and strengthen the priesthood, to find and help outstanding men and families come into the Church, teach and train them and encourage them to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and to learn how to be leaders and ministers so that we can establish strong districts with a solid priesthood foundation upon which to build.”
Overall the article is a very interesting read to get a perspective on how young the church is in New Delhi (and India as a whole) but seeing the faith and dedication of these converts points to a bright future for the LDS Church in India.
For the full article:
Church in New Delhi moving forward- Jamshid Askar and Mike Terry LDS Church News
Hello, my name is Amanda. I am LDS. I will be coming to New Delhi India for a year to travel, work and live. I’d Love to get some contact information for the Biship and missionaires in the area. Thanks much
Amanda,
If you go to mormon.org and use the Meetinhouse Locator you can drag and drop the icon on New Delhi and then see all the Mormon congregations in New Delhi. It also shows there locations and contact information if available. Hope that helps. LMK if you need more help.
DH
Dear DH,
My name is Ben Smith and I am an American currently residing in New Delhi. I’ve been here for almost three years now and the church has exploded. When I arrived there were two branches now there are 6! Thank you for writing this and other pieces on the church here, it really opens the eyes of other saints across the globe who don’t know much about it.
@Ben,
Thanks for dropping by. I hope you enjoy Mormon World! We would love to hear more from you. I’ve also emailed you personally.
DH
I have a son going to Nepal for six weeks in 2010 for humanitarian service. I have checked the meetinghouse locator and found nothing in Nepal. Is there any contact information for members or congregations in Nepal?
Diane,
Sorry for the delayed response. I am looking into seeing if I can find any information for you about the Church in Nepal. I will get back to you via email once I know.
Thanks
DH
iam eesa hussain from karnataka,
i learned some words from mormons, by lady jean .
but i never met any mormons in india ,
jaean is from america she is only my chat friend,,
i want to know more abt mormon/ lds.
and wish to visit to church
eesa:
You can find Mormon church services in India by clicking on the icon in the right sidebar that says “Find Mormon Church Services” and has a picture of a Mormon Chapel behind it. You can then search Mormon meeting times/locations in India for you to attend.
You can learn more about the Church through the official site at http://www.mormon.org.
You can also ask you questions here through the comments section or email me at mormonworld@gmail.com
DH