How the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came to Zaire/DR Congo
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Democratic Republic of the Congo began in the 1960s, when people in Zaïre wrote to Church headquarters and received materials despite no official presence.
Are you a Mormon from the Democratic Republic of the Congo? As early as the 1960s, people living in what is now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo, then called Zire, began writing to church headquarters in Salt Lake City. Although there was no official church presence in the country, leaders responded by sending literature and encouragement. These early seekers didn't wait.
Many began teaching the gospel themselves and organizing unofficial congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the same time, Congalles individuals living abroad joined the church in places like Europe and the United States. One of them was buiabongi who was baptized in Belgium in 1980, served a mission in England and returned home in 1985 with a desire to help establish the church in his country.
Because the church was not legally recognized yet, members in Kinshasa met privately, first in the home of an American couple and later in Nikita Bongi's garage as the group continued to grow. In February 1986, the president of Zire publicly announced that the church would be granted legal recognition. By April, that recognition was official and missionaries arrived shortly after.
Growth accelerated quickly. By June 1987, a mission was organized in the country. Missionary work also expanded to areas like Lu Bumbashi, where individuals traveled long distances, sometimes over 300 km, to attend meetings and learn more. One example is Eli Manga who read the Book of Mormon in 1987 and chose to be baptized after meeting with missionaries. He returned home and began holding meetings himself, teaching friends and family.
Within a year, he baptized 82 people in a single service that lasted more than 3 hours. People traveled from places like Kesi, Licasi, and Puetto to gather and worship. By 1990, just four years after legal recognition, branches and districts had been established across multiple cities, including Kinshasa and Lu Bumbashi. Today, the church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has grown significantly.
According to official church statistics, there are over 100,000 members in the country, organized into more than 200 congregations, including wards and branches. There are multiple stakes and the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple dedicated in 2019 stands as a major milestone in the church's growth in the region.
