The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Africa

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Africa
The Johannesburg South Africa Temple
Area	Africa South
Members	71,889 (2023)[1]
Stakes	18
Districts	10
Wards	112
Branches	82
Total Congregations[2]	194
Missions	4
Temples	2 Operating 1 Announced 3 Total
Family History Centers	76[3]

Three missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) started proselyting to white English-speaking people in Cape Town in 1853. Most converts from this time emigrated to the United States. The mission was closed in 1865, but reopened in 1903.The South African government limited the amount of missionaries allowed to enter the country in 1921 and in 1955. Starting around 1930, a man had to trace his genealogy out of Africa to be eligible for the priesthood, since black people were not permitted to be ordained. In 1954 when church president David O. McKay visited South Africa, he removed the requirement for genealogical research for a man to be ordained, stipulating only that "there is no evidence of his having Negro blood in his veins".

After the church's 1978 Revelation on Priesthood removed the official prohibition against black priests, local opposition continued. The South African government lifted the restrictions on visiting missionaries. The Book of Mormon was translated into Afrikaans in 1972, to Zulu in 1987, and to Xhosa in 2000. The Transvaal Stake was organized in South Africa in 1970 and the Pretoria Stake was organized in 1978. At some point between 2000 and 2005, the number of black members of the LDS Church in South Africa exceeded fifty percent of the church's total membership in the country.