The Church in Cambodia

Many Cambodian refugees joined the Church in the United States before returning to their homeland in the 1990s. Missionary work resumed in 1994, and the first two Cambodian stakes were organized in 2014.

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History of the Church in Cambodia

When the Cambodian Civil War began in 1970, the small group of Latter-day Saints who had been holding meetings in their homes left. The war lasted more than two decades and led to widespread violence and famine. Millions of Cambodian citizens died, and thousands fled to refuge in Thailand, France, and the United States. In the United States, many Cambodian refugees met Latter-day Saints, learned the gospel, and accepted baptism. By the 1990s, more than 20 Khmer-speaking branches had beenestablishedin seven US states.

After the fighting ended and a peace agreement was reached, many Cambodian Saints returned to their homeland. In 1994, the Church began holding meetings and preaching the restored gospel in Cambodia. In September of that year, the first branch in Phnom Penh was organized with both Cambodian and Vietnamese members. Local members worked with missionaries to deliver food and clothing to rural villages affected by droughts in January 1995 and in February, senior missionaries began working with the Royal Agricultural University to teach agricultural science classes.

A district was organized in 2000, led by the first local district president, with branches in Phnom Penh, Takmau, and Kampong. In 2002, a district for Vietnamese-speaking members in Cambodia was organized with branches throughout the country. Cambodian Saints have hosted a variety of cultural events, participated in Church-wide art competitions, and volunteered in their local communities. In 2008, members and missionaries assisted the Cambodian government in hosting two interfaith symposia.

The first two stakes in Cambodia were organized on May 9, 2014, in Phnom Penh, and later that year over 3,000 Saints celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the Church’s establishment in Cambodia. The construction of the Phnom Pen Cambodia Temple was announced in 2018, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held in September 2021.

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