The Church in Iceland
After the first branch of the Church in Iceland was established in 1853, the Church grew slowly despite the challenges of emigration and local opposition. The Book of Mormon was translated into Icelandic in 1981, and the first meetinghouse was dedicated in 2000.
History of the Church in Iceland
Guðmundur Guðmundsson and Þórarinn Hafliðason, the first Latter-day Saint missionaries to preach in Iceland, were Icelanders who had recently converted in Denmark and returned to their homeland in 1851. After Þórarinn’s untimely death, Guðmundur preached alone for almost two years. In 1853, despite ongoing opposition, he organized a branch on the Westman Islands.
Although Icelanders continued to join the Church, immigration to North America sometimes left Iceland with no established branches. Recent converts often led the Church with the assistance of Icelandic members who returned as missionaries. Missionary work in Iceland was discontinued at the outset of World War I.
By the end of World War II, the Church had slowly rebuilt its presence in Iceland. US servicemen stationed near Keflavík formed a small congregation in 1945 and began preaching the gospel. Several missionaries from the Denmark Copenhagen Mission were reassigned to Iceland in 1975, and a branch was organized in Reykjavík the following year. The Book of Mormon was published in Icelandic in 1981, and the first meetinghouse constructed in Iceland was dedicated in 2000. A branch was organized in Selfoss in 2007.
Although the number of Church members in Iceland remains small, Icelandic Saints form a close-knit community.
Stories of Faith
More Areas of the Church
Notes
- Erickson, Einar. “A Short History of the Iceland Mission, 1912.” Church History Library, Salt Lake City.
- Heiss, Matthew K. “Sveinbjörg Guðmundsdóttir: ‘Thou Shalt Be Called a Translator.’” Mormon Historical Studies, vol. 17 (2016): 337–48.
- Jenson, Andrew. History of the Scandinavian Mission. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1927.
- Walker, DeAnne. “Iceland—The Saga Continues.” Liahona, June 1997, 34–39.
- Woods, Fred E. Fire on Ice: The Story of Icelandic Latter-day Saints at Home and Abroad. Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2005.
- Woods, Fred E., and Kári Bjarnason. “Loftur Jónsson: A Mormon Icelandic Pillar of Strength.” Mormon Historical Studies, vol. 14, no. 2 (2013): 123–40.
- Woods, Fred E., and Kári Bjarnason. “The First Three Icelanders to Settle in North America.” Mormon Historical Studies, vol. 17 (2016): 291–314.
- Þórhallsson, Markús. “Freedom of Religion and the First Civil Marriage in Iceland.” Mormon Historical Studies, vol. 17 (2016): 263–76.