Bahamas: Church Chronology

1978 • Utah Valley, UtahClarence E. Newry Jr. joined the Church while living in Utah as a student.

July 30, 1979 • Nassau, BahamasA small group of expatriate Latter-day Saints began meeting together. Full-time missionaries arrived later that year.

January 6, 1980 • NassauAlexandre Paul, consulate general from Haiti, and his wife, Helene Paul, accepted baptism.

1980s–1996 • NassauGovernment restrictions on foreign missionary visas led local members to take a more active role in missionary work.

January 25, 1981 • NassauThe Nassau Branch was formed, with Chris Ballard as branch president and Leona Ferrier as Relief Society president.

May 23, 1982 • NassauAntoine Ferrier was called to serve as the president of the Nassau Branch.

1985 • NassauKeith Marcellus Dean became the first Bahamian called to serve as a full-time missionary. He served in the California Fresno Mission.

July 27, 1986 • NassauNassau Bahamas Haitian Branch, a Haitian Creole-speaking unit, was created.

February 1, 1988 • NassauChurch members ran a Haitian Creole class for the community, which was attended by many, including police officers, nurses, and government officials.

Members gathered to celebrate the dedication of the Nassau meetinghouse.

April 7–8, 1988 • Nassau

Early members in the Bahamas

April 19, 1990 • NassauThe Nassau Guardian published an article on the health benefits of Latter-day Saints living the Word of Wisdom.

April 1991 • Salt Lake City, UtahA small group of Bahamian Latter-day Saints traveled to Salt Lake City to attend the general conference.

August 1992 • BahamasLatter-day Saints weathered Hurricane Andrew, which caused US$250 million in damage in the Bahamas.

Members of the Nassau Branch donated a collection of Latter-day Saint books to the library of the College of the Bahamas.

December 1992 • Nassau

Nassau Branch

March 1997 • Orlando, FloridaAntoinette Russell and Clarence Newry were the first Bahamian couple to be married in the temple.

November 20, 1997 • NassauMembers gathered together as Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Bahamas for the preaching of the restored gospel.

September 15, 2002 • NassauThe New Providence Bahamas District was created.

March 18, 2004 • BahamasThe Church gained official legal recognition in the Bahamas.

April 16, 2004 • New York CityThe New York New York Stake hosted the Bahamian American Cultural Society and many attendees of Bahamian ancestry at a genealogical conference at a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in Union Square. Dr. Gail Saunders, director of the National Archives of the Bahamas, was among the distinguished presenters.

May 13, 2007 • NassauA new building was dedicated for the Freeport Branch, Grand Bahamas.

August 2011 • BahamasBahamian Saints assisted with relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

May 2014 • Fort Lauderdale, FloridaThe Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple, serving Saints in the Bahamas, was dedicated.

January 2017 • Freeport, BahamasFollowing Hurricane Matthew, the Church and Pathfinders Task Force partnered to donate $250,000 in funds to the National Emergency Management Agency of the Bahamas for relief on Grand Bahama.