Cambodia: Church Chronology

1960s–70s • CambodiaA few Latter-day Saint expatriate families in Cambodia occasionally held services.

1975–80 • CambodiaThe Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh and took control of Cambodia. About two million citizens were killed or died of starvation, and hundreds of thousands fled as refugees to Thailand, the United States, and elsewhere.

August 1982 • Salt Lake City, Utah, USASelections of the Book of Mormon were published in Cambodian to meet the needs of Cambodian converts in the United States.

February 26, 1994 • CambodiaThe Church obtained official government recognition in Cambodia.

March 27, 1994 • Phnom Penh, CambodiaThe first official meeting of the Church in Cambodia was held at the Hawaii Hotel, with 15 in attendance.

May 9, 1994 • Phnom PenhPhal Mao, the first Cambodian convert, was baptized.

September 19, 1994 • Phnom PenhThe Phnom Penh Branch was organized, with Oya Shigeyuki, a Japanese member, as branch president. There were about 60 Cambodian and Vietnamese members.

February 1995 • CambodiaSenior missionaries began teaching seminary, institute, and English classes in Phnom Penh. They also worked with the Royal Agricultural University to teach agricultural science classes and set up a prototype feed mill and model cannery.

January 1995 • Svay Rieng, CambodiaMissionaries and local members worked together to deliver 10 tons of rice, as well as used clothing, to families in rural villages suffering from drought.

March 1996 • Phnom PenhOum Borin became the first local branch president.

May 28–29, 1996 • Phnom PenhMore than 400 Latter-day Saints gathered for a meeting with Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, who offered a dedicatory prayer over the land.

April 30, 1997 • CambodiaSuy Chhay Leang, the first full-time missionary from Cambodia, was called to the Idaho Pocatello Mission.

July–August 1997 • Cambodia and ThailandPolitical violence in Phnom Penh led to the temporary evacuation of missionaries to Thailand. Local members continued to hold services.

July 22, 1998 • Phnom PenhTheany Reath, the first full-time sister missionary from Cambodia, was set apart and departed for the California Sacramento Mission.

1999 • CambodiaTu Anh was the first Vietnamese sister missionary from Cambodia. She served in the Vietnamese district of Washington, DC.

September 19, 1999 • Phnom PenhRepresentatives of the Church were granted an audience with His Royal Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk and Her Majesty Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk at their Royal Palace.

February, April 2000 • Takmau and Kampong Cham, CambodiaBranches were organized in Takmau and Kampong Cham, the first units outside of Phnom Penh.

April 3, 2000 • Phnom PenhVibol Pen became the first local district president, serving in the Phnom Penh Cambodia North District.

June 2000 • CambodiaAs the Church grew and many new members were called into branch leadership positions, four senior missionary couples were called to mentor local branch leaders.

November 2001 • Salt Lake CityThe Book of Mormon was published in Khmer.

May 6, 2002 • CambodiaBarbara and John P. Colton, who presided over the Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission, met His Royal Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk and Her Majesty Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk.

November 16, 2002 • CambodiaA district for Vietnamese-speaking members in Cambodia was organized, covering the entire country.

August 21, 2003 • CambodiaThree local Cambodian sisters, Sokhom Soun, Molis Chan Soun, and Sodalys Sean, and three American sisters were the first female missionaries called to the Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission.

January 25, 2004 • Phnom PenhThe Phnom Penh South District Center, built with Khmer architectural accents, was dedicated.

July 2007 • Salt Lake CityKhmer translations of the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price were published. A triple combination was released, including a Guide to the Scriptures, maps, and photographs.

2008 • Phnom PenhThe Ministry of Cults and Religion asked for the Church’s assistance in hosting a national interfaith symposium and a similar event for religious representatives from ASEAN countries. The Church donated audiovisual equipment, and missionaries provided technical and logistical support, along with language interpretation in Khmer and Vietnamese.

2011 • Phnom PenhChurch members from the north, south, and central districts volunteered to clean the streets of Phnom Penh after the Buddhist Water Festival concluded.

May 20, 2012 • Phnom PenhMore than 1,000 Cambodian Saints attended a devotional with Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

May 9, 2014 • CambodiaThe first two stakes in Cambodia were created: the Phnom Penh Cambodia North Stake, with Eng Bun Huoch as president, and the Phnom Penh South Stake, with Eu Sophal as president.

June 2014 • Phnom PenhMore than 90 young single adults from three Vietnamese branches in Phnom Penh and cities in Vietnam, such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, attended the first all-Vietnamese young single adult conference, with meals prepared and served by local members.

August 2014 • Phnom PenhMore than 3,000 Saints from throughout the country gathered at the Koh Pich Theater for a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Church’s establishment in Cambodia.

December 14, 2015 • Phnom PenhTwenty-five Church leaders attended a countrywide conference, Disseminating Religious Moral Vision for Harmonization in Cambodia, convened by Prime Minister Hun Sen and Minister of Cults and Religion Min Khin. President Eng Bun Huoch, Church spokesperson in Cambodia and president of the Phnom Penh Cambodia North Stake, received a medal of recognition from Minister Min Khin.

Cambodia Sopheap Nhem Jesus Picture

June 2016 • Salt Lake City

The 10th International Art Competition, held at the Church History Museum, featured Cambodian artist Sopheap Nhem’s artwork, Early Morning with the Savior, depicting Cambodian children surrounding Jesus.

November 2017 • Phnom PenhMore than 300 young single adult members helped with general construction cleanup for the Nokor-Tep Women’s Cancer Hospital, a state-of-the-art cancer facility. The former vice-governor of Phnom Penh, Sieng Thai Trac, and the minister of women’s affairs, Dr. Ing Kantha Phavi, were on site with the volunteers, expressing their personal gratitude and appreciation.

December 2017 • Phnom PenhMore than 200 single adults attended workshops in the inaugural self-reliance conference, held in the Garden City Hotel and directed by Yi Phanna, the Church’s manager of self-reliance services.

Cambodia Phnom Penh Temple rendering

October 7, 2018 • Salt Lake City

The construction of the Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple was announced.

February 16, 2019 • Battambang, CambodiaA group of 50 young single adults and school employees worked together to renovate the Rong Chrey School building. They painted walls and built wooden desks.

January 4, 2020 • Phnom PenhThe first group of Brigham Young University–PathwayConnect students, 21 in all, celebrated their graduation from the program.

January 20, 2020 • Prey Veng, CambodiaGovernment officials, hospital employees, patients, and local Church members celebrated the Church’s donation of a power generator and ambulance to Peareang Referral Hospital. Senior medical missionaries in the Cambodia Health Improvement Effort had been working for months with the hospital and nine local clinics, arranging for the donation of medical equipment and providing training.

January 8, 2021 • Phnom PenhChanthy Thol and Veasna Neang became the first Khmer couple to preside over the Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission.