Netherlands: Church Chronology

June 1841 • Rotterdam and Amsterdam, NetherlandsElder Orson Hyde arrived in the Netherlands. He distributed his translation of An Address to the Hebrews, the first Church pamphlet in Dutch.

October 30, 1852 • Cardiff, WalesAnne Wiegers van der Woude became the first Netherlander to be baptized.

August 5, 1861 • RotterdamAnne W. van der Woude and Paul Augustus Schettler became the first missionaries to preach in the Netherlands.

October 1, 1861 • Broeksterwâld, NetherlandsGarrit van der Woude, Bandina van der Woude Potgister, and Elisabeth Wolters became the first converts baptized in the Netherlands.

1862 • AmsterdamThe Amsterdam Branch, the first branch in the Netherlands, was organized with 15 members.

June 1863 • AmsterdamThe first of many Dutch converts immigrated to Utah.

November 1, 1863 • RotterdamThe Rotterdam Branch was organized, with Timotheus Mets as president. Mets was the first Dutch branch president.

November 1, 1864 • NetherlandsThe Netherlands Mission was formed, with Joseph Weiler as president.

June 1866 • NetherlandsThe missionary lessons were first published in Dutch.

1871 • NetherlandsSieberen van Dijk was called to preside over the Netherlands Mission. He was the first native Netherlander to preside over the mission.

1884 • AmsterdamThe first Dutch hymnbook was published, containing 50 hymns.

1886 • AmsterdamThe first Sunday School in the Netherlands was organized.

May 1888 • AmsterdamThe first Relief Society in the Netherlands was organized, with Catharina Crezee as president.

John W. F. Volker

1890 • Netherlands

John W. F. Volker translated the Book of Mormon into Dutch. After it was published, a copy was given to the king and queen of the Netherlands.

June 1, 1896 • NetherlandsThe Netherlands Mission published the first edition of the periodical De ster (the Star), later called De ster van nederland.

December 14, 1907 • Salt Lake City, UtahIn a letter titled “A Christmas Greeting to Members of the Church in the Netherlands,” the First Presidency encouraged Dutch Saints to stay in the Netherlands.

February 7, 1908 • RotterdamThe Excelsior Hall in Rotterdam was purchased and became the first Church-owned building in the Netherlands.

June 15, 1908 • NetherlandsThe Doctrine and Covenants was published in Dutch.

1914–19 • NetherlandsDuring World War I, missionaries serving in the Netherlands were reassigned to safer missions, and hundreds of Dutch Saints immigrated to the United States. Local members were called as missionaries.

November 12, 1936 • BroeksterwâldTo celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Church in the Netherlands, a monument commemorating the first baptisms in the country was unveiled.

April 3, 1938 • RotterdamThe Overmass Branch meetinghouse, the first Church-built meetinghouse in the Netherlands, was dedicated.

September 15, 1939 • EuropeAll North American missionaries in Europe were released or transferred to the United States. The mission president in the Netherlands was also directed to leave Europe, and Jacob Schipaanboord Sr. was called as acting mission president.

May 14, 1940 • RotterdamGerman forces invaded Rotterdam and destroyed much of the city, including the meetinghouse.

September 1944 • NetherlandsFood rationing imposed by Nazi forces caused widespread food shortages for many Netherlanders, including members of the Church.

May 18–19, 1946 • RotterdamElder Ezra Taft Benson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited the Rotterdam District and organized the distribution of relief supplies for the European Saints.

1947–48 • NetherlandsDutch Saints sent their entire potato harvest and barrels of pickled herring to help the starving Saints in Germany.

May 1952 • Soestdijk Palace, Baarn, NetherlandsChurch President David O. McKay met with Queen Juliana of the Netherlands to discuss Church beliefs and the missionary efforts. She later accepted a Book of Mormon.

1953 • Zeeland and South Holland, NetherlandsDutch Church members gathered money and clothing for their countrymen who had lost their homes in a devastating flood.

August 22, 1955 • NetherlandsThe Church received official recognition in the Netherlands after 19 years of requests.

September 11, 1955 • Bern, SwitzerlandThe Bern Switzerland Temple, the first in Europe, was dedicated.

March 30–April 6, 1956 • BernDutch members made the first journey to the Bern Switzerland Temple.

March 12, 1961 • RotterdamThe Holland Stake, the first in continental Europe, was created with J. Paul Jongkees as president.

September 1973 • NetherlandsThe Netherlands Mission began the home-study seminary program.

April 4, 1976 • Salt Lake CityJacob de Jager was called as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He was the first Dutch General Authority.

1986–88 • Haarlem, NetherlandsChurch members joined with those of other faiths to provide food, clothing, and other supplies for impoverished people in Warsaw, Poland.

March 1990 • NetherlandsDutch members organized a drive to gather relief supplies from thousands of Netherlanders to send to the needy in Romania.

September 10, 1992 • NetherlandsElder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Netherlands for the preaching of the gospel.

August 16, 1999 • Salt Lake CityThe First Presidency announced the construction of The Hague Netherlands Temple.

July 1, 2002 • Netherlands and BelgiumThe Netherlands Amsterdam Mission combined with the Belgium Brussels Mission, creating the Belgium Brussels/Netherlands Mission.

The Hague Netherlands Temple

September 8, 2002 • Zoetermeer, Netherlands

President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated The Hague Netherlands Temple. Anne Hulleman, a native Dutchman, was called as the first temple president.

August–October 2011 • BroeksterwâldTo celebrate 150 years of the Church in the Netherlands, members, nonmembers, and missionaries restored and planted flowers around the 1936 monument, which commemorated the first baptisms in the country.

April 7, 2017 • NetherlandsA collection of more than 9 million Dutch documents and their transcriptions was released on FamilySearch.