The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ivory Coast
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ivory Coast refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members in Ivory Coast. At year-end 1989, there were fewer than 200 members in Ivory Coast. In 2019, there were 52,241 members in 250 congregations. History. Mormon missionaries first preached in Ivory Coast in 1988. Earlier the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been established by Philippe and Annelies Assard and Lucien and Agathe Affoue. The Affoue  family joined the church while studying in France. Philippe Assard joined the Church while studying in Germany, where he married Annelies who was a native of Germany. After they returned to Ivroy Coast in the mid 1980s they got in contact with each other and began holding Church meetings. The first LDS stake was organized in the late 1990s. During the civil war in the 2000s the number of missionaries in the country was reduced and some areas saw missionaries withdrawn. As of 2018 most full-time LDS missionaries in the country were from either the Congo or countries in  West Africa, but there were a very few from other areas. Plans to build a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Abidjan were announced in 2015. As of 2018 the country had three LDS missions, although two of them also covered Church operations in Senegal and Mali. Stakes and Districts. As of February 2022, the Ivory Coast had the following stakes and districts: Temples. Plans to build a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Abidjan were announced in 2015. On Nov. 8, 2018 Elder Neil L. Andersen of  the Quorum of the 12 of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presided at the ground breaking for the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple. Andersen both spoke and gave the dedicatory prayer in French. During his remarks Anderson shared testimonies of the restored gospel from the Assard family.