The Church in Trinidad and Tobago

Though official missionary efforts in Trinidad and Tobago had to wait until 1988, the earliest members of the Church joined in the late 1970s, and the first branch was organized in 1980. In 1988 the government recognized the more than 1,000 Latter-day Saints and authorized expanded missionary work.

History of the Church in Trinidad and Tobago

In 1976, Latter-day Saint Liz Rogers wrote to President Spencer W. Kimball and asked him to send missionaries to her home country of Trinidad. Regular efforts to send missionaries unfolded over the course of several years, and in 1977, the first local Trinidadian, Lucy Josephine Payne, was baptized. In 1980, members formed the Trinidad Branch (later the Port of Spain Branch).

Within this small branch, a core of dedicated members worked hard to establish Zion. As members of a tiny religious minority, they had to work hard to dispel misunderstandings about Latter-day Saints in the public sphere. Finally, in 1988, with more than 1,000 members in the country, the Church gained recognition from the government, allowing full-scale missionary efforts. In subsequent years, Trinidad and Tobago became a center of strength for members in the Caribbean.

Members from diverse backgrounds have come together in Trinidad and Tobago to establish Zion and serve in their communities. They have worked to root the restored gospel of Jesus Christ deeply into their own experiences and understanding, enriching the global Church. As the Lord said in Jeremiah 31:33, “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Read more in Global Histories.