LATER DEVELOPMENT

The influx of German members who emigrated to the United States beginning in 1841 was a great asset to the young church. The Germans helped to create a blossoming community in Utah due to their good education, their culture, and their willingness to work.
Despite the problems associated with the two world wars, the Church continued to grow gradually in Germany.

During the 1920s, there were three congregations in Chemnitz with more than 600 members.

The first chapel in Germany was constructed in 1929 in Selbongen, now Poland. Many members who were forced to flee the East after World War II provided strong  support for German congregations.

Missionaries were withdrawn from Germany in 1938, but returned in 1947. Ezra Taft Benson, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, Secretary of Agriculture under Eisenhower, and later President of the Church, organized a great charitable operation to help the starving people in Germany shortly after the end of the War. This charitable organization later became known as CARE.

On 10 September 1961 the first stake was organized in Berlin. The Stuttgart and Hamburg Stakes followed that same year.

During the sixties, the headquarters of the Church in Europe were established in Frankfurt.

The Church continued to exist in the former GDR after the War. The faithful members continued  to maintain contact with the Church in the west.  President Monson and other church leaders helped bolster the Germans’ spirits through occasional visits when permitted.

These ongoing efforts made it possible to dedicate the Freiberg Temple in 1985, the first temple on German soil and the first in a (then) Communist country.  Two years later, another temple was dedicated in Germany, located in Friedrichsdorf.

The reunification of Germany also led to uniting of the Church congregations in the east and west. Today there are nearly 36,000 members, 14 stakes, 4missions, and almost 180 congregations in Germany.  

There are two general authorities from Germany.  Elder F. Enzio Busche of the First Quorum of the Seventy was called on October 1, 1977, and Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf was sustained to the First Quorum of the Seventy on April 7, 1996.

Around 700 missionaries serve in Germany, including many from countries throughout the world. There are four missions of the Church in Germany, with offices located in Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich.