The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France
# The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a presence in France since 1849, and the first Latter-day Saint convert in the country was Augustus Saint d'Anna, in Le Havre. The Church claims a membership of about 38,000 in the country, representing less than 0.1% of the population.

## History

The first Latter-Day Saint missionary to preach in France was John Pack, who entered the country in 1849 with John Taylor. William Howells, who entered the country in 1849, was soon joined in his preaching by his daughter, and later by William C. Dunbar. In April 1850, the first congregation was composed of six members in the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer. Elder John Taylor, a Quorum of the Twelve Apostles member at the time, presided over the first mission in France. In 1853, there were only 337 members of the French mission. In 1863, Louis A. Bertrand, an early convert to the church involved in its establishment, wrote to Brigham Young that France was not a good field mission for the church. The mission was closed between 1864 and 1912, and between 1914 and 1923. The first place of worship was erected in 1962 in Nantes. There were only 77 people baptized in 1933 and 116 in 1951, but the number of baptisms increased from 1960.

The first French-language edition of the Book of Mormon was printed on January 28, 1852. A second edition was printed in 1907 in Zurich by Serge Ballif, a third in 1952 in Lyon, a fourth in 1962 by Marcel Kahne (a young missionary and L’Étoile du Déséret editor, who also revised Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price), and a fifth in 1977. From May 29, 1851 to April 1852, the Étoile periodical was printed. In 1861, Jules Rémy published a book entitled Journey to the land of Mormons. As response to this book, Louis Bertrand published several articles in La Revue contemporaine, and the following year, gathered his articles under the title Memoirs of a Mormon.

The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square performed in Paris's Palais de Chaillot in 1955, in Strasbourg in 1991, and in Marseille in 1998.

Several presidents of the church have visited France, including Lorenzo Snow in February 1851, Quorum of the Twelve member David O. McKay in July 1952, and Gordon B. Hinckley on 4 June 1998.

## Temples

On July 15, 2011, plans to build the Paris France Temple were announced by President Thomas S. Monson. The temple, dedicated on May 21, 2017, was then one of the church's 156 operating temples.

| 156. Paris France Temple Official website News & images | 156. Paris France Temple Official website News & images | |
| - | - | - |
| Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Dedicated: Size: Notes: | Le Chesnay, France 15 July 2011 by Thomas S. Monson 21 May 2017 by Henry B. Eyring 44,175 sq ft (4,104.0 $m^2)$ on a 2.26-acre (0.91 ha) site Thomas S. Monson confirmed on 15 July 2011 that the church "hope[d] to build [a] temple in France" near Paris, and on 1 October 2011 announced that the plans were "moving forward." In 2014, a news story from the church noted that work had commenced on the temple, though no formal groundbreaking had taken place. | Le Chesnay, France 15 July 2011 by Thomas S. Monson 21 May 2017 by Henry B. Eyring 44,175 sq ft (4,104.0 $m^2)$ on a 2.26-acre (0.91 ha) site Thomas S. Monson confirmed on 15 July 2011 that the church "hope[d] to build [a] temple in France" near Paris, and on 1 October 2011 announced that the plans were "moving forward." In 2014, a news story from the church noted that work had commenced on the temple, though no formal groundbreaking had taken place. |

## Status and membership

In 1952, the church was registered as a voluntary association (French 1901 law), and on July 4, 2009, officially became a religious association, as reported in the Official Journal.

### Membership Statistics

As of June 2022, branches in French Guiana, Guadeloupe, and Martinique were located in the Guadeloupe District of the Barbados Bridgetown Mission. The Guadeloupe District office is located in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe. Branches in Réunion are located in the St Denis Reunion District of the Madagascar Antananarivo Mission. Regardless of their size, all congregations which are not part of a stake are called branches.

| Country, Territory | Membership (2022) | Congregations | Family History Centers |
| - | - | - | - |
| Metropolitan France (Includes Corsica) | 38,634 | 108 | 73 |
| French Guiana | 500 | 1 | 1 |
| French Polynesia (Includes Tahiti) | 29,397 | 97 | 29 |
| Guadeloupe | 550 | 3 | 1 |
| Martinique | 258 | 1 | 1 |
| New Caledonia | 2,494 | 9 | 3 |
| Reunion | 836 | 4 | 5 |

Table and membership information as of December 31, 2022.

### Stakes

As of February 2023, the LDS Church has 10 stakes centered in metropolitan France:

| Stake | Organized | Mission |
| - | - | - |
| Bordeaux France | 24 May 1992 | France Lyon |
| Brussels $Belgium^a$ | 20 Feb 1977 | France Paris |
| Geneva $Switzerland^b$ | 20 Jun 1982 | France Lyon |
| Lille France | 17 Jan 1988 | France Paris |
| Lausanne $Switzerland^b$ | 28 Aug 2005 | France Lyon |
| Lyon France | 9 Sep 1990 | France Lyon |
| Nancy France | 24 Apr 1983 | France Paris |
| Nice France | 11 May 1980 | France Lyon |
| Paris France | 16 Nov 1975 | France Paris |
| Paris France East | 8 Mar 1992 | France Paris |
| Paris France South | 15 Sep 2013 | France Paris |
| Rennes France | 14 Dec 2003 | France Paris |
| Toulouse France | 22 Sep 2002 | France Lyon |

$^a$ Stake centered outside of France, no congregations in France, but in a French mission $^b$ Stake centered outside of France, but has congregations in France

### Missions

| Mission | Organized | Areas covered |
| - | - | - |
| France Lyon | 1 Jul 1991 | Southern France and French-speaking areas of Switzerland |
| France Paris | 18 Jun 1850 | Northern France, Luxemburg, and parts of Belgium (namely Brussels and Wallonia) |

### Luxembourg

In 2022, there are 526 members in 2 congregations in Luxembourg namely:

* Luxembourg 1st Ward (English/French speaking)
* Luxembourg 2nd Branch (Portuguese speaking)

Luxembourg congregations are part of the Nancy France Stake and in the France Paris Mission and Paris France Temple District.

## Sociological profile

In 2000, a study led by Professor Bernadette Rigal-Cellier indicated that the majority of LDS members in France appeared to be former Catholics. LDS church members felt then that the non-conversion of French people to their church stemmed from a lack of interest in spiritual matters and mistrust in new beliefs. The LDS members surveyed thought that their church's growth would accelerate and that prejudice against them would disappear in the future. The author concluded that the church had become well-established in France and that its French members showed the same attachment to their country as other French people.

In 2009, an investigation directed by writer, religious sociologist and philosopher Christian Euvrard, also an LDS member, concluded that Mormons in France are demographically and politically similar to other French people. 30% were regular churchgoers, and their marriage and birth rates were higher than the national average. Primarily made up of urban dwellers and recent immigrants, LDS members considered the hardest doctrine of their religion to be the proscription on alcohol, coffee and tea. Only 30% of them were involved in an association and 83% believed that all religions hold some truth. However, LDS members differed from other French people in their moral codes: 93% of them were opposed to same-sex marriage.

## Reception

The LDS church was not mentioned in the list of dangerous cults in reports established by the Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France in 1995 and 1999. As there were no complaints from former members, the MILS deemed in 2000 that the church was "a religious group that does not generate problems in France". In its 2001 report, it stated that "seeing the definition of cultist nature of an association by the exclusive examination of its behavior in the light of human rights and public policy (...), the LDS Church shouldn't be considered as a cult". However, in its 2006 report, the MIVILUDES monitoring agency expressed concerns over the Calvin Thomas society, specialized in organizing linguistic travels, "as children have been placed in LDS families. The file of this society (...) is the subject of an investigation".

In a 2002 periodical, anti-cult association ADFI stated that it is "regularly contacted by families or individuals facing conflictual and painful situations because of the membership of a relative into this movement". Criticisms include methods of evangelism, gradual split with family and friends, women's status, lack of free thought, and children's education considered as indoctrination. The Lille chapter of the ADFI felt that "it is unhelpful to try to classify this church as cult or non-cult", and that "the likelihood is high that the genealogy becomes a major means of Mormon proselytizing". It also described English courses offered by the church as a "disguised way of recruiting new followers". To ADFI president Catherine Picard, the LDS church was "a movement with cultist deviancy". And for Marie Drilhon of the Yvelines ADFI chapter, the Mormonism was "a demanding church for the faithful", describing the pressure placed on some former members to return to the church, and considering that "people who are more fragile don't do well in this church."

