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==Historical Background== | ==Historical Background== | ||
Missionaries arrived in Guatemala in 1947. Assisted by John F. O'Donnal, a Church member living in the country as an agricultural adviser to the United States government, they met with Guatemalan officials and began to organize the Church. The first official meeting was held in a rented building on August 22, 1948, with 66 people in attendance. By 1956, three small congregations with a membership of about 250 had been established. Membership grew to 10,000 by 1966, and 18 years later, in 1984, membership had risen to 40,000. By 1998 membership had quadrupled again to 164,000. Today (2019) membership is 277,755, in 441 congregations. | |||
<ref> The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Facts and Statistics: Guatemala, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/guatemala, accessed 4 March 2020.</ref> | <ref> The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Facts and Statistics: Guatemala, https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/guatemala, accessed 4 March 2020.</ref> | ||