Belize: Church Chronology

1800s • Central America and Salt Lake City, Utah, USAChurch leaders and members, curious about possible connections to the Book of Mormon in Central America, proposed missionary efforts and made exploratory visits to the region.

1851–52 • ChileElder Parley P. Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife Phoebe served a five-month mission to Chile. During that time, they determined that a Spanish translation of the Book of Mormon was needed.

1886 • Salt Lake CityThe Book of Mormon was translated into Spanish by Meliton Gonzales Trejo.

January 1, 1980 • BelizeBelize was assigned to the newly created Honduras Tegucigalpa Mission.

May 6, 1980 • Belize City, BelizeThe Belize City Branch was organized, with Elder Merlin Mikkelson as president.

June 1, 1980 • Belize CityErnesto Alay, the first local convert, accepted baptism.

September 21, 1981 • BelizeBelize achieved independence from the United Kingdom after months of negotiations with Great Britain and Guatemala.

1983 • GuatemalaThe Qʼeqchiʼ translation of the Book of Mormon was published. This was the first full translation into any language native to the Americas.

April 17, 1983 • Belize CityThe Belize City District was organized, with Harold Smith as president.

1984 • Newtown, BelizeA Spanish-speaking branch, named the Newtown Branch, was established.

December 14, 1984 • Guatemala City, GuatemalaThe Guatemala City Guatemala Temple was dedicated by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. It was the first temple built in Central America.

1986 • Belize CityA meetinghouse was completed on Cemetery Road in Belize City.

1987 • BelizeHilberto Casanova was the first missionary called from Belize. He served in the Honduras Tegucigalpa Mission from 1987 to 1989.

August and September 1987 • Orange Walk and San Ignacio, BelizeMeetinghouses were completed in Orange Walk (August) and San Ignacio (September).

April 22, 1991 • Belize CityOn Earth Day, members of the Belize City Branch Young Women program received national recognition for a special project. The mayor of Belize City joined with the Church members in planting a mayflower tree behind the meetinghouse.

June 23, 1991 • Belize City, San Ignacio, and Orange WalkThe Belize City District was divided into three districts—Belize City, San Ignacio, and Orange Walk. Total membership in the original Belize City District was approximately 1,000.

November 13, 1997 • Belize CityApproximately 1,200 members of the Church gathered at the St. John’s College Gymnasium to hear Church President Gordon B. Hinckley speak.

November 2001 • BelizeThe Church shipped food, medicine, clean water, and other relief supplies to areas of Belize that were still struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Iris, which hit on October 8.

May 2003 • Belize CityTwo 40-foot containers of books and educational materials were presented to the Ministry of Education for Belize at an official ceremony at the Belize City meetinghouse. The donation was a coordinated effort between the Church and the government of Belize.

Fall 2006 • BelizeApproximately 90 young men and women participated in the first Belize youth camp. Thirteen different branches had youth in attendance at the camp.

May 2017 • Guatemala City, GuatemalaJennifer Georgia Gordon and Silbert George Gordon were called to serve as full-time missionaries in the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple. They were the first full-time senior missionaries from Belize.

March 8, 2018 • Belize CityBelizean members gathered in the Belize City chapel to welcome Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Presidency of the Seventy as part of his Central America Area visit.