New here. Started church in Saudi Arabia

[Birchrj]

Hi all, first time here. I found an old thread talking about the church in Saudi Arabia, and wanted to post. My family started the church in Saudi in 1970. My dad was the branch president. Also Elder Howard W. Hunter came to visit us, and stayed at our home while we were there. We lived there for 4 years. Membership went from 5, my family, to 100 in Dhahran, with 99% activity. We also helped establish the first branch in Jeddah. I was the first person baptized in the Persian Gulf in the latter days, in 1971, and my sister was baptized in the Red Sea. The Muslim people are really wonderful people.

Edited May 6, 2011 by Birchrj
Add info.

[grantstine]

Nice to have you. The gospel is true and moving as fast as we can get it together.

[applepansy]

Welcome. What wonderful memories. :)

[thinkingofgethsemane]

Hi all, first time here. I found an old thread talking about the church in Saudi Arabia, and wanted to post. My family started the church in Saudi in 1970. My dad was the branch president. Also Elder Howard W. Hunter came to visit us, and stayed at our home while we were there. We lived there for 4 years. Membership went from 5, my family, to 100 in Dhahran, with 99% activity. We also helped establish the first branch in Jeddah. I was the first person baptized in the Persian Gulf in the latter days, in 1971, and my sister was baptized in the Red Sea. The Muslim people are really wonderful people.

That is just wonderful. My two sisters-in-law are working in Dubai right now. I think I heard from them that there is already a Stake there and that Elder Holland visited there during their Stake Conference recently. The Church is indeed moving forward and cannot be stopped.

[woundedknee]

Very cool. I attended church in Dhahran. I recall the Aramco oil company families there very well. They offered us a great deal of kindness, meals, and entertainment. It was a very special place for me in my life. I got to know many people from all over the world there. I attended church in Taif(not too farm from Jeddah) once as I recall. I don't remember much about it.

Hi all, first time here. I found an old thread talking about the church in Saudi Arabia, and wanted to post. My family started the church in Saudi in 1970. My dad was the branch president. Also Elder Howard W. Hunter came to visit us, and stayed at our home while we were there. We lived there for 4 years. Membership went from 5, my family, to 100 in Dhahran, with 99% activity. We also helped establish the first branch in Jeddah. I was the first person baptized in the Persian Gulf in the latter days, in 1971, and my sister was baptized in the Red Sea. The Muslim people are really wonderful people.

[Blackmarch]

Hi all, first time here. I found an old thread talking about the church in Saudi Arabia, and wanted to post. My family started the church in Saudi in 1970. My dad was the branch president. Also Elder Howard W. Hunter came to visit us, and stayed at our home while we were there. We lived there for 4 years. Membership went from 5, my family, to 100 in Dhahran, with 99% activity. We also helped establish the first branch in Jeddah. I was the first person baptized in the Persian Gulf in the latter days, in 1971, and my sister was baptized in the Red Sea. The Muslim people are really wonderful people.

Wow!

glad to have ya here :)

[Canuck Mormon]

Hi all, first time here. I found an old thread talking about the church in Saudi Arabia, and wanted to post. My family started the church in Saudi in 1970. My dad was the branch president. Also Elder Howard W. Hunter came to visit us, and stayed at our home while we were there. We lived there for 4 years. Membership went from 5, my family, to 100 in Dhahran, with 99% activity. We also helped establish the first branch in Jeddah. I was the first person baptized in the Persian Gulf in the latter days, in 1971, and my sister was baptized in the Red Sea. The Muslim people are really wonderful people.

That sounds very familiar. My family moved there from England shortly after I was born in 1972. We were there for two years, then moved here to Canada. My parents were active members and knew pretty much all the members there, so chances are we probably met (not that I would remember being under 2 years old). Small world.

[Still_Small_Voice]

I did not know there was any membership in Saudi Arabia. It seems there are so very few countries that do not have good Latter-Day Saints in them. Thanks for posting this great information.

[Guest [email protected]]

I may work in Riyadh starting consulting work with a Saudi company for 6 weeks in Riyadh. Any info on attending branch there. Thanks.

[Quin]

I may work in Riyadh starting consulting work with a Saudi company for 6 weeks in Riyadh. Any info on attending branch there. Thanks.

http://www.cumorah.com/index.php?target=view_other_articles&story_id=483&cat_id=30

However...

In Saudi Arabia, the public practice of any religion other than Islam is prohibited, and the government enforced restrictions on religious freedom. The government reportedly deported foreigners for worshipping privately. Shias continued to face discrimination, and authorities restricted public Shia celebrations, even in some areas with large Shia populations. At least one individual was beheaded for engaging in “sorcery.” In Syria, the government increased its targeting and surveillance of members of faith groups it deemed a “threat,” including members of the country’s Sunni majority. Such targeting included killing, detention, and harassment. There were credible reports that the regime targeted citizens based on religious affiliation in mixed neighborhoods in Homs and rural Aleppo. Violent extremist activity intensified as the civil conflict escalated, including the targeting of religious minorities by groups such as the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization Jabhat al-Nusra. In Iran, the arrest and harassment of members of religious minorities, including Sunni Muslims, increased significantly. There continued to be reports that the government imprisoned, harassed, intimidated, and discriminated against people because of their religious beliefs. Authorities placed U.S.-Iranian citizen and Christian pastor Saeed Abedini under house arrest in July to investigate previous charges of undermining national security by leading a network of house churches. In September Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials raided his residence and took him to Evin prison, where he remained in detention at year’s end. Seven Bahai leaders remained in detention at the end of 2012, serving sentences extended by the authorities in 2011 to 20 years. The government charged them in 2011 with “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities, and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” - See more at: http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?dlid#wrapper

&

In 2010, the U.S. State Department stated that in Saudi Arabia \\\\\\\"freedom of religion is neither recognized nor protected under the law and is severely restricted in practice\\\\\\\" and that \\\\\\\"government policies continued to place severe restrictions on religious freedom\\\\\\\".[6] No faith other than Islam is permitted to be practiced, although there are nearly a million Christians – nearly all foreign workers – in Saudi Arabia.[227] There are no churches or other non-Muslim houses of worship permitted in the country.[6] Even private prayer services are forbidden in practice and the Saudi religious police reportedly regularly search the homes of Christians.[227] Foreign workers have to observe Ramadan but are not allowed to celebrate Christmas or Easter.[227]

Conversion by Muslims to another religion (apostasy) carries the death penalty, although there have been no confirmed reports of executions for apostasy in recent years.[6] Proselytizing by non-Muslims is illegal,[6] and the last Christian priest was expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1985.[227] There are some Hindus and Buddhists in Saudi Arabia. Compensation in court cases discriminates against non-Muslims: once fault is determined, a Muslim receives all of the amount of compensation determined, a Jew or Christian half, and all others a sixteenth.[227] Saudi Arabia has officially identified atheists as terrorists. [228] The regulations place secular citizens who commit thought crimes in the same category as violent terrorist groups[229]

Wiki

So unless you\\\'re working in an embassy or on a military base / living in a similarly protected compound... I would be very careful.

The Wahhabi & Religious Police do NOT play.

I love Saudi Arabia for many reasons / have lived there twice. But I was lucky to be on base my first go, and a woman (aka easy to disappear in a sea of black) my second go. I was a woman the first time, but on American soil. 2nd go I was mostly on private compounds. Men, especially western men, have targets on them. BLENDING is really, really, really key. You don\'t want to stand out.

Q

[Palerider]

Welcome here

[Roseslipper]

welcome!!!