Elder George Kershaw, a Church settler in South Africa, served two months in Mauritius in 1856. His only known converts were an army private and seven or eight members of the crew of the ship he arrived on.

In modern times, missionary work began in the Mascarenes in 1979 under the direction of the International Mission. In 1986, the islands were transferred to the South Africa Johannesburg Mission.

A branch (a small congregation) was established in Mauritius in 1982 by the first full-time missionaries on the island. The Mascarene Islands Mission was created in 1988, at which time there were 400 members on the islands in three branches in Reunion and two in Mauritius. Subsequently, the headquarters of the mission was transferred to Durban, South Africa.

In 1998 Mauritius became part of the newly created Madagascar Mission.

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