Serbia
Mischa Markow was the first LDS missionary to work in Serbia. He arrived in Beograd in May 1899. Forces of opposition soon turned against him and Markow was banished to Hungary in June 1899 without baptizing anyone.
The president of the Czechoslovak Mission, Arthur Gaeth, visited Beograd in August 1934, where there were two members of the Church, Sister Evize Vujicic and Brother Mateja Spacek. Gaeth held a worship service with them and four friends. No further missionary work was done in Yugoslavia until the 1970s.
In October 1974, the First Presidency (the highest governing body of the Church) representative David M. Kennedy visited Beograd to seek recognition for the Church. Shortly thereafter, missionaries serving in Austria began a program to teach Yugoslav émigrés working there with the hope of eventually opening missionary work in Yugoslavia.
In anticipation of establishing a mission there, the Church called Gustav Salik as mission president and stationed him in Austria near the Yugoslav border in 1975. Salik spent the next year attempting to open the mission, but could not get the necessary permission to work in the country. In 1977, missionaries entered as students. They wore casual dress but could not proselyte. Though they served mostly in Croatia, they also worked in Beograd.
Lee and Marilyn Manwill arrived in Beograd in January 1983, the first missionary couple to serve full time in that city. The first baptisms were in May of that same year. By November 1983, a branch (small congregation) was organized.
In June 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia. The threat of civil war caused Church leaders to evacuate all missionaries working in the former Yugoslavia on July 1, 1991.
Four months later, missionaries returned to Beograd. Two months later, the Church purchased a building, the culmination of a five-year effort. On 28 January 1992, the building passed inspection; one of the requirements for an organization’s obtaining legal status which meant that Serbia had officially recognized the Church. Missionaries were then granted permanent visas to work in the country. In February of that year, missionaries opened the second Serbian city, Novi Sad.
Civil war erupted in 1992. Because communication was better between Budapest and Beograd, responsibility for Serbia was temporarily transferred to the Hungary Budapest Mission in November 1993. Shortly thereafter, missionaries were evacuated to other Central European nations due to rising tensions.
By the summer of 1995, Serbia was transferred back to the Austria Vienna Mission. Shortly thereafter, Serbia canceled the visas for foreign missionaries. The last two elders left Serbia in September 1995. During the next year, Austria Vienna Mission President Swen R. Swenson visited Church members in Serbia each month. The Church also contributed humanitarian assistance during this time. A tenuous peace was achieved in November 1995 and missionaries re-entered Serbia in June 1996.
Violence in Kosovo began in 1996. As the violence escalated, missionary work slowed. Missionaries were evacuated from Serbia to Croatia in October 1998. Three weeks later, missionaries were able to return to Serbia.
This time of growth and missionary work was short lived. In March 1999, violence resumed. Missionaries were evacuated from Serbia shortly before the outbreak. In September 2000, responsibility for Serbia was transferred to the Bulgaria Sofia Mission. And in December 2001, after peace was restored, six missionaries re-entered Serbia.
378
Total Church Membership
2
Family History Centers
3
Congregations
North America
9,253,590
Total Church Membership
192
Missions
2,866
Family History Centers
18,159
Congregations
109
Temples
South America
4,038,045
Total Church Membership
94
Missions
979
Family History Centers
5,545
Congregations
17
Temples
Europe
516,003
Total Church Membership
43
Missions
710
Family History Centers
1,422
Congregations
12
Temples
Asia
1,155,764
Total Church Membership
42
Missions
333
Family History Centers
1,973
Congregations
8
Temples
Oceania (Pacific)
552,825
Total Church Membership
18
Missions
338
Family History Centers
1,251
Congregations
10
Temples
Africa
578,310
Total Church Membership
31
Missions
285
Family History Centers
2,004
Congregations
3
Temples
Worldwide Statistics
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued the following report concerning the growth and status of the Church:

Growth of the Church
16,118,169
Total Church Membership
188
Published Languages
30,506
Congregations
Missionary Program
67,049
Missionaries
421
Missions
15
Missionary Training Centers
Humanitarian Services
189
Countries Receiving Humanitarian Aid (Since 1985)
10,238
Welfare Services Missionaries (Incl. Humanitarian Service Missionaries)
Temples
159
Temples
Education
4
Universities & Colleges
404,270
Seminary Students Enrollment
357,760
Institute Student Enrollment
Genealogy
5,100
Family History Centers
140
Countries with Family History Centers