The information below is a summary of some of the significant travels of Church leaders based on available records and research. Read more about President Russell M. Nelson's 2018 global ministry tour.
For most of the 19th century, converts from outside the United States were encouraged to migrate to Utah and join the main body of the Saints. Around the turn of the 20th century, however, this policy of gathering was reversed, which began a pattern of Church presidents visiting the branches of the Church around the world.
Joseph F. Smith visited the missions and branches of the Church in Europe on two occasions as president of the Church.[i]
- July–Sept. 1906 Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France, England
- July–Sept. 1910 Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, England
Heber J. Grant visited the missions and branches of the Church in Europe on one occasion as president of the Church. He also traveled to Hawaii (1919) and Canada (1923) to dedicate temples.[ii]
- June–August 1937 France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, England, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway
George Albert Smith made two international trips as president of the Church to visit the Saints in Mexico in May 1946 and to organize a stake in Canada in 1948. He was the first President of the Church to use commercial airlines in traveling for Church business.[iii]
David O. McKay traveled extensively as president of the Church to visit the missions and branches of the Church in Europe, Latin America, South Africa and the Pacific. He traveled internationally on more occasions than those listed below, such as temple dedications in Switzerland (1955), New Zealand (1958), and England (1958), but those listed below are considered his three major trips.[iv]
- May–July 1952 Scotland, England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland
- Jan.–Feb. 1955 Tonga, Tahiti, Western Samoa, American Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia
- Dec. 1953–Feb. 1954 Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, South Africa
Joseph Fielding Smith made two international trips as president of the Church to visit branches of the Church in Mexico in July 1970 and to preside at the first area conference of the Church in England in 1971.[v]
Harold B. Lee visited the missions and branches of the Church in Europe and the Middle East on one occasion as president of the Church. He also later presided at area conferences in Mexico (1972) and Germany (1973).[vi]
- September 1972 England, Greece, Israel, Italy, Switzerland
Spencer W. Kimball presided at area conferences as president of the Church, significantly expanding the program and visiting multiple countries on each trip. The list below does not include other international travels, such as temple dedications.[vii]
- August 1974 Sweden, Finland
- February 1975 Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay
- August 1975 Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines
- February 1976 Western Samoa, American Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Australia, New Zealand
- June 1976 Scotland, England
- August 1976 France, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland
- Feb.–March 1977 Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile
- October 1978 Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, South Africa
- Nov.–Dec. 1979 Australia, New Zealand
- Oct.–Nov. 1980 Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines
Ezra Taft Benson made one international trip as president of the Church to dedicate the Frankfurt Germany Temple in August 1987.[viii]
Howard W. Hunter made one international trip as president of the Church to preside over the creation of a stake in Mexico City in December 1994.[ix]
Gordon B. Hinckley traveled extensively as president of the Church. It is believed he logged over 830,000 miles during his tenure. Notably, he made an extensive trip in 2005 at the age of 95. President Hinckley traveled internationally on many more occasions than those listed below, such as temple dedications.[x]
- May 1996 Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Northern Mariana Islands
- June 1996 Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany
- November 1996 Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Brazil
- January 1997 Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala
- May 1997 Australia, New Zealand
- October 1997 Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Tahiti
- February 1998 Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa
- March 1998 Mexico
- June–July 1998 France, Germany, Switzerland, England
- August 1998 Canada
- January 2000 Kiribati, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore
- June 2000 American Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, Australia, Thailand, Japan
- September 2002 Germany, Netherlands, Ukraine, Russia, Iceland
- June 2003 Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Kiribati
- May 2004 Denmark, England, France, Spain
- July–August 2005 Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Nigeria
Thomas S. Monson made several international trips as president of the Church, mostly to preside at temple dedications or temple groundbreaking ceremonies, including Brazil (2008), Panama (2008), Mexico (2008), Vancouver (2010), Philippines (2010), Ukraine (2010), Italy (2010), and Calgary (2011). He also visited the Saints in Germany on an extended trip in October 2012.[xi]
[i] Richard O. Cowan, The Church in the Twentieth Century (1985), 65; Andrew Jenson, Church Chronology: A Record of Important Events Pertaining to the History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1914), 37–38.
[ii] Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Marc Alain Bohn, “A Long-Awaited Visit: President Heber J. Grant in Switzerland and Germany, 1937,” BYU Studies 42, no. 3 (2003): 5–20.
[iii] Francis M. Gibbons, George Albert Smith: King and Caring Christian, Prophet of God (1990).
[iv] Gregory A. Prince, “David O. McKay,” in Brandon S. Plewe, ed., Mapping Mormonism: An Atlas of Latter-day Saint History (2012), 158–59.
[v] Francis M. Gibbons, Joseph Fielding Smith: Gospel Scholar, Prophet of God (1992).
[vi] Francis M. Gibbons, Harold B. Lee: Man of Vision, Prophet of God (1993).
[vii] Edward L. Kimball, Lengthen Your Stride: The Presidency of Spencer W. Kimball (2005), 311–57; Edward L. Kimball, “Spencer W. Kimball,” in Brandon S. Plewe, ed., Mapping Mormonism: An Atlas of Latter-day Saint History (2012), 166–67.
[viii] Francis M. Gibbons, Ezra Taft Benson: Statesman, Patriot, Prophet of God (1996).
[ix] “President Hunter Creates Church’s 2,000th Stake,” Ensign, Feb. 1995.
[x] Clark B. Hinckley, “Travels of Gordon B. Hinckley,” in Brandon S. Plewe, ed., Mapping Mormonism: An Atlas of Latter-day Saint History (2012), 170–71; see also “Year in Review” in the Church News for 1995 through 2008.
[xi] “President Monson has traveled the world,” Church News, Feb. 7, 2013.