The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Enters Albania, 1992-1999

150 Pages·2017·0.75 MB·English

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Theses and Dissertations
2008-11-18
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11999922--11999999
Nathan D. Pali
Brigham Young University - Provo
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Pali, Nathan D., "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Enters Albania, 1992-1999" (2008).
Theses and Dissertations. 1584.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/1584
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THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
ENTERS ALBANIA, 1992-1999

by

Nathan Pali

A thesis submitted to the faculty of

Brigham Young University

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Masters of Arts

Department of Religious Education

Brigham Young University

December 2008
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Copyright © 2008 Nathan Pali
All Rights Reserved
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BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE COMMITTEE APPROVAL

of a thesis submitted by
Nathan Pali
This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by
majority vote has been found to be satisfactory.
Date Richard Cowan, Chair
Date Reid Neilson
Date Spencer Fluhman
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BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
As chair of the candidate‟s graduate committee, I have read the thesis of Nathan Pali in
its final form and have found that (1) its format, citations, and bibliographical style are
consistent and acceptable and fulfill university and department style requirements; (2) its
illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the final
manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate committee and is ready for submission to the
university library.
Date Richard Cowan
Chair, Graduate Committee
Accepted for the Department

Date Clyde Williams
Accepted for the College

Date Terry Ball
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ABSTRACT

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
ENTERS ALBANIA, 1992-1999

Nathan Pali
Department of Religious Education
Master of Arts

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints entered Albania in 1992. Albania
was a unique and difficult place to establish the LDS Church. Under the communist
dictatorship of Enver Hoxha religion was systematically eliminated from Albania and
replaced with atheism. Additionally, missionaries were twice evacuated in the first
decade in the country and the Book of Mormon was not available in Albanian until 1999.
Despite these setbacks the LDS Church grew at a steady rate in Albania due to native
Albanian interest and individual attention by missionaries.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would first like to thank my wife, Kristen for all of her support. She has been patient
and supportive. She was my first reader and editor and her insights were invaluable. I am
sincerely grateful for her love and support. I love you. I would also like to thank Tucker Boyle
for taking the time to read and edit this work. Likewise, Christopher Phillip‟s edits were valuable
and his insights into the history of the Church in Albania were important and useful. Brother
Cowan was a great help as my chair and helped build my excitement about this work. Finally, I
would like to express my gratitude to my grandfather Pandi Pali for leaving Albania as a boy and
joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That decision has impacted my life in a
million different ways.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO ALBANIA ................................................................. 10
Introduction and Outline ........................................................................................................... 10
History....................................................................................................................................... 11
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 15
CHAPTER TWO: COMMUNISM CRUSHES RELIGION ........................................................ 17
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 17
Establishment of Communism .................................................................................................. 18
Hoxha Crushes Religion ........................................................................................................... 19
Switching Loyalties .................................................................................................................. 23
Renewed Religious Persecution ................................................................................................ 27
Further Effects of Communism ................................................................................................ 31
The End of Communism ........................................................................................................... 37
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 41
CHAPTER THREE: THE CHURCH ENTERS ALBANIA ........................................................ 43
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 43
Negotiating to Enter Albania .................................................................................................... 44
Humanitarian Missionaries ....................................................................................................... 46
Arrival of Full-Time Teaching Missionaries ............................................................................ 51
Growth ...................................................................................................................................... 54
Dedication of Albania ............................................................................................................... 61
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 64
CHAPTER FOUR: EVACUATION ............................................................................................ 68
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 68
Economic Collapse ................................................................................................................... 69
Uprising..................................................................................................................................... 73
Missionary Evacuation.............................................................................................................. 75
Further Chaos in Albania .......................................................................................................... 86
Missionaries Return .................................................................................................................. 88
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 96
CHAPTER FIVE: TERRORISM AND TRANSLATION ........................................................... 99
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 99
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Terrorism and Albania .............................................................................................................. 99
Missionaries Again Evacuated ................................................................................................ 102
Returning to Albania ............................................................................................................... 105
Refugees Flood Albania .......................................................................................................... 106
The Book of Mormon in Albanian.......................................................................................... 107
Translation of Temple Ceremonies ......................................................................................... 111
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 113
CHAPTER SIX: JOINING THE LDS CHURCH ...................................................................... 115
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 115
Elimination of Religion........................................................................................................... 115
Covert Religious Instruction ................................................................................................... 119
Meeting the Missionaries ........................................................................................................ 121
Spiritual Experiences .............................................................................................................. 124
Peace ....................................................................................................................................... 125
Social Networks ...................................................................................................................... 129
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 132
CHAPTER SEVEN: EPILOUGE ............................................................................................... 134
Growth .................................................................................................................................... 134
Challenges ............................................................................................................................... 136
Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 137
WORKS CITED ......................................................................................................................... 140
Articles .................................................................................................................................... 140
Books ...................................................................................................................................... 141
Manuscripts ............................................................................................................................. 143
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