Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2008-11-18 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Enters Albania, 1992-1999 Nathan D. Pali Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the History of Christianity Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation 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 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. 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 2 Copyright © 2008 Nathan Pali All Rights Reserved 3 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 4 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 5 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. 6 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. 7 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 8 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