Some of you may know that Cuban dictator Fidel Castro announced on Tuesday that he is stepping down to become simply a “comrade.”
What you may not know is that a small group of Latter-day Saints has been meeting unofficially in Cuba for many years. This U.S. State Department report points out that a small congregation of Latter-day Saints has been meeting for several years and has generally not been harassed.
The official Church position is that the Church does not operate in Cuba. The unofficial Cuban congregation is not part of any mission or stake. I have asked Church headquarters for an update on any potential plans for Cuba, and will post the response as soon as I get it.
In general, the Church is very careful about discussing Cuba policy. I think the Church’s position is very understandable: Cuba is an atheist state that tolerates various religions but has been known to harass and crack down on practitioners over the years. Right now, a few dozen people meeting in Havana is not a threat of any kind to the regime. Church leaders do not want to give the regime any excuse to harass that small group of Mormons or prevent future Church growth.
Based on what happened in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, the Brethren will decide at the right time to approach the Cuban government to proceed with official Church recognition. Hopefully missionaries will quickly be sent to Cuba, and certainly the Church will grow.
Please see this web site for more on the Church in Cuba:
http://www.geocities.com/dyancey3/ldscuba.htm