US embassy cable - 03HOCHIMINHCITY784

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000784 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV, DRL 
 
E. O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, SOCI, PGOV, VM, KIRF, HUMANR, RELFREE 
SUBJECT: MORMONS MAKE BID FOR A QUIET COMEBACK IN HCMC 
 
REF:  Hanoi 2153 
 
1. (SBU)  Summary:  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 
Saints (LDS) has recently taken steps to reestablish a "branch" in 
HCMC, pending approval of its June request to local government 
officials that Vietnamese members be allowed to meet regularly on 
Sundays.  While efforts to receive recognition from the central 
government have thus far failed, local LDS leaders hope that a 
patient, apolitical approach will eventually help them expand 
operations in Vietnam.  LDS representatives in HCMC have asked 
that this information be kept strictly confidential, citing past 
setbacks in neighboring countries when such information has been 
discussed openly in the State Department's Human Rights and 
Religious Freedom reports.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU)  Resident expatriate LDS leaders recently told ConGenoffs 
they had lodged a formal request with HCMC officials in June 
seeking permission to open a "branch" for Vietnamese members to 
meet on a limited basis.  (Note: A branch is the smallest possible 
unit of organization within the LDS.  Very few countries would 
have just a single branch.)  The LDS request carefully avoided 
mention of religious rituals, and LDS officials have said they 
would be satisfied to open a "church," rather than a "temple," 
despite the limits a lesser designation would place on performing 
the sacraments.  Ten Vietnamese members met Sunday, August 24 for 
the first time within the framework of the new "branch" structure. 
The branch is administered locally by a President and two 
Counselors -- one for expatriates and one for Vietnamese.  If the 
HCMC government response is favorable, LDS plans to facilitate 
funding from Salt Lake City to acquire a local meeting place. 
According to LDS, the number of LDS members in Hanoi is apparently 
insufficient to justify the same request at the national level. 
 
3. (SBU)  According to local LDS sources, the first post-war LDS 
branch was closed down in 1996, after authorities learned that 
volunteer LDS Charities English-language teachers were inviting 
students over to their homes (including some who were not among 
the cadre corps officially authorized to take lessons).  At the 
time, as many as 100 expatriates and Vietnamese routinely 
gathered together to attend worship services every Sunday.  The 
unauthorized house visit incidents also resulted in LDS Charities 
losing its NGO registration -- which has yet to be reinstated, 
despite repeated requests.  In the meantime, LDS has continued to 
send small numbers of service missionaries, generally as volunteer 
English teachers or medical workers.  The regional Mission 
President with responsibility for Vietnam has also continued to 
visit from a nearby country. 
 
4. (SBU)  A local LDS leader acknowledged that the number of 
members in Vietnam remains difficult to ascertain.  Some believers 
wanting to become members have traveled to Cambodia to be 
baptized, then returned to Vietnam.  Others who have attended LDS 
meetings and studied the religious doctrine remain officially 
outside of the LDS because they have not been baptized.  (Note: 
None of the LDS sacraments, including baptism, can be performed in 
Vietnam in the absence of a legally established organization.) 
Some undetermined number of members baptized before 1975 are also 
still active.  Expatriate members have always managed to meet 
without interruption, but current numbers may be as low as 20 in 
HCMC. 
 
5. (SBU)  LDS leaders have told ConGenoffs they believe "trust 
building" is the most productive approach for receiving official 
permission to conduct activities in Vietnam.  By carefully 
adhering to the parameters of whatever permission they receive 
from local officials, they hope to convince the GVN that they are 
not a threat to the country's political stability.  Over time, the 
LDS hopes this low-key approach will allow them to increase the 
scope of their activities.  Repeated requests for recognition 
since 1994 to the Committee for Religious Affairs in Hanoi have 
gone unanswered, according to these sources.  At one point, LDS 
was told that their application was being held for consideration 
in Hanoi, pending a more comprehensive review of the laws on 
religion. 
 
6. (SBU)  Comment:  One Vietnamese LDS member told ConGenoffs he 
had spoken to local police about a particular meeting location and 
been told the police had "no problem" with members meeting there. 
Whether that bodes well for official recognition or not is 
anybody's guess, as district and ward officials probably have no 
way to differentiate LDS from the myriad Protestant sects who 
worship openly but "illegally" here.  Whether this LDS group will 
continue to be able to meet if official permission is denied in 
the future, is a bigger question.  While there would appear to be 
fairly substantial contact between expatriate members and their 
Vietnamese converts -- despite GVN prohibitions specifically 
against LDS proselytization -- this should not be something we 
publicize in the current environment. 
YAMAUCHI