Missionary work for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Maritime provinces began in 1833. One missionary preached in Saint John and later in Sackville, where he baptized 18 people and organized the first branch (a small congregation) in the Maritimes. Among those baptized in Sackville was Marriner W. Merrill, who later preached extensively in Canada and eventually became a prominent Church leader.
In 1920, a branch was organized in Saint John. Church members constructed a meetinghouse in 1954. The Fredericton Branch was organized in 1940, and by 1963 members completed a meetinghouse there. The Moncton Branch, created in 1966, included the Sackville area where the first branch of the Church in the Maritimes was created. Membership in this branch reached 160 in 1974. A stake (similar to a diocese) was organized in Saint John in 1988.
Although growth of the Church in the Maritimes has fluctuated over time, membership continued to grow through the end of the century.