In 1846, members of the Mormon Battalion, a force of men, women, and children who had volunteered to support the United States in the Mexican-American War, passed through Wagon Mound and Santa Fe on their way to California.
In 1876, over 100 Zuni in the Ramah area received missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and joined the Church. Missionary work among Indigenous tribes became the basis for growing settlements of Latter-day Saints, including increasing numbers of white colonists in Ramah and Fruitland. However, Latter-day Saint settlement in the region led to displacement of Indigenous populations and introduced disease.
During the Mexican Revolution in 1912, many Church settlements in New Mexico absorbed refugees from the Latter-day Saint colonies in Mexico. Beginning in the 1930s, both Spanish-speaking and English-speaking Latter-day Saint congregations flourished in Albuquerque, Carlsbad, Española, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Llano, Raton, Roswell, Silver City, Taos, and Valecitos.
In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, Latter-day Saint communities in Farmington developed projects to produce the necessities of life for those in need. The projects included construction of a storehouse, operation of a large farm, and the planting of a few acres of tomatoes, beans, corn, or wheat. In 1981 and 1984, the Church built large storehouses to house and distribute these welfare goods in Albuquerque and Farmington, respectively. Smaller, auxiliary storehouses were organized in Las Cruces and Roswell. The diverse congregations of Latter-day Saints in New Mexico have worked to serve the poor and needy in their communities.
On March 5, 2000, the first Latter-day Saint temple in New Mexico was dedicated in Albuquerque. In April 2021, another temple in Farmington was announced.