British Columbia
31,160
Total Church Membership
8
Stakes
77
Congregations
43
FamilySearch Centers
1
Temples
1
Missions |
History
Vancouver Island was one of several locations considered for a western settlement site for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a letter to Church members in 1845, Church President Brigham Young mentioned the island as "one of many good locations for settlement on the Pacific." The letter sparked a petition by Church members in England to Queen Victoria to support them in settling the island. However, the petition was ignored, and no Latter-day Saint immigrants settled on the island until 1875. That year, William Francis and Maria Judson Copley and their three children settled at Shawigan. The first Church convert on the island was Anthony Maitland Stenhouse, a member of the legislative assembly of British Columbia who chose to resign from the assembly and be baptized in 1887. Establishing the Church on the mainland began in 1904 when the president of the Northwest States Mission visited Vancouver City and located a Latter-day Saint family there. A meeting with 12 members in attendance was held in 1909 and a small congregation was organized in 1911. The congregation became ward (a larger congregation) in 1938 and was included in the Seattle Stake (similar to a diocese). By 1960, Latter-day Saint wards expanded to two in Vancouver, plus congregations in North Shore, New Westminister, Fleetwood, Richmond, White Rock, Langley, and Chilliwack.
United States
6,804,028
Total Church Membership
1681
Stakes
14,614
Congregations
1,864
FamilySearch Centers
82
Temples
110
Missions |
History
Organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints occurred April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York, with 50 people and six official members present. Ten years prior to the organization, the new Church President, Joseph Smith, received a vision and further instructions from God to restore God's Church on earth. In one year (1830-31) membership increased to more than 100.
Kirtland, Ohio served as the organizational headquarters of the infant Church from 1831 until 1838. Membership grew from a handful of members to well over 2,000 before persecution and the financial upheaval of the times forced the Latter-day Saints to move on to western settlements in Missouri and Illinois. With the assassination of Joseph Smith in 1844 and increasing pressure on the Latter-day Saints to abandon Nauvoo, Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi, it became obvious to Church leaders that they would need to move.
In 1846 the Saints established a refuge in what was called Winter Quarters, near present-day Omaha, Nebraska. In July of that year, the United States was involved in the Mexican-American War. While the pioneers were in Council Bluffs, Iowa, a request came from President James K. Polk for volunteers to march to Fort Leavenworth (present-day Kansas) and then to California on a one-year U.S. Army enlistment.
About 500 men enlisted in the Mormon Battalion, and about 80 women and children traveled with them. They began their journey in the sweltering heat of Council Bluffs, Iowa, on 20 July 1846, leaving their loved ones behind. The battalion completed one of the longest infantry marches in American history — about 2,000 miles (3,220 km) through what are now seven states and into Mexico. The Mormon Battalion carved out a vital road for wagons through the American Southwest.
In January 1847, Brigham Young received a revelation about “the Word and Will of the Lord concerning the Camp of Israel in their journeyings to the West” (now known as Doctrine and Covenants 136). When the first company of Latter-day Saint pioneers began to journey westward, they did not know their end destination. But on 24 July 1847, when the wagons rolled out of the canyon into the Salt Lake Valley, their destination became apparent. "It is enough," Church President Brigham Young said as he viewed the valley below. "This is the right place. Drive on." At least 236 pioneer companies of approximately 60,000 pioneers crossed the plains for Utah. With time, they transformed the desert valley into the bustling and prosperous Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City is home to the Church's worldwide headquarters. The Church has expanded throughout each of the United States.
Africa
Total Church Membership
791,837
Members
2,559
Congregations
Missions
40Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
6Temples
Asia
Total Church Membership
1,281,560
Members
2,103
Congregations
Missions
45Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
8Temples
Europe
Total Church Membership
503,692
Members
1,318
Congregations
Missions
36Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
14Temples
North America
Total Church Membership
9,551,107
Members
18,426
Congregations
Missions
175Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
113Temples
Oceania (Pacific)
Total Church Membership
591,950
Members
1,308
Congregations
Missions
18Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
11Temples
South America
Total Church Membership
4,269,273
Members
5,616
Congregations