Arkansas
36,630
Total Church Membership
7
Stakes
74
Congregations
25
FamilySearch Centers
1
Temples
2
Missions
History
The first meeting of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arkansas occurred in 1835 under the direction of missionaries Wilford Woodruff and Henry Brown. Missionaries continued to preach in Arkansas after the main body of Church members moved to Utah Territory in the late 1840s. In 1857, Parley P. Pratt, a member of the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was murdered near Van Buren, Arkansas. During the American Civil War and in its immediate aftermath, the Church’s presence in Arkansas was severely limited. Then, in 1875, missionaries baptized nearly 90 people in the Des Arc area — “many of the best citizens of the region,” it was reported. In 1877, the Des Arc congregations moved approximately 27 families and 125 people to Utah by wagon. In 1969 the Church formed its first stake in Arkansas, centered in Little Rock. Elder David A. Bednar of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was a prominent member of the Church in Arkansas during the 1980s and 1990s. Bednar was on the faculty of the University of Arkansas and served as a stake president. There are currently more than 30,000 Church members living in Arkansas organized into seven stakes. In October 2019, the Church announced its plans to construct a temple in Bentonville.
United States
6,868,793
Total Church Membership
1693
Stakes
14,593
Congregations
1,871
FamilySearch Centers
89
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
849,568
Members
2,721
Congregations
Missions
45Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
6Temples
Asia
Total Church Membership
1,298,181
Members
2,113
Congregations
Missions
45Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
10Temples
Europe
Total Church Membership
507,748
Members
1,296
Congregations
Missions
35Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
14Temples
North America
Total Church Membership
9,637,503
Members
18,423
Congregations
Missions
175Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
120Temples
Oceania (Pacific)
Total Church Membership
599,065
Members
1,308
Congregations
Missions
17Missions
FamilySearch Centers
Temples
11Temples
South America
Total Church Membership
4,320,129
Members
5,629
Congregations