The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado
 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Membership | 150,509 (2019)[1] |
| Stakes | 35 |
| Wards | 279 |
| Branches | 32 |
| Total Congregations | 311 |
| Missions | 4 |
| Temples | 2 operating, 1 announced |
| Family History Centers | 64[2] |
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members in Colorado. The first congregation of the Church in Colorado was organized in 1897.[1] It has since grown to 150,509 members in 311 congregations.
Official church membership as a percentage of general population was 2.82% in 2014. According to the 2014 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey 2% of Coloradans self-identify themselves most closely with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[3] The LDS Church is the 2nd largest denomination in Colorado behind the Roman Catholic Church.[4] Colorado has the 10th most members of the LDS Church in the United States.[5]
History[]
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1920 | 4,376 |
| 1930 | 6,435 |
| 1940 | 7,882 |
| 1950 | 10,728 |
| 1960 | 19,587 |
| 1970 | 35,613 |
| 1980 | 51,857 |
| 1990 | 88,625 |
| 1999 | 112,232 |
| 2009 | 137,145 |
| 2019 | 150,509 |
| Source: Windall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall, Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac State Information: Colorado[1] | |
On August 7, 1846 a settlement of 61 recent converts of the church traveling from Mississippi made camp on the Arkansas River, just east of present-day Pueblo in the southern part of the state. They had come along the main Overland trail to Fort Laramie but discovered the first groups of Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo had stopped for the winter at Council Bluffs. Rather than turn back to join them; a trapper named John Renshaw led them down to a small adobe trading fort called El Pueblo which was thought to be a more suitable place to spend the winter. They made their camp about a half-mile south of El Pueblo.
While encamped in Pueblo the settlement was also joined by 3 different groups of the Mormon Battalion arriving between September 1846 and January 27, 1847. With the arrival in January, the population of the colony reached 289 people. This temporary colony was the first branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado. The settlement is also widely believed to be the first Anglo settlement in what is now the state of Colorado. The settlement also was the home of the first Anglo born child in Colorado; Sarah Emma Kartchner.
In April 1847, the first members of the settlement began their trek north to Fort Laramie where they were waiting when Brigham Young arrives in June 1847. By the fall of 1848, all the members of the church had left the Pueblo settlement.[6]
The first mission was established in the area in 1896 and the first congregation of the LDS Church in Colorado was organized in January 1897.[7]
The Denver Colorado Temple in Centennial was completed in 1986.[8]
The Fort Collins Colorado Temple was formally dedicated by Dieter F. Uchtdorf on October 16, 2016.[9][10]
Missions[]
The Colorado Mission was opened on December 15, 1896 with John W. Taylor as president.[11] This mission was renamed the Western States Mission on April 1, 1907, then the Colorado-New Mexico Mission on June 10, 1970, then the Colorado Mission on October 10, 1972, and the Colorado Denver Mission on June 20, 1974. It was finally renamed the Colorado Denver South Mission on July 1, 1993 upon creation of the Colorado Denver North Mission.
Colorado now contains four missions.
| Mission | Organized |
|---|---|
| Colorado Denver South Mission | December 15, 1896 |
| Colorado Denver North Mission | July 1, 1993 |
| Colorado Colorado Springs Mission | July 1, 2002 |
| Colorado Fort Collins Mission | July 1, 2013 |
Temples[]
Red = Operating
Blue = Under Construction
Yellow = announced
Black = Closed for Renovations
On October 24, 1986 the Denver Colorado Temple was dedicated by President Ezra Taft Benson. On April 2, 2011, the Fort Collins Colorado Temple was announced. Western portions of Colorado are in the Vernal Utah Temple and Monticello Utah Temple districts.
|
|
40. Denver Colorado Temple | ||
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Location: |
Centennial, Colorado, United States | ||
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153. Fort Collins Colorado Temple | ||
|
Location: |
Fort Collins, Colorado, United States | ||
| 224. Grand Junction Colorado Temple (Site announced) | |||
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Location: |
Grand Junction, Colorado, United States | ||
Communities[]
Latter-day Saints have had a significant role in establishing and settling communities within the "Mormon Corridor", including the following located in Colorado:
See also[]
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics (United States)
- Conejos County, Colorado: Religious history
- Pueblo, Colorado, where the sick detachments of the Mormon Battalion wintered in 1846-1847
References[]
- ^ a b c "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by State: Colorado", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 19 May 2021
- ^ Category:Colorado Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved 20 October 2021
- ^ "Adults in Colorado: Religious composition of adults in Colorado". Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
- ^ "The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report". Thearda.com. Retrieved May 21, 2021. Note:While it's the 2nd largest denomination in Colorado, it's the 3rd largest denomination when "nondenominational" is considered as a denomination.
- ^ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics (United States)
- ^ "Your Colorado Church History Tour", Church of Jesus Christ in Colorado.
- ^ "Facts and Statistics", Church News, 2020. Retrieved on 1 April 2020.
- ^ Reid, T.R. "Religious Intolerance Greets Mormon Temple's Invitation", The Washington Post, 22 September 1986. Retrieved on 22 March 2020.
- ^ "Fort Collins Colorado Temple Is Dedicated: 153rd Mormon temple in the world, second in Colorado", Newsroom, LDS Church, October 16, 2016
- ^ "Mormons dedicate their second temple in Colorado", The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah, 4 November 2016. Retrieved on 27 January 2020.
- ^ John Whittaker Taylor. Grampa Bill's General Authority Pages
- ^ "Fort Collins Colorado Temple", ldschurchtemples.com, retrieved April 2, 2011.
- ^ "Site Announced for Fort Collins Temple", LDS Newsroom, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, retrieved August 10, 2011.
- ^ "Prophet Announces Twenty New Temples at April 2021 General Conference", Newsroom, LDS Church, 4 April 2021
Further reading[]
- Bird, Twila (1994) [1987]. Build Unto My Holy Name: The Story of the Denver Temple (2nd ed.). Denver Colorado Area Public Communications Council, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ISBN 096192960X. OCLC 17369530.
- Dorigatti, Barbara T. (2008). "Settlement of Colorado by Utah Pioneers". Pioneer Pathways. Daughters of Utah Pioneers. 11: 1–52.
- Flower, Judson Harold, Jr. (1966). Mormon Colonization of the San Luis Valley, Colorado, 1878-1900 (M.A. thesis). Brigham Young University.
- Jensen, Richard L. (1992), "Colorado, Pioneer Settlements in", in Ludlow, Daniel H (ed.), Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York: Macmillan Publishing, pp. 294–295, ISBN 0-02-879602-0, OCLC 24502140.
- Jones, Garth N. (Spring 2002). "James Thompson Lisonbee: San Luis Valley Gathering, 1876-78". Journal of Mormon History. 28 (1): 212–55.
- McGehee, Linda C. (2000). The Development of the Fort Collins Mormon Community During the Twentieth Century (M.A. thesis). Colorado State University. hdl:10217/781.
- Skinner, Andrew C. (2000), "Colorado", Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, pp. 228–229, ISBN 1573458228, OCLC 44634356.
- Colorado Springs Colorado North Stake (1988). The Stone Rolls Forth : A History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Southeastern Colorado, 1846-1986. Bountiful, UT: Horizon Publishers. ISBN 0882903314. OCLC 21312122.
External links[]
- Newsroom (Colorado)
- ComeUntoChrist.org Latter-day Saints Visitor site
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Official site
- Latter Day Saint movement in Colorado
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United States by state