The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints_in_Colorado

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado

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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 148,708 members in 310 congregations.

Quick Facts Area, Members ...

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

More information Year, Members ...

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]

County Statistics

Meetinghouse in Sanford, Colorado
A branch meetinghouse in Fox Creek, Colorado, an unincorporated community in Conejos County.

List of LDS Church adherents in each county as of 2010 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives:[11] Note: Each county adherent count reflects meetinghouse location of congregation and not by location of residence. Census count reflects location of residence which may skew percent of population where adherents reside in a different county as their congregational meetinghouse.

More information County, Congregations ...

Stakes

As of August 2023, Colorado had the following stakes:

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  1. Stake located outside Colorado with congregation(s) meeting in Colorado

Missions

The Colorado Mission was opened on December 15, 1896, with John W. Taylor as president.[12] 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.

More information Mission, Organized ...

The southwestern portion of the state is located in the New Mexico Farmington Mission.

Temples

  • = Operating
  • = Under construction
  • = Announced
  • = Temporarily Closed

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. Southern portions of Colorado are in the Albuquerque New Mexico Temple district.

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Centennial, Colorado, United States
March 31, 1982 by Spencer W. Kimball
May 19, 1984 by Gordon B. Hinckley
October 24, 1986 by Ezra Taft Benson
29,177 sq ft (2,710.6 m2) on a 7.5-acre (3.0 ha) site
Modern, single-spire design - designed by Church A&E Services and Bobby R. Thomas
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Fort Collins, Colorado, United States
April 2, 2011 by Thomas S. Monson[13][14]
August 24, 2013 by Ronald A. Rasband[15]
October 16, 2016 by Dieter F. Uchtdorf
42,000 sq ft (3,900 m2) on a 15.69-acre (6.35 ha) site
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Grand Junction, Colorado, United States
4 April 2021 by Russell M. Nelson[16]
16 April 2022 by Chi Hong (Sam) Wong[17]
29,000 sq ft (2,700 m2) on a 6.94-acre (2.81 ha) site
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Colorado Springs, Colorado
1 October 2023 by Russell M. Nelson[18][19]

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


References

  1. "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by State: Colorado", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved April 10, 2022
  2. Category:Colorado Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved August 18, 2022
  3. "Adults in Colorado: Religious composition of adults in Colorado". Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  4. "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.
  5. "Your Colorado Church History Tour", Church of Jesus Christ in Colorado.
  6. "Facts and Statistics", Church News, 2020. Retrieved on 1 April 2020.
  7. Reid, T.R. "Religious Intolerance Greets Mormon Temple's Invitation", The Washington Post, 22 September 1986. Retrieved on 22 March 2020.
  8. "Mormons dedicate their second temple in Colorado", The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah, 4 November 2016. Retrieved on 27 January 2020.
  9. John Whittaker Taylor. Grampa Bill's General Authority Pages
  10. "Fort Collins Colorado Temple", ldschurchtemples.com, retrieved April 2, 2011.
  11. Sterzer, Rachel (August 24, 2013), "Elder Rasband breaks ground for Fort Collins Colorado Temple", Deseret News, retrieved August 25, 2013

Further reading


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