The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado
March 11, 2023
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 149,007 members in 314 congregations.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado
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]
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]
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.
Temples in Colorado Red = Operating Blue = Under Construction Yellow = announced Black = Closed for Renovations
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.
Mission
Organized
Colorado Colorado Springs Mission
July 1, 2002
Colorado Denver South Mission
December 15, 1896
Colorado Denver North Mission
July 1, 1993
Colorado Fort Collins Mission
July 1, 2013
The southwestern portion of the state is located in the New Mexico Farmington Mission.
Latter-day Saints have had a significant role in establishing and settling communities within the "Mormon Corridor", including the following located in Colorado:
^ abc"Facts and Statistics: Statistics by State: Colorado", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved April 10, 2022
^Category:Colorado Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved August 18, 2022
^"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.
^Sterzer, Rachel (August 24, 2013), "Elder Rasband breaks ground for Fort Collins Colorado Temple", Deseret News, retrieved August 25, 2013
^"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. ISBN096192960X. 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.
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.
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. ISBN0882903314. OCLC 21312122.
External links
Newsroom (Colorado)
ComeUntoChrist.org Latter-day Saints Visitor site
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Official site
March 11, 2023
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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 149 007 members in 314 congregations The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in ColoradoThe Denver Colorado TempleAreaNA CentralMembers149 007 2021 1 Stakes35Wards279Branches35Total Congregations314Missions4Temples2 Operating1 Under Construction3 TotalFamily History Centers64 2 Official church membership as a percentage of general population was 2 82 in 2014 According to the 2014 Pew Forum on Religion amp 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 Contents 1 History 2 County Statistics 3 Missions 4 Temples 5 Communities 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksHistory EditMembership in ColoradoYearMembers19204 37619306 43519407 882195010 728196019 587197035 613198051 857199088 6251999112 2322009137 1452019150 509Source 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 County Statistics Edit 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 County Congregations Adherents of PopulationAdams 18 11 400 2 58Alamosa 5 1 547 10 02Arapahoe 27 14 505 2 54Baca 0Bent 0Boulder 17 8 620 2 93Chaffee 2 435 2 44Cheyenne 0Clear Creek 1 232 2 55Conejos 8 2 343 28 38Costilla 1 161 4 57Crowley 0Custer 1 117 2 75Delta 3 1 535 4 96Denver 13 10 092 1 68Dolores 0Douglas 28 13 111 4 59Eagle 2 818 1 57El Paso 1 18 602 2 99Elbert 2 738 3 20Fremont 2 1 434 3 06Garfield 5 2 085 3 70Gilpin 0Grand 1 253 1 71Gunnison 2 4 157 27 13Hinsdale 0Huerfano 0Jackson 0Jefferson 22 11 175 2 09Kiowa 0Kit Carson 1 226 2 73La Plata 4 2 126 4 14Lake 0Larimer 20 8 622 2 88Las Animas 0Lincoln 1 128 2 34Logan 1 554 2 44Mesa 18 10 060 6 86Mineral 0Moffat 3 1 339 9 71Montezuma 5 2 277 8 92Montrose 6 2 800 6 78Morgan 1 128 0 46Otero 1 582 3 09Ouray 0Park 0Phillips 0Pitkin 1 268 1 56Prowers 2 439 3 50Pueblo 8 4 287 2 70Rio Blanco 3 1 055 15 83Rio Grande 2 579 4 83Routt 1 356 1 51Saguache 1 196 3 21San Juan 1 35 5 01San Miguel 0Sedgwick 0Summit 1 557 1 99Teller 1 713 3 05Washington 0Weld 11 4 811 1 90Yuma 1 128 1 28Missions Edit Denver Fort Collins Grand Junction Vernal Monticello Farmingtonclass notpageimage Temples in Colorado Red Operating Blue Under Construction Yellow announced Black Closed for Renovations 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 Mission OrganizedColorado Colorado Springs Mission July 1 2002Colorado Denver South Mission December 15 1896Colorado Denver North Mission July 1 1993Colorado Fort Collins Mission July 1 2013The southwestern portion of the state is located in the New Mexico Farmington Mission Temples EditOn 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 40 Denver Colorado Temple Official website News amp images editLocation Announced Groundbreaking Dedicated Size Style Centennial Colorado United StatesMarch 31 1982 by Spencer W KimballMay 19 1984 by Gordon B HinckleyOctober 24 1986 by Ezra Taft Benson29 177 sq ft 2 710 6 m2 on a 7 5 acre 3 0 ha siteModern single spire design designed by Church A amp E Services and Bobby R Thomas 153 Fort Collins Colorado Temple Official website News amp images editLocation Announced Groundbreaking Dedicated Size Fort Collins Colorado United StatesApril 2 2011 by Thomas S Monson 13 14 August 24 2013 by Ronald A Rasband 15 October 16 2016 by Dieter F Uchtdorf42 000 sq ft 3 900 m2 on a 15 69 acre 6 35 ha site 218 Grand Junction Colorado Temple Under construction Official website News amp images editLocation Announced Groundbreaking Size Grand Junction Colorado United States4 April 2021 by Russell M Nelson 16 16 April 2022 by Chi Hong Sam Wong29 000 sq ft 2 700 m2 on a 6 94 acre 2 81 ha siteCommunities EditLatter day Saints have had a significant role in establishing and settling communities within the Mormon Corridor including the following located in Colorado La Jara Manassa SanfordSee also Edit LDS Church portalThe 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 1847References Edit a b c Facts and Statistics Statistics by State Colorado Newsroom LDS Church retrieved April 10 2022 Category Colorado Family History Centers familysearch org retrieved August 18 2022 Adults in Colorado Religious composition of adults in Colorado Pew Forum on Religion amp 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 The Association of Religion Data Archives State Membership Report Thearda com Retrieved February 1 2022 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 Sterzer Rachel August 24 2013 Elder Rasband breaks ground for Fort Collins Colorado Temple Deseret News retrieved August 25 2013 Prophet Announces Twenty New Temples at April 2021 General Conference Newsroom LDS Church 4 April 2021Further reading EditBird 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 EditNewsroom Colorado ComeUntoChrist org Latter day Saints Visitor site The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints Official site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints in Colorado amp oldid 1141743806, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
