The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Mexico explained

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Mexico
Area: Southwest
Members:69,055 (2022)
Stakes:14
Districts:0
Wards:102
Branches:35
Missions:2
O:1
U:1
A:0
Fhc:31

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Mexico refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members in New Mexico. The first congregation of the Church in New Mexico was organized in 1895. It has since grown to 69,055 members in 137 congregations.

Official church membership as a percentage of general population was 3.34% in 2014. According to the 2014 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, 1% of New Mexicans self-identify themselves most closely with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2% of those surveyed in New Mexico in this survey considered identified themselves as Mormon.[1] The LDS Church is the 3rd largest denomination in New Mexico.[2]

Stakes are located in Albuquerque (4), Bloomfield, Farmington, Gallup, Kirtland, Las Cruces, Los Lunas, Rio Rancho, Roswell, Santa Fe, and Silver City.

History

Mormons first came to New Mexico in 1846. The LDS Church has traditionally had a strong presence in the Four Corners Region of New Mexico, settling the town of Kirtland and other surrounding areas. Mormons found converts among the Zuni Indians.[3]

County Statistics

List of LDS Church adherents in each county as of 2010 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives:[4] 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.

CountyCongregationsAdherents% of Population
Bernalillo2514,1842.14
Catron23479.32
Chaves31,3512.06
Cibola31,2194.48
Colfax14613.35
Curry19121.89
De Baca1472.32
Eddy31,4572.71
Grant61,6385.55
Guadalupe0
Harding0
Hidalgo34489.15
Lea29581.48
Lincoln14262.08
Los Alamos21,0115.63
Luna39143.64
McKinley119,43413.20
Mora0
Otero31,4262.24
Quay12632.91
Rio Arriba37651.90
Roosevelt25682.86
San Juan2414,69011.30
San Miguel12580.88
Sandoval94,1433.15
Santa Fe42,2471.56
Sierra13663.05
Socorro25563.11
Taos35991.82
Torrance14212.57
Union0
Valencia42,0922.73

Stakes

As of June 2024, the following Stakes were located in New Mexico:

StakeMissionTemple District
Albuquerque New Mexico StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Albuquerque New Mexico East StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Albuquerque New Mexico North StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Albuquerque New Mexico West StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Amarillo Texas StakeTexas LubbockLubbock Texas
Bloomfield New Mexico StakeNew Mexico FarmingtonAlbuquerque New Mexico
Chinle Arizona StakeNew Mexico FarmingtonSnowflake Arizona
Duncan Arizona StakeArizona TucsonGila Valley Arizona
Eagar Arizona StakeArizona FlagstaffSnowflake Arizona
El Paso Texas Chamizal StakeTexas El PasoCiudad Juárez Mexico
El Paso Texas Mount Franklin StakeTexas El PasoCiudad Juárez Mexico
Farmington New Mexico StakeNew Mexico FarmingtonAlbuquerque New Mexico
Gallup New Mexico StakeNew Mexico FarmingtonAlbuquerque New Mexico
Kirtland New Mexico StakeNew Mexico FarmingtonAlbuquerque New Mexico
Las Cruces New Mexico StakeTexas El PasoAlbuquerque New Mexico
Los Lunas New Mexico StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Lubbock Texas StakeTexas LubbockLubbock Texas
Lubbock Texas North StakeTexas LubbockLubbock Texas
Rio Rancho New Mexico StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Pueblo Colorado StakeColorado Colorado SpringsDenver Colorado
Roswell New Mexico StakeTexas LubbockLubbock Texas
Santa Fe New Mexico StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Silver City New Mexico StakeTexas El PasoThe Gila Valley Arizona Temple

Missions

On March 7, 1943, the Navajo-Zuni Mission was organized, and specialized with teaching Native Americans in their language. This was renamed the Southwest Indian Mission on January 1, 1949. It was renamed the New Mexico-Arizona Mission on October 10, 1972.

New Mexico became its own mission when the New Mexico Albuquerque Mission was organized on July 1, 1975 with Stanley D. Robers as mission president.[5]

As of February 2023, New Mexico was home to two missions:

Missiondata-sort-type=dateOrganized
New Mexico Albuquerque Mission
New Mexico Farmington Mission
In addition to these missions, the Arizona Tucson Mission and the Texas Lubbock Mission covers portions of the state.

Temples

On March 5, 2000, the Albuquerque New Mexico Temple was dedicated by church president Gordon B. Hinckley.

On April 4, 2021, church president Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple would be built in Farmington.

Communities

Latter-day Saints had a significant role in establishing and settling communities within the "Mormon Corridor", including the following in New Mexico:

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Adults in New Mexico: Religious composition of adults in New Mexico. Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Pew Research Center. 2021-05-21.
  2. Web site: The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report. Thearda.com. May 21, 2021.
  3. Web site: Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Jenson . Andrew . 1941 . Deseret News, printer . 575.
  4. Web site: The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report. Thearda.com. February 1, 2022.
  5. Web site: New Mexico Albuquerque | Presidents . 2009-05-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090428131233/http://www.mission.net/new-mexico/albuquerque/presidents.php . 2009-04-28 . dead .