The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Washington (state) explained

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Washington
Area: West
Members:281,389 (2022)
Stakes:59
Districts:0
Wards:431
Branches:58
Missions:7
O:4
U:0
A:2
Fhc:97

The U.S. state of Washington has the sixth most members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United States.[1] The LDS Church is the 2nd largest denomination in Washington, behind the Roman Catholic Church.[2]

History

The first known member of the Church moved to Washington in 1852, with missionaries arriving in Washington Territory from California as early as 1854. Enough converts were baptized along the Lewis River in the southwest portion of the state that a congregation was created in that area. Tensions escalated to the death of one member in 1911, who was given a secret burial at night.

Members of the Church helped construct the Oregon Short Line Railroad in the 1880s. By 1930, nearly two thousand members lived within the state with chapels located in the Puget Sound Region and in Spokane. Washington saw many members move to the state after the completion of the Grand Coulee Dam and during World War II to work in defense industries.[3]

The first branch in Washington was created at Tacoma near the end of 1899, with its first stake being created at Seattle in 1938. Washington's first temple was built in Bellevue in 1980. There are now also temples in Spokane, Richland, and Moses Lake. Temples have been announced in Tacoma and Vancouver.[4]

County Statistics

List of LDS Church adherents in each county as of 2010 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives:[5] 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
Adams92,24511.99
Asotin21,4576.74
Benton3114,2948.16
Chelan72,7773.83
Clallam73,1024.34
Clark3720,7934.89
Columbia12867.01
Cowlitz74,5134.41
Douglas37972.07
Ferry12963.92
Franklin197,3389.39
Garfield0
Grant197,5628.49
Grays Harbor63,2544.47
Island42,3352.97
Jefferson28762.93
King11056,9852.95
Kitsap1911,0934.42
Kittitas51,7024.16
Klickitat29454.65
Lewis74,3045.70
Lincoln12152.03
Mason42,5874.26
Okanogan41,1532.80
Pacific28063.85
Pend Oreille11120.86
Pierce5233,1524.17
San Juan13232.05
Skagit63,8703.31
Skamania14093.70
Snohomish4122,6843.18
Spokane4824,2465.15
Stevens41,8294.20
Thurston1810,7744.27
Wahkiakum12125.33
Walla Walla62,4684.20
Whatcom105,4382.70
Whitman51,7924.00
Yakima178,2433.39

Stakes

As of November 2024, Washington had the following stakes:

Stakedata-sort-type=dateOrganizedMissionTemple
Arlington Washington Stake24 Oct 2010Washington EverettSeattle Washington
Auburn Washington Stake28 Nov1982Washington SeattleSeattle Washington
Bellevue Washington South Stake15 Mar 1981Washington SeattleSeattle Washington
Bellevue Washington Stake1 Dec 1963Washington SeattleSeattle Washington
Bellingham Washington Stake10 May 1981Washington EverettVancouver British Columbia
Bothell Washington Stake22 Nov 1981Washington SeattleSeattle Washington
Bremerton Washington Stake19 Jun 1960Washington TacomaSeattle Washington
Centralia Washington Stake10 Sep 1978Washington VancouverPortland Oregon
Colville Washington Stake18 Oct 1981Washington SpokaneSpokane Washington
Elma Washington Stake28 Aug 1983Washington VancouverSeattle Washington
Enumclaw Washington Stake13 Mar 2016Washington SeattleSeattle Washington
Ephrata Washington Stake15 Jun 1980Washington YakimaMoses Lake Washington
Everett Washington Stake25 Oct 1970Washington EverettSeattle Washington
Federal Way Washington Stake20 Nov 1977Washington SeattleSeattle Washington
Gig Harbor Washington Stake28 Sep 1952Washington TacomaSeattle Washington
Graham Washington Stake18 May 2003Washington TacomaSeattle Washington
Kennewick Washington Stake24 Oct 1976Washington KennewickColumbia River Washington
Kennewick Washington East Stake31 Oct 1982Washington KennewickColumbia River Washington
Kent Washington Stake14 Oct 1984Washington SeattleSeattle Washington
Lacey Washington Stake14 Sep 1997Washington TacomaSeattle Washington
Lakewood Washington Stake20 Oct 1985Washington TacomaSeattle Washington
Lewiston Idaho Stake19 Oct 1958Washington SpokaneSpokane Washington
Longview Washington Stake4 Feb 1973Washington VancouverPortland Oregon
Lynnwood Washington Stake14 May 1978Washington EverettSeattle Washington
Maple Valley Washington Stake22 Mar 1998Washington SeattleSeattle Washington
Marysville Washington Stake29 Mar 1981Washington EverettSeattle Washington
Moscow Idaho Stake5 May 1974Washington SpokaneSpokane Washington
Moses Lake Washington Stake18 Apr 1954Washington YakimaMoses Lake Washington
Mount Vernon Washington Stake30 Jun 1963Washington EverettSeattle Washington
Oak Harbor Washington Stake23 Apr 2017Washington EverettSeattle Washington
Olympia Washington Stake27 Aug 1967Washington TacomaSeattle Washington
Othello Washington Stake12 Aug 1979Washington YakimaMoses Lake Washington
Pasco Washington Stake21 May 1967Washington KennewickColumbia River Washington
Pasco Washington North Stake20 Feb 2011Washington KennewickColumbia River Washington
Port Angeles Washington Stake23 Feb 1992Washington TacomaSeattle Washington
Pullman Washington Stake29 Sep 2024Washington SpokaneSpokane Washington
Rainier Oregon Stake8 Mar 1992Washington VancouverPortland Oregon
Renton Washington Stake3 May 1970Washington SeattleSeattle Washington
Richland Washington Stake25 Jun 1950Washington KennewickColumbia River Washington
Richland Washington South Stake26 Feb 2023Washington KennewickColumbia River Washington
Ridgefield Washington Stake24 Jan 2016Washington VancouverPortland Oregon
Sammamish Valley Washington Stake29 May 1977Washington SeattleSeattle Washington
Sandpoint Idaho Stake20 Aug 1978Washington SpokaneSpokane Washington
Seattle Washington Stake31 Jul 1938Washington SeattleSeattle Washington
Seattle Washington North Stake19 May 1957Washington EverettSeattle Washington
Selah Washington Stake29 Apr 1979Washington YakimaMoses Lake Washington
Silverdale Washington Stake26 Aug 1979Washington TacomaSeattle Washington
Snohomish Washington Stake28 Jun 1992Washington EverettSeattle Washington
South Hill Washington Stake28 Nov 1982Washington TacomaSeattle Washington
Spokane Washington Stake29 Jun 1947Washington SpokaneSpokane Washington
Spokane Washington East Stake17 Oct 1971Washington SpokaneSpokane Washington
Spokane Washington Mount Spokane Stake18 Jun 2016Washington SpokaneSpokane Washington
Spokane Washington North Stake7 Jan 1979Washington SpokaneSpokane Washington
Spokane Washington Valley Stake3 Jun 2001Washington SpokaneSpokane Washington
Spokane Washington West Stake12 Jan 1992Washington SpokaneSpokane Washington
Sumner Washington Stake17 Jan 1971Washington TacomaSeattle Washington
Tacoma Washington Stake19 Aug 1979Washington TacomaSeattle Washington
The Dalles Oregon Stake26 Jun 1977Washington YakimaPortland Oregon
Vancouver Washington Stake1 Dec 1963Washington VancouverPortland Oregon
Vancouver Washington East Stake17 May 1998Washington VancouverPortland Oregon
Vancouver Washington North Stake3 Nov 1985Washington VancouverPortland Oregon
Vancouver Washington West Stake5 Nov 1978Washington VancouverPortland Oregon
Walla Walla Washington Stake11 Mar 1979Washington KennewickColumbia River Washington
Wenatchee Washington Stake29 Jan 1967Washington YakimaMoses Lake Washington
West Richland Washington Stake4 Nov 2012Washington KennewickColumbia River Washington
Yakima Washington Stake24 May 1959Washington YakimaColumbia River Washington

Missions

On July 26, 1897, the Northwestern States Mission was organized to search out Latter-day Saints who had moved to Washington, Oregon, and Montana. On January 1, 1968, The Pacific Northwest Mission was created with Joe E. Whitesides as president. On June 10, 1970, its name changed to the Washington Mission and ultimately the Washington Seattle Mission on June 20, 1974. As of 2023, Washington is home to seven missions, three of which are east of the Cascade Mountains, and four are on the west side.

Missiondata-sort-type=dateOrganized
Washington Everett MissionJuly 1, 2001[6]
Washington Kennewick MissionJuly 1, 2002[7]
Washington Seattle MissionJanuary 1, 1968
Washington Spokane MissionJuly 1, 1978[8]
Washington Tacoma MissionJuly 1, 1990[9]
Washington Vancouver MissionJuly 1, 2013[10]
Washington Yakima MissionJuly 1, 2015[11]

Temples

Washington currently has four temples in operation. A fifth temple, the Tacoma Washington Temple, was announced by President Russell M. Nelson in his concluding talk of the Sunday afternoon session of the October 2022 General Conference on Sunday, October 2, 2022, to be built in Tacoma, Washington. [12] A sixth temple, the Vancouver Washington Temple, was announced October 1, 2023. In addition, members in the Bellingham Washington Stake are served by the Vancouver British Columbia Temple[13] and members in and around Vancouver, Washington are served by the Portland Oregon Temple.[14]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. [The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics (United States)]
  2. Web site: The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report. Thearda.com. April 19, 2021. Note:While it's the 2nd largest denomination in Washington, it's the third largest denomination when "nondenominational" is considered as a denomination.
  3. https://www.thechurchnews.com/archive/2010-02-02/united-states-information-washington-35057 LDS Church News - United States information: Washington
  4. https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/united-states/state/washington Washington - LDS Statistics and Church Facts | Total Church Membership
  5. Web site: The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report. Thearda.com. February 1, 2022.
  6. https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/statistics/unit/washington-everett-mission/ Washington Everett Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  7. https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/statistics/unit/washington-kennewick-mission/ Washington Kennewick Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  8. https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/statistics/unit/washington-spokane-mission/ Washington Spokane Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  9. https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/statistics/unit/washington-tacoma-mission/ Washington Tacoma Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  10. https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/statistics/unit/washington-vancouver-mission/ Washington Vancouver Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  11. https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/statistics/unit/washington-yakima-mission/ Washington Yakima Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  12. https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/october-2022-general-conference-new-temples
  13. https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/vancouver-british-columbia-temple/district/ Vancouver British Columbia LDS Temple District
  14. https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/portland-oregon-temple/district/ Portland Oregon LDS Temple District

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