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

As of year-end 2012, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) reported 178,737 members in 34 stakes,^[1] 324 Congregations (295 wards^[2] and 29 branches^[2]), three missions, and two temples in Nevada.^[3]

Stakes are located in Carson City, Elko (2), Ely, Fallon (2), Henderson (5), Las Vegas (15), Logandale, Mesquite, North Las Vegas, Panaca, Reno (2), Sparks and Winnemucca.

History

A brief history can be found at MormonNewsroom.org.^[3]

Nevada Membership History

Year	Membership
1920	2,328
1930	5,319
1940	9,139
1950	14,223
1960	23,890
1970	44,282
1980	71,462
1990	110,060
1999	143,372
2007	172,330
2008	173,639
2012	178,737

Missions

On July 1, 1975, the Nevada Las Vegas Mission was organized from the Arizona Tempe, and California Sacramento missions. Due to growth of missionary work in the area, the Nevada Las Vegas Mission split creating the Nevada Las Vegas West Mission. On July 1, 2012, the Las Vegas and Las Vegas West Missions were realigned, and the Nevada Reno Mission was created.^[4]

Mission	Organized
Nevada Las Vegas Mission	July 1, 1975
Nevada Las Vegas West Mission	July 1, 1997
Nevada Reno Mission	July 1, 2012

Temples

Nevada currently has 2 temples in operation.

	43. Las Vegas Nevada
	Location: Announcement: Dedication: Coordinates: Size: Style:	Sunrise Manor, Nevada, US 7 April 1984 16 December 1989 by Gordon B. Hinckley 36°10′28.5″N 115°1′12.2″W / 36.174583°N 115.020056°W 80,350 sq ft (7,465 m^2) and 137 ft (42 m) high on a 10.3 acre (4.2 ha) site Modern, six-spire design - designed by Tate & Snyder Architects
	81. Reno Nevada
	Location: Announcement: Dedication: Coordinates: Size: Style: Notes:	Reno, Nevada, US 12 April 1999 23 April 2000 by Thomas S. Monson 39°32′4.6″N 119°53′56.1″W / 39.534611°N 119.898917°W 10,700 sq ft (990 m^2) and 71 ft (22 m) high on a 7.9 acre (3.2 ha) site Classic modern, single-spire design - designed by Church A&E Services Second temple built in Nevada, following Las Vegas Temple.

Communities

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

• Barclay
• Bunkerville
• Crystal Springs
• Genoa
• Las Vegas
• Lund
• Mesquite
• Metropolis
• Moapa Valley
• Muddy River
• Overton
• Panaca
• St. Joseph
• St. Thomas
• West Point

Notable Latter-day Saints in Nevada

• Harry Reid - U.S. Senate Majority Leader
• Dean Heller- Junior senator from Nevada
• Cresent Hardy - U.S. Representative from Nevada, 4th district
• Lloyd D. George - U.S. District Court Judge, Federal Courthouse Namesake
• John Jay Lee - Mayor of North Las Vegas
• Andy Hafen - Mayor of Henderson
• Mark Hutchison - Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
• Gladys Knight - Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, Grammy Award Winner
• Dan Reynolds - Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee, Grammy Award Winner
• Brandon Flowers - 5x UK Albums Chart Topper, Grammy Award Nominee

See also

• Mormon Station State Historic Park
• Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park
• State of Deseret

References

1. Nevada Stakes.LDS Stake & Ward Web Sites. List of Stakes in Nevada.
2. LDS Meetinghouse Locator.Nearby Congregations (Wards and Branches).
3. "Statistics by Country: USA-Nevada", MormonNewsroom.org (LDS Church), 31 December 2012, retrieved 2013-06-17
4. Lloyd, R. Scott (March 3, 2012), "New missions created", Church News

Further reading

• Arrington, Leonard J. (1979). The Mormons in Nevada (PDF). Las Vegas Sun.
• Brooks, Juanita (Spring 1965). "The Mormons in Carson County, Utah Territory". Nevada Historical Society Quarterly 8 (1): 3–23.
• Davis, Matthew R. (2010). Saints in Sin City: Religion and community building in twentieth century Las Vegas (M.A. thesis). University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
• Edwards, Elbert (Spring 1965). "Early Mormon Settlements in Southern Nevada". Nevada Historical Society Quarterly 8 (1): 25–43.
• Kimball, Monique E. (Winter 1987). "A Matter of Faith: A Study of the Muddy Mission". Nevada Historical Society Quarterly 30 (4): 291–303.
• Kowalewski, Jane Percy (1984). Strange Bedfellows: Mormons and Miners in Southern Nevada (M.A. thesis). University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
• Green, Michael (June 4, 2014), "How the Mormons Made Las Vegas: And why we need their engagement now more than ever", VegasSeven.com (Vegas Seven)
• Rowberry, David R. (2000). "Nevada". Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. p. 834-36. ISBN 1-57345-822-8.
• Stout, Daniel A. (Winter 2004). "Secularization and the Religious Audience: A Study of Mormons and Las Vegas Media". Mass Communication & Society (Taylor & Francis) 7 (1): 61–75.
• Ward, Kenric F. (2002). Saints in Babylon: Mormons and Las Vegas. Bloomington, Indiana: 1stBooks Library. ISBN 0-7596-5806-4.
• Warner, Ted J. (1992), "Nevada, Pioneer Settlements in", in Ludlow, Daniel H, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York: Macmillan Publishing, ISBN 0-02-879602-0, OCLC 24502140.
• Woods, Fred E. (2005). A Gamble in the Desert: The Mormon Mission in Las Vegas (1855-1857). Salt Lake City, Utah: Mormon Historic Sites Foundation. ISBN 0-9769532-0-X.

External links

• LDS Newsroom Facts and Statistics (Nevada)
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Official Site
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Visitors Site