The Church in North America

The Church in North America

The Church was organized in 1830 in the United States, and the earliest members were from the United States and Canada. Missionaries reached Mexico in the 1870s after the Benito Juárez government secured religious freedom. The Church established a presence in Central America after World War II and expanded in the Caribbean after 1978.

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History of the Church in North America

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1830 in the state of New York. The first members were from the US and Canada. Latter-day Saints built communities in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois; endured persecution; and organized an exodus to the Salt Lake Valley in what is now Utah in the western United States.

In the 19th century, Latter-day Saint pioneers built a network of settlements along the mountains from Cardston, Canada, to Colonia Juárez, Mexico. Starting in the 1870s, following the US Civil War and victories by Mexico’s reform movement and the Benito Juárez government, Latter-day Saints developed a permanent presence in many additional North American cities. Mailed copies of an 1875 Spanish translation of parts of the Book of Mormon attracted believers in central Mexico even before missionaries arrived. Converts built lasting branches in the eastern and southern United States.

In the early 20th century, many Latter-day Saints moved away from Utah for work, which helped to strengthen developing branches in other areas. In 1923, Saints in Los Angeles, California, organized the first Church stake in an urban center where they were a minority. During and after World War II, migration again extended Latter-day Saints’ presence.

A Latter-day Saint immigrant to Guatemala requested missionaries in 1946, leading to a Church presence across Central America. From the 1960s to 1980s, the Church established stakes across the North American mainland and took root in the Caribbean. By 1985, there were temples in Los Angeles; Oakland; Washington, DC; Seattle, Atlanta; Mexico City; Dallas; Guatemala City; and Chicago.

In recent decades, Latter-day Saints have become increasingly visible in North American business, government, culture, and volunteer community service. In 2004, Mexico became the second country (after the US) to have over one million Church members, and the number of temples in North America had risen to 77. Today, Latter-day Saints from many backgrounds combine family and local traditions with a shared faith, and the Church is an important part of the continent’s religious culture.