The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nevada
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nevada refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members in Nevada. Nevada has the 7th most church members of any U.S. state, and the fifth-highest percentage of members.[3] The LDS Church is the 2nd largest denomination in Nevada, behind the Roman Catholic Church.[4]
![]() The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nevada | |
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Area | NA Southwest |
Members | 182,569 (2021)[1] |
Stakes | 42 |
Wards | 323 |
Branches | 39 |
Total Congregations | 362 |
Missions | 3 |
Temples | 2 Operating 1 Under Construction 1 Announced 4 Total |
Family History Centers | 34[2] |
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 |
2009 | 173,639 |
2019 | 184,703 |
Source: Windall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall, Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac Country Information: Nevada[1] |
In 1855, 30 men were called to establish a mission at the Meadows in southern Nevada.[5]
Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Las Vegas Nevada Temple in sessions held December 16–18, 1989 and more than 30,000 Latter-day Saints attended the dedicatory services.[6]
County Statistics
List of LDS Church adherents in each county as of 2010 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives:[7] 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 Population |
---|---|---|---|
Carson City | 7 | 2,869 | 5.19 |
Churchill | 7 | 2,786 | 11.20 |
Clark | 218 | 124,291 | 6.37 |
Douglas | 3 | 1,710 | 3.64 |
Elko | 18 | 7,952 | 16.29 |
Esmeralda | 0 | ||
Eureka | 1 | 180 | 9.06 |
Humboldt | 4 | 2,028 | 12.27 |
Lander | 3 | 904 | 15.65 |
Lincoln | 6 | 2,323 | 43.46 |
Lyon | 6 | 3,598 | 6.92 |
Mineral | 2 | 539 | 11.30 |
Nye | 8 | 3,370 | 7.67 |
Pershing | 1 | 475 | 7.03 |
Storey | 0 | ||
Washoe | 33 | 19,436 | 4.61 |
White Pine | 6 | 2,688 | 26.80 |
Stakes

Stakes are located in Carson City, Elko (2), Ely, Fallon (2), Henderson (7), Las Vegas (19), Logandale, Mesquite (2), North Las Vegas, Panaca, Reno (3), Sparks (2) and Winnemucca.
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.[8]
Mission | Organized |
Nevada Las Vegas Mission | July 1, 1975 |
Nevada Las Vegas West Mission | July 1, 1997 |
Nevada Reno Mission | July 1, 2012 |
In addition to these missions, the Utah St George Mission serves the Mesquite Nevada Stake.
Temples
Red = Operating
Blue = Under construction
Yellow = Announced
Black = Closed for renovation
Nevada currently has 2 temples in operation, 1 under construction, and 1 announced.
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Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Dedicated: Size: Style: |
Sunrise Manor, Nevada, United States April 7, 1984 by Spencer W. Kimball November 30, 1985 by Gordon B. Hinckley December 16, 1989 by Gordon B. Hinckley 80,350 sq ft (7,465 m2) on a 10.3-acre (4.2 ha) site Modern, six-spire design - designed by Tate & Snyder Architects | ||
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Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Dedicated: Size: Style: Notes: |
Reno, Nevada, United States April 12, 1999 by Gordon B. Hinckley July 24, 1999 by Rex D. Pinegar April 23, 2000 by Thomas S. Monson 10,700 sq ft (990 m2) 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. | ||
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Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Size: |
Elko, Nevada, United States April 4, 2021 by Russell M. Nelson[9] May 7, 2022 by Paul B. Pieper 10,000 sq ft (930 m2) on a 5.2-acre (2.1 ha) site | ||
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Location: Announced: Size: |
Lone Mountain October 2, 2022 by Russell M. Nelson[10][11] 87,000 sq ft (8,100 m2) on a 19.8-acre (8.0 ha) site |
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
- Brian Crane - Creator of award-winning Pickles comic strip.[12]
- Brandon Flowers - 10x UK Albums Chart-topper, Grammy Award Nominee
- Lloyd D. George - U.S. District Court Judge, Federal Courthouse Namesake
- Jim Gibbons (American politician) - Governor of Nevada[13][14]
- Andy Hafen - Mayor of Henderson
- Cresent Hardy - U.S. Representative from Nevada, 4th district
- Dean Heller- U.S. Senator from Nevada
- Mark Hutchison - Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
- Gladys Knight - Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, 7x Grammy Award Winner, Kennedy Center Honoree
- John Jay Lee - Mayor of North Las Vegas
- Harry Reid - U.S. Senate Majority Leader
- Dan Reynolds - Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductee, 1x Grammy Award Winner
See also
References
- "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by State:Nevada", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved April 9, 2022
- Category:Nevada Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved March 28, 2022
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics (United States)
- "The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report". Thearda.com. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- "Facts and Statistics", Church News, 2020. Retrieved on 3 April 2020.
- Toone, Trent. "'A light on the hill': Las Vegas Nevada Temple reaches 25-year milestone", Deseret News, 18 December 2014. Retrieved on 28 March 2020.
- "The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report". Thearda.com. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
- Lloyd, R. Scott (March 3, 2012), "New missions created", Church News
- "Prophet Announces Twenty New Temples at April 2021 General Conference", Newsroom, LDS Church, 4 April 2021
- "President Nelson announces 18 new temples, including 4 near Mexico City, as conference closes", Deseret News, Deseret News, 2 October 2022
- "The Church of Jesus Christ Will Build 18 New Houses of the Lord", Newsroom, LDS Church, 2 October 2022
- Cavna, Michael. "‘PICKLES’ ’ BIG WIN: Creator Brian Crane reflects on inspiration, affirmation — and almost letting his dream die in his desk", The Washington Post, 28 May 2013. Retrieved on 10 March 2020.
- "Records detail first divorce". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2008-05-30. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
- "Jim Gibbons | Mormon Politicians - FamousMormons.com | Discover Famous Mormons FamousMormons.com | Discover Famous Mormons". www.famousmormons.com. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
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" (PDF). Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. 8 (1): 3–23. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- 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" (PDF). Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. 8 (1): 25–43. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- Kimball, Monique E. (Winter 1987). "A Matter of Faith: A Study of the Muddy Mission" (PDF). Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. 30 (4): 291–303. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- 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. pp. 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 (ed.), 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
- Newsroom Facts and Statistics (Nevada)
- ComeUntoChrist.org Latter-day Saints Visitor site
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Official site