The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Georgia (U.S. state)

The Atlanta Georgia LDS Temple

As of January 1, 2011, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 77,948 members in 15 stakes,[1] 151 congregations (112 wards[2] and 39 branches[2]), three missions, and one temple in Georgia.[3]

History

In 1843, missionary work was briefly opened in Georgia by Elder John U. Eldredge. Other missionaries followed to preach and to campaign for Joseph Smith in his presidential bid. The campaign ceased in 1844 with the death of Joseph Smith, and missionary work halted in 1846.[4]

Missionary work in Georgia resumed in 1878. The Southern States Mission headquarters was established in Rome (60 miles north of Atlanta). One early convert to the Church donated land and built a chapel at Mormon Springs in Haralson County.[4]

Missionaries were initially treated well upon their return to the South, but before long their success led to violent opposition. On July 21, 1879, Elder Joseph Standing was killed by a mob near Varnell's Station. His companion escaped serious injury. Unable to secure protection for missionaries, the church pulled out all missionaries in Georgia for the next decade. in 1889, a small group of members left to go west by Train.[5]

Missionaries returned to Georgia in 1899, but slowly and cautiously due to disease and persecution. Ohio was added to the Southern States mission at the request of President Ben E. Rich, so he would have a place where ill missionaries could recover.[5][6]

In 1930, branches were located in Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and Savannah. Sunday Schools had been established in Cedar Crossing, Douglas, Empire, Glenwood, Milledgeville, and Thomaston. That year, the state membership was 4,311.[6]

LeGrand Richards, later a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, served as Southern States Mission mission president from 1934 to 1937, and wrote the outline for A Marvelous Work and a Wonder while in Atlanta.[7]

In 1957, the Atlanta Stake was created, taking the northern two-thirds of the state with 3,000 members with wards in Atlanta (2), Columbus, Macon, and Empire. Branches for the stake was located in Buchanan, Athens, Gibson, Milledgeville, and Palmetto. The remainder of the state was covered by the Georgia-Florida and South Georgia districts.[8]

Membership history

Year LDS Membership
1890 175
1930 4,311
1974 14,360
1980 27,210
1990 41,595
1999 57,857
2008 74,644
2012 79,403

Humanitarian relief

From Atlanta, hurricane and flood relief has been shipped to many areas of disaster including Hurricane Andrew, the Albany, Georgia flooding in 1994, Hurricane Opal, Hurricane Katrina as well as many other storms and disasters.

In December 1994, the Church donated 158,000 pounds of food through 26 religious and charitable organizations to the hungry in Atlanta. As various natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes struck Georgia and other areas across the south, Church members in Georgia responded to supply funds, goods, and volunteer help in the aftermath.

Southeast Area based in Atlanta

Though its headquarters is publicly in Salt Lake City, many operations for the North America Southeast Area operate through Atlanta.

In 1919 the headquarters of the Southern States mission moved to Atlanta under mission president Charles A. Callis. At that time, this mission stretched as far west as Arkansas and Louisiana, and as far north as Ohio.[9]

In 1983, the Atlanta Georgia Temple was completed and dedicated, being the only temple in the Southeast United States for over 11 years.

Area headquarters in Atlanta include complete temporal and ecclesiastical distribution centers. LDS Family Services for the North America Southeast Area is also based in Atlanta.

Missions

Atlanta, Georgia became headquarters for the Southern States Mission when it was opened in 1876 with Henry G. Boyle as president. The mission covered the southern United States from Texas east. As more missions were created, the territorial coverage was reduced. In Jun 1971, the Southern States mission was renamed the Georgia-South Carolina Mission. On June 20, 1974, it was renamed the Georgia Atlanta Mission.

Georgia is now home to three missions.

Mission Organized
Georgia Atlanta Mission Nov 1876
Georgia Atlanta North Mission July 11, 2003
Georgia Macon Missiona July 1, 1990
  • a From July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2013, the Georgia Macon Mission did not exist. It was recreated in 2013 due to the increase of LDS missionaries serving missions.

Temples

On June 1, 1983 the Atlanta Georgia Temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley. For over 11 years (1983-1994), it served as the only temple in the North America Southeast Area.

 21. Atlanta Georgia Temple

Location:
Announced:
Dedicated:
Rededicated:
 Size:
 Notes:

Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States
April 2, 1980
June 1, 1983 by Gordon B. Hinckley
May 1, 2011 by Thomas S. Monson
37,000 sq ft (3,400 m2) and 92 ft (28 m) high on a 13.33 acre (5.4 ha) site
The rededication in 1997 was for the addition of a new baptistry, two new sealing rooms, and remodeling. In April 2009, the church announced that the Atlanta Temple would close on July 1 for 15 to 18 months for renovations[10] The temple was rededicated by Thomas S. Monson on May 1, 2011[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Georgia Stakes.LDS Stake & Ward Web Sites. List of Stakes in Georgia.
  2. 1 2 LDS Meetinghouse Locator.Nearby Congregations (Wards and Branches).
  3. ↑ LDS Newsroom (Statistical Information)
  4. 1 2 Jenson, Andrew. Encyclopedic History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Deseret News Publishing Company
  5. 1 2 History of the Church:Transitions: Early-Twentieth-Century Period.BYU Studies.Retrieved 24 Jan 2008
  6. 1 2 Berrett, LaMar C. (July 1960), History of the Southern States Mission, [masters thesis], Brigham Young University, retrieved 2009-07-01
  7. ↑ Lucille C. Tate, "LeGrand Richards: A Marvelous Work and a Wonder", Tambuli, February 1983.
  8. ↑ "William L. Nicholls to Preside over New Atlanta Stake", Church News, May 11, 1957.
  9. ↑ Richard E. Bennett, "Elder Charles A. Callis: Twentieth-Century Missionary", Ensign, April 1981, p. 46.
  10. ↑ Atlanta Georgia Temple set to close in July for renovation (April 4, 2009). Church News published by Deseret News Publishing Company. Last accessed April 26, 2009.
  11. ↑ LDS Church announcement about temple rededication

Further reading

  • Buice, David (Fall 1980), "Excerpts from the Diary of Teancum William Heward, Early Mormon Missionary to Georgia", Georgia Historical Quarterly, 64 (3): 317–325, JSTOR 40580649
  • Driggs, Ken (1989), "'There is no law in Georgia for Mormons': The Joseph Standing Murder Case of 1879", Georgia Historical Quarterly, 73 (4): 745–772, JSTOR 40582059
  • Engel, Mary Ella (2009), Praying with One Eye Open: A Gendered Interpretation of Mormon Joseph Standing's Murder in Appalachian Georgia (Ph.D thesis), University of Georgia, OCLC 435979640
  • Hatch, William Whitridge (1968), There Is No Law: A History of Mormon Civil Relations in the Southern States, 1865-1905, New York: Vantage Press, LCCN 78003018, OCLC 8929
  • Luce, W. Ray (March 3, 2009), "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", New Georgia Encyclopedia, University of Georgia Press
  • Mason, Patrick Q. (June 2005), Sinners in the hands of an angry mob: Violence against religious outsiders in the U.S. South, 1865-1910 (PDF) (Ph.D thesis), Notre Dame, Indiana: Graduate Program in History, University of Notre Dame
  • Mason, Patrick Q. (2011), The Mormon Menace: Violence and Anti-Mormonism in the Postbellum South, New York: Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199740024.001.0001, ISBN 978-0199740024, OCLC 591788290
  • Nicholls, William L. (May 1964), "Growth of the Church in Atlanta", The Instructor, 99 (5): 200–201
  • Nicholson, John (1886), The Martyrdom of Joseph Standing; or, The Murder of a "Mormon" Missionary: a True Story, Salt Lake City: The Deseret News Company, OCLC 11376948
  • Richardson, Arthur M.; Morgan, Nicholas G (1965), The Life and Ministry of John Morgan, N.G. Morgan, OCLC 11905358
  • Seferovich, Heather M. (1996), History of the LDS Southern States Mission, 1875-1898 (Master Thesis), Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, OCLC 52116412
  • Webster, Gerald R. (May 2000), "Geographical Patterns of Religious Denomination Affiliation in Georgia, 1970-1990: Population Change and Growing Urban Diversity", Southeastern Geographer, 40: 25–51
  • Williams, David S. (2008), From Mounds to Megachurches: Georgia's Religious Heritage, Athens: University of Georgia Press, ISBN 9780820331751, LCCN 2008010957, OCLC 213466225
  • "Georgia", Deseret News 2010 Church Almanac
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