Facts and Statistics

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    British Columbia

    31 171

    Total Church Membership

    0.62% 1-in-161

    Population vs. Church Members

    8

    Stakes

    73

    Congregations

    49 Wards
    24 Branches

    43

    Family History Centers

    43

    1

    Temples

    1

    Missions | 1 Districts

    History

    Vancouver Island was one of several locations considered for a western settlement site for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a letter to Church members in 1845, Church President Brigham Young mentioned the island as "one of many good locations for settlement on the Pacific." The letter sparked a petition by Church members in England to Queen Victoria to support them in settling the island. However, the petition was ignored, and no Latter-day Saint immigrants settled on the island until 1875. That year, William Francis and Maria Judson Copley and their three children settled at Shawigan. The first Church convert on the island was Anthony Maitland Stenhouse, a member of the legislative assembly of British Columbia who chose to resign from the assembly and be baptized in 1887.

    Establishing the Church on the mainland began in 1904 when the president of the Northwest States Mission visited Vancouver City and located a Latter-day Saint family there. A meeting with 12 members in attendance was held in 1909 and a small congregation was organized in 1911. The congregation became ward (a larger congregation) in 1938 and was included in the Seattle Stake (similar to a diocese). By 1960, Latter-day Saint wards expanded to two in Vancouver, plus congregations in North Shore, New Westminister, Fleetwood, Richmond, White Rock, Langley, and Chilliwack.

     

     

    Canada

    203 339

    Total Church Membership

    1-in-

    53

    Stakes

    1010101010

    489

    Congregations

    347 Wards
    142 Branches

    152

    Family History Centers

    152

    9

    Temples

    6

    Missions | 4 Districts

    History

    Joseph Smith, Sr. and his son Don Carlos — the father and brother of Joseph Smith, Jr. — preached in several Canadian towns and hamlets north of the St. Lawrence River in September 1830. The Canadian settlements were only a day or two’s journey from Palmyra, New York, and Kirtland, Ohio, and several converts were eager to share their new religion with relatives north of the border.

    Between 1830 and 1850, some 2,500 Canadians joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, mostly in Upper Canada (modern-day southern Ontario and the watershed areas of Northern Ontario along the Ottawa River and Lakes Huron and Superior) but also in the southern English-speaking townships of Lower Canada (southern portion of current-day Quebec and the Labrador region), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

    The first known Latter-day Saints to enter what is now Alberta were Simeon F. Allen and his son Heber S. Allen of Hyrum, Utah, who contracted work in 1883 on the Canadian Pacific Railroad between Medicine Hat and Calgary. They were joined by other Later-day Saints from Utah working on the contract.

    A few years later in 1886, Cache Stake President Charles O. Card received permission from Church President John Taylor to investigate colonizing opportunities in southwestern Canada.

    Today, more than 190,000 Latter-day Saints are spread throughout 496 congregations in Canada.

    Africa

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    849 568

    Members

    2 721

    Congregations

    Missions

    45Missions

    Family History Centers

    423

    Temples

    6Temples

    Asia

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    1 298 181

    Members

    2 113

    Congregations

    Missions

    45Missions

    Family History Centers

    402

    Temples

    10Temples

    Europe

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    507 748

    Members

    1 296

    Congregations

    Missions

    35Missions

    Family History Centers

    663

    Temples

    14Temples

    North America

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    9 637 503

    Members

    18 423

    Congregations

    Missions

    175Missions

    Family History Centers

    3 054

    Temples

    120Temples

    Oceania (Pacific)

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    599 065

    Members

    1 308

    Congregations

    Missions

    17Missions

    Family History Centers

    318

    Temples

    11Temples

    South America

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    4 320 129

    Members

    5 629

    Congregations

    Missions

    97Missions

    Family History Centers

    1 355

    Temples

    25Temples