British Columbia
31 245
Total Church Membership
Population vs. Church Members
8
Stakes
77
Congregations
43
Family History Centers
1
Temples
1
Missions |
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
199 534
Total Church Membership
Population vs. Church Members
53
Stakes
499
Congregations
152
Family History Centers
9
Temples
6
Missions |
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
736 701
Members
2 476
Congregations
Missions
39Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
5Temples
Asia
Total Church Membership
1 259 094
Members
2 110
Congregations
Missions
45Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
8Temples
Europe
Total Church Membership
500 239
Members
1 350
Congregations
Missions
34Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
14Temples
North America
Total Church Membership
9 489 479
Members
18 476
Congregations
Missions
174Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
112Temples
Oceania (Pacific)
Total Church Membership
587 462
Members
1 301
Congregations
Missions
18Missions
Family History Centers
Temples
10Temples
South America
Total Church Membership
4 232 425
Members
5 602
Congregations
