The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Oregon refers to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) and its members in

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. Oregon has the 9th most members of the church of any U.S. state. Members have had considerable influence in the state throughout its contemporary history and many influential Latter-day Saints have come from Oregon, including Senator

Gordon H. Smith Gordon Harold Smith (born May 25, 1952) is an American politician, businessman, and academic administrator who served as a United States Senator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served two terms in the Senate from 1997 to 2009. On Septe ...

History

Missionaries were sent into Oregon from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

as early as 1855. The Northwestern States Mission was created in 1897 under the Oneida Stake with George C. Parkinson, who was also the Oneida

stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine ha ...

, as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

, and was headquartered in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

in 1901, where missionaries had arrived in 1857. The mission was expanded to include the state of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

in 1898, with the Montana Mission being dissolved and Franklin S. Bramwell being called as president. The establishment of the

Oregon Lumber Company The Oregon Lumber Company was a company west of Portland, Oregon, that claimed extensive land via the Homestead Act of 1862. The company was formed by Charles W. Nibley together with David Eccles and George Stoddard in 1889. The company had it ...

Charles W. Nibley Charles Wilson Nibley (February 5, 1849 – December 11, 1931) was the fifth presiding bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) between 1907 and 1925 and a member of the church's First Presidency from 1925 until his ...

, the creation of a lumber mill by David Eccles on the North Powder River, and the purchase of sugar beet farms led to the migration of Latter-day Saint families to the Baker area. The first

branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually ...

in Oregon was created in

Baker City Baker City is a city in and the county seat of Baker County, Oregon, United States. It was named after Edward D. Baker, the only U.S. Senator ever killed in military combat. The population was 10,099 at the time of the 2020 census. History Pla ...

on July 23, 1893. The first stake was organized from various branches of the Church in

Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost ...

on June 9, 1901, as the Union Stake (later the La Grande Stake), centered primarily in

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and Baker counties. The branches in the stake were organized into the first wards in Oregon in La Grande, Mount Glen, Alicel, Baker, Imbler, and Nibley. Bramwell was called to serve as president of the Union Stake, with him serving as both stake and mission president for about a year until he was released as president of the Northwestern States Mission in 1902. Bramwell served as stake president until 1914. Portland First Ward 6

E. Kimbark MacColl's analysis of Portland, history states "Portland was well endowed with churches, with approximately one for every 600 residents" in the 1890s. In his survey of six leading denominations and all 25 missions, no mention was made of LDS Church denominations or missions. The Portland Branch was created on December 19, 1899 and a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

was built in 1929, ready for an open house on February 15–17. The building "carried the architectural scheme of an old English manor, being constructed of dense lava stone and bricks of the clinker type, and is declared particularly suited to western Oregon climate and surroundings." It included a maternity room and a basement with 14 classrooms. The architect was C. R. Kaufman, and construction had begun on August 1, 1928. The completion of the

Oregon Short Line Railroad The Oregon Short Line Railroad was a railroad in Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Montana and Oregon in the United States. The line was organized as the Oregon Short Line Railway in 1881 as a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railway. The Union Pacific int ...

helped bring additional Church members into Oregon, as did the defense industry from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1930 the only wards in Oregon were La Grande 1st and 2nd, Baker, Union, Imbler, and Mt. Glen, with branches in Bend, Eugene,

Klamath Falls Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city was ...

, Medford, Portland, Hood River, and Salem and total membership of 3,226. A stake was created in Portland on June 26, 1938, with four more in the 1950s, thanks to membership increase with the post-World War II boom. The Medford Stake became the Church's 400th in 1964, while the Portland Temple was dedicated in 1989 and the Medford Temple in 2000, with the Willamette Valley Temple being announced in 2021. In 2022, Oregon was home to 248 wards, 48 branches, 35 stakes, and 150,207 Church members.

County statistics

List of LDS Church adherents in each county as of 2010 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives: 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.

Stakes

Note: Only the stakes and districts with congregation(s) in Oregon are listed.

Missions

On July 26, 1897, the Northwestern States Mission was organized to search out Latter-day Saints who had moved to Oregon and Washington. On June 10, 1970, its name changed to the Oregon Mission and ultimately the Oregon Portland Mission on June 20, 1974. On July 1, 1990, the Oregon Eugene Mission was organized; and in July 2013, the Oregon Salem Mission was organized. In addition to these missions, the Idaho Boise Mission covers the eastern portion of the state while the Washington Kennewick, Washington Vancouver, and Washington Yakima missions cover portions of Northern Oregon.

Notable Oregonian members

''See Also: List of Latter Day Saints and Latter Day Saints from Oregon'' *

, US Senator ( R), 1997-2009 * Dennis Richardson, Oregon Secretary of State ( R), 2017–19 * Tom Butler, Former State Representative, ( R- HD60) * Shawn Lindsay, Former State Representative, ( R- HD30) * Ammon Bundy, Activist and leader of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge Standoff *

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and former professional baseball player who serves as an executive for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-s ...

, Basketball player and executive *

Rich Vial Armand Richard Vial (born September 28, 1954) is an American lawyer, farmer, small business owner, and Nonpartisan candidate for Oregon's State Senate District 18, which covers parts of Washington County, in the November 2022 midterm election. ...

, Former

Deputy Secretary of State The deputy secretary of state of the United States is the principal deputy to the secretary of state. The current deputy secretary of state is Wendy Ruth Sherman, serving since April 2021 under secretary of state Antony Blinken. If the secretary ...

, Nonpartisan candidate for Oregon Secretary of State in 2020 * Erin Chambers, Actress *

Jacoby Ellsbury Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury ( ; born September 11, 1983) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 through 2013 and then played for the New York Yankees from 2 ...

, Professional baseball player (

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, New York - Yankees) *

Jeremy Guthrie Jeremy Shane Guthrie (born April 8, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, and Washington Nation ...

, Professional baseball player (multiple teams) *

Dale Murphy Dale Bryan Murphy (born March 12, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player. During an 18-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) (–), he played as an outfielder, catcher, and first baseman for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphi ...

, Professional baseball player (

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

)

Temples

Oregon currently has two operating temples and one under construction. The Columbia River and Meridian Idaho temples serve portions of Eastern Oregon.

Gallery

File:Fossil, OR — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.jpg, An LDS chapel in

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

. File:Mormon church in Beaverton, Oregon.jpg, A contemporary LDS chapel in Beaverton. File:Rainy Medford Oregon Temple.JPG, The

Medford Oregon Temple The Medford Oregon Temple is the 79th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Medford Oregon Temple is located midway between the Oakland California and Portland Oregon temples. As of 2010 it served nine stakes ...

. File:Union Stake Tabernacle (cropped).jpg, The Union Stake Tabernacle in La Grande. File:Portland Mormon Temple (Clackamas County, Oregon scenic images) (clacDA0241).jpg, The

Portland Oregon Temple The Portland Oregon Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) located on of land near the intersection of Highway 217 and I-5 in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The temple's architecture features six white spires ...

. File:Portland Temple Sign.JPG, The sign to the

References

External links

Newsroom (Oregon)
current membership statistics
ComeUntoChrist.org
Latter-day Saints Visitor site
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Official site
Deseret News 2010 Church Almanac
includes brief history of the LDS Church in Oregon. {{DEFAULTSORT:Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Oregon, The Latter Day Saint movement in Oregon *