The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Mexico

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Flag of New Mexico.svg
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Mexico
Albuquerque New Mexico Temple sunset by a4gpa.jpeg
Area NA Southwest
Members 69,451 (2024) [1]
Stakes 14
Wards 104
Branches 33
Total Congregations137
Missions 2
Temples 1 Operating
1 Under Construction
2 Total
Family History Centers 31 [2]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Mexico refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members in New Mexico. The first congregation of the Church in New Mexico was organized in 1895. It has since grown to 69,055 members in 137 congregations.

Contents

Official church membership as a percentage of general population was 3.34% in 2014. According to the 2014 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, 1% of New Mexicans self-identify themselves most closely with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 2% of those surveyed in New Mexico in this survey considered identified themselves as Mormon. [3] The LDS Church is the 3rd largest denomination in New Mexico. [4]

Stakes are located in Albuquerque (4), Bloomfield, Farmington, Gallup, Kirtland, Las Cruces, Los Lunas, Rio Rancho, Roswell, Santa Fe, and Silver City.

History

Membership in New Mexico
YearMembers
19201,313
19302,096
19403,313
19505,557
196013,363
197021,873
198036,881
1990*48,000
199957,807
200964,872
201969,488
202469,451
*Membership was published as an estimated or rounded number.
Source: Windall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall, Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac Country Information: New Mexico [1]
The Burnham Ward Meetinghouse in Kirtland, New Mexico Burnham Ward Meeting House.jpg
The Burnham Ward Meetinghouse in Kirtland, New Mexico

Mormons first came to New Mexico in 1846. The LDS Church has traditionally had a strong presence in the Four Corners Region of New Mexico, settling the town of Kirtland and other surrounding areas. Mormons found converts among the Zuni Indians. [5]

County Statistics

List of LDS Church adherents in each county as of 2010 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives: [6] 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
Bernalillo 2514,1842.14
Catron 23479.32
Chaves 31,3512.06
Cibola 31,2194.48
Colfax 14613.35
Curry 19121.89
De Baca 1472.32
Eddy 31,4572.71
Grant 61,6385.55
Guadalupe 0
Harding 0
Hidalgo 34489.15
Lea 29581.48
Lincoln 14262.08
Los Alamos 21,0115.63
Luna 39143.64
McKinley 119,43413.20
Mora 0
Otero 31,4262.24
Quay 12632.91
Rio Arriba 37651.90
Roosevelt 25682.86
San Juan 2414,69011.30
San Miguel 12580.88
Sandoval 94,1433.15
Santa Fe 42,2471.56
Sierra 13663.05
Socorro 25563.11
Taos 35991.82
Torrance 14212.57
Union 0
Valencia 42,0922.73

Stakes

As of May 2025, the following stakes were located in New Mexico:

StakeMissionTemple District
Albuquerque New Mexico StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Albuquerque New Mexico East StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Albuquerque New Mexico North StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Albuquerque New Mexico West StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Amarillo Texas Stake [a] Texas LubbockLubbock Texas
Bloomfield New Mexico StakeNew Mexico FarmingtonAlbuquerque New Mexico
Chinle Arizona Stake [a] New Mexico FarmingtonSnowflake Arizona
Duncan Arizona Stake [a] Arizona TucsonGila Valley Arizona
Eagar Arizona Stake [a] Arizona FlagstaffSnowflake Arizona
El Paso Texas Chamizal Stake [a] Texas El PasoCiudad Juárez Mexico
El Paso Texas Mount Franklin Stake [a] Texas El PasoCiudad Juárez Mexico
Farmington New Mexico StakeNew Mexico FarmingtonAlbuquerque New Mexico
Gallup New Mexico StakeNew Mexico FarmingtonAlbuquerque New Mexico
Kirtland New Mexico StakeNew Mexico FarmingtonAlbuquerque New Mexico
Las Cruces New Mexico StakeTexas El PasoAlbuquerque New Mexico
Los Lunas New Mexico StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Lubbock Texas Stake [a] Texas LubbockLubbock Texas
Lubbock Texas North Stake [a] Texas LubbockLubbock Texas
Rio Rancho New Mexico StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Pueblo Colorado Stake [a] Colorado Colorado SpringsDenver Colorado
Roswell New Mexico StakeTexas LubbockLubbock Texas
Santa Fe New Mexico StakeNew Mexico AlbuquerqueAlbuquerque New Mexico
Silver City New Mexico StakeTexas El PasoGila Valley Arizona
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Stake located outside New Mexico with congregation(s) meeting in New Mexico

Missions

On March 7, 1943, the Navajo-Zuni Mission was organized, and specialized with teaching Native Americans in their language. This was renamed the Southwest Indian Mission on January 1, 1949. It was renamed the New Mexico-Arizona Mission on October 10, 1972.

New Mexico became its own mission when the New Mexico Albuquerque Mission was organized on July 1, 1975 with Stanley D. Robers as mission president. [7]

As of May 2025, New Mexico was home to two missions:

MissionOrganized
New Mexico Albuquerque MissionJuly 1, 1975
New Mexico Farmington MissionJuly 1, 2010

In addition to these missions, the Arizona Tucson Mission and the Texas Lubbock Mission covers portions of the state.

Temples

USA New Mexico location map.svg
Temples in and near New Mexico
  • ButtonRed.svg = Operating
  • ButtonBlue.svg = Under construction
  • ButtonYellow.svg = Announced
  • ButtonBlack.svg = Temporarily Closed

On March 5, 2000, the Albuquerque New Mexico Temple was dedicated by church president Gordon B. Hinckley.

On April 4, 2021, church president Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple would be built in Farmington.

Albuquerque New Mexico Temple by a4gpa.jpeg
edit
Location:
Announced:
Groundbreaking:
Dedicated:
Size:
Style:
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
April 4, 1997 by Gordon B. Hinckley
June 20, 1998 by Lynn A. Mickelsen
March 5, 2000 by Gordon B. Hinckley
34,245 sq ft (3,181.5 m2) on a 8.5-acre (3.4 ha) site
Classic modern, single-spire design - designed by Fanning Bard & Tatum
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in New Mexico edit
Location:
Announced:
Groundbreaking:
Open House:
Dedicated:
Size:
Farmington, New Mexico, United States
April 4, 2021 by Russell M. Nelson [8]
30 April 2022 by Anthony D. Perkins [9]
17 July-2 August 2025
scheduled for 17 August 2025
25,000 sq ft (2,300 m2) on a 6.62-acre (2.68 ha) site

Communities

Latter-day Saints had a significant role in establishing and settling communities within the "Mormon Corridor", including the following in New Mexico:

See also

References

Further reading