 | The topic of this articlemay not meet Wikipedia'snotability guidelines for companies and organizations. Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citingreliable secondary sources that areindependent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention. If notability cannot be shown, the article is likely to bemerged,redirected, ordeleted. Find sources: "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alabama" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(October 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alabama | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Members | 41,239 (2024)[1] |
| Stakes | 8 |
| Wards | 45 |
| Branches | 28 |
| Total Congregations | 73 |
| Missions | 1 |
| Temples | 1 Operating 1 Announced 2 Total |
| FamilySearch Centers | 44[2] |
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alabama refers tothe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members inAlabama. The first small branch was established in 1842. It has since grown to 39,832 members in 76 congregations.
Official church membership as a percentage of general population was 0.75% in 2014. According to the 2014Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, 1% of Alabamians identify most closely with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[3] The LDS Church is the 10th largest denomination in Alabama.[4]
Stakes are located inBirmingham,Dothan,Gadsden,Huntsville,Madison,Mobile,Montgomery, andTuscaloosa.
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1844 | 193 |
| 1930 | 2,516 |
| 1974 | 7,800 |
| 1980 | 14,000 |
| 1989 | 20,000 |
| 1999 | 27,680 |
| 2009 | 33,968 |
| 2019 | 37,765 |
| 2024 | 41,239 |
| Source:Windall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall,Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac State Information: Alabama[1] | |
Concerted missionary efforts in Alabama started around 1842–1843 in Alabama with the work of Elders James Brown and John U. Eldridge. Before August 24, 1842, branches inTuscaloosa (the Cybry Branch) andPerry (Bogue-Chitto Branch) counties were organized by Elder Brown. Elder Eldridge baptized his brother, wife, and mother-in-law earlier that year.
Elder John Brown, was among the early missionaries baptized a number a people in Tuscaloosa and Perry Counties including some of the first African-Americans to join the church. Hagar and Jack, two African-American men, joined the Church on October 24, 1843. Many of the early missionaries frequently passed betweenAlabama andMississippi in their work.
Most early members immigrated west to join the body of the saint and to avoid persecution. Some of these Alabama members were among the group of "Mississippi Saints" that emigrated under the leadership of John Brown and William Crosby in 1846.[5]
In 1876, missionary work resumed with the creation of the Southern States Mission. Opposition was widespread in the 1880s with some even asking Alabama's governor to force the missionaries from the state. This subsided somewhat by 1894.
A new branch was established inMagnolia, Alabama during the late 1890s. Despite thetarring and feathering of some missionaries to the branch and the attempted arson of an early meeting place, a wood-frame Magnolia Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was completed in 1913. Two elders from Utah assisted in the construction, Elder Sellers fromVernal and Elder Joseph E. Ward fromParowan. Although the branch completed a new brick chapel adjacent to the old one in 1972, the historic chapel continues to be used for social occasions. It is the oldest surviving LDS chapel in the state. The Magnolia Branch is currently a member of the Montgomery Stake.[6][7]
A Sunday School was organized inMontgomery on August 22, 1911. Many of these early converts were baptized in theAlabama River.
By the mid-1930s Sunday School groups existed inBirmingham,Elkmont, Gadsden,McCalla, andMontgomery. In 1937, the Alabama District split in half to create the Alabama and North Alabama Districts. In 1940, the Montgomery Branch staged a pioneer parade that attracted thousands.
The LDS Church began to grow more rapidly in Alabama followingWorld War II. Alabama's first stake was created inHuntsville in 1968.
FollowingHurricane Katrina in 2005, several thousand Latter-day Saint volunteers—Helping Hands, from a 7 state areas (including Alabama), went toLouisiana andMississippi. Many of them taking time out of their jobs or came down on the weekends to help anyone needing assistance.[8][9][10]
In September 2008, Latter-day Saints across Alabama went to theBaton Rouge area to aid cleanup efforts followingHurricane Gustav, as well as other disaster cleanup efforts in following years.
On April 27, 2011, an extremely violent and long-trackedEF5 wedge tornadodevastated several towns in rural northernAlabama, before tearing through the northern suburbs ofHuntsville and causing damage in rural portions of southern Tennessee. With 72 fatalities, it was the deadliest tornado of the2011 Super Outbreak, the largest tornado outbreak in United States history, and the deadliest tornado in Alabama history. The tornado reached a maximum width of 1.25 miles (2.01 km) and was estimated to have had peak winds of 210 mph (340 km/h). Members of the Tupelo Mississippi Stake volunteered to clean up the area.
As of May 2025, the following stakes were centered in Alabama:[11]
| Stake | Organized | Mission | Temple District |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Alabama | 2 Feb 1975 | Alabama Birmingham | Birmingham Alabama |
| Columbus Georgia[a] | 15 Jan 1978 | Georgia Atlanta | Atlanta Georgia |
| Dothan Alabama | 2 Mar 1986 | Florida Tallahassee | Tallahassee Florida |
| Gadsden Alabama | 22 Sep 2019 | Alabama Birmingham | Birmingham Alabama |
| Huntsville Alabama | 3 Mar 1968 | Alabama Birmingham | Birmingham Alabama |
| Madison Alabama | 30 Oct 2011 | Alabama Birmingham | Birmingham Alabama |
| Mobile Alabama | 8 Oct 1978 | Alabama Birmingham | Birmingham Alabama |
| Montgomery Alabama | 2 Nov 1975 | Alabama Birmingham | Birmingham Alabama |
| Newnan Georgia[a] | 16 Aug 2020 | Georgia Atlanta | Atlanta Georgia |
| Tupelo Mississippi[a] | 9 Jun 1991 | Arkansas Little Rock | Memphis Tennessee |
| Tuscaloosa Alabama | 12 Sep 1982 | Alabama Birmingham | Birmingham Alabama |
TheAlabama Birmingham Mission encompasses all stakes in Alabama and 2 stakes in the Florida panhandle.
On September 3, 2000, the Birmingham Alabama Temple was dedicated by PresidentGordon B. Hinckley.
| edit | |||||
| Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Dedicated: Size: Style: | Gardendale,Alabama,United States September 11, 1998 byGordon B. Hinckley October 9, 1999 by Stephen A. West September 3, 2000 byGordon B. Hinckley 10,700 sq ft (990 m2) on a 5.6-acre (2.3 ha) site Classic modern, single-spire design - designed by Robert Waldrip and Church A&E Services | |||||
 |
| edit | ||||
| Location: Announced: Size: | southeast corner of Gillespie and Browns Ferry Road,MadisonMadison County,Alabama,United States 6 October 2024 byRussell M. Nelson[12][13] 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m2) on a 21-acre (8.5 ha) site | |||||
