Official church membership as a percentage of general population was 0.39% in 2014.[3] According to the 2014 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, roughly 1% of Bay Staters self-identify themselves most closely with the LDS Church.[4] The LDS Church is the 11th largest denomination in Massachusetts.[5]
History
The nightly preachings of George J. Adams brought an audience of some 1,200 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1843. At that time, there were some 14 branches (small congregations) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Boston area. Eleven years prior, the first missionaries for the Church arrived in Boston to organize congregations. Church President Joseph Smith passed through Boston on his way to Washington, D.C., in 1839. After President Smith was martyred in 1844, several members in Massachusetts joined the mass exodus west, and missionary work in the state slowed.
In 1894, one year after the area was reopened to missionaries, Church membership was 96. A decade later, missionaries encountered hostilities toward the Church during the highly publicized United States Senate hearings on Church leader and Senator-elect Reed Smoot, and police disallowed missionaries to hold open-air meetings. By 1930, membership was nearly 360, some of whom were recently returned missionaries studying at Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the headquarters for the New England States Mission. A Church building was dedicated in the area in 1956.[6]
The Church completed and dedicated the Boston Massachusetts Temple in 2000, marking the 100th operating temple in the Church.
Temples in and near Massachusetts Red = Operating Blue = Under Construction Yellow = announced Black = Closed for Renovations
As of January 2024, Massachusetts had the following stakes (with the stake center in Massachusetts):[7][8]
Missions
The Eastern States Mission was organized May 6, 1839. On September 24, 1937, the New England Mission was organized as a division of the Eastern States Mission. The mission was renamed Massachusetts Boston Mission on June 20, 1974 and is the only mission based in Massachusetts. Western portions of the state is served by the New Hampshire Manchester Mission.[9]
^"Adults in Massachusetts: Religious composition of adults in Massachusetts". Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Pew Research Center. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
^"The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report". Thearda.com. Retrieved May 24, 2021. Note:While it's the eleventh largest denomination in Massachusetts, it's the twelfth largest denomination when "nondenominational" is considered as a denomination.
^"Statistics and Church Facts | Total Church Membership". newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
^"Boston Massachusetts Temple District", churchofjesuschristtemples.org, retrieved June 21, 2021
^"Hartford Connecticut Temple District", churchofjesuschristtemples.org, retrieved June 21, 2021
^Mortimer, Wm. James (2000), 1999-2000 Church Almanac, Deseret Morning News, pp. 414 & 418, ISBN 1573454915
Further reading
Berrett, LaMar C., ed. (1999). New England and Eastern Canada. Sacred Places: A Comprehensive Guide to Early LDS Historical Sites. Vol. 1. Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft. ISBN 1-57008-644-3.
Dayley, Kristen Smith (2012). For All the Saints: Lessons Learned in Building the Kingdom. Springville, UT: Cedar Fort, Inc. ISBN 978-1462110643.
Godfrey, Kenneth W. (1984). "More Treasures Than One: Section 111". Hearken O Ye People. Sandy, UT: Randall Book. pp. 191–204. ISBN 0934126569.
Holzapfel, Richard Neitzel; Cottle, T. Jeffery (1991). Old Mormon Palmyra and New England. Santa Ana, CA: Fieldbrook Production. ISBN 1879786001.
Kuehn, Elizabeth (June 1, 2015). "More Treasures Than One: D&C 111". Revelations in Context. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Church History Department.
Lindsay, Jay (February 12, 2006). "Mormon church small but expanding in liberal Massachusetts". USA Today (AP).
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