A History of the Church in the
United States
Overview
In spring of 1820, Joseph Smith was praying in a grove of trees near his home in western New York when God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him. Following further revelations, Joseph Smith translated and published the Book of Mormon and organized the restored Church of Jesus Christ on April 6, 1830. Significant early gathering places for the young Church were in the city of Kirtland, Ohio; various counties in Missouri; and the city of Nauvoo, Illinois. Even in the earliest days of the Church, missionaries traveled far and wide, including overseas, to spread the message that God was once again revealing truth and gathering a people through a prophet. Between 1830 and 1844, thousands of converts from North America, Europe, and the Pacific joined with the Saints.
After Joseph Smith’s death in 1844, the Saints were driven from Nauvoo, Illinois, west to the Rocky Mountains. Pioneer companies began settling in the Salt Lake Valley. By 1869, Latter-day Saints had established hundreds of communities in modern-day Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, California, Colorado, and Oregon. At the end of the 19th century, the Church’s operations included four temples and eight missions in the United States.
A temple was dedicated in Lāʻie, Hawaii, in 1919, becoming the first temple built outside of Utah since the Saints left Nauvoo. Church membership in the United States exceeded one million in 1951. A couple decades later, with the organization of the Fargo North Dakota Stake, the Church had stakes in all 50 states. From the days of the Restoration to the present day, the Saints continue to follow the light of the Lord and trust in God in the midst of challenging journeys: “And the Lord went before them … to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light” (Exodus 13:21).