A Brief History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Connecticut

Local History | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

A Brief History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Connecticut

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day In the early 20th century, small congrega- Saints has its roots in New England. The tions of Latter-day Saints in Connecticut first president of the Church, Joseph Smith, met in homes, other churches, rented was born in Vermont in 1805, as was the stores or almost any space they could find. second president, Brigham Young (b. 1801). In New Haven, a medical associates build- Joseph Smith’s maternal family, the Macks, ing was used for two decades, while an lived and worked for generations in Old early Mormon congregation in Bridgeport Lyme, Connecticut, beginning with John met in the Bridgeport Art League facility. Mack of Scotland (b. 1653). The first chapel to be built by the Church in Connecticut was dedicated in Septem- The fourth president of the Church, ber 1952 at the corner of Asylum Avenue Wilford Woodruff, was born in Farmington and Terry Road in Hartford. As was com- (now Avon) in 1807, near the location mon at the time, local members helped to of the new Hartford Temple. Woodruff’s finance the building through fundraisers great-uncle Judah Woodruff designed the and other contributions. First Church of Christ Congregational, a Farmington landmark built in 1771. Connecticut membership grew fourfold from 308 in 1950 to almost 1,200 in 1960, The first Connecticut residents to join The then tripled to well over 3,000 by 1970. In Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints September 1966, Connecticut’s first stake were eight Madison residents baptized in was created in Hartford. (A stake is a 1832. In 1838, Wilford Woodruff returned geographical grouping of multiple con- to his birthplace and baptized his father, gregations, comparable to a diocese.) The stepmother, sister and three others. He also stake included congregations in Hartford, organized a small Mormon congregation Manchester, New Haven, New London, with other nearby members. Southington, Madison, Torrington and Most of the early Church members from south-central Massachusetts. In 1977, the the eastern U.S. gathered with the main Providence Rhode Island Stake was orga- body of Latter-day Saints in Ohio, then nized, which included several congrega- Missouri and Illinois and ultimately in tions in Connecticut. Over the next few Utah. Consequently, early congregations years, other congregations in the Constitu- in Connecticut were quite small and tion State were included in new stakes in records are almost nonexistent. Yorktown and New Haven.

1 Local History | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In June 2016, the Providence Rhode Island Hartford. This will be the first Mormon Stake was split to create the New London temple in Connecticut. Stake. Currently, Latter-day Saints in Today the 15,752 Latter-day Saints in Connecticut are organized into four stakes Connecticut come from all walks of life. and 35 congregations. Sharing a rich heritage of community and Church President Gordon B. Hinckley public service, they are active in youth announced a temple for Hartford in 1992, sports leagues, interfaith councils, the Boy but this plan was postponed when a Scouts of America, civic service, disaster suitable site could not be found. Temples relief and much more. Mormons in Con- were instead built in New York City and necticut are committed to contributing to Boston. In October 2010, current Church their communities and making their state President Thomas S. Monson announced a wonderful place to live. that a temple would now be built in

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