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86-479: Geographically, a mission may be a city, a city and surrounding areas, a state or province, or perhaps an entire country or even multiple countries. Typically, the name of the mission is the name of the country (or state in the United States), and then the name of the city where the mission headquarters office is located. New missionaries receive a formal mission call , assigning them to a particular mission for

172-480: A bishop in charge of all the finances of that area, who may be assisted by other bishops. Likewise, some nations have a national bishop, and historically, stakes also had bishops. Consequently, this makes the office of bishop somewhat uncommon. In recent years, some mission centers have had multiple bishops in order to help promote the various ministries associated with good stewardship. Other bishops have been appointed as "field bishops" who are assigned to assist one of

258-404: A bishop was called to oversee the temporal affairs of each ward. Partridge presided over the "Upper Ward", Whitney presided over the "Middle Ward", and Vinson Knight presided over the "Lower Ward". Over time in the church's history, the position of Presiding Bishop was created. Partridge is considered the church's "First Presiding Bishop", although neither he nor his contemporaries saw him as

344-555: A common history. On February 4, 1831, Edward Partridge became the first man called to the office of bishop in the early Latter Day Saint church . The duties of the office were to oversee the temporal affairs and accounts of the church through the implementation of the law of consecration . Partridge was called to preside over the Missouri church in Joseph Smith 's absence. Soon thereafter, Partridge and his family emigrated to

430-432: A group that ranges between 60 and 200 missionaries and direct their missionary labors. Missionaries are typically between the ages of 18 and 25, but can also include senior-aged couples and older single women. Mission presidents are usually assisted by two counselors, who reside within the mission boundaries, in overseeing areas of the mission boundaries that are not organized into stakes ; the three men together constitute

516-432: A high priest, and a branch president is not ordained to the priesthood office of bishop. The LDS Church also has a Presiding Bishop who oversees the temporal affairs of the church (including its welfare services ) and provides assistance and instruction to the various bishoprics worldwide. The calling of "traveling bishop" was prominent during the early Utah period of church history. Traveling bishops were not assigned to

602-739: A large and permanent scale can be dated to the organization of the Southern States Mission. This mission was started in 1876 with Henry G. Boyle as president. A short time later John Hamilton Morgan was made the president of this mission. The next mission to be organized was the Northern States Mission (initially called the Northwestern States Mission) with headquarters in Council Bluffs, Iowa . The first president of this mission

688-597: A ninth mission in the United States. However, missionary work was not going on in the Philippines , Puerto Rico or any of the smaller areas the U.S. had acquired in the Spanish–American War . Arizona , Nevada , Utah , Southern Idaho and Western Wyoming, all areas which by that time had large Mormon populations, were not in any mission. Missionary work, to the extent that it occurred in these areas,

774-549: A particular mission, but with a non-standard language assignment. To cite some examples: Kentucky Louisville, Spanish speaking; California Anaheim, Vietnamese speaking; Canada Vancouver, Mandarin speaking; Illinois Chicago, Polish speaking; California San Diego, Arabic speaking. The work of the missions is overseen by the Missionary Committee, which consists of the First Presidency and Quorum of

860-561: A specific congregation, but were tasked to visit various wards and branches to take care and supervise over temporal matters. In many ways bishops of the Community of Christ continue to resemble those found in the church prior to the death of Joseph Smith . They are not pastors or branch presidents, but financial officers and ministers of stewardship. While in theory a literal descendant of Aaron could hold this office, no such claim has ever been made, and therefore all bishops are members of

946-538: A stake was organized in Oregon in 1901 with Bramwell as president, the mission headquarters were moved to Portland, Oregon . The next year Nephi Pratt replaced Bramwell as mission president, and the mission moved toward a system of preaching the gospel in areas where Latter-day Saints were a minority. In 1900, the United States was divided into eight missions, with three whole states and parts of two others outside of all missions. The newly acquired Hawaiian Islands made

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1032-491: A superior to other bishops of the church in that time period. After the 1844 succession crisis , the roles of bishop and Presiding Bishop developed separately in the various resulting denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. According to Latter Day Saint scripture, a bishop in the church does not need to be a high priest, nor does he need counselors, if he is a Levite and a direct descendant of Aaron ,

1118-535: A ward, a holder of the Melchizedek priesthood is usually called to be the branch president . In rare instances where no worthy Melchizedek priesthood holder is available, a priest in the Aaronic priesthood may instead be called as the branch president. The branch president generally has the same responsibilities as a bishop and is assisted by two counselors. A branch president and his counselors may or may not be

1204-451: Is assigned a district president who is usually a local resident; the district president reports directly to the mission presidency. The district presidency perform most of the day-to-day functions that a stake presidency would perform in a stake. Certain duties, such as the issuance of recommends to attend the temple , remain the sole prerogative of the mission president . Districts within a mission are composed exclusively of branches. After

1290-419: Is often invited to give remarks before as his companion. If she has extra time after taking care of the children, she may assist with mission supplementary works such as medical, transportation or catering. Mission presidents are assigned to train and watch over the missionaries who serve under their direction. Mission presidents are typically respected and admired by the missionaries they supervise. Obedience to

1376-477: Is the first time the mission was a truly regional one, supervising missionary work throughout much of the eastern United States. By the 1890s, the leaders of the church were beginning to encourage converts to no longer gather to Utah. With more church members from Utah moving east for employment and education, a nucleus was building around which the church could grow. Still, most people were baptized by missionaries traveling without purse or scrip. Unlike missions in

1462-411: Is the organization of the missionaries. The mission president assigns missionary leaders to help him direct the work. Among the leadership assignments in the mission are assistants to the president, zone leaders, and district leaders. There are two or more missionaries who serve as assistants to the president (not to be confused with the counselors in the mission presidency). The assistants carry out

1548-565: The Cherokee and the Creeks . There were also several converts made among the followers of Lyman Wight some of whom by that time were residing in Oklahoma. At the end of the year a company of 65 left for Utah. Early church apostle Parley P. Pratt was killed in the mission near Alma, Arkansas in 1857. An early leader of the mission here was Henry Eyring, who presided 1858 to 1860. Eyring

1634-477: The Cherokee in what is today Oklahoma . There were some converts made in the following five years, however, the mission was soon afterward disbanded. In 1865, John Taylor again organized the Eastern States Mission. However, this mission stopped functioning in 1869. The true advent of fully functioning missions, with missionaries functioning under a mission president, in the United States on

1720-764: The Chinese landmass and population. Outside of Hong Kong and Macau , there are no LDS missionaries in China. Prior to its split in November 2007 the India Bangalore Mission has the largest population amongst which proselytizing is allowed. This mission covers all of India, thus it has more than one billion inhabitants in its borders. It is unclear whether the New Delhi or Bangalore mission should now be considered to cover more inhabitants partly because

1806-580: The Native Americans . One such was headed by Orson Hyde and tried to convert the Shoshone in Wyoming . The Southern Indian Mission, with Jacob Hamblin as its most famous missionary, made much progress. These missions were often directed by church leaders in regular wards and stakes and did not become an organized mission at this time. There were three more missions organized at this time in

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1892-711: The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles , one member of the Presiding Bishopric and the executive director of the church's Missionary Department, who is usually a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy . As of 1 August 2015, the executive director's identity is not known. Prior to August 2015, David F. Evans had been serving in this capacity. On 19 August 2015, it was announced that Bonnie L. Oscarson ,

1978-662: The San Francisco Bay Area . Henry S. Tanner arrived the next August, with missionaries, thus he was able to preside over missionaries. The headquarters of the mission remained in San Francisco, but by August 1895 a branch had been organized in Los Angeles. That year also marked the division of the California mission into Conferences . In 1893, the Eastern States Mission was organized again. This

2064-772: The San Francisco earthquake and fire in 1906, the mission headquarters was relocated to Los Angeles from San Francisco. In the next few years the headquarters of the Central States Mission were moved to Independence, Missouri , and the headquarters of the Northwestern States Mission were moved to Portland, Oregon . By 1907, the Colorado Mission was renamed the Western States Mission. Also in these years,

2150-456: The mission presidency and are each given the honorific title "President" . The counselors serve in the mission presidency for varying periods of time while maintaining their regular employment. The responsibilities of the counselors are generally oriented towards the members of the church within the mission, often organized into districts and branches . Additionally, mission presidents are assisted by two or more full-time missionaries under

2236-492: The 1850s the church also had an organization in St. Louis with first Erastus Snow and later Orson Spencer having a regional leadership position somewhat equivalent to that of a mission president, although neither was referred to by this title while they presided from St. Louis. In the western United States families would be called on settlement missions, but these were not primarily proselytizing missions. Some started as missions to

2322-500: The British Mission in the 1860s but one of their children was born while they were there. When Heber J. Grant brought his wife and six daughters with him when he came to preside over the British Mission in 1903, Francis M. Lyman looked unfavorably upon this new innovation. Mission presidents are either retired or leave their vocations for three years to preside over their mission. They live in properties owned or leased by

2408-684: The Eastern United States of America from 1830 on, no mission was organized until 1839. In this year a mission was organized in New York City presided over by John P. Greene . However, at this time missionaries continued to serve outside of regular mission areas. With the removal of the main body of the Saints to Utah Territory and other western states, the number of church members in the Eastern United States

2494-645: The Eastern United States, in this period missions in the Western States were generally set up in areas into which church members had already begun to move. The origins of the Northwestern States Mission go back to the Oregon Lumber Company which was run by David Eccles and Charles W. Nibley . Many Latter-day Saints worked in the company's offices in Baker City, Oregon , and a branch was organized there in 1893. At that point this branch

2580-473: The LDS Church, the largest Latter Day Saint denomination, bishops are called from among the members of a local congregation, known as a ward, and traditionally serve, without pay, for four to seven years (the length of service varies). A bishop must be a worthy Melchizedek priesthood holder and is usually married. The bishop serves as the presiding high priest of the ward. A bishop simultaneously serves as

2666-421: The LDS Church, which also covers basic living and household expenses for mission presidents. Prominent examples include former United States Congressman Wayne Owens , former Governor of Utah Norm Bangerter , two-time Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award recipient Dale Murphy , and Harvard Business School professor Steven C. Wheelwright . They usually receive training in late June and begin

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2752-493: The New Delhi mission covers Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan as well as northern India, and outside of Northern India does little formal proselytizing. Russia contains missions with very large areas. In the Russia Novosibirsk Mission, it is possible to take a 42-hour train ride to get to the city of Novosibirsk from some places within the mission boundaries. Missionaries are sometimes called to serve in

2838-642: The Temple Square Mission. The mission with the largest geographical area is currently the Micronesia Guam Mission, which covers an area that is roughly the size of the continental United States. However, the vast majority of this mission is composed of empty ocean. The largest mission in terms of geographical land mass and population is currently the China Hong Kong Mission, which encompasses nearly all of

2924-600: The Twelve. Much of the actual work of overseeing the missions is delegated to the Missionary Executive Council (MEC). This committee has roots in the Radio, Publicity and Missionary Literature Committee formed in the 1930s, with Stephen L. Richards as chair and Gordon B. Hinckley as executive secretary. In the late 1940s, Richards and Hinckley held the same positions, with Hinckley essentially fulfilling

3010-534: The United States as we define it today. The California Mission thrived for a short time with the presence of such men as Parley P. Pratt and George Q. Cannon . However, there were nearly as many men on gold-mining missions as regular proselytizing missions. By the time of the Utah War , the California Mission had largely stopped functioning. The Sandwich Islands Mission was begun in 1850. Among

3096-579: The age of 30 since 2005 was Kerving H. Joseph, who was 29 when he became president of the Haiti Port-au-Prince Mission in 2009. Mission presidents are generally assigned to areas other than where they reside at the time of their call. There are exceptions, such as Richard G. Hinckley, who presided over the Utah Salt Lake City Mission. In 2009, at least two of the newly called mission presidents resided within

3182-405: The bishop is the stake president , who provides direction, training and counsel to the bishops of the wards within his stake boundaries; the stake president is assisted in these duties by two counselors and a stake high council . New bishops are recommended by the stake president, but each bishop is formally approved by and called in writing by the church's First Presidency . Prior to ordination,

3268-480: The boundaries of the missions over which they served: Kerving H. Joseph (who was then still the president of the Haiti Port-au-Prince mission at the time of the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake) and Claude R. Gamiette, a native and resident of Guadeloupe, who was appointed president of West Indies Mission, which covered Guadeloupe. Tonga has also had a few men native to the country who were residing in

3354-671: The brother of Moses . In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), apostle Joseph Fielding Smith taught that this provision applied only to the Presiding Bishop of the church and not to bishops of wards . The Presiding Bishop of the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , W. Kevin Romer, is recognized as a “literal descendant of Aaron” and holds the title of Aaronic High Priest. In

3440-416: The call of the gathering to Utah, given more power by the preaching and leadership of Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow , caused many of the saints to "flee Babylon and gather to Zion". The advent of the U.S. Civil War and its connection in the minds of the Saints with Joseph Smith's prophecies on war caused the vast majority of the Saints to leave the eastern United States and gather to Utah Territory. During

3526-415: The church being established in a sparsely populated area of the world. In these stake-less areas, the mission president is the presiding local church authority and he is responsible for the welfare of all the members, not just the missionaries. The mission is divided into districts (not to be confused with the other type of district mentioned above) which serve much the same role as stakes do. Each district

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3612-399: The church decided to have Venezuelan natives serve as presidents of all the local missions due to growing discord between the United States and Venezuela, but often the presidents were from areas of Venezuela other than where they were called to. According to current policy, a mission president must be married. Typically, his wife and any dependent children accompany him on his mission. During

3698-567: The church operates. The title of "First Mission" is normally given to the British Mission, today considered the lineal ancestor of the England London Mission. This was begun under the direction of Heber C. Kimball in 1837. Missionary work had previously occurred in the United States and Canada, but missionaries were not organized into specific missions. The work of this mission began in Preston, England , largely because one of

3784-452: The church's General Young Women President, had been invited to become the first female member of the MEC. The church's Missionary Department works under the direction of the MEC. The Missionary Department does not develop policy, but oversees its implementation. It directs the missions of the church, along with the 15 Missionary Training Centers and the 20+ visitors' centers and historical sites

3870-661: The church's growing colony in Jackson County, Missouri , where he continued to act as bishop of the branch of the church. Newel K. Whitney was then called as a bishop to oversee the temporal affairs of the church in Kirtland, Ohio . When the Latter Day Saints were headquartered in Nauvoo, Illinois , the membership was separated into three " wards " or geographical precincts ("Upper", "Middle", and "Lower"), and

3956-485: The church. The other thing he did was supervise immigration from Europe to Utah, being the first to meet the saints when they came out of Castle Garden . He did preside over the few Saints in New York City but did not functionally administer the church in any larger region. On the eve of the American Civil War missionary work made much progress in New York City as well as other eastern metropolises. However

4042-429: The counselors varies by mission, but they typically serve as liaisons between the mission and the local membership of the church. In some areas where the church is newer senior men who are serving full-time missions along with their wives may be called as counselors in the mission presidency. Like other units of the church, a leadership council is used to assist in the governance of the mission. Prior to April 2013, this

4128-412: The direction of the mission president in organizing the mission; assigning companionships and proselytizing areas; and overseeing the welfare and training of the missionaries. Missionaries serving in a given geographic area typically bounded by stakes are organized into a zone. Zones are led by one or more zone leaders and sister training leaders. In many missions a companionship of elders constitutes

4214-565: The duration of their two years or eighteen months of service. Each mission has, on average, about 150 missionaries serving there. All missionaries serve in a mission under the direction of a mission president , who, like individual missionaries, is assigned by the LDS Church president . The mission president must be a married high priest in the Melchizedek Priesthood ; his wife is asked to serve alongside him. In 2013

4300-540: The duties later undertaken by the missionary department. By the early 1970s, the MEC consisted of Spencer W. Kimball , Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson and Bruce R. McConkie , all members of the Quorum of the Twelve. L. Tom Perry was chairman of the executive committee for several years in the late 2000s. He was then succeeded by Russell M. Nelson . As of August 2015, most of the current members are not known. However, membership has historically included at least two members of

4386-424: The first 100 years of the church, there were some single mission presidents and several others who left their wives and children elsewhere while they served. On the other hand, when Wilford Woodruff presided over the Eastern States Mission in the 1840s his wife, Phoebe, was set apart to serve with him. Brigham Young, Jr. , not only had his wife, Catherine Curtis Spencer Young, serving with him while he presided over

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4472-420: The first few months of the subsequent year via the weekly Church News . Unlike most positions in the church, when they are initially called, mission presidents are not subject to the common consent acceptance of any body of members. Once serving, they are subject to frequent votes of common consent in branches and districts over which the mission president presides. Mission presidents generally supervise

4558-611: The first missionaries sent to what are now called the Hawaiian Islands was George Q. Cannon who converted Jonatana Napela . The two of them translated the Book of Mormon into Hawaiian , and the church was able to gain many native Hawaiian converts. The last antebellum mission was the Indian Territory Mission. Organized in 1855 with Henry W. Miller as president, this mission mainly focused on teaching

4644-623: The headquarters of the Southern States Mission moved from Chattanooga to Atlanta, Georgia . In 1919, the first major change to missions in more than 15 years occurred. Ontario , Manitoba and Québec were split from the Eastern States Mission and the Northern States Mission and organized as the Canadian Mission. In 1925, the North Central States Mission was organized with parts of the Western States, Northern States, and Canadian Missions included. In 1926, Ohio

4730-639: The high priesthood, as a high priest can serve in any "lesser office". All bishops are members of the Order of Bishops, with presidency vested in the Presiding Bishopric (consisting of the Presiding Bishop and two counselors). While all bishops are attached to a congregation (in the sense that every member of the church has a home congregation), bishops are not congregational officers, but preside as financial officers over larger jurisdictions, or support those who do. For example, each mission center will have

4816-532: The islands when called to serve as presidents of the Tongan mission. Effian Kadarusman, an Indonesian, served as president of the Indonesia Jakarta Mission for four years in the 1980s. With over 400 missions, there are few which have a president who was a resident in the mission boundaries at the time of his call at any given time. An example of an exception occurred in approximately 2005, when

4902-417: The membership has grown sufficiently, the branches may be converted into wards and the district may be converted into a stake. Typically, this will not occur until there are least five ward-sized congregations in the district. Once a district becomes a stake, the mission president is only responsible for the proselytizing missionaries in the area, not the local members of the church. The LDS Church mission with

4988-499: The mission leaders could play a role in organizing the emigration of Latter-day Saints to America. In 1929 when the British Mission was separated from the European Mission, its headquarters were moved to Birmingham . The headquarters were moved to London in about 1930 since by this time the church was no longer encouraging Latter-day Saints to emigrate from Britain. Although the church's missionaries served in many parts of

5074-412: The mission president is considered a vital part of missionary work. In areas within mission boundaries where there are no stakes , the mission president is the presiding church authority. In those circumstances, the mission is divided into districts which are composed of branches . In that role, he serves in a capacity similar to that of a stake president . While missionaries have responsibility for

5160-414: The mission president must learn the local language spoken in the mission, as the missionaries do (although many mission presidents today have either previously served a mission in the mission language or speak the mission language as their native language). The mission president has at least two counselors, who are Latter-day Saints usually from the local area who keep their regular employment. The role of

5246-408: The mission president's wife was given additional leadership roles in the mission. Mission presidents are typically in their forties or older, and usually have the financial means to devote themselves full-time to the responsibility for three consecutive years. The church provides mission presidents with a minimal living allowance but it normally requires them to supplement it with their own funds. Often,

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5332-623: The missionaries Joseph Fielding had a brother there who initially opened his chapel to the missionaries preaching. Later they often preached at the location also used by the Temperance Society . The first convert in the British Mission was George D. Watt , who would later be important in the compilation of the Journal of Discourses . Within the first year of missionary work the headquarters of this mission were moved to Manchester . In 1840 they were moved again to Liverpool , largely so

5418-422: The missionaries, see after their welfare, conduct interviews, proselytize together, and share successes. Each missionary companionship has a geographical area which may include all or part of one ward and branch or even several wards or branches. The missionaries are responsible for preaching to the people in their own area. A mission's ecclesiastical line of authority is from the mission president down to

5504-408: The missionaries. The missionaries answer to the mission president directly, as opposed to the local branch president , bishop , or stake president . The other type of mission structure exists where there are no organized stakes of the church in an area due to a relatively small number of Latter-day Saints living in the area. This may be the result of the church being relatively new in an area or

5590-495: The office of high priest in the Melchizedek priesthood . The Latter Day Saint concept of the office differs significantly from the role of bishops in other Christian denominations, being in some respects more analogous to a pastor or parish priest . Each bishop serves with two counselors, who together form a bishopric. The role of a bishop varies in the different Latter Day Saint denominations; however, they derive from

5676-416: The past some mission presidents have been much younger; LeGrand Richards and Stephen R. Covey both served as mission presidents while in their 20s and Thomas S. Monson became a mission president at age 31. In more recent years younger mission presidents have been more rare. In 2005, there were 130 new mission presidents, the youngest of them, Norbert Ounleu, was 35. The only mission president called under

5762-410: The president of the Aaronic priesthood and president of the priests quorum in the ward. In a branch , the branch president fulfills the same functions as a bishop; however, a branch president does not need to be a high priest. The bishop is often called "the father of the ward" as he is the priesthood leader who is most intimately involved with individual church members. The bishop is not paid for

5848-406: The presiding priesthood leader of some or all Latter-day Saints within the geographic boundaries of the mission. Mission presidents are ordained high priests of the church. Mission presidents are assigned to a mission by the leadership of the LDS Church and typically discover the location a few months before their departure. Mission presidents are men typically between 40 and 65 years old. In

5934-423: The proposed ordination of a bishop must also be accepted by common consent by the members of the ward. The bishop holds the primary responsibility for everything in the ward, both spiritually and temporally. Although he can delegate specific assignments to his counselors, the ultimate responsibility falls to him. His duties include presiding over and conducting meetings and worship services; serving as president of

6020-474: The service about the first of July, unless there are emergencies or medical conditions that require otherwise. Candidates are typically interviewed in the last few months of each year, initially by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles . If candidates are chosen, the First Presidency extends the call to serve. The official announcements of new mission presidents is typically done through

6106-593: The smallest geographic area (approximately 10 acres) is the Utah Salt Lake Temple Square Mission, in which missionaries from around the world serve on Temple Square , often to visitors from their own homelands. These missionaries serve at Temple Square, and occasionally serve in another mission in another part of the United States for a few months, then return to Temple Square for the final months of their 18-month mission call. Only female missionaries and older, retired couples are called to

6192-498: The specific ward. He is also given the priesthood "keys" which authorize him to serve as a representative for the Lord in performing his duties. The ordinations, setting apart, and the conferral of keys is performed by the laying on of hands by the stake president. After a bishop is released from his responsibilities over the ward, he retains the priesthood office of bishop for life. In small congregations that are not large enough to be

6278-551: The spiritual progress of those investigating the church in their individual area, the mission president is responsible for all those investigating the church within the mission boundaries, and in special cases interviews those desiring to be baptized. Bishop (Latter Day Saints) In the Latter Day Saint movement , a bishop is the highest office of the Aaronic priesthood . It is almost always held by one who holds

6364-433: The time he devotes to his position. All local positions in the LDS Church operate as a lay ministry; members donate their time to perform the duties assigned with each calling. Each bishop serves with two counselors, who together form a bishopric. The counselors to a bishop are generally high priests, but there are exceptions, such as in a singles ward , where the counselors may be elders . The immediate priesthood leader of

6450-460: The title of "assistant to the president", whose duties are primarily directed toward supervision of the missionary work, under the direction of the mission president. These assistants lead an independent hierarchy that may or may not correspond with local church units. The role of a mission president's wife varies depending on the age of her children and her background. She typically joins her husband in conferences or other major church gatherings, and

6536-483: The ward's priests quorum; acting as a "judge in Israel" or "common judge"; providing temporary financial relief for ward members; serving as the presiding high priest of the ward; and organizing and managing the ward's organizations . After being called, a bishop is ordained a high priest (if he does not already hold that priesthood office) and then ordained a bishop and set apart as the bishop and presiding high priest of

6622-493: The zone leaders. However, there are also missions where only one elder is designated the zone leader and his companion holds no special designation. The zones may be geographically large or small, depending on the mission. The number of missionaries in a zone also varies widely. The zones are divided into districts , each being led by a missionary assigned as a district leader . A district usually has two to four missionary companionships. The zone leaders and district leaders train

6708-500: Was Cyrus H. Wheelock . Wheelock had served as a missionary in both Iowa and Michigan about this time. The mission was organized in 1878. It was renamed the Northern States Mission in 1889. The mission headquarters were moved to Chicago in 1896. In 1883, the Indian Territory Mission was reestablished with Matthew W. Dalton as president. In 1898 it was renamed the Southwestern States Mission, signifying it

6794-617: Was administered through the Home Missionary Program at the stake level. In 1902, the Middle States Mission was created with Ben E. Rich as president. However, in 1903, Ephraim H. Nye, president of the Southern States mission, died. He was replaced by Ben E. Rich and the boundaries of the missions were realigned. In 1904, the Southwestern States Mission was renamed the Central States Mission. After

6880-422: Was an ancestor of the scientist Henry Eyring and apostle Henry B. Eyring . Mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending on the particular mission, a mission president may also be

6966-600: Was formally organized in 1897 George C. Parkinson served as president. The Northwestern States and Montana Missions were merged in 1898, at which time Franklin Bramwell , who had been president of the Montana Mission, was made president of the new mission, the entire region now being called the Northwestern States Mission. The Northwestern States Mission was headquartered in Baker City, Oregon. However, when

7052-602: Was not only teaching the Native Americans but everyone else in its jurisdiction who would listen. 1892 saw a mission organized in California . This marked the beginning of proselytizing there. John Dalton worked initially in Oakland and San Francisco. In 1893 Karl G. Maeser arrived as head of the Utah exhibit at the mid-winter fair in San Francisco. He also presided over the mission, focusing his efforts on gaining friends in

7138-454: Was often called a zone leader council, consisting of the mission president, assistants to the mission president and zone leaders. In April 2013 the zone leader council was replaced by the mission leadership council, which adds the mission president's wife and sister training leaders, a new position consisting of sister missionaries called to give leadership to other sister missionaries. Missions are organized in two parallel structures. The first

7224-572: Was part of the Oneida Stake headquartered in Preston, Idaho . In 1896 Edward Stevenson was appointed to go open a mission in Oregon , Montana and Washington . As a missionary Stevenson preached in Walla Walla, Washington , Spokane, Washington , Lewiston, Idaho and Baker City, Oregon . The Colorado and Montana Missions were created in 1896. When the Northwestern States Mission

7310-477: Was transferred to the Northern States Mission. To get a sense of how large these missions were, in 1922 part of southwest New Mexico was added to the jurisdiction of the California mission. The Missouri Independence Mission is one of the oldest missions. Its history goes back to 1855. In the 1855 General Conference the church called missionaries to the Indian Territory. They worked primarily with

7396-467: Was very small. As mission president of the Eastern States Mission, Wilford Woodruff tried to bring all the saints in New England and other eastern areas to move to Utah Territory. In 1854, after having been defunct for about three years, the Eastern States Mission was organized again. John Taylor presided over this mission. His main function was to publish a paper to disseminate the teachings of

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