Mormon ranks on the rise in Northern Colorado

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expects Northern Colorado to be a Mormon magnet after its temple is built in southeast Fort Collins.

Local LDS congregations are already fruitful and multiplying. Leaders say there are more than 13,000 Mormons in the Greeley and Fort Collins areas.

The area is attractive to Latter-day Saints due to its amenities, proximity to Utah and nearness to BYU — Brigham Young University — campuses, said Gary Foster, an LDS stake president.

Foster oversees the Fort Collins Stake, which includes nine Mormon congregations called wards and one smaller group called a branch.

“Fort Collins is a value-friendly community and school-friendly community. That’s very appealing to LDS families,” Foster said. “There is a long tradition of very faithful members in this area and strong congregations that also makes it appealing.”

“The advent of the temple will accelerate members of our faith preferring Fort Collins,” he said.

The 30,389-square-foot LDS temple is anticipated to be finished at the southeast intersection of Timberline and Trilby roads during the second half of 2016. This would be the second temple in Colorado. There are currently 73 Mormon temples in the United States and 148 globally.

“The temple is the most sacred edifice that we believe exists on the Earth. It’s what we call ‘The House of the Lord,’” said Eric Adams, a church spokesman. “There are many sacred ordinances or special ceremonies that take place in the temple and that can only happen in that structure, so that’s a natural draw for members.”

Even without the Fort Collins temple, the church has been growing. In Colorado, Latter-day Saints account for about 3 percent of the population. The church is among the fastest-growing religious groups in the state, ahead of the Roman Catholic and Mainline Protestant churches.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints saw a 54 percent increase, or roughly 50,150 new members, from 2000 to 2010 in Colorado, according to the 2010 Religious Congregations & Membership Study. The study is conducted once every decade.

Leaders say the church’s growth in the state is actually moderate compared to places like Africa. The majority — 58 percent — of the world’s 15.4 million Mormons live outside of the United States.

Most of the growth in Northern Colorado is from Mormons moving to the area. About 100 to 150 people are converted annually in the Fort Collins and Greeley areas, said Kelly Brown, mission president in Fort Collins.

While knocking on doors and converting new members are important to Latter-day saints, the church isn’t really focused on expanding.

“We’re more focused on trying to fulfill that mandate to teach the Gospel and principles to all that will hear and build the Kingdom of God than actually building the numbers,” Foster said.

LDS Stakes around the world

Growth can pose a challenge for LDS congregations to keep their sense of community and ability to minister to one another.

“As a stake president, we have two major roles that we need to cover. One is called administering, and the other is called ministering,” said Byron Packard, the president of the Windsor Stake. “When administrative (tasks) become all-consuming where you can’t minister much, then a stake president starts to take a look at what he needs to do to fix that because it’s not healthy.”

The fix Packard and other leaders found in September was to split the Greeley and Loveland stakes and form a new Windsor Stake. This required asking some members to change where they attend church and to become part of a new spiritual community.

Similar to public schools, stakes and wards are organized by geographic boundaries. Mormons are encouraged to attend the church in their boundary. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints even enables members to enter their address online and find their places of worship.

“Because every person in each ward has an opportunity to serve an assignment, or what we call ‘a calling,’ you develop a real sense of community. You grow to love and care for your ward and they become kind of your family,” said Mark Crane, Loveland Stake president.

“When you reorganize boundaries with a ward, sometimes there are some tender feelings,” Crane said. “In almost every situation that I’ve been involved with or observed, that same feeling of community, love and family comes into that new ward.”

Growth and data reporter Adrian D. Garcia can be reached at 970-224-7835 or Twitter.com/ adriandgarcia .

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Northern Colorado

•The Fort Collins Stake

Members: 3,550

Congregations: Nine wards and one branch

Growth since 2010: About 300 more people and two more congregations

•The Greeley Stake

Members: 3,100

Congregations: Six wards and three branches

Growth since 2010: About 1,400 fewer people and four fewer congregations

•The Loveland Stake

Members: 3,800

Congregations: 10 wards and one group

Growth since 2010: About 500 fewer people and one fewer congregation

•The Windsor Stake

Members: 2,900

Congregations: Seven wards

The Windsor Stake was formed in September 2015 and includes people who used to be in the Greeley and Loveland stakes. Wards have about 300 to 400 people. Stakes typically have about 3,000 to 5,000 people.

Source: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.