Stake (Latter Day Saints)

A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement.

The first Latter Day Saint stake was organized at church headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio, on February 17, 1834, with the movement's founder, Joseph Smith, as its president.

The second stake was organized further west in Clay County, Missouri, later that year on July 3, 1834, with David Whitmer as president.

Another stake was subsequently organized at Adam-ondi-Ahman in 1838 and abandoned later that year due to the events of the Mormon War of 1838 in Missouri.

In 1839, the church's central stake was re-established further west at Nauvoo, Illinois, near the east bank of the Mississippi River, with William Marks, as president.

Immediately after the death of Joseph Smith in Carthage, Illinois in June 1844, there was a succession crisis.

After the death of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, assumed the leadership of the church and led its members westward in wagon and handcart trains across the Mississippi River, the Great Plains, and through the Rocky Mountains to the Salt Lake Valley.

The first stake there was the Salt Lake Stake, established October 3, 1847, in the future site of Salt Lake City, with Joseph Smith's nephew, John Smith, as president.

The geographical area encompassed by a stake varies between countries and regions based on membership density.

In contrast, a stake in another part of the world might require thousands of square miles to comprise a sufficient number of members.

In December 2012, Jeffrey R. Holland organized the church's 3,000th stake in Freetown, Sierra Leone in West Africa.

In the past, lengths of tenure have varied, with some stake presidents serving for many decades.

A session for all adult members is generally held on the preceding Saturday evening.

A priesthood leadership session is also held in conjunction with a stake conference.

Area and regional conferences had been organized attempts to counteract this situation.

A format has developed in the church such that groups of stakes are designated to receive a satellite broadcast from Salt Lake City.

Using the recording studio at the Conference Center, general authorities deliver sermons that are broadcast to each designated stake.

A church district is a geographical, administrative unit composed of a number of congregations called branches.