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

On August 7, 1846, a settlement of 61 recent converts of the church traveling from Mississippi made camp on the Arkansas River, just east of present-day Pueblo in the southern part of the state. They had come along the main Overland trail to Fort Laramie but discovered the first groups of Mormon Pioneers from Nauvoo had stopped for the winter at Council Bluffs. Rather than turn back to join them; a trapper named John Renshaw led them down to a small adobe trading fort called El Pueblo which was thought to be a more suitable place to spend the winter. They made their camp about a half-mile south of El Pueblo.

While encamped in Pueblo the settlement was also joined by 3 different groups of the Mormon Battalion arriving between September 1846 and January 27, 1847. With the arrival in January, the population of the colony reached 289 people. This temporary colony was the first branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado. The settlement is also widely believed to be the first Anglo settlement in what is now the state of Colorado. The settlement also was the home of the first Anglo born child in Colorado; Sarah Emma Kartchner.

In April 1847, the first members of the settlement began their trek north to Fort Laramie where they were waiting when Brigham Young arrives in June 1847. By the fall of 1848, all the members of the church had left the Pueblo settlement.^[6]

The first mission was established in the area in 1896 and the first congregation of the LDS Church in Colorado was organized in January 1897.^[7]

The Denver Colorado Temple in Centennial was completed in 1986.^[8]

The Fort Collins Colorado Temple was formally dedicated by Dieter F. Uchtdorf on October 16, 2016.^[9][10]

List of LDS Church adherents in each county as of 2010 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives:^[11] Note: Each county adherent count reflects meetinghouse location of congregation and not by location of residence. Census count reflects location of residence which may skew percent of population where adherents reside in a different county as their congregational meetinghouse.

The Colorado Mission was opened on December 15, 1896, with John W. Taylor as president.^[12] This mission was renamed the Western States Mission on April 1, 1907, then the Colorado-New Mexico Mission on June 10, 1970, then the Colorado Mission on October 10, 1972, and the Colorado Denver Mission on June 20, 1974. It was finally renamed the Colorado Denver South Mission on July 1, 1993, upon creation of the Colorado Denver North Mission.

Colorado now contains four missions.

The southwestern portion of the state is located in the New Mexico Farmington Mission.

Colorado Springs Denver Fort Collins Grand Junction Temples in Colorado (edit) [[File: ButtonRed.svg|10px|link=Template:LDSmap]] = Operating [[File: ButtonBlue.svg|10px|link=Template:LDSmap]] = Under construction [[File: ButtonYellow.svg|10px|link=Template:LDSmap]] = Announced [[File: ButtonBlack.svg|10px|link=Template:LDSmap]] = Temporarily Closed

On October 24, 1986, the Denver Colorado Temple was dedicated by President Ezra Taft Benson. On April 2, 2011, the Fort Collins Colorado Temple was announced. Western portions of Colorado are in the Vernal Utah Temple and Monticello Utah Temple districts. Southern portions of Colorado are in the Albuquerque New Mexico Temple district.

	40. Denver Colorado Temple Official website News & images		edit
	Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Dedicated: Size: Style:	Centennial, Colorado, United States March 31, 1982 by Spencer W. Kimball May 19, 1984 by Gordon B. Hinckley October 24, 1986 by Ezra Taft Benson 29,177 sq ft (2,710.6 m2) on a 7.5-acre (3.0 ha) site Modern, single-spire design - designed by Church A&E Services and Bobby R. Thomas
	153. Fort Collins Colorado Temple Official website News & images		edit
	Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Dedicated: Size:	Fort Collins, Colorado, United States April 2, 2011 by Thomas S. Monson[13][14] August 24, 2013 by Ronald A. Rasband[15] October 16, 2016 by Dieter F. Uchtdorf 42,000 sq ft (3,900 m2) on a 15.69-acre (6.35 ha) site
	210. Grand Junction Colorado Temple Official website News & images		edit
	Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Dedicated: Size:	Grand Junction, Colorado, United States 4 April 2021 by Russell M. Nelson[16] 16 April 2022 by Chi Hong (Sam) Wong[17][18] 19 October 2025 by Jeffrey R. Holland [19][20][21][22] 29,630 sq ft (2,753 m2) on a 7.93-acre (3.21 ha) site
	287. Colorado Springs Colorado Temple (Groundbreaking scheduled) Official website News & images		edit
	Location: Announced: Groundbreaking: Size:	Colorado Springs, Colorado 1 October 2023 by Russell M. Nelson[23][24] scheduled for 12 September 2026 by Karl D. Hirst[25] 45,000 sq ft (4,200 m2) on a 18.6-acre (7.5 ha) site

Latter-day Saints have had a significant role in establishing and settling communities within the "Mormon Corridor", including the following located in Colorado:

• La Jara
• Manassa
• Sanford

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics (United States)
• Conejos County, Colorado: Religious history
• Pueblo, Colorado, where the sick detachments of the Mormon Battalion wintered in 1846-1847