The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pennsylvania
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pennsylvania refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and its members in Pennsylvania. Joseph and Emma Smith lived in Northern Pennsylvania near the Susquehanna River just prior to the organization of the LDS Church. Much of the translation of the Book of Mormon and revelation of the Priesthood occurred here during that time. As of 2019, the LDS Church reported 52,290 members in 108 congregations. Official church membership as a percentage of general  population was 0.40% in 2014. According to the 2014 Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life survey, less than 1% of Pennsylvanians self-identify themselves most closely with the LDS Church. The LDS Church is the 13th largest denomination in Pennsylvania. History. Joseph Smith and the first members of the Church were baptized in the Susquehanna River in May 1829. A total of 12 congregations were organized in Pennsylvania in the 1830s, before members gathered to Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. In 2016 Inga Saffron, architecture critic for "The Philadelphia Inquirer", called the new Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple "the most radical work of  architecture built in Philadelphia in a half-century ... because it dares to be so out of step with today's design sensibilities and our bottom-line culture." Estimating its cost as more than $100 million, she wrote that the temple was "the real classical deal" and "a bold incursion into the hierarchical fabric of Philadelphia". Stakes. As of February 2022, Pennsylvania had the following stakes (with the stake center in Pennsylvania): Temples. The Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple was announced on October 4, 2008 by church president Thomas S. Monson. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pennsylvania