The Church in USA—Louisiana

In 1841 Joseph Smith received a letter from Church members in New Orleans who needed leadership. “Send us Peter, or an Apostle to preach unto us Jesus,” they wrote and enclosed $10 to help defray expenses. Harrison Sagers was sent. Although he faced opposition from the community, those who called for him offered defense, including a group of courageous women who once circled him as protection from mobs.

In November 1841, New Orleans became the main port of arrival for nearly 17,500 Latter-day Saints from Europe. They traveled up the Mississippi River to Nauvoo, St. Louis, or other river ports to begin their trek westward.

Twenty-four Church missionaries labored in Louisiana in 1898. One hundred and ten converts were baptized in one year. The missionaries were challenged by mobs who threatened them and occasionally held hostages. A midwife once confronted a mob when they threatened a missionary in her care. She held a shotgun and said, “I brought a good many of you into the world and I can take you out again just as easily.” The mob left. Missionaries labored in New Orleans for 20 years before an official congregation was organized in 1924.

Here are a few facts about the Church today in Louisiana: