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A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregrations in sects of the Latter Day Saint movement. A stake is comparable to a diocese in the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations where a bishop is the head of a specific diocese such as Anglicans and Eastern Orthodox. The name "stake" derives from the phrase "stake in the tent of Zion" and is a reference to the stakes that upheld the Biblical tabernacle housing the Ark of the Covenant. For this reason, a stake is sometimes referred to as a "stake of Zion".
History of stakes
The first Latter Day Saint stake was organized at church headquarters in Kirtland, Ohio, on February 17, 1834, with Joseph Smith, Jr. as stake president. The second stake was organized in Clay County, Missouri later that year on July 3, with David Whitmer as stake president. The Missouri stake was relocated to Far West, Missouri in 1836 and the Kirtland Stake dissolved in 1838. A stake was organized at Adam-ondi-Ahman in 1838 and abandoned later that year due to the events of the Mormon War. In 1839, the church's central stake was established at Nauvoo, Illinois and William Marks became stake president.
Additional stakes were established in the area around Nauvoo in 1840. Immediately after the assassination of Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1844, there was a schism in the Latter Day Saint movement. In 1846, all of the existing stakes, including the Nauvoo Stake, were discontinued as a result of the Latter Day Saint exodus to Utah.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest denomination in the Latter-day Saint movement. After the death of Joseph Smith, Jr., Brigham Young succeeded him as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and lead the members of this church to the territory known as Utah. The first stake established in Utah was the Salt Lake Stake, established October 3, 1847 with John Smith as president. At the time of the death of Brigham Young (1877) there were twenty stakes in operation with a total of approximately 250 wards.
New stakes are created when the congregations in existing stakes or districts have grown sufficiently to permit reorganization. Districts may be elevated to stakes, and are then no longer presided over by the mission president. New stakes are also frequently formed by dividing an existing stake (or by creating three stakes from two existing stakes, etc.) In addition to the size and number of local congregations, the creation of a new stake also requires sufficient Melchizedek Priesthood holders to fill the required leadership positions. At times the absence of available leadership constrains the creation of new stakes and the number of congregations within a stake can be much larger than normal. (Within the United States, such a situation is very common in the Northeast, Midwest, and South, rare on the West Coast, and virtually unheard-of in the Intermountain West.) The geographical area encompassed by a stake varies between countries and regions based on membership density. In densely Latter-day Saint Utah, a stake might be a few square miles in area. A stake in the eastern United States might take up thousands of square miles to comprise a sufficient number of members.
At the end of 2005, there were 2701 stakes in the LDS Church. ()
Stake organization
The stake is an intermediate level in the organizational hierarchy of the LDS Church. The lowest level, consisting of a single congregation, is known as a ward or branch. Stakes are organized from a group of contiguous wards or branches. A stake must be composed of at least three wards, and up to a total of sixteen congregations. Most stakes are composed of five to eight wards, but larger stakes often exist.Stake officers
The presiding officer in a stake is known as the Stake President. The president is assisted by two counselors, the three together forming a Stake Presidency. The stake presidency is assisted in turn by a twelve-member high council, called the Stake High Council. The members of the stake presidency and high council hold the priesthood office of High Priest. The stake presidency handles the administrative and judicial business of the Stake.In an area where there are insufficient congregations to form a stake, a district (analogous to a stake, but smaller) is formed to oversee the congregations. The presiding officer in a district is called the District President. The district president may or may not have counselors, depending on the number of members in the district. Duties which would be carried out by a stake presidency within a stake are shared between the district presidency and the mission presidency in a district.
In addition to the presidency and high council, stake auxiliary leaders are called to oversee the operation of the various auxiliary organizations of the stake. The stake auxiliaries correspond to the ward-level auxiliaries, and include the Stake Relief Society, (the Church's women's organization) the Stake Primary Association (for children under 12 years of age) and stake Young Men (Aaronic Priesthood) and Young Women organizations. Typically, the stake-level auxiliary leadership consists of a presidency (made up of a president and two counselors) a secretary, and perhaps additional assistants or board members with specific responsibilities within the auxiliary organization. The auxiliary leaders provide oversight, advice and counsel for the ward-level auxiliary leaders, and organize stake-wide activities. Other stake specialists may be called to organize activities, typically sports or drama programs, which are more suitable for the larger numbers of people available to a stake and might be difficult for a ward to carry out on its own.
All stake leaders are lay members who serve without remuneration. Stake presidents generally serve for nine to ten years.
Stake conference
Stakes hold twice-yearly Stake Conferences, under the direction of the Stake Presidency. The conferences are used to conduct stake business (primarily the appointment and sustaining of stake officers) and to disseminate counsel and guidance from the Stake Presidency. Speakers at stake conferences generally include the three members of the Stake Presidency, in addition to other stake members, called upon by the Stake Presidency, to speak on assigned topics. General Authorities of the Church sometimes visit at stake confences, at which times they are the featured speakers.The general session (for all members of the stake) is held on Sunday. This general session may be held in a local tabernacle if available. (A tabernacle is a larger building used primarily for stake conferences. Most LDS tabernacles are in Utah.) If held in the stake center, the general session (meeting) may be divided into multiple sessions, by ward, so that all stake members may be accommodated in the building. 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.
Stake center
In each stake, one of the meetinghouses is designated the stake center. This building is usually the largest meetinghouse in the stake, but where stakes are large in area the stake center may be chosen because it is more centrally-located in the boundaries of the stake. The stake center is where functions of the stake (stake conferences, stake plays, stake meetings, etc.) are usually held. There will be offices for conducting stake business (calling of stake officers, etc.) in the stake center.
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ (previously the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) eliminated the designation of "Stake" as an administrative unit. The church is now organized into "Mission Centers."
Strangites
Historically, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) maintained stakes in Voree, Wisconsin; Kirtland, Ohio; and on Beaver Island, Michigan, but today the church has only a single stake in Voree.
References
"Stake (Mormonism)"