When President Joseph Smith visited Washington, D.C. in 1838, Henry Clay, "the great compromiser," suggested the prophet take members of the Church to Oregon Territory, but Joseph did not take Clay seriously. Although the territory was claimed by both America and Great Britain, Church members from both countries were denied governmental support to settle there.
After Oregon obtained statehood, Church members found more favorable conditions. Latter-day Saint settlement largely began with the arrival of LDS businessmen in 1887. They built a lumber mill on the North Powder River and persuaded several hundred families to migrate to Oregon. Migration continued with the purchase of land for sugar beet farms. By June 1901, enough members had migrated to create a stake in Oregon. Two years later, the five original congregations had grown to twelve, "all in excellent working order." By 1930, Church membership in Oregon was 3,230. When the Oregon Portland Temple was dedicated in 1989, more than 300,000 visitors toured the edifice.
Today the Church in Oregon has approximately 154,000 members in 35 stakes. And, there are two temples – one each in Portland and Medford – and three missions in the Beaver State, headquartered in Portland, Eugene and Salem.
Te extrañaremos mientras te vas, Elder Kerr.
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