A Brief Diversion

The Growth of the LDS Church in Georgia

The latest statistics show that there are just over 74,600 members of the LDS Church in Georgia…with 16 stakes, 106 wards, and 37 branches. There are also three missions—Macon, Atlanta, and ours—the Georgia Atlanta North. Basically, one in every 130 people in the state is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Atlanta Temple is not far away, and you will be able to attend with your zone periodically while you serve as a missionary here.
The earliest missionary efforts in Georgia began with John U. Eldredge in 1843. He preached here as he traveled from Alabama to North Carolina. The next time a missionary passed through…it was 1876, with the arrival of solider, orator and educator John Morgan. His very presence here was the fulfillment of an impressive dream 10 years earlier…and this is a story you’ll want to remember! He was living with Bishop Heywood’s family at the time in Salt Lake City and told Sister Heywood he’d had a dream the night before. He dreamed he was back in his Civil War stomping grounds on a road running from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Rome, Georgia. It was a road the soldiers walked many times. (Paraphrasing from Bryant S. Hinckley’s book, The Faith of Our Pioneer Fathers) Morgan says he dreamed he came to a fork in the road and couldn’t decide which fork led to Rome. He was amazed when he suddenly saw President Brigham Young standing in front of a big tree in the fork, who told him the right-hand road led to Rome. But Pres. Young said if John Morgan would take the left-hand road, he would have an experience that would give him a strong and abiding testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon. Morgan told Mrs. Heywood he wasn’t interested in the Book of Mormon or its divinity, but he was interested in knowing what she thought of his dream. Mrs. Heywood answered: “Mr. Morgan, I think I can give you some light concerning your dream. It is my conviction that the time is not far distant when you will become a member of our Church and that in due time you will be called to do missionary work in the Southern States. It is my thought that in your missionary work you will one day be following the road and will arrive at the fork you saw in your dream—but President Young will not be there. However I counsel you to remember his instructions and take the road that will lead to the left.” Mr. Morgan thanked her for her interpretation of his dream and soon forgot about it. About a year later—at age 25—he was baptized into the LDS Church.
Ten years later, John Morgan was traveling as a missionary from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Rome Georgia, when he came to a fork in the road. He was confused, and stopped. He didn’t know which road would take him to Rome. But it was then he realized that he had seen that fork in the road before…in his dream at the Heywood home ten years earlier! The large tree in the fork was there, but not President Young. Still, he vividly recalled the counsel he received—to take the left-hand road, which would lead him to a remarkable experience. He did and, after an hour’s walk, the road took him to the rim of a beautiful valley in northwestern Georgia. He learned the name of the place was Heywood Valley—the same name as the Heywood family he knew in Salt Lake! He stopped and taught the gospel at the first house then took a look at their family Bible. To his amazement, Elder Morgan found many of the scripture passages he used to explain the gospel principles were already underlined. The family said that 10 days before, a kindly, tidy, intelligent man had come to their home and had—with their permission—marked their Bible. The stranger explained to them that another man would come in a few days who would teach them the meaning of the marked passages and completely explain the great Plan of Salvation. Apparently, the kind stranger had done the same thing in other Heywood Valley homes—telling each family to look for the man who would come soon to explain the scriptures. That man had paved the way for John Morgan’s arrival, and many accepted the Gospel and were baptized. One of those converted was a Methodist pastor who was made the Presiding Elder of the Heywood Branch. The building previously used as a Methodist church then became a Mormon meetinghouse. John Morgan’s incredible dream had come true…and, “in his heart, he felt he had gained a missionary companion in none other than one of the Three Nephites.” In fact—while still in Heywood Valley—he wrote an epistle answering key questions of the soul that eventually became the first missionary tract. He named it The Plan of Salvation. John Morgan organized the Church’s first branch there (near Rome) in 1876….and, a few years later, it became Southern States Mission headquarters.
Many Church members migrated westward as missionary successes here led to violent opposition. Still, many pioneer member families joined, stayed in Georgia, and built up the Church. In the early 1900’s, Southern States Mission presidents directed that missionaries focus their work more in the cities during the winter and less in the countryside. The first convert in Savannah was baptized in 1901…and, in 1908, a branch was organized and the first meetinghouse built in Atlanta.
On May 5, 1957, Elders Mark E. Petersen and LeGrand Richards of the Quorum of the Twelve organized Georgia’s first stake in Atlanta. The stake boundaries covered the northern two-thirds of the state and had 3,000 members—so you can see how quickly the work has progressed in the last 50 years.
In 1983, the Atlanta Temple became the first temple built in the South and was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley, then second counselor in the First Presidency.
Under the direction of Elder Alexander B. Morrison of the Seventy in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the Church really expanded in inner city Atlanta, and five branches were established in the central sections of town, including Asians and Hispanics. Then, in 1996, the Centennial Olympic Summer Games came to Atlanta. Hundreds of Church members volunteered during the games and President Hinckley visited—speaking to more than 13,000 members here.
There have been many noteworthy Church leaders who once headed the missionary effort in the Georgia area…including John Morgan, B. H. Roberts and J. Golden Kimball, who later became members of the First Council of the Seventy. Apostles Charles A. Callis and LeGrand Richards also served as Mission Presidents here prior to 1940.
The Georgia Atlanta North Mission was formed on July 1, 2003…preceded by the creation of many of the five stakes where you may serve during your mission:

Roswell Georgia Stake 1987 Lilburn Georgia Stake 1996
Marietta East Georgia Stake 1987 Athens Georgia Stake 2004
Sugar Hill Georgia Stake 1991

In April, 1984, Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone said “President Spencer W. Kimball stated, ‘Make no small plans; they have no magic to stir men’s souls.’ This is the vision I have for the South. I believe that one day the South will baptize more people into the church than all other English speaking missions in the world together…As pivotal teachers come into the church and have influence…We will baptize hundreds and thousands, tens of thousands.”
We are thrilled to have you come and serve with us and also catch the “Vision of the South.” It is real…it is something that can be accomplished while you are here on your mission as you work with all your “heart, might, mind and strength with an eye single to the glory of God.”
Welcome to the Georgia Atlanta North Mission…an exciting time…an exciting place!


A Vision of the South
“President Spencer W. Kimball stated, ‘Make no small plans: They have no magic to stir man's souls.’ This is the vision I have for the South. I believe that one day the South will baptize more people into the church than all other English speaking missions in the world together. There are great hosts of marvelous Baptists, and members of the Church of Christ, Methodists and Catholics who are honorable people, and have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and love him. As they see the church veering off to the right or to the left of those basic teachings, they will begin to search for the truth. And as pivotal teachers come into the church and have influence, we will see the time when we will baptize hundreds and thousands, tens of thousands. In your day you will see a million members of the church in the South. There will be Temples plural in the South States. What a great call you have to serve with these marvelous people."
Talk given by Vaughn J. Featherstone, April 30, 1984