Christianity in Houston

==The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints==
[[File:The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Houston, Texas.JPG|thumb|LDS church in northwest Houston]]
By 1918 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as The Church of Jesus Christ), then commonly known as "Mormons", arrived in Houston. In 1921, the first formal congregation was established, and in 1933 the first meetinghouse was dedicated.<ref name=Barden-Smithdiversity>{{cite news|author=Barden-Smith, St. John|url=https://www.chron.com/local/history/culture-scene/article/Temples-of-the-gods-Houston-s-religious-10098734.php|title=Temples of the gods: Houston's religious diversity reflects community|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|date=2016-10-23|access-date=2018-07-12}}</ref> The first meetinghouse built in Houston by the Church of Jesus Christ was built on Calumet Street at San Jacinto in Midtown Houston in 1941.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Houston Deco {{!}} 1940s {{!}} Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints |url=http://www.houstondeco.org/1940s/lds.html |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=www.houstondeco.org}}</ref> It is no longer owned by the Church. The Houston area was originally part of the Texas-Louisiana Mission of the Church.

Today, there are 22 [[Stake (Latter Day Saints)|Stakes]] of the Church of Jesus Christ that serve the [[Houston|Houston, Texas]] area. Stakes are geographical groupings of congregations comparable to, but smaller than, Catholic dioceses and typically include 6-12 congregations called "wards" or "branches", which meet in multi-congregational meetinghouses or chapels.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Houston Texas Temple District {{!}} ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org |url=https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/houston-texas-temple/district/ |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints}}</ref>

The Church of Jesus Christ in Houston includes congregations that speak English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and ASL. There are also congregations designated for single college-age adults (Young Single Adult) and for inmates (Correctional). One [[Temple (Latter Day Saints)|Temple]], the [[Houston Texas Temple|Houston, Texas Temple]], lies outside the Houston area in unincorporated Harris County (with a [[Spring, Texas|Spring]] address), and serves the stakes in the area. It is the second temple built in Texas after the [[Dallas Texas Temple|Dallas, Texas Temple]], and one of the four currently operating in Texas today. It was dedicated on August 26, 2000, by President [[Gordon B. Hinckley]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/houston-texas-temple/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-04-01 }}</ref> There are three missions of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Houston area: the Texas Houston Mission, the Texas Houston East Mission, and the Texas Houston South Mission.<ref>{{Citation |title=List of missions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |date=2022-09-03 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_missions_of_The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints&oldid=1108217349 |work=Wikipedia |language=en |access-date=2022-09-07}}</ref>

In 2011 Kate Shellnut of the ''[[Houston Chronicle]]'' stated that the [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Church of Jesus Christ]] was increasing in size in the Houston area.<ref name="ShellnutLDSnow">Shellnut, Kate. "[http://www.chron.com/life/houston-belief/article/LDS-opening-new-meetinghouse-for-growing-1357226.php LDS opening new meetinghouse for growing congregation]" (). ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''. April 28, 2011. Retrieved on May 3, 2014.</ref> On Saturday April 30, 2011<!--April 28 is a Thursday--> a new meeting house located on a {{convert|7|acre|ha|adj=on}} site in [[Sienna Plantation]], was scheduled to open. The facility was scheduled to serve a 200-member English-speaking ward and a 200-member Spanish-speaking ward. Prior to the church's opening, Sienna Plantation-area church members attended congregations in the [[Sharpstown]] area of Houston and in [[Sugar Land, Texas|Sugar Land]].<ref name="ShellnutLDSnow" />

{{Asof|2016}}, according to Church records, there were about 50,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Houston area.<ref name="Barden-Smithdiversity" />

In 2018 church member Sam Young, from Sugar Land, advocated against bishops meeting one-on-one with children and asking them questions about sexual activity (the law of chastity). In response, an excommunication hearing for him was set up. Young stated that "Protecting children is more important than my membership in the church. I’m not going to shut up. That would be immoral on my part."<ref>{{cite news|author=Ketterer, Samantha|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/houston-belief/article/Sugar-Land-Mormon-faces-excommunication-for-13210616.php|title=Sugar Land Mormon faces excommunication for criticism of church|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|date=2018-09-08|access-date=2018-09-09}}</ref> He was excommunicated in September 2018.<ref>{{cite web|author=Gardiner, Jenn|author2=Rosie Nguyen|url=https://www.good4utah.com/news/local-news/former-lds-bishop-sam-young-officially-ex-communicated/1450703158|title=Former LDS bishop Sam Young officially ex-communicated|publisher=Good4Utah (Channel 4)|date=2018-09-16|access-date=2018-09-17}}</ref>