Church and community members in the capital of Illinois witnessed "the miracle of the Church" Nov. 24, when a new stake was created, appropriately during the sesquicentennial year commemorating the exodus of the Saints from Illinois in 1846.
Elder V. Dallas Merrell of the Seventy presided at the organization of the Springfield Illinois Stake. He spoke to the congregation about the growth of the Church in the area - both in the early 1840s and today. "We have witnessed the miracle of the Church today in the organization of these stake boundaries and the setting in place of the new leaders," he said. "We appreciate the friends of the Church in this area as we return with a new stake of Zion. We are glad to again have a stake in Illinois' capital city of Springfield. "Elder Merrell referred to Nauvoo, Ill., as a point of remembrance and the Nauvoo period as a time of proving. (Springfield is about 100 miles southeast of Nauvoo.) He quoted Doctrine and Covenants, Section 1, in which the Lord asks Church members to listen and pay attention. "The Lord's Spirit is given to all people so they can be drawn to Him, His Church, His temple and so that we can be drawn together as members and friends of the Church in Zion communities," Elder Merrell said.
His advice to the stake membership and the new leaders was to respect, with love unfeigned, all good people as children of God. "This is the Lord's spirit of leadership. Look for each other's strengths and love each other.
Alonzo J. Mackleprang, sustained as the president of the Springfield stake, said, "Almost to the day 156 years ago, the first Springfield stake was organized by the Prophet Joseph Smith. We stand here on hallowed ground. I feel that He is interested in what we do here today."
The first stake in Springfield was created Nov. 5, 1840, the 12th stake that had been organized in the Church, although two had been discontinued by this time. During 1840 six other stakes had been created in Illinois. The Nauvoo stake had been created a year previous on Oct. 5, 1839.
In a letter to missionaries serving in Great Britain in 1840, Joseph Smith said the Saints living in Nauvoo were prospering and healthy. "There are at present about 3,000 inhabitants in Nauvoo, and numbers are flocking in daily," the prophet wrote. "Several stakes have been set off in different parts of the country, which are in prosperous circumstances."
The first stake in Illinois since the exodus is 1846 was organized in Chicago in 1936. Today there are 12 stakes in Illinois, including the new stake in Springfield, which was created from the Champaign, Nauvoo and O'Fallon Illinois stakes.
There are now 41,000 members of the Church in Illinois - approximately 2,000 of which are in the new Springfield stake. Elder Bruce B. Bingham, area authority, quoted President Spencer W. Kimball, "The purpose of a stake is to bring the gospel into the lives of members." Elder Bingham then spoke of the spiritual process by which a stake president is selected in order to find the man the Lord has already chosen."
