Branch (Latter Day Saint movement)

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a ward is the larger of two types of local congregations, the smaller being a branch. A ward is presided over by a bishop, the equivalent of a pastor in many other Christian denominations. As with all local LDS Church leadership, the bishop is considered lay clergy and as such is not paid. Two counselors serve with the bishop to help with administrative and spiritual duties of the ward and to preside in the absence of the bishop. Together, these three men constitute the bishopric. A branch is presided over by a branch president who may or may not have one or two counselors, depending on the size of the branch. Groups of wards are organized into stakes, while groups of branches are organized into districts.

The term ward originally referred to the political subdivision of some of the municipalities in the mid-western United States where members of the LDS Church resided, and in particular the political organization of Nauvoo, Illinois, in the 1840s. Bishops were assigned duties and responsibility over specific ward boundaries in these cities, and over time individual congregations were defined by these boundaries. After the Mormon Exodus to Utah, this same terminology was preserved in the establishment of communities throughout the western United States. Voting districts of several Utah communities still follow the historical boundaries of their original LDS Church congregations. Due to the religious connection of this term, traditional Mormon pioneer communities generally do not use the term ward to define voting districts for political purposes.

A ward typically consists of 150 to 500 church members in an area within a reasonable travel time of the meetinghouse ("reasonable" will vary between countries and regions). A stake, the next highest level of organization, may be created if there are at least five ward-sized branches in adjacent areas. Once the stake has been organized, the ward-sized branches are organized into wards. Within the United States and Canada, a minimum of 300 members is required to create a ward; elsewhere, a minimum of 150 members is required. Each ward requires at least 15 active, full-tithe-paying Melchizedek priesthood holders.

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