LDS Church Opens New Pullman Stake, Serving 2,000 Members on the Palouse
News Story by Morgen White | FāVS News
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established a new stake on the Palouse this fall.
The Pullman Washington Stake, which opened in October, comprises five congregations and about 2,000 church members in Pullman, Colfax and surrounding towns. The congregations were previously part of the Moscow Idaho Stake.
“I never thought I’d see two stakes in my lifetime,” Jan Limburg, a church member who moved to Pullman in 1967, said in a press release. “I think it’s wonderful. It shows progress. I’m so grateful for it.”
The first Latter-day Saint congregation in the Palouse formed in 1910 at the University of Idaho, where the church built an Institute of Religion in 1928. The first stake was organized in 1975.
Elder Hal Hunsaker, from Wenatchee, oversees 22 different stake presidents who then oversee 10-12 wards of their own.
While this may seem like a position with the finances to match — the work is unpaid. Almost all the roles within the church don’t have a monetary value attached to it except the General Authorities, specifically, from Salt Lake City who receive a living stipend.
Consistent growth to LDS Church before new stake created
Hunsaker says that although the Stake is new, “There’s been pretty consistent growth over the last 50 to 60 years in that area.”
Eastern Washington and Idaho are known for being conservative. Hunsaker says that Latter-day Saints are known for being “extremely” conservative so it makes sense that they would continue to populate the area.
But one new stake isn’t the only goal.
“The goal will be in the future, that there’ll even be an additional stake created and from there they’ll take the two stakes and then create a third eventually,” Hunsaker said.
When it comes to the new stake Hunsaker says that he is grateful to be a part of a church that is integrated in local communities, works alongside other organizations and “really focuses on Jesus Christ and his Gospel, and the blessings that come from following his example. And it’s wonderful to be a part of an organization that’s growing.”
The Pullman Washington Stake doesn’t just mean a growing congregation it also includes more positions in leadership roles.
”There’s about 25 of those stake-level supervisory callings that go along with the new stake. And they’ve all been filled at this time. It takes new stake presidents a couple of weeks to get everything situated,” Hunsaker said.
When a stake gets to the point of needing to be divided into two, the stake president suggests a long list of names that they believe could do the job. Then the folks on the list are interviewed by the General Authority. Once a choice becomes clear they invite the individual back with their wife for a final interview. After the new stake president is officially chosen, they fill the remainder of the seats necessary.
David Rees chosen as Pullman Stake president
Moscow Stake President Ryan Cook added David Rees to that list.
Rees showed up to his scheduled interview, had a good conversation with two General Authorities and then drove home not thinking much about it.
“I had a busy day, and I was just trying to get home to spend time with my kids, with my profession, my Saturdays are kind of my only day I get to spend with my kids. And so I was hustling home to spend as much time with them as possible, and then they called me back and they said they’d like to do a second interview with me and my wife,” Rees said.
After the second interview the General Authority asked him, with the support of his wife, if he would be willing to serve as the stake president. Rees explains that family and spouse support is important.
“It’s a highly time-consuming calling. They want to make sure that we’re both on the same page and that we were willing to fulfill this calling. And they wanted to make sure my wife was, you know, worthy as well,” Rees said, adding that they needed to be considered good role models.
When it comes to how Rees chose how to fill the callings (roles) — it’s a fairly intense process.
“We discuss the characteristics of a person that we would like in those callings organizations, and then we as a presidency, discuss names that come to our minds. We pray about those names. Further discuss them, further pray about them. And eventually we come to a unanimous decision on who those people should be, and then we extend an opportunity for them to serve in that capacity, and give them the opportunity to choose to accept or not accept,” Rees said.
The blessings and the responsibilities
Rees has served for just over two months now and says that his new role has gone smoothly.
“I’ve been very blessed to have two great counselors to help me and ease the burden dramatically. They take a lot on their shoulders and help me fulfill a lot of the responsibilities that I have,” Rees said.
Rees said he looks forward to continuing to grow the community and its resources. Many projects are happening this year including working on the Christmas Festival for next year, planning stake-wide service, which includes 750-1,000 people all serving on the same days, and a renovation project.
“We’re going to probably be working on a remodel of our current building that we have by Beasley Coliseum here up on WSU campus. So that might be a little bit of an undertaking. I hope that we can continue to share the good message about Jesus Christ and invite people to come to Him and be part of a great organization and great Church,” Rees said.
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