Stake (Mormonism)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a stake is an organizational unit composed of a number of wards, a ward being a single congregation. A stake is led by a Stake President. The Stake President is the leading Priesthood leader of the Stake and has two counselors. The Stake President and his two counselors make up the Stake Presidency. Most stakes are composed of five to ten wards. The name "stake" is a reference to the stakes that upheld the tabernacle housing the Ark of the Covenant in Moses' time.
In addition to a Stake Presidency, each stake also has a body of twelve priesthood members called a Stake High Council. The council acts as the administering body of the stake with representatives assigned to units (Wards or Branches) within a stake. The Stake High Council led by the Stake President is also a judicial body that tries members accused of grevious sins or apostasy.
The geographical area encompassed by a stake varies from region to region based on membership density. In densely Latter-day Saint Utah, a Stake might be a few square blocks of members. An eastern Stake might take up thousands of square miles to comprise a sufficient amount of membership. As church population increases, stakes split into smaller areas geographically. A stake is comparable to a diocese in the Roman Catholic Church.
