The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta®, the world’s largest hot air balloon festival, takes place each October, when you’ll see hundreds of balloons in the sky at a time. This magical hot air balloon festival is considered to be the most photographed event in the world, drawing a huge international crowd of balloonists and spectators. Albuquerque is home to the University of New Mexico, Presbyterian Health Services, Kirtland Air Force Base, Sandia National Laboratories, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, and Petroglyph National Monument. The Sandia Mountains run along the eastern side of Albuquerque, and the Rio Grande flows through the city, north to south.

LDS Population

LDS Members make up 2.15% of the population of Albuquerque. The state of New Mexico has reported 63,987 members in 14 stakes, 89 wards, 39 branches, 1 mission, and 1 temple.

LDS History

LDS Members first came to New Mexico in 1846. The LDS Church has traditionally had a strong presence in the Four Corners Region of New Mexico, settling the town of Kirtland and other surrounding areas. Mormons found converts among the Zuni Indians. On March 7, 1943, the Navajo-Zuni Mission was organized, and specialized with teaching Native Americans in their language. This was renamed the Southwest Indian Mission on January 1, 1949. It was renamed the New Mexico-Arizona Mission on October 10, 1972. New Mexico became its own mission when the New Mexico Albuquerque Mission was organized on December 15, 1896.