An article in today's Times Daily reports the ascendency of a local Mormon to the office of "Stake President."
The article explains this use of the term "stake"
as follows:
"Congregations within the LDS church are called wards, and bishops lead the wards. A group of wards in an area form a stake, such as the Tupelo stake, which is overseen by a president - Pettus. The Tupelo stake, with approximately 3,000 members, includes the wards of Booneville, Columbus, Corinth, New Albany, Tupelo and West Point in Mississippi and Florence, Haleyville, Hamilton and Russellville in Alabama.
Stake is both a geographical and biblical term, coming from the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament in which a tent, or church, is held up by its stakes."
In the book of Isaiah, there are only two references to "stake," which I have reproduced below:
Isaiah 33:20 (King James Version)
Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.
Isaiah 54:2 (King James Version)
Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
Frankly, I am at a loss to see how either of these references has anything to do with the design of the organizational structure of the Mormon Church. Seems like a stretch to me, but in fairness and in the spirit of informed discussion, I invite any Mormon who can explain this to come forth and do so. Perhaps we can also discuss other interesting aspects of the Mormon faith.
Original Post