There are more than 27,000 wards and branches in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The names of most of these sound pretty routine, while others are unusual or strange — at least until you know the name of the city it is located in or something about the area's local history or geography. Mormon Times readers responded with some of their own ward names when our initial story on this subject ran in June. A sampling follows:
? "Don't forget the Peor es Nada (means 'Nothing Is Worse') ward in Chile." — Brotwoo
? "I don't know if the ward still exists, but near Devil's Slide, Utah, there is/was the 'Slide Ward.' " — Joellen (This ward doesn't exist anymore.)
? "Living in Texas, I can tell you that Grapevine ward in my stake — the Colleyville Texas stake — has that name because of the wild grapevines that grew in the area. The Humble Ward in Humble Texas is pronounced 'umble' and is the town. It is no different than some of strange ways Utahns pronounce things." — jhauser
? "Often the Young Single Adult wards are known as "marriage mills" for the number of engagements they produce. In the Centreville Virginia Stake, the YSA ward is named the Union Mill Ward." — Sevenwheelers
? "Just thought I'd add our ward name to the list from your interesting article on ward names. Our new ward, created May 18, 2008, is called Stonefields Ward, in the Auckland Panmure Stake, New Zealand. It is named for the old stone quarry that was worked there for decades until a few years ago and is now being converted into an upmarket residential and retail area. Our chapel, still not built, will sit on the rim of this ex-quarry overlooking this new suburb." — Ann Moynihan, Auckland, New Zealand
Here are 32 more unusual ward/branch names in the church:
? Arnold Ward, St. Louis, Mo.
? Battle Ground Ward, Battleground, Wash.
? Canoe Creek Ward, St. Cloud, Fla.
? Challenger Branch, Lancaster Calif.
? Church Ranch Ward, Westminster, Colo.
? Coarsegold Ward, Oakhurst, Calif.
? Cold Water Ward, Tolleson, Ariz.
? Coldwater Ward, Coldwater, Mich.
? Cumorah Branch, Roswell, Ga.
? Dinkeytown Ward, Minneapolis, Minn.
? Emerald Ward, Layton, Utah
? Fairways Ward, Kaysville, Utah
? Fishhook Ward, Palmer, Alaska
? Goldenrod Ward, Orlando, Fla.
? Great Sky Ward, Boise, Idaho
? High Level Branch, High Level, Alberta, Canada.
? High Point Ward, High Point, N.C.
? Homer Ward, Homer, Ala.
? Hometown Branch, Tamaqua, Pa.
? Hope Branch, Hope, Ark.
? Huckleberry Ward, Syracuse, Utah
? Lost Mountain Ward, Powder Springs, Ga.
? Morning Sun Ward, Las Vegas
? North Pole Ward, North Pole, Ala.
? Old Settlers Ward, Austin, Texas
? Old Faithful Branch, West Yellowstone, Mont.
? Osmond Ward, Smoot, Wyo.
? Olympic (Marshallese) Branch, Auburn, Wash.
? Paramount Ward, Meridian, Idaho
? Pioneer Ward, Uintah, Utah
? Quaker Hill Ward, Quaker Hill, Conn.
? Volcano Cliffs Ward, Albuquerque, N.M.