The Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple is the 94th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first Mormon missionaries arrived in Louisiana in 1841 in response to a letter sent to Joseph Smith, asking him to send missionaries to New Orleans. A few joined the Church, and most left Louisiana to be with the rest of the body of the Church. New Orleans was the port of entry to the United States for most of the early British converts of the Church. Between 1840 and 1855, around 18,500 members crossed the ocean to the U.S., and 17,600 of them first arrived in New Orleans. Because of this, most of the Church members in New Orleans were either emigrants who could not yet afford to go further, or Church agents who helped the emigrants continue their journey. After 1855 when