Utah
The Church organized two new stakes on January 6th.
The Hurricane Utah North Stake was organized from a division of the Hurricane Utah West Stake. The new stake includes the following eight wards: Hurricane 1st, Hurricane 2nd, Hurricane 7th, Hurricane 8th, Hurricane 12th, Hurricane 14th, Hurricane 17th, and Hurricane 25th Wards. There are now three stakes in Hurricane and 30 stakes in Washington County.
The Pleasant Grove Utah Manila Creek Stake was organized from a division of the Pleasant Grove Utah Manila Stake. The new stake includes the following seven wards: the Manila 2nd, Manila 3rd, Manila 4th, Manila 5th, Manila 7th, Manila 8th, and Manila 12th Wards. There are now 10 stakes in Pleasant Grove, Utah.
There are now 598 stakes and one district in Utah.
Uganda
The Church organized two new districts in Uganda. With these new district creations, the number of cities with a stake or district in Uganda has doubled from two to four.
On January 6th, the Masaka Uganda District was organized from three mission branches located in the city of Masaka, namely the Kijjabwemi, Masaka, and Nyendo Branches. Mission leaders report that 313 people attended the special conference to organize the district. Significant growth has recently occurred in Masaka over the past few years as church attendance has increased from 95 people in one branch to approximately 300 in three branches. Of the three branches in the city, two were organized in 2018. The original Masaka Branch was organized in 2011 after fortuitous efforts from senior missionaries who conducted humanitarian work in the area and made contact with members and investigators who had moved to the area. There were no plans to create a branch in Masaka originally based upon reports from senior missionaries who served in the area. However, mission leadership eventually decided to establish a member group and then a branch due to the high level of interest from members and investigators in the city.
On January 13th, the Busia Uganda District was organized from three branches in the Uganda Kampala Mission, namely the Busia 1st, Busia 2nd, and Busia 3rd Branches. Mission leaders report that 317 people attended the special conference to organize the district. The Church organized its first branch in Busia on the Kenyan-side of the city in 2009, followed by a second branch on the Ugandan-side of the city in 2012. A third branch was created in the city on the Ugandan-side in 2018. Like with Masaka, significant increases in church attendance and convert baptisms have recently occurred in Busia. The Church reassigned the Kenya-based Busia 1st Branch from the Kenya Nairobi Mission to the Uganda Kampala Mission within the past couple years to help better administered to the branches needs and prepare for the creation of a district one day.
There are now three stakes and two districts in Uganda. Prospects appear likely within the next 1-2 years for the organization of new districts in additional cities once a third branch is organized in these locations. The Church currently reports two mission branches each in three additional cities: Gulu, Lira, and Mbale.
70 comments:
I think this puts Uganda a bit farther up on the list of potential temple candidates. Something that we've seen - albeit maybe haven't paid that much attention to - is that, with temple announcements in Africa, a country will usually need several well-established outreach centers before a temple is even considered. This may be part of the reason why Cape Verde, Zimbabwe and Kenya have temples announced, and Liberia, Uganda and Sierra Leone (although they are not that far off on implicit membership requirements) have not yet. Although in all three of these countries, progress on outreach expansion has been made lately, and I believe in fact that they will be the next three countries in Africa with a temple announced.
On a totally different note, because I know we have some South America specialists among us and I'm certainly not one: I've been sick at home this weekend, binge-watching documentaries on YouTube, and one of them was about a place in Peru called La Rinconada. Apparently it's the highest-elevation city in the world, with almost 50,000 inhabitants. I checked for a Church presence there but there seems to be none within a 50-mile radius. If the population estimate is correct, it would make that city the largest unreached settlement in Peru and probably on the west side of the Andes, as well. Does anyone know if exploratory outreach has occurred there?
I see the Puerto Rico Temple, which was just announced in October, has a rendering and is anticipated to have a groundbreaking this year. (It is, sadly, another one without a Moroni statue.) That seems lightning fast. Even temples in Utah don't generally move along that fast. Curious... Maybe the local government really loves the Church because of its recent hurricane relief efforts. Or maybe building approval standards are almost nonexistent.
Your comment, Christopher, made me curious about the different time lengths between temple announcements and groundbreakings. Rick has an entire page that lists those statistics. Interesting stuff.
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/statistics/timelines/
Monticello is the shortest for the Utah temples at almost 1.5 months. Logan, Provo City Center, St. George, Brigham City, and Mount Timpanogas were also fast ranging from 7 months to just barely over a year. Many of the temples on that list are from the Hinckley-era of the late 90s and early 2000s although there are several older and more recent ones. Oaxaca Mexico has the fastest at just over two weeks. Tuxtla Gutiérrez Mexico and Washington D.C. are the other two that were under a month. It is quite the list of temples that had a groundbreaking less than two years after an announcement. Depending on when San Juan has a groundbreaking, it will be interesting to see where it ends up on the list in relation to the others.
I think there are several factors that contribute to the time scale. The size of the temple, the property, working with the local city/state/province/country, and even possible emphasis from the First Presidency to the temple department. Interesting to think about.
Glad to hear about the new district creations in Uganda. Hopefully we see more in the near future and in some of surrounding countries.
Only two more stakes until there are 600 in Utah. Wonder if we will see that this year.
As always I love the analysis done by Matt. Keep up the great work.
Thank you, Matt, for another excellent report. I only see one of the Uganda districts listed under those created this year, so I wasn't sure if you just hadn't had time to add the other one yet. Pascal, I agree that all three nations you mentioned should get a temple soon. My top temple picks for Africa are Freetown Sierra Leone and Antananarivo Madagascar, the former due to unit growth within the last year, and the latter because that nation is disconnected from the rest of the African continent, which makes travel to any temple to which the Saints in that nation are or will be assigned somewhat of an arduous journey. I think we will likely see many more African cities get a temple in the near future (especially in the Africa West Area, if Matt is correct in his earlier projection that that area could go from the 4 in various phase to 13 by 2030.
Eric, I think it is safe to assume that Utah will definitely have 600 stakes at some point this year, perhaps before the end of February, if not sooner. It is also interesting to think about the different speeds at which temples are built. In reference to the San Juan temple, since Puerto Rico is a U. S. territory, that fact surely helped to speed the approval process along.
I think we are almost certain to see quite a few temple groundbreakings this year. I look forward to seeing where the Church's temple construction program goes as the year progresses. It is already shaping up to be a big year for temple events, so I am positive that will continue. And the Church will dedicate twice as many temples within the first six months of 2019 as it did in the entirety of 2018. Big year for temple rededications as well.
The Utah area presidency is counting stakes differently due to some geographic factors, as of last August they had 602 stakes so I am not sure what they are counting.
James, I'm thinking that they might be counting all stakes that are at least partially in Utah, such as the Oakley Idaho, Montpelier Idaho South, Paris Idaho, and Kemmerer Wyoming stakes. That's 602 right there.
Interesting about the count of number of stakes by the area presidency. Pascal, I think you may be right about adding the stakes which have a boundary that crosses state lines. I have some relatives that live in or near Garden City which is right on the shore of Bear Lake next to the Idaho border. That would place their wards as part of one of the Idaho stakes, probably Paris looking at a map.
Unless things have changed with the North America area boundaries since the publication of the 2013 Church Almanac, then the Utah area (which has, as previously mentioned, been consolidated into a single area from the 3 that were previously separate areas), then parts of neighboring states are included in the boundaries of that area. The boundaries of Church divisions (branches, wards, stakes, districts, temple districts, missions, and areas) have always been interestingly drawn. There is similar overlap of state boundaries for all other North American areas, however many of those there actually are now.
In that regard, I have still not been able to ascertain whether the Idaho, North America Central, North America Northwest, and North America West Areas have been similarly combined as were the three areas of Utah into a single Utah area. I would be very interested to hear from anyone living in those regions as to whether those four areas (which have previously been separate and distinct) have similarly been consolidated into two areas.
As I mentioned in another comment on this blog a while ago, if those four areas have been similarly consolidated into two, that has likely changed the makeup of the Fifth and Sixth Quorums of the Seventy, since those serving in the Idaho Area have been part of the Fifth Quorum, while those in the North America Central Area have been part of the Sixth Quorum.
If nothing else, it is nice at least to have confirmation that Utah is a single area now. I just wish the sources available were more clear on how all of that has or has not changed since last April's announcement that area presidencies were being reestablished to serve the Saints in North America. Hope these musings on my part are helpful to some of you who read them.
5 bucks says 20 that Utah will surpass 600 this year. 2019.
With only 2 stakes remaining before that is reached, I think that could (and likely will) occur within the first six months of this year, if not much sooner than that. There are quite a few stakes in this part of Utah County that have more than 10 congregations, so we are likely to see that occur sooner rather than later.
Don't forget this interview with the executive director of the Church Temple Department, Elder Larry Wilson, on 4/30/17 where he discussed how the Church decides where to build (11:00), temple timelines (13:00), and stated there are 80 potential locations they expected to qualify for a temple in the next 15 years (14:00):
https://www.eastidahonews.com/2017/04/east-idaho-newsmakers-mormon-temple-dept-executive-director-elder-larry-wilson/
Hey, Bryce! That interview, given almost two years ago, was done after President Monson announced 5 new temples in the final General Conference in which he spoke. Of the 19 temples announced last year by President Nelson, we know that he hadn't planned to announce one for India until the night before General Conference. Any of the 18 other temples announced in 2018 could have been on that list, but without definitive knowledge of which locations are on that list, it may be next to impossible to determine how many of those 80 locations referenced by Elder Wilson were among those announced by President Nelson last year.
But additionally, in other conversations on this blog and on my own, more mentions have been made regarding the extent of President Nelson's temple building plans. The latest such statement seems to imply that the endgame is to increase the number of temples tenfold, which means it may not take 15 years to get all of the locations on the referenced list announced. Without knowing which are on the list, however, unless something more specific is said to indicate where the Church is at with that list, it is almost impossible to guess how many locations remain on it, assuming any of the 19 announced last year were on that list. It is possible that President Nelson could have been inspired to prioritize locations not on the list. With so much unknown about this, unless something official is noted, we may never find out when those 80 locations referenced have all been announced.
Hello again, everyone! I have confirmed through a few different sources that the groundbreaking for the Urdaneta Philippines Temple occurred just under 7 hours ago. As of right now, that has not been the focus of an official news release from the Church, but I imagine that will be coming later today at some point. With full-scale construction efforts pending for that temple, construction is anticipated to conclude at some point in 2021. I am hoping that, if the full-scale process can begin before the end of this week, or in the early part of next week, and if steady progress is made, that the completion of that temple could come earlier than that. Hopefully within the next 8-10 hours, we will hear more about the groundbreaking. Thanks.
Groundbreaking has been held for the Urdaneta Philippines Temple.
https://www.mormonnewsroom.ph/article/urdaneta-philippines-temple--ground-broken-by-church-leaders
Let's hope the next three Philippino temples don't take nearly so long to get started. Yeesh. James, I'm very intrigued by that statement implying a tenfold increase. Do you know where I can find it? I imagine we'll need a lot more active tithepaying members soon to keep those temples in steady use.
Christopher, I don't think we'll be seeing those kinds of delays with any of the other temples currently announced. The Church has already confirmed the location of the second Manila temple, so that is leaps and bounds ahead from the many years it took to find and get approval for that temple site. Confirmations on the Cagayan de Oro and Davao temple sites are still pending, but since many of the temples President Nelson announced last year have a probable or definitive site identified, I think those two will follow suit.
As for the ten-fold increase, it was mentioned on my blog a while ago that someone overheard Elder Cook responding to a question about President Nelson's temple-building plans in a stake conference. He was quoted as saying "Take the current number and add a zero to it", which implies a ten-fold increase. Until President Nelson or someone he authorizes details the extent and timing for those plans, we may never know what the endgame is or how long it will take to accomplish it. But it looks like the 19 temples announced last year were a "slow start", so we'd be wise to be prepared for a windfall of announcements.
The Church also announced earlier today that private rededications will be held in May for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma and Memphis Tennessee Temples. Just a single session by invitation only; no open houses or youth devotionals. This may be the new normal for the rededication of Hinckley-era temples. Both will take place in May. More on that at the address below:
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/temple-rededications-announced-for-may-2019
And you can find more analysis from me personally on these developments on my blog. With my thanks again to Matt for allowing me to do so, I'd like to again share the address for that.
http://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com
Thanks again, everyone!
It looks as if there's a new stake in Pierre, South Dakota, because the daily Church units report shows 0 districts for South Dakota, down from 1 up to today.
So far no change in total stakes (2 at present), wards (12), and branches (21) for South Dakota, but with this change there would be a few branches maturing to wards.
This is not correct the Pierre South Dakota District was discontinued and the branches were reassigned to neighboring Stakes.
Thanks for that information, Matt. That will result in 2 very large stakes, both geographically and in terms of assigned units. Of course the Salt Lake Stake at one time had over 50 wards and branches until it was divided into three stakes in 1900.
In 1998-1999 there were some temples built in less than a year. Many bult in less than 2 years. President Hinckley put forth the goal of getting to 100 temples by the end of 2000 in April 1998 when there were only 51 operating temples. Detroit Temple was annunced in August, ground broken in October and dedicated the following October. This was not at all a record.
I am guessing the number 602 is the number of stakes in the Utah Area. This includes a few in Idaho and Wyoming plus the Mesquite Nevada Stake, but excludes either 2 or 3 stakes in south-east Utah.
John Pack Lambert, in a way, I understand what you are saying. Maybe what's happened with the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple (which had an artist's rendering released within less than four months following its' announcement) pales in comparison with what we saw during the Hinckley-era temple building boom. But before the boom started, President Hinckley was clear about what he wanted the endgame result to be: We would have 100 temples in operation by the end of the year 2000. President Nelson, of whom it has been said that his legacy as the foremost temple building prophet will outpace and overshadow that of President Hinckley, has not stated outright the extent of his plans or the timeframe within which he foresees the Church fulfilling those plans. So if you can show me another temple announced since the ending of the Hinckley boom which has had an artist's rendering released within less than four months following its' announcement, you might have a very good point. Until then, we would be wise to celebrate this as significant for our time, when most of what we know about the current prophet's plans have been outlined by others, not himself.
Torrance California North Stake discontinued two wards last Sunday, Lawndale Ward and Redondo 3rd Ward mainly due to Toyota HQ workers in the stake moving to Dallas.
As far as what is "counted" among the Utah area, I know for sure that Malad and Preston Idaho fall under it (as they were part of the Utah North Area), so cities and stakes in that same region belong to the Utah Area as well. Also, the Star Valley Wyoming Temple fell under the Utah North Area, so at least some of the nearby stakes fall under the Utah area as well, in addition to parts of Nevada. I know that the Saints in Elko are assigned to the Salt Lake Temple district currently, while those in Ely are assigned to the Cedar City Utah Temple district at present.
Part of the problem in identifying the specific 602 stakes which were referenced in the Utah Area broadcast in mid-August is that ward, branch, stake, district, mission, and temple district boundaries are often drawn in ways that don't make a lot of sense to those of us not privy to the process whereby they are drawn. So there are 602 stakes in the Utah area, but there are 598 stakes and only 1 district in the state of Utah. And if memory serves, certain parts of Utah are assigned to other geographical areas in North America, so there is that to consider as well.
I know it's not a record. I only said temples *generally* don't move along that fast. Mass producing a bunch of tiny temples based on the same exact pattern over a few years was a special phenomenon that never happened before or since. (And frankly, since many of them already have been or are being renovated less than two decades later, it seems they may have been a bit rushed.) I was just thinking of the Church's temple-building pattern as a whole. Temples before and since then often follow a handful of similar designs but they have more local and size variation and they're not stamped out cookie-cutter style as fast as possible. I don't mean that to sound derisive toward the smaller temples, since I understand why they were built and they reduced my temple trips from six hours one way to three. But they are less than impressive in design and scale and I'm glad we've moved away from that. We still occasionally build temples almost that small, and the Puerto Rico temple might be one of them, but at least it won't look indistinguishable from fifty others.
There is a program on the Mormon Channel (to be renamed) that talks about the process of designing the buildings themselves. They are using six basic patterns which are then adapted to the area they are being built. But there are exceptions so far since the Hinckley temples, a current exception is Bangkok, but Urdaneta follows a pattern similar to Kansas City and Port-au-Prince follows the design used for Fort Lauderdale.
Christopher, we all understood what you meant, which is why I wrote that comment above about this being significant "for our time". Aside from the Provo City Center Temple, no other temple that I am aware of within the last 15 years had an artist's rendering and future groundbreaking announced within less than four months of its' announcement. And that temple might not apply to what we are talking about here because it was built from the shell of an existing building, not started from scratch. But I am sure of one thing: Puerto Rico's status as a US territory surely allowed the approval process to occur swiftly.
In other news, the Church announced earlier today the new leadership for missions that will be effective in July. Among their number are several current or former area seventies, a currently-seriving General authority Seventy, and the Assistant Church Historian and Recorder. Since Elder Steven E. Snow, who serves as the Church Historian and Recorder, is turning 70 later this year, there will likely be a change in that assignment.
But this announcement also settles a debate which has been occurring for a while, in terms of whether the previously-separate 10 North America Areas are now 6 or another number. The list of assignments provides further confirmation that Utah is a single area, but it appears the other four areas which are overseen by two area presidencies remain separate. You can find the complete list of those mission president assignments at the address below:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/mission-presidents/2019
Groundbreaking for San Juan Puerto Rico Temple set for May 4. About 7 months after announcement.
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/groundbreaking-set-for-san-juan-puerto-rico-temple
Looks like the original article from Saturday about the rendering was updated sometime today with the groundbreaking announcement.
Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa Mission
- Nzanza Branch created
- Kisangani Branch renamed Makiso Branch
Kananga Democratic Republic of the Congo Stake
- Kamayi 2nd Ward created
- Kamayi Ward renamed Kamayi 1st Ward
Liberia Monrovia Mission
- Gbarnga Branch created
Caldwell Liberia Stake
- Thumbs Up Ward created
- Caldwell Branch upgraded to Ward
Abuja Nigeria North Stake
- GRA Branch created
Lagos Nigeria Agege Stake
- Oju-Ore Ward created
- Ijoko Branch created
Warri Nigeria Stake
- Effurun Ward renamed Effurun 1st Ward
- Effurun 2nd Ward created
Brazzaville Republic of Congo Stake
- Makabandjilou Branch upgraded to Ward
Busia Uganda/Kenya District created
- Busia 1st, 2nd, 3rd Branches transferred from Uganda Kampala Mission
Seoul Korea East Stake
- Gireum Ward renamed Gangbook 1st Ward
- Sanggye Ward renamed Gangbook 2nd Ward
- Dobong Ward discontinued
- Jungnang Ward discontinued
Bambang Philippines District
- Dupax del Norte Branch renamed Dupax Branch
- Dupax del Sur Branch discontinued
Korovou Fiji District
- Verata Branch created
Nuku'alofa Tonga North Stake
- 'Atata Branch created
Chapecó Brazil Stake
- Xanxerê Branch upgraded to Ward
Rio Claro Brazil Stake
- Cordeirópolis Branch upgraded to Ward
São José do Rio Preto Brazil Stake
- Jardim das Oliveiras Branch created
Birmingham Alabama Stake
- Attalla Branch upgraded to Ward
Hacienda Heights California Stake
- Los Altos Branch (Spanish) upgraded to Ward
- Orangewood Branch (Spanish) discontinued
Torrance California North Stake
- Lawndale Ward discontinued
- Redondo 3rd Ward discontinued
Derby Kansas Stake
- Kellogg Branch (Spanish) discontinued
Wichita Kansas Stake
- Wichita West Branch (Spanish) renamed Wichita Branch (Spanish)
Crestwood Kentucky Stake
- Clear Creek Ward created
Pierre South Dakota District discontinued
- Eagle Butte, Gettysburg Branches transferred to Bismarck North Dakota Stake
- Valentine Branch transferred to Kearney Nebraska Stake
- Cherry Creek, Faith, Martin, Pierre, Rosebud, White River Branches transferred to Rapid City South Dakota Stake
- Chamberlain, Miller, Winner Branches transferred to Sioux Falls South Dakota Stake
Cypress Texas Stake
- Tomball 1st Ward renamed Northpointe Ward
- Eldridge Ward created
- Telge Ward created
Tomball Texas Stake
- Tomball 2nd Ward renamed Tomball Ward
Hurricane Utah North Stake created
- Hurricane 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th, 12th, 14th, 17th Wards transferred from Hurricane Utah West Stake
- Hurricane 24th Ward created
Hurricane Utah West Stake
- Hurricane 25th Ward created
Pleasant Grove Utah Manila Creek Stake created
- Manila 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 12th Wards transferred from Pleasant Grove Utah Manila Stake
Provo Utah YSA 9th Stake
- Provo YSA 124th Ward discontinued
Riverton Utah Western Springs Stake
- Herriman Rose 4th Ward created
Sandy Utah Granite View Stake
- Wasatch Branch (Correctional Facility - Youth) discontinued
West Jordan Utah Park Stake
- Park 2nd Ward discontinued
Glad to see yet another ward created in my ole' Louisville, Kentucky mission. Also, Crestwood is the area where the KY temple sits, so good to see growth around the temple. I wonder if the smaller Louisville Temple will be one of those revamped here soon.
Just to clarify, the artist's rendering and groundbreaking announcement for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple are two separate and distinct articles.
Here's the article about the rendering, which makes no mention of the groundbreaking:
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/artist-rendering-released-for-san-juan-puerto-rico-temple
Eric mentioned in a previous comment the link below, which is a separate article for the groundbreaking:
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/groundbreaking-set-for-san-juan-puerto-rico-temple
Apparently when the groundbreaking was originally reported, the Newsroom staff had written a separate article, then got rid of it in favor of including that information in the original, found that didn't work as well, and separated the two again. I have provided a rough general completion estimate of early-to-mid 2021, but could see a reason to move that up, depending on how quickly construction progresses. We may even see the Puerto Rican temple dedicated prior to the dedication of the Urdaneta Philippines Temple, which still has full-scale construction pending as of right now.
Hope this clarification and the additional insights are helpful to all of you. Thanks.
A couple of additional thoughts as well: Before I offer those, I want to note they might be lengthy enough to bother some of you, so it won't offend me if any of you skip over this comment. Not since construction began on the Provo City Center Temple have we had a temple which will have a groundbreaking within less than 8 months of its' announcement. And the fact that Puerto Rico, as a US territory, is outside the continental United States and the temple in that territory will have that distinction now as well is very significant, especially for a temple not being built from the burned-out shell of another edifice. I heard a theory (which will likely be proven as correct) that a majority (if not almost all) of the temples President Nelson announced in 2018, along with many he will announce in the future, may be smaller ones that can more easily and quickly get local government approval, have a groundbreaking, and begin construction, which would also allow a number of smaller temples than we have seen to be built quickly in more remote locations.
If that turns out to be the case, then perhaps Elder Cook's recent statement about President Nelson wanting to at least increase the number of temples tenfold will come to fruition far more quickly than any of us currently think. The Church News recently noted that the Church is currently on track to have 200 temples operating by the bicentennial of the Church's reestablishment, and I have also observed that, depending on what happens in the next 5-7 years, the end result by the date of that bicentennial could potentially be 300 temples minimum being in operation, if not more.
Right now, there are a total of 201 in various phases. If President Nelson was starting slowly with the 19 he announced last year, the number of temples announced per conference could potentially keep setting records as the new highest number. As of today (January 18), there are 39 temples which need to be dedicated before April 6, 2030 to have 200 operating. There are 11.21 years between today and that day, so as long as an average 3.48 temples are dedicated per year, there will easily be 200 operating temples by the day of the bicentennial.
As we also know, within exactly four months from tomorrow (to the day) three temples will have already been dedicated this year. That will take the numbers down to 36 temples which would need to be completed in the 10.88 years between May 19, 2019 and the date of the bicentennial, which averages out to 3.31 temples each year. Those averages will continue to go down, because as many as 5 or 6 more new temples will be dedicated by the end of 2020. Again, I hope some of you find these additional thoughts helpful.
Another insight about the recent announcement of the new 2019 list of 164 new Mission Presidents called to begin service July 1st, 2019. With regard to the merging of 3 California missions in the Los Angeles area. It looks as though the California Riverside Mission has been renamed back to its original name "California San Bernardino Mission", in the North America West Area, in preparation for merging with the closed California Rancho Cucamonga Mission in July.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/mission-presidents/2019
Today was announced the Rescheduling of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple Dedication Ceremony from May 2019 to the new date September 1st, 2019.
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/public-open-house-dedication-dates-announced-haiti-temple.
Link in last comment above broken, article not found error
Also, according to the Mormonnewsroom updated dedication schedule for the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple, it states "The Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple will serve more than 17,000 Latter-day Saints in four stakes and three districts. In April 2015 general conference, President Thomas S. Monson announced the construction of the temple, which will open for ordinances on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. It is the nation’s first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
According to my calculations there are 5 stakes and 4 districts in Haiti (i.e. the new Temple District), unless 1 Stake and 1 District will remain as part of the Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple instead. Or am I wrong? Or the article is using old Country info?
For stakes in the Long Beach California Mission,
Whittier Stake transferring to Arcadia California Mission
All the other stakes (Long Beach, Long Beach East, Cerritos, Cypress, Huntington Beach, and Huntington Beach North Stakes) transferring to the Anaheim California Mission.
Haiti should be interesting timewise, as September 10th is the peak of Atlantic hurricane season, and the island has many near misses or brush-by's each year although slow seasons usually see none come near. So September 1 is close enough to that peak.
I sincerely apologize, in my earlier comment last night about the upcoming New Mission President assignments published yesterday in Mormonnewsroom site, that the California Riverside Mission would change the name back to California San Bernardino, eff. 07/01/2019. But in reality the San Bernardino California Stake is currently assigned to the California REDLANDS Mission, instead.
It was California Redlands, originally organized as California San Bernardino (1 July 1980).
My mistype. Sorry for any confusion.
"North America West Area
Mission President Companion
California Bakersfield Jonathan G. Sandberg Sharon Jannelli Sandberg
California Carlsbad Weldon J. Reeves Kathryn N. Reeves
California Los Angeles Valeri V. Cordón Glenda Cordón
California San Bernardino Marshall A. McKinnon Jill A. McKinnon
Hawaii Honolulu Robert B. Walker Joni N. Walker"
Here is the corrected web address for the information about the date changes for the Haiti Temple:
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/public-open-house-dedication-dates-announced-haiti-temple
It should be noted that some of the resources the newsroom provides may not have been updated yet, so corroboration of this change can be further clarified in the Church News article found at the web address below:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2019-01-18/new-dates-for-haiti-temple-open-house-dedication-announced-48826
The Newsroom has had a problem lately with updating resources. Why that is, I am not sure, but we saw how the groundbreaking announcement for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple was a separate article originally, then merged by appended note with the article about the artist's rendering, then separated again. So I imagine official Newsroom resources on the altered dates for the Haiti temple will be fully updated within the next 24 hours.
In the meantime, it appears that the reason for the changed dates is because this temple has not made as much progress towards its' completion as the First Presidency originally anticipated. Now that the Haiti temple's dedication has been deferred until September 1, and the Fortaleza Brazil Temple will be dedicated prior to that, it will be interesting to see if the Church will also dedicate the Durban South Africa Temple before September 1. Right now, it looks too close to call for the moment, but that could change. Hope this information and the additional insights are helpful to all who read them.
Has anyone heard any news about the 6 California Irvine Mission Stakes transferred to : California Anaheim, Riverside or Carlsbad missions or split?
Also, using Florida Tallahassee Pres. Clint Smith's map posted on Facebook earlier this week, in preparation for mission transferrs in June 2019, and comparing with Classic LDS Maps, Stake and Missions boundaries :
I have concluded, based on this available info, that the Stakes affected by Florida Tallahassee and Georgia Macon Missions consolidations :
1 Tupelo Mississippi Stake transfer from Alabama Birmingham to Arkansas Little Rock mission.
2 Fort Myers Florida Stake transfer from Florida Fort Lauderdale to Florida Tampa mission.
3 Dothan Alabama, Mobile Alabama, Fort Walton Beach Florida, Pensacola Florida Stakes transfer from Florida Tallahassee to Alabama Birmingham mission.
4 Panama City Florida and Tallahassee Florida Stakes from Florida Tallahassee to Florida Jacksonville mission.
Also, Tifton Georgia Stake from Georgia Macon to Florida Jacksonville.
5 Augusta Georgia and Savannah Georgia Stakes from Georgia Macon to South Carolina Columbia mission.
6 Columbus Georgia and Macon Georgia Stakes from Georgia Macon to Georgia Atlanta mission.
James Anderson, if I am recalling correctly, at a recent member meeting (or temple dedication?) it was either President Nelson or President Oaks who remarked that, with recent changes in temple construction, the temple was the single safest place to be in moments when storms like that hit. So firstly, I don't see weather conditions being a deterrent for that dedication. Secondly, even if such conditions have occurred around the time a temple dedication has been held, generally, at a key point in that service, the weather clears long enough for each session to be held, only to resume with ferocity after those sessions finish. If the First Presidency had those kinds of concerns (as they seem to be well-informed of local conditions when considering the timing involved), the dedication would have been pushed back further. But it's wonderful that you expressed concern about that, and I commend you for it.
I have to sy I object to temples like Detroit being called Tiny. Detroit is bigger than the Germany Dusseldorf Temple and it is bigger than the Lima Peru Temple. I also object to the term "mass produce" since they were all built on site with top notch materials. Mass production in buildings is what gives you mobile homes.
I figure if 2000 years from Christ's birth (though probably it was a few more) gave us the 100 temple mark, 200 years from the forming of the Church can give us the 1000 temple mark. 1000 temples by the end of 2030? Is it doable? People would have probably just as doubted if I suggested 100 temples by the end of 2000 in 1989. We will see.
I noticed that the 3 Russian missions getting new presidents all are listed as TBA. I wonder if this is because President Nelson and associates are still weighing weather to call Russians or non-Russians, and trying to gage policy issues that may or may not prevent non-Russian Church leaders.
It looks like in the African Southeast Area all except for one of the new mission preswidents is not from the US. Although Kinshasa East is TBA. I could be wrong in my guesses on nationality. Brazil Belem is also TBA.
Valeri V. Cordon, a general authority seventy originally from Guatemala (though resident in Costa Rica when called as a general authority sevnety, and a holder of an executive MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which he earned while resident in Costa Rica), is the new president of the Los Angeles Mission. With Long Beach Mission discontinued, this mission will probably be geographically larger than in the past. I wonder if Cordon is the first Latino to serve as mission president of Los Angeles Mission.
The Utah Area is listed as such in the list, but so is the Idaho Area. Chile Santiago South mission also has a president who is TBA. Same is true of the Utah Salt Lake City Mission. The new president of the Utah St. George Mission is George Kaluhiokalani. His wife is named Manoa. I have no clue as of now where they are from, but I am guessing at least George is at least partly of some sort of Polynesian ethnic origin. My guess is he is from Hawaii in some way, but I could be wrong.
On further inspection it appears there was a George Kaluhiokalani, married to a Manoa, called from Hawaii to be president of the Micronesia Guam Mission back in 2017. It is possible this call did not happen. I knew a couple who were first called to head a mission in Taiwan, but for some reason that did not happen, but a year later they were sent to preside over a mission in Germany and Austria.
Since the driving force behind the remodel of at least the Memphis Tennessee Temple and the Montreal Quebec Temple was mold in part caused by marble having high susceptibility to mold, more so than limesone evidently, I fear we may see several temples have to go through renomations due to this. I also get the impression that the revamps have been used to upgrade the style of paitings and maybe even add wall murals.
I know last year when the Cleveland Mission was dissolved originally the plan was to move the stakes to Pittsburgh and Columbus Missions. Later it was changed to Detroit and Columbus Missions. The orginal plan existed in January or so, the changed plan was not made until June. So stake realignments stated now are not neccesarily final.
I said mini-temple. Who said "tiny"?
How many members are in Haiti now? I recall talking with a Haitian linguist named Patrice that were 16,000 around 2011-12. Has there not been a few thousand more since then?
Some countries grow weakly like my mutual funds. Sad.
1,000 temples by 2030? Hard to fathom.
Smaller temples (pardon if "mini" seems too inaccurate a term for the ones that are smaller and by appointment only) could make up more in places like West Virginia, Vermont, or Wisconsin. Chile could use another 6 or 7 based on distances. Argentina, too.
Oh, I see the "tiny" comment now. Yes, I agree. That diminutive does not do a smaller temple justice. Any ediface over 5,000 square feet is not tiny. Most of the smaller ones are around 10,000 square feet, I am not mistaken.
There are 23,000 members in Haiti. Information in the Newsroom article is incorrect.
Compared with other temples, the Hinckley-era temples were substantially smaller, particularly those built following his announced goal to have 100 temples by the end of the year 2000. And the Lord honored the prophet's expressed intention by enabling the removal of all obstacles to that prospect. The Church went from having just under 50 temples in 1997 to having 102 in operation by the end of 2000, exceeding President Hinckley's goal by 2. If we are to believe the statement that adding a 0 to the current number will put us in the ballpark for the number of temples President Nelson wants to see for the Church (which would be either 1,610 temples if we go off the current number of those in operation, or 2,010 temples if we go off the current number in any phase), then it is not hard to believe that, if most of the temples announced over the next five years are on the smaller side, there could be several hundred more dedicated between now and sometime in 2030. It appears that a two-year period would be the normal time-frame of construction for smaller temples, so given that the Church has hired additional personnel to accommodate a surge in temple construction, if there are not 1,000 temples operating by 2030, the number may be somewhere close to that.
Exciting to think that vastly isolated places with relatively few members like Winnipeg could get temples. Places in South America could use them: Temuco, Chile, or Osorno or Valdivia or Puerto Montt, plus further south Punta Arenas. Across the Andes towns like Comodoro Rivadavia, Trewlew, way down south have long time faithful membership that would benefit greatly from temples.
A country like Sierra Leone would deserve at least two, the capital and Bo. Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire would get multiple temples, too. And Nigeria.
Trelew and Neuquen in Patagonia. Bolivian major cities should get more tempmes as well.
The anecdotal report of Elder Cook's statement may actually have referenced what was announced in October or both April and October. So, if Elder Wilson's statement was 85 in 15 years, and 7 then 12 more were announced in 2018, then we may be looking at a number between 85 and 190 new temples. Not like over 1600 or 2000.
If we go just by Elder Wilson, then there are 66 sites to go, and that does indicate acceleration in announcing and building so we likely will see well more than 85 in probably less time regardless.
James Anderson, I wanted to let you know that I have some thoughts on your comment above, but they are too lengthy to share here. For any interested, I will be publishing those thoughts hopefully within the next hour or less on my own blog, for which the address can be found below:
http://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com
Just poking around on the Internet, I ran into a newspaper "La Nueva" from Bahia Blanca, Argentina. They reported in April 2017 that the church had a lot of land that they were going in front of a planning commission in order to receive a height exception for a temple. Of course, many Latin Americans, in general, and many journalists, confuse the terms Temple and Meetinghouse often. But this article featured a site plan and a drawing of a building that looks pretty similar to the Cordoba Argentina Temple, albeit without an Angel Moroni.
https://www.lanueva.com/nota/2017-4-24-8-11-0-asi-sera-el-mayor-templo-mormon-de-sudamerica
The article claims it will be the largest "Mormon Temple" in South America, but I doubt it. It could be the largest in Argentina if it were to be slightly larger than the Cordoba temple at 34,000 feet. But I doubt it would be larger than the Sao Paulo Temple at 59,000 Square feet
A new article reported the 13 of January 2019, reports that the church has given up on the site because they couldn't get the variance for the 35 meter tower. The Reporter said he could't give details because his source asked him to be quiet about it, but that the church is starting anew with a nearby property.
https://www.lanueva.com/nota/2019-1-13-6-30-36-el-regreso-del-proyecto-down-town-y-del-megatemplo-de-los-mormones
Cory, I am intrigued by that. As far as I know, the Church doesn't currently have a temple announced for Bahia Blanca, unless the cities of Salta or Mendoza fall in that region. I know you said above that the Church gave up on the site, which could explain the announcement of the two temples in Salta or Mendoza, for both of which land has been successfully procured and a site has been confirmed. Two smaller temples which can more easily gain approval to begin construction may be taking the place of the larger temple planned for that region. We have seen that kind of thing before: two or more smaller temples built in place of one larger regional temple which was originally planned. My research shows that the Saints in Bahia Blanca are likely to be assigned to the Mendoza Argentina Temple district once that temple is built. But it is interesting to see which temples easily get approval, and which have a harder time or have to be scrapped.
It seems to me that Bahia Blanca is closer to Buenos Aires than Mendoza.
But there ought to be more temples in central and southern Argentina anyway.
Eduardo, upon further research, it appears that I had that backwards. Bahia Blanca Argentina is part of the Buenos Aires province, so Mendoza would be much further away. I apologize for that unintentionally erroneous statement I made above. Looks like I need to double-check my facts before I post a comment in the future.
Sure, no problem. Bahia Blanca came to my attention back in 1989 when my MTC class sisters were assigned to go there. My seven fellow elders and I were headed to Concepcion. We would go by the world map down the hall from the cafeteria; I believe we noted that both mission cities were approximately the same latitude south. I wonder now if it takes longer from Concepcion to the Santiago Temple or Bahia Blanca to B.A. We knew two other sisters in the MTC going to Bahia Blanca; Sister Turner was somewhat of a distraction to some elders in my class. Good looking missionaries have a burden to bear, probably less than plain ones.
Years later I taught some elders that were assigned to Mendoza. I tried to drive there in April from Santiago but we were snowed out. At least my former Chilean companions saw snow for the first time. Cabrera and Rojas.
Back then Chilean stakes were being created robustly, matching the huge numbers on the rolls.
Some of us thought the country was going S.U.D. Santo del Ultimo Dia (LDS).
I did the research and crunched some numbers, and Concepcion to Santiago is 310.3 miles (which Google says will take roughly 5 hours and 12 minutes). Bahia Blanca to Buenos Aires comes in at 407.6 miles, which, according to Google, would require 7 hours and 41 minutes. It appears the Buenos Aires Temple district is on the larger side, and that both the Salta and Mendoza Temples may do more to split the Cordoba Temple district than either will to help split Buenos Aires. If that turns out to be the case, then at some point, one or two other temples will be needed to enable that to occur. That is one reason why I have possible temples for Neuquen and Rosario on my radar for the not-too-distant future. And given that the Salta and Mendoza Temples were both announced last year, I would anticipate Neuquen and Rosario within the next 3 years, if not much sooner than that.
Patagonia on both sides of the border needs temples. Thanks for measuring the distance.
One note I can attest to between Conce and Santiago: if you pay more you go faster with less stops. Some people have a hard time saving up for the minimal fare. Also, once you get to the Central bus station in the capital you have to plan and pay for transportation to Providencia where the temple is located.
So great to have a second located in the 8th Region! Looking forward to more. 1st, maybe 2nd, 5th in Vina del Mar, 9th, 10th, 12th... (There are 13 regions in all, like our states.)
Eduardo, Info outdated. as of September 2018 there are 16 regions. with the newest being Ñuble Region with Regional Capital in Chillan, just north of Conce.
As I say it is hard to believe 1000 by 2030, but that is still 11 years away, so it might be doable. If Cambodia can get a temple with two stakes then way not Abuja? I am not sure even I could come up with the required 799 temple sites to get to 1000. Morgan Utah, Tooelle Utah, Heber City Utah, Northwest Arkansas, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Iquitos Peru, Benin City Nigeria, and so many more. It is a vision but I am not sure it is dpable.
Bahia Blanca could be a site for a new temple. I habe seen too many confuse temples and meetinghouses to trust a news report. I can see why the Church would want site approval before announcing a temple except they usually do it the other way so such a counrse of action seems unlikrly.
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