This is part one of the analysis regarding new temples announced today due to the large number of announced temples. I will post part two within the next week.
Wellington New Zealand Temple
The Wellington New Zealand Temple will be the Church's third temple in New Zealand after the Hamilton New Zealand Temple (dedicated in 1958) and the Auckland New Zealand Temple (announced in 2018). The new temple will probably service six stakes on the southern North Island and the two stakes and one district on the South Island. There are three stakes in the Wellington metropolitan area - the most recent of which was created in 1997. The most recently organized stake in the probable temple district was organized in 2016 on the South Island. There were 115,236 Church-reported members in New Zealand as of year-end 2019. The Church has reported steady membership and congregational growth in New Zealand in recent years. Stakes in southern New Zealand pertain to the Hamilton New Zealand Temple.
There are now 19 temples planned or dedicated in Oceania (including Hawaii).
Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Temple
The Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Temple will be the Church's first temple in the Republic of the Congo. The Church reported 8,542 Latter-day Saints in the country as of year-end 2019. Based on year-end 2019 membership data (the most recent membership data published by the Church at the moment), the Republic of the Congo had the fourth most Latter-day Saints among countries without a temple. The Church has reported rapid membership growth in the Republic of the Congo since the mid-2010s. The first stake in the country was organized in 2013, and two new stakes were recently created in 2020. Moreover, the Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Temple will likely be within close geographic proximity to the neighboring Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple (dedicated in 2019) as only the Congo river separates the two cities. Thus, the two temples will likely be the two closest temples to one another on the Afro-Euroasian landmass when it the Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Temple is completed. There are three stakes in Brazzaville. The new temple will likely include the four stakes in the Republic of the Congo and two districts in Cameroon. The Republic of the Congo is currently assigned to the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple.
There are now 20 temples planned or dedicated in Africa.
Barcelona Spain Temple
The Barcelona Spain Temple will be the Church's second temple in Spain following the Madrid Spain Temple (dedicated in 1999). The new temple will likely service four stakes in northern Spain and perhaps the Baleares Spain District. The new temple follows the pattern of recent temple announcements in Europe that have favored locations with relatively few stakes within the prospective temple district. The Church organized its first stake in Barcelona in 1982, and the two most recently organized stakes in the area were created in 2009 and 2012.
Membership growth rates in Spain have consistently outpaced essentially all other Western European nations for many years, with annual membership growth rates of 2-3% since the late 2000s. The number of congregations in Spain has been essentially stagnant for the past decade, although the number of wards increased from 67 in 2009 to 93 in 2019. Stakes in northern Spain pertain to the Madrid Spain Temple.
Birmingham England Temple
The Birmingham England Temple will be the Church's third temple in England following the London England Temple (dedicated in 1958) and Preston England Temple (dedicated in 1998). The new temple will likely service 8-10 stakes in central England. The last time a new stake was organized in the region was in Coventry in 1993. The Church in England during the past decade has experienced stagnant congregational growth, although the number of wards has slightly increased. Extremely slow membership growth occurs in England for most years. As for the United Kingdom as a whole, the Church has reported slight increases in membership since year-end 2016 from 185,848 to more than 190,000 at present according to the Church's news release today. In contrast, the Church in the United Kingdom reported stagnant membership growth or slight declines in membership between 2009 and 2016. Stakes in the potential new temple district are currently divided between the London England Temple district and the Preston England Temple district.
There are now 21 temples planned or dedicated in Europe.
Cusco Peru Temple
The Cusco Peru Temple will be the Church's fifth temple in Peru following the Lima Peru Temple (dedicated in 1986), the Trujillo Peru Temple (dedicated in 2015), the Arequipa Peru Temple (dedicated in 2019), and the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple (announced in 2016 and under construction). The new temple will likely have one of the smallest temple districts in Latin America in terms of the number of stakes and districts assigned. Currently, it appears that there will likely be four stakes and five districts assigned to the new temple. It is important to note that the Cusco area has a high percentage of Amerindian peoples and travel is difficult due to the rugged terrain. There are two stakes in Cusco, and the first stake was organized in 1985. The most recently organized stake in the region is the Sicuani Peru Stake which was created in 2006. Stakes in the Cusco area currently attend the Arequipa Peru Temple. The Church in Peru has approximately 625,000 members per the Church's announcement today, and annual membership growth rates have generally ranged from 2-4% since the mid-2000s. Congregational growth rates accelerated immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of the pandemic on the Church in Peru has appeared significant given lockdowns and significant disruptions to Church operations.
Maceió Brazil Temple
The Maceió Brazil Temple will be the Church's 15th temple in Brazil and the first temple in Alagoas State where there are six stakes. There are five stakes in Maceió. The first stake in the city was organized in 1982 and the most recently organized stake was created in 2016. The new temple will likely have nine stakes and one district in its temple district. Stakes in Maceió currently attend the Recife Brazil Temple.
Santos Brazil Temple
The Santos Brazil Temple will be the Church's 16th temple in Brazil and the fourth temple in São Paulo State. The new temple will likely include five stakes and two districts that operate in the coastal areas of São Paulo State. The first stake in the Santos area was organized in 1973, and the most recently organized stake was created in 2007. Multiple new stakes appear likely to be organized in the near future in the Santos area due to steady congregational growth. The Santos area is currently assigned to the São Paulo Brazil Temple.
The Church in Brazil has reported slowing annual membership growth rates that have generally been 2-3% since the mid-2010s. The Church today reported that there are 1.5 million Church-reported members in Brazil, whereas there were 1,429,935 Church-reported members as of year-end 2019. This means that the Church in Brazil is about to surpass, or has surpassed, the number of Church-reported members in Mexico which has been the country with the second most Latter-day Saints according to official Church records.
52 comments:
Is it really closer for those in Cameroon to go to the Republic of the Congo as opposed to Aba Nigeria. I once came across a blog where a senior missionary couple serving in Cameroon wrote about accompanying a group of members traveling from there to the Aba Nigeria Temple. This was before the Kinshasa Temple was dedicated, but looking at maps it appears that Aba is much closer than Brazzaville.
On Cusco, Peru looking at the map it surprises me Chiclayo and Piura were not announced first. One factor is there are only 2 stakes in Cusco, and maybe at most 3 more near by enough to go to that temple. However there are 5 or so districts not too far off. Also Cusco is a major tourist attraction.
I do hope Chiclayo, Piura, Iquitos and even Tacna, Huancayo and Pisco get temples soon. Ayacucho is a dream temple, but unlikely until there are a few more stakes. Chiclayo looks to be the one most needed based on stakes, and Iquitos is the most isolated.
It is surprising how much area along the cost does not even have a district as you go north from Arequipa.
Cameroon was inexplicably assigned to Johannesburg instead of Aba before Kinshasa was dedicated. Maybe it's really hard to cross the Nigerian border?
It doesn't look like there are any bridges between Brazzaville and Kinshasa. When I map a route from Brazzaville to the Kinshasa Temple it says you must take a ferry and it takes about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours depending on where in the city you live and congestion.
Hi. I came across your blog last week due to a link from LDS Living. I live in the UK, where we have just been surprised with an unexpected announcement of our third temple. It was surprising enough to get a new temple at all, but what was really surprising was the location.
We have two temples, one in the south, and one about halfway up, about 250 miles apart. Neither is functioning at anywhere near capacity. The southern one at least is struggling to get enough workers or patrons. The northern temple serves Ireland as well as Northern England and Scotland. The Irish Saints spend a lot of money visiting the temple, as they have to pay for plane or ferry travel as well as accommodation. The new temple is going to be halfway between the existing ones.
Do you have any thoughts or insight as to why they may have put the temple there when surely it would have been much better to have put it in Ireland. Or if there was going to be one on mainland Britain, it would be in Scotland. I always thought I would greet a temple announcement with joy, but I am just completely bewildered.
Probably because activity rate in Europe is much higher in England than the rest of the UK, and certainly a lot higher than mainland Europe, however, it doesn't seem far fetched at all that within a few years, temples could be announced for Scotland, Ireland, and even a small one in Wales or Cornwall.
Area considerations more than likely
Also, this is probably not the last temple in the British isles. Temples in Ireland and Scotland are still very likely, even one in Wales or a couple more in England are possible.
Yes, there is currently no bridge between them. I don't know what kind of ferry service exists, but those two cities are much more isolated than a quick glance at a map would suggest
The announced list was a bit of a surprise, not for the locations, save for Modesto, CA (would have guessed Bakersfield first for another Central Valley temple), let alone what was NOT announced. Still comes under the category of: I'll operate under the assumption that the Lord knows what He's doing, and, as He didn't inquire of me as to any advice regarding temple locations, probably didn't require it.
That being said, we can be sure that in acquiring property for temples, as well as stake centers, meetinghouses, seminaries, institutes, and other facilities, the Church is quite "anxiously engaged" (D&C 58:26-28). It has its commercial property arm known as Property Reserve, Inc, which buys, sells, and manages properties, and pays applicable taxes, just as any other real estate outfit does. Aside from being a wise steward of the Lord's funds, ergo, taking the five "talents" and making another five (Matt 25:14-30), there's another reason: to make available choice properties as the Church's growth requires. How does one suppose that when a temple is announced, "magically" a prime location is available? Sure, the Lord can and likely has "intervened", but I'd guess the "intervention" is the experience of knowledgeable people in real estate doing that "voodoo that they do". Also, given the huge cost just in land alone, never mind the construction and later the upkeep, we can figure that the land should have, ideally, more than paid for itself in terms of rents and so on.
This is akin to what was recounted of the story of McDonald's franchiser Ray Kroc in the 2015 movie, "Founder", which is a bit "tongue-in-cheek", because, as the movie illustrates, Kroc did NOT "found" McDonalds restaurants, the McDonald brothers did. He wasn't even their first franchiser! But what the smooth-talking milkshake machine salesman soon realized, after some "bumps and grinds" in promoting the unique hamburger restaurant with its "Speedee" system, was WHICH business he was actually in! As his financial manager advised, Kroc was actually in the REAL ESTATE business, as his income from franchise sales and operations depended upon having locations, which meant...REAL ESTATE. By owning the stores and land on which his franchisees operated, he had an income from their rents, but also the means to keep them under control!
I would submit that although ultimately the Church's "business" is to build the Kingdon of God on Earth, it's facilities come about due to having a property arm that runs like a well-oiled machine.
I wonder if temple work in the Barcelona temple will be conducted primarily in Catalan or Spanish. Majority of Spaniards in that region of Spain prefer Catalan, but I have heard many of the members in Spain are immigrants from Latin America.
I read the hatchet job coverage by the Associated Press of the Conference. Not only did they refer to the 'Mormon Church' several times, they only focused on controversial issues (blacks and women and priesthood) and did not once mention the announcement of 17 Temples.
I'm pleased to see the growth in New Zealand! What is happening differently in New Zealand than in other "Western" countries? Why are they growing more steadily there where we are seeing decline in similar cultures/countries? What can we learn?
Such wonderful news all around!!!
Of these 7 temples, I had the Wellington New Zealand, Barcelona Spain, Birmingham England, and Cusco Peru Temples (exact locations) correct on my list. I had a temple for Pointe-Noire Republic of the Congo on my list, but had ruled out Brazzaville. The Lord knew more than I did on that, and I wasn't aware of the travel issues between Brazzaville and Kinshasa. Had I known, I would have prioritized Brazzaville. Unless the membership data tells a different story, the top ten list now consists of the following nations: Uganda, Mongolia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Marshall Islands,
Jamaica, tMicronesia, Guyana, Belize, and Togo. Also, as with the announcement of the Vitoria Brazil Temple last October, Maceió and Santos Brazil were not on my radar at all. This suggests that the Church is looking to both split large temple districts and also put temples closer to Saints in isolated areas, where traveling to their assigned temple would constitute an undue hardship. I will defer commenting on the other temples announced this weekend until the post analyzing those is published here. My thanks once again to you all.
B and B: I am confident that a lot of the positive growth of the Church among the Kiwis (Jesus Christ/New Zealanders) has to do with the native Maori people, who accepted the earliest missionaries who arrived there in a miraculous way. The Maori, or some of them, believe that they are of the legacy of the Book of Mormon peoples. They believe that they are a large part of the Restoration, which I believe to be true.
Same with Samoa, Tonga, and other islands of the Pacific. Check out their growth numbers.
And of course the Philippines.
I hope that Malaysia, Indonesia, and other smaller island nations continue to grow the Kingdom, such as the surprising to me announced temple in the sinking Kiribati. Or is it Nauru? Either way, the Church continues to dynamically grow across the Pacific.
Exciting times.
PS: The British descendants of New Zealand hopefully are coming along, too.
And, I think many Pacific islanders immigrate to New Zealand, too.
I wondered that too. They could do temple work in both languages, but I wondered whether the Holiness To The Lord inscription would be in Catalan or Spanish. I hope the church handles this delicately.
Agreed. I see temple announcements for both Ireland and Scotland still happening in the next few years.
Oh fyi- the inscription for a Dublin, Ireland temple would both be in English and Irish Gaelic, as both are official languages there.👍
I do not think that Birmingham getting a temple reduces the chances of Scotland getting a temple at all. Birmingham is a large city, and there are a respectable number of stakes in that area. The logistics for Scotland getting a temple remain the same.
In fact I think Scotland and Ireland getting temples are independent issues.
The one temple in England that could be impacted and impact Scotland would be Leeds. I still hope for that temple.
I also hope one day the Hyde Park Chapel becomes in part a temple like Manhattan, but that day may be a little ways off.
Reminds me of the hatchet job coverage of President Monson's death by the New York Times which basically faulted him for not ordaining women or allowing same sex marriage in the Church, and totally missed him being known for humanitarian service or anything else he did.
Even the coverage of Tracy Y. Browning's call to the Primary General Presidency misses some key points. One was emphasizing the presidency has 3 members. Somewhere they called it a "council", which I guess works but is confusing. The other was that although she is the first Black women (I am not sure the child of Jamaicans raised mainly in Jamaica is African-American, but since she was born in the US, and has lived in the US since she was about 20 or maybe a, bit earlier, it is not as clear cut as some other issues) people need to keep in mind she is not by any measure the first non-white member of the primary general presidency. That was Sister Matsumori, and Sister Franco may or may not qualify as such. She clearly is not a non-Hispanic white.
Did the news even mention Brother Corbitt being the first African-American general officer of the Church.
Another interesting tidbit, the Relief Society general presidency has now had 4 members who were not non-Hispanic whites (Sisters Allred and Aburto both have at least some Indigenous roots, while Sister Franco may be all European in ancestry), the Primary general presidencies have had 3 such members, and the young women general presidency has had no such members. The new relief society general presidency also has the fun fact that Sister Dennis, though Anglo is married to a Hispanic man originally from Ciudad Obregon Mexico and they have their membership records in the Spanish unit in the Woods Cross Stake. Sister Dennis and Sister Yee, Sister Johnsons two counselors in the Relief Society General Presidency, are both in the Woods Cross stake.
I think similar analysis for the young men's general presidency gives us 2 and Sunday School General presidency 1.
Santos is less than an hour in good traffic from Sao Paulo, big freeway up the hill (Via Immigrantes), and another road to the east (Via Anchieta) but that is more circuitous. So this is to put a temple in the Santos area itself, and like Sao Paulo East, will relieve Sao Paulo. Anyone who has been there for any length of time knows of the traffic issues there.
Would anyone know if the São Paulo East temple also take stakes from Campinas?
Would take anything that went to Campinas that was along Via Dutra that was still in Sao Paulo state. For sure everything west of the Dom Pedro I junction.
Campinas may still have everything from Jundiai north along Via aAnhanguera and the bypass route, Via Bandeirantes. Why I say Jundiai is the southernmost city to go to Campinas is again to avoid big traffic issues.
JPL, Sister Franco was Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency. She did not serve in the Relief Society General Presidency, so your comment about the Relief Society General Presidency members should only rightfully apply to Sisters Allred and Aburto. I was a little surprised that Sister Aburto was not retained in the new RS presidency, since she's focused every one of her talks on mental health issues. That being said, I was glad that Sister Amy A. Wright's remarks were focused on that issue, which was touched on by Elder Holland as well.
I believe that Elder Nelson dedicated the Republic of Congo for the preaching of the gospel.
I may have misspoke on my comments above about general presidencies, I was in a hurry when writting them. I may have also missed some young men or sunday school leaders from when those were general authroity callings that were sometimes regularly rotated.
The 2 in young men I know are Elder Ochoa and Brother Corbitt, but I may have missed some. The one in Sunday School I know is Brother Camargo. Brother Cmargo is Brazilian, so I am not sure if that counts as Hispanic/Latino, but he lived much of his life in Latin America. Elder Ochoa is a native of California, but was raised in Mexico, his parents are Mexican and he lived most of his life there. I use that title because he was called as a general authority after serving in the general young men presidency for about 2 years (I could be off by about a year either way). Elder Ochoa was one of the speakers in Sunday afternoon general conference.
Does anyone have knowledge of the reason for the delay of the public tours and dedication of the Quito, Ecuador Temple?
I was looking into temples with 2 baptistries. It appears Syracuse, Lindon and Smithfield will join Salt Lake City with this feature. I could have missed some.
Paul, it appears that the lack of an announcement for Quito thus far is primarily due to COVID-19. RIght now, all top leaders in the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are in the vulnerable demographic, even with being vaccinated and boosted. And right now, Ecuador is still very much a COVID-19 hotspot. Recently, that nation was downgraded from a Level 4 hazard (complete with a Do Not Travel warning) to level 3 by the CDC. Level 3 still involves a high level of transmission for COVID-19, so it would be a terrible PR move on the Church's part to schedule a large public event like the open house tours and a temple dedication. Most of the areas in which the Church has scheduled open houses and dedications/rededications have lower transmission levels and a lesser risk, with little to no restrictions on the parameters or sizes of large public gatherings. Here is some information from the CDC that explains more:
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/covid-3/coronavirus-ecuador
With that in mind, since the Church has been able to schedule and retain opening arrangements for the Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Yigo Guam, and Praia Cabo Verde Temples, I am reasonably certain there will be no obstacles to the Church scheduling reopening arrangements for the Hamilton New Zealand Temple soon, along with opening arrangements for the Belem Brazil Temple. Once the San Juan Puerto Rico and Helena Montana Temples are closer to completion, they too might hssave opening arrangements scheduled.
As an additional note, although the Hong Kong China Temple renovation is also complete, I think that may be another temple for which reopening arrangements will be delayed for the foresseable future, as that region is also at a phase 4 Very High Risk of Transmission level, with a Do Not Travel notification in place. But I don't see COVID-19 having any impact whatsoever on forthcoming reopening arrangements for the Columbus Ohio Temple or the forthoming opening arrangments for the Saratoga Springs Utah, Feather River California, and Richmond Virginia Temples. I personally hope Quito won't be delayed longer than after the opening of the Helena Montana Temple, but there's really no way to tell if that will be true. Hope this information helps.
The Provo Utah Temple will likely have a 2nd baptistry after its rededication.
@Butterfly and Bones
The growth in New Zealand can mostly be attributed to immigration from the polynesian islands.
@Noah Egland has a little higher activity rate than the other countries in the UK. The activity rate in the UK (England) is a lot lower than in many other European countries. The UK has one of the highest % of members among total population. Sunday attendance in the UK is around 30000 so the acivity rate is about 16% of total membership. Many European countries have between 20% -35% of there membership attend weekly.
Birmingham surprised me a little, besause i was more thinking of Scotland getting a temple, and recenly leaked UK Sacrament Meeting attendance statistics showed a large drop from 2011 to 2020 (Birmingham stake -40%, Lichfield stake -31%)
Birmingham will propably serve more stakes though.
As an English Latter-day saint, I feel like a kid who's been given an unexpected expensive Christmas present that I'm not going to use much and don't have room for, on top of the ones I already had, while my brothers and sisters didn't get any presents at all.
If you had taken a poll of the church members in Britain and Ireland and asked them where a new temple should go, I am confident that almost all of them would have said Ireland or Scotland. Even the saints in Birmingham are unlikely to have said Birmingham. It does nothing for the people who currently travel the great distances to the temple and incur the greatest expense, and will just take workers and patrons away from the two underused and understaffed temples we have. If the question is 'how do we get the biggest bang for our buck?', here it is minimal or lower. I'm trying to see the sense in it.
Just because Birmingham has announced this conference, doesn't mean a temple in Scotland or Ireland is not already in the works.
Adam: I pray that the English Saints will take the gift and opportunity, and the challenge and charge of having this new temple to grow closer to the Lord, serve and research for God more.
Also, the displacement of millions of Ukrainians to Poland and elsewhere in 2022 may cause a bigger influx of eastern Europeans to Britain, to include Poles, (although Brexit may have slowed down EU members from emigration to the UK).
God is in charge, take advantage of these opportunities. Scotland and Ireland will have their temples.
Also, not to be an alarmist, but I just heard a Russian expert posit that a nuclear weapon will likely be used in this current conflict. Talk about a game changer.
Yikes.
Stay good and God bless. We all need our fire insurance, as proclaimed in the Doctrine and Covenants.
Note about Knoxville: this will be the closest temple to the Appalachian population, many of whom are Scotch-Irish.
Scotch sounds like a drink, but I guess that is a real ethnic identity in the United States when combined with Irish or another nation.
Our kindred dead must be happier now, I would wager.
According to Temple Rick's map (https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/maps/units/), with the Kansas temple now announced, the only remaining stake/district in the United States that is NOT within 200 (radial) miles of a temple is the Bangor Maine stake. I wonder if that increases the chances of Maine getting a temple soon.
Adam, I don't think a temple in Birmingham will lesson the chance of a temple in Scotland or other UK countries. In fact it may increase the chance. A pattern I have noticed from the four years (nine general conferences) of President Russell M Nelson is that he has announced multiple temples in the same area, region, state, or country, or adjacent countries. etc., soon after each other. For example Davao and Cagayan Del Oro Philippines are on the same island and announced shortly after each other. (Bacolod and Tacoban as well). Vienna Austria followed Budapest Hungary. Auckland New Zealand was announced just a few years ago and now we have Wellington. I know its Utah but adjacent new temples are Lindon and Orem, as well as Layton and Syracuse). I know Texas is large but we have McAllen followed by Fort Worth followed by now Austin. these are just some of the examples there are others (D.R. of the Congo) Many of these were just 6 months apart some up to three and a half years. I think we will continue to see a pattern of temples in regions of the world near each other.
I just recalled others: São Paulo East and Santos Brazil are both coming from the same current temple district. Salta Argentina followed by Mendoza just six months later then we got Bahia Blanca (although that one was in another region of the country).
A temple president from one of the temples in the Carolinas says that in his district, there were still a small number that had to drive 5 hours to get to the temple he was serving in. The issue there may really be roads through the Cumberlands that being mountain roads tend to have to be driven on slowly.
Knoxville may fix some of that by putting a temple closer to them.
Maine could get one of the modular ones, Bangor is the best prospect.
All the large states excepting ME, SD, IA, and MS have a temple now, the New England states are much smaller so they may have a little more to go before they each get theirs. One thing about transportation in New England is that the best roads tend to run N/S, have not figured out where the good E/W roads are to get to say Maine, so right now Boston seems to be it until something comes about that will make an announcement for these states more possible, and we don't have all the factual matter that goes into such decisions which makes it harder for us to know when an area is ready which is why we have so many announcements come that are not on our radar each time.
But I do know the coordinating council in Iowa is working on things to get that state ready for a potential announcement, I think Iowa is largely covered by the stakes in that coordinating council.
Wisconsin and West Virginia are big states without temples announced.
The numbers of members per region (equivalent of state) in Chile or other South American countries woyld be an interesting analysis.
I think people are confusing "stake" with "state." Yes, there are still several states without temples, but they there are still served by other temples in other states that are within 200 miles. Granted, that's radial miles and actual vehicular trips on roadways may be longer. You'll see what I mean if you view Rick's map and make sure you have the "Temple Radius" button turned on.
Some states without temples have them on or near their borders. Parts of New Jersey are in the the same metro area as Manhattan New York or Philadelphia PA. Nauvoo Illinois is across the river from Iowa. Winter Quarters Nebraska is on the opposite Iowa border. The St. Paul Minnesota temple is on/near the Border of Wisconsin. Wichita Kansas was announced this week, but the Kansas City Missouri Temple is on/near the Kansans border. Parts of Delaware are less than an hour from from the Philadelphia temple.
Note the distances here are from all announced temples not just open ones.
Bangor is not the only stake center in the USA that is more than 200 miles *by air* from a Temple. The others are Juneau, Fairbanks and North Pole Stakes all in Alaska.
According to the map, the areas of the contiguous US more than 200 miles from a temple:
1) most of Northern & Central Maine, but the far eastern edge is within 200 miles of Halifax.
2) a *small* sliver of the Alabama coastline.
3) most of the Upper peninsula of Michigan, a bit of the lower peninsula and the eastern half of the Ontario/Minnesota border (Marquette Michigan in the Middle of the UP is 6+ hours by travel to any of St. Paul, Chicago or Detroit Temples.)
4) a corridor through the Plains states running from Oklahoma Panhandle to Northeast South Dakota.
5) A chunk of Southwest Texas containing Big Bend National park and some pretty empty areas to its Northeast.
6) a few other *tiny* slices including suburban Fargo, ND , a slice of Montana including Turner, Montana (which is the community in the continental US farthest from a MLB ballpark) and oddly enough a small slice of *Nevada* near Eureka.
(90% of Alaska is also more than 200 miles from a Temple, but is that would still be true 10 years after *every* Alaskan joined the Church)
Comparitively, the only pages in Mexico/Central America more than 200 miles from a Temple are
1) The Mexican side of the Big Bend area mentioned above (including the Stake Center at Delicias Mexico)
2) About half of the Baja California Peninsula (but no stake centers)
3) A small slice of Pacific coastal Michoacan
4) A small slice of coastal Quintana Roo near the Belize border
5) Parts of Caribbean Coast Honduras and Nicaragua which include Puerto Cabezas Nicaragua District
South America is far less well covered from this standard, you can go from Maracaibo to Patagonia on the map without getting within 200 miles of a Temple in an area that includes two dozen stake centers.
Fun fact: Once dedicated, the Wellington New Zealand Temple will be the southernmost temple in the world. Melbourne currently holds that distinction, but Bahía Blanca Argentina (which has its groundbreaking this weekend), will get that title once complete and will hold that until Wellington is dedicated.
Nauvoo and Winter Quarters Temples are both less than 2 miles from the state line. Manhattan is in than range as well. So I believe in Philadelphia. These distances make Memphis Tennesee Temple seem almost far from Mississippi and it is named for a city that borders Tennessee. The Memphis Temple is however in Bartlett, north east of Mrmphis proper and about 15 miles from the border if I calculated correctly.
Maine is the only state that does not have a temple in a state that borders it. It does however border Quebec which had a temple.
The Chicago Illinois Temple is about 40 miles from the Wisconsin border. The Pittsburgh Temple is about 30 miles from the closest place in West Virginia. That is however the very north point of West Virginia. Part of West Virginia will remain far closer to the DC Temple, and other parts will still be just far.
New Jersey has no where that is super far from a temple. Central Iowa is not exactly close to Nauvoo or Winter Quarters.
Delaware is also fairly close to the Philadelphia Temple, although no place in Delaware is nearly as close as is Camden.
Randolph and the Shraders,
Thanks for pointing out this feature in the map, which I did not know about.
I have loved maps since I was very young, and I think maybe they bring out my inner child. I am imagining someone traveling your proposed route from Maracaibo to Patagonia by air. Going to Porto Velho would avoid Manaus, and you could then go to Cuiaba or Campo Grande. From there you would have to go well out of your way to avoid Asuncion. The western side through Paraguay looks pretty empty, though one possible stop would be Boqueron/Mariscal Estigarribia, but on the east you could stay in Brazil through Cascavel, Santo Angelo and Uruguaiana. Argentina would be more difficult, you would have to fly to Parana or Santa Fe and then fly a very precise course through a small gap just west of Rosario in order to avoid both the Cordoba and Buenos Aires 200 mile radii, which seem to come within a very few miles of touching. Once you come through at Venado Tuerto, it would be easier to get to Neuquen, and from there it would be wide open to the south.
I wonder what the travel distance for Marquette would be if a temple were built in Appleton, Wisconsin. My father was baptized in Appleton, in a YMCA pool. My grandfather was branch president at the time, and my grand mother in the district relief society presidency. The branch stretched about 100 miles in any direction. It took in Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay, and may have even included part of Michigan. I believe they also had a dependent branch on Native America lands.
A Temple in Appleton would probably not rake the Milwaukie Stakes, but I think it would have 4 stakes in Wisconsin, including Green Bay which covers most of Michigan's UP.
I think in some cases it might be more useful to look for outlying wards than just stakes. Also it would be best to figure out actual driving distances and times. The later especially are difficult to calculate.
As an additional comment. The following locations for a temple would bring at least 4 stakes that are current not within 200 miles of a temple, into being within 200 miles:
1) Western Venezuela, specifically around Maracaibo.
2) Southwest Venezuela
3) Eastern Venezuela
4) About half way between Sao Paulo and Brasilia (and a little west)
5) Northern Uruguay near the Brazil/Argentina/Uruguay tripoint
6) Puerto Montt in southern Chile
7) Southern Spain near Granada
(oddly enough nothing in Africa, though anything in/near the Ugandan capital brings in 3)
Venezuela *really* stands out to me 34 stakes, 5 districts, 178 wards and 50 branches according to Wikipedia. That's roughly the same size as Bolivia (33/8/207/63) which has one active and two more announced.
Both Ribeirão Preto and São José do Rio Preto would meet item 4. Ribeirão is larger and has more tradition in church history, but Rio Preto would be more central to the stakes in the interior. The same situation occurs in Rio Grande do Sul. Santa Maria is mission headquarters, but a temple in Livramento or Rivera would be more central.
One issue is in Bolivia you can call non-Bolivian temple presidents, in Venezuela the currentvsituation is you really have to rely on Venezuelan's all the way down.
Another factor may be the members who have left Venezuela may at times be the ones who are the ones who would be temple workers.
On the other hand there may in fact be attempts to secure sites in Venezuela but they may be holding off until they get certain government approvals that are long delayed.
The La Paz Bolivia Temple was announced Octovber 2021 and the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple October 2020, so we are not that far from those announcements, so things could be just about to change for Venezuela in the next year.
With Riberao Preto, Rio Preto, Santa Maria and Livramento, I am reminded of the Kasai region. The Temple was announced for Katanga not Mbuji-Mbaye even though Mbuji-Mbaye was mission headquarters and Elder Andersen once said something about building a temple in Mbuji-Mbaye. Those cities are far enough apart that a temple in Mbuji-Mbaye is quite possible during Elder Andersen's life if he lives anywhere near as long as President Nelson. That of course is a good 25 plus more years of life.
The discussion on the Birmingham England Temple, and still no announcement on a Scotland or Ireland temple, reminds me of something I have shared before regarding the four newest Arizona temples. In April 2008, President Monson announced temples for The Gila Valley and Gilbert Arizona. The Gila Valley (Thatcher, Safford areas) made sense, but Gilbert was so close to Mesa, it bewildered some members. The saints in Phoenix and Tucson wondered why a temple wasn't chosen there instead. One month later, a temple was announced for Phoenix. Then the saints in Tucson complained that it seemed like Tucson didn't exist in the eyes of the church, since they were again overlooked. A few years later, though, a temple was announced for Tucson.
I sincerely believe we will see temples announced in the not-too-distant future for both Scotland and Ireland.
I do wonder why the Church is building so many temples in areas that may not have near-term prospects for robust temple attendance, and are taking away patrons and workers from temples that are already struggling. In addition to bringing temples ever more closer to the Saints, I think the Church is also wanting to implement a temple infrastructure to accommodate the future, when the events of the next few decades and those leading up to the Millennium (not to sound too alarmist here) may prevent or disrupt supply or construction activities in many parts of the world. With temples already built, the Saints will have much-needed access to them. Hopefully our numbers of temple recommend holders in each area will increase, especially as global conditions "react and adjust".
I have relatives there and guarantee you that the Spaniards prefer Spanish. Yes, there's a great number that prefer Catalan. So I guess Spanish will rule again. However I can see sessions in Catalan & perhaps even Holiness to the Lord is in both languages.
Post a Comment