Please note that I have not included updates for Utah in this Update. I will make a separate post about the recent stake creations and consolidations in this state so I can provide more of an analysis of these developments
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo)
Three new stakes were created in the DR Congo.
The Kasapa DR Congo Stake was created on December 1st from a division of the Lubumbashi DR Congo Stake (organized in 1997) and the Ruashi DR Congo Stake (organized in 2017). The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Hewa Bora, the Joli Site, the Kasapa 1st, the Kasapa 2nd, the Kasapa 3rd, and the Luano Wards and the Aeroport Branch. There are now five stakes in Lubumbashi, the first four of which were organized in 1997, 2009, 2013, and 2017.
The Kinshasa DR Congo Mikonga Stake was created on December 1st from a division of the Kinshasa DR Congo Mpasa Stake (organized in 2018). The new stake includes the following five wards: the Bibwa, the Makanza 1st, the Makanza 2nd, the Mikonga 1st, and the Mikonga 2nd Wards.
The Kinshasas DR Congo Kintambo Stake was created on December 8th from the Kinshasa DR Congo Binza Stake (organized in 2012). The new stake includes the following five wards: the Camp Luka, the Laloux 2nd, the Lonzo, the Lubudi, and the Nganda Wards.
There are now 14 stakes in Kinshasa that were organized in 1996, 1999, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012 (2), 2016, 2018 (2), 2019, 2024 (3). With rapid growth and a large number of stakes and congregations, Kinshasa appears most likely to be Africa's first city to have a second temple announced.
There are now 32 stakes and 3 districts in the DR Congo.
Brazil
Two new stakes were created in Brazil on December 15th.
The Bento Gonçalves Brazil Stake was organized from a division of the Caxias do Sul Brazil Stake (organized in 1993). The new stake includes the following four wards: the Bento Gonçalves, the Cinquentenário, the Farroupilha, and the Progresso Wards. With only four wards, it is highly likely that additional congregations will be organized, as new stakes usually have a minimum of five wards.
The Colombo Brazil Stake was organized from a division of the Curitiba Brazil Boa Vista Stake (organized in 1998). The new stake has the following five wards: the Ana Terra, the Guaraituba, the Jardim Osasco, the Parque dos Lagos, and the Rio Verde Wards. There are now 15 stakes in the Curitiba metropolitan area.
Three districts were discontinued in Brazil.
The Cabo Frio Brazil District (organized in 2017) was discontinued and consolidated with the neighboring Macaé Brazil Stake (organized in 2010) and the Arsenal Brazil Stake (organized in 2009). Two of the five branches in the original district were upgraded to wards (Cabo Frio and Araruama), whereas two branches were discontinued (likely done to have enough active members to create wards in Cabo Frio and Araruama). Most of these branches in the former district were organized at the approximate time when the district was created in 2017.
The Itapetininga Brazil District (organized in 1998) was discontinued, which previously had four branches. The two branches in Itapetininga were consolidated to create the Itapetininga Ward. The Itapetininga Ward and the Tatuí Branch were assigned to the Sorocaba Brazil Stake (organized in 1978), whereas the Cerquilho Branch was reassigned to the Sorocaba Brazil Trujilo Stake (organized in 1995).
The Tupã Brazil District (organized in 1995) The district was consolidated with the Presidente Prudente Brazil District (organized in 1988). The four branches in the district were consolidated into two branches. It is probable that this decision was made to create a future stake from the two districts from ward-sized congregations.
There are now 287 stakes and 38 districts in Brazil.
Nigeria
A new stake and two new districts were created in Nigeria. The Makurdi Nigeria Stake was created on December 15th from the Makurdi Nigeria District. It is likely that all five branches became wards in the new stake. The special conference to create the new stake was attended by more than 1,500 people. The Church has experienced rapid growth in the city of Makurdi with regular group baptisms that number upwards of 100 people. The Church created its first branch in Makurdi in 2015, and the Makurdi Nigeria District was organized in 2017.
The Azikoro Nigeria District was created on November 3rd from a division of the Yenagoa Nigeria Stake (organized in 2017). The new district includes the following five branches, two of which were organized when the new district was created: the Agbura, the Amarata, the Azikoro, the Fangbe, and the Ogbia Town Branches.
The Iyahe Nigeria District was created on November 10th from mission branches in the Nigeria Enugu Mission. The new district includes the following there branches: the Iyahe 1st, the Iyahe 2nd, and the Ogoja Branch. The first branch in Iyahe was organized in 2023, whereas the Ogoja Branch was created in 2016.
There are now 77 stakes and 15 districts in Nigeria.
The Philippines
A new stake and two new districts were created in the Philippines.
The Tumauini Philippines Stake was organized on November 17th from a division of the Ilagan Philippines Stake (organized in 2000) and the Tuguegarao Philippines South Stake (organized in 2011). The new stake includes the following five wards and one branch: the Alinguigan, the Cabagan
Tumauini 1st, the Tumauini 2nd, and the Tumauini 3rd Wards and the San Bernardo Branch.
The Sablayan Philippines District was created on December 15th from a division of the San Jose Mindoro Philippines Occidental District (organized in 1998). The new district includes the following four branches: the Mamburao, the Sablayan, the San Francisco, and the Santa Cruz Branches. All four branches in the new district have been organized since 2011, as the Church did not have official congregations on the northwestern side of Mindoro Island. The decision to create the new district was likely due to distance from San Jose and opportunities for further expansion and growth in western Mindoro. The realigned San Jose Mindoro Philippines Occidental District now has five branches. There are now three districts on Mindoro Island.
The Ubay Philippines District was created on December 8th from a division of the Calape Philippines District (organized in 1995) and the Tagbilaran Philippines Stake (organized in 2015). The new district includes the following four branches: the Guindulman, the Pilar, the Talibon, and the Ubay Branches. The district includes the eastern portion of Bohol Island where a Church presence has been more recently established. There is now one stake and two districts on Bohol.
There are now 131 stakes and 56 districts in the Philippines.
Sierra Leone
A new stake was created in Sierra Leone. The Bo Sierra Leone Durba Stake was organized on October 20th from a division of the Bo Sierra Leone North Stake (created in 2017) and the Bo Sierra Leone East Stake (created in 2019). The new stake includes the following seven wards: the Batiama, the Bo, the Bumpewo, the New Site, the Ngegbayama, the Torkpoi Town, and the Yemo Town Wards. The new stake is the Church's fourth stake in Bo following the creation of stakes in 2017 (2), and 2019. Moreover, this marks the first time that a new stake was created in Bo solely from the division of stakes and not from districts being organized into stakes (each of the first three stakes in Bo were each created from their own district). Bo has one of the highest percentages of Latter-day Saints of any city in Africa with at least 100,000 inhabitants, and the city appears highly like to have a temple announced in the near future.
There are now 11 stake and 2 district in Sierra Leone.
Texas
A new stake was created in Texas on December 8th. The Forney Texas Stake was created from a division of the Dallas Texas East Stake (organized in 1977) and the Heath Texas Stake (organized in 2012). The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Forney 1st, the Forney 2nd, the Kaufman, the Mesquite, the Rio Trinidad (Spanish), and the Skyline Wards and the Forney 3rd Branch. There are now 23 stakes in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area.
There are now 81 stakes and 2 districts in Texas.
Zimbabwe
A new stake and a new district were created in Zimbabwe. The Harare Zimbabwe Chitungwiza Stake was created from a division of the Harare Zimbabwe East Stake and the Harare Zimbabwe South Stake. The new stake includes the following four wards and two branches: the Chitungwiza, the Marondera, the Seke, and the Zengeza Wards and the Dombotombo and Southlea Park Branches. The new stake is the Church's fifth stake in Harare following stakes previously organized in 1999, 2008, 2014, and 2016.
The Masvingo Zimbabwe District was created on September 29th four mission branches in the Zimbabwe Bulawayo Mission, including the Masvingo 1st, the Masvingo 2nd, the Zvishavane 1st, and the Zvishavane 2nd Branches. After decades of stagnant growth, this area of southern Zimbabwe has had three of its four branches organized since 2021 (including the first two branches in Zvishavane).
There are now 11 stakes and 2 districts in Zimbabwe.
Uganda
Two new districts were created in Uganda. The Mbale Uganda District and the Busia Uganda District were created on November 17th. The Mbale Uganda District was created from two branches that previously were under the direct supervision of the Uganda Kampala Mission (Mbale and Mugit) and two branches that previously pertained to the Busia Kenya/Uganda District (organized in 2019). The Busia Uganda District was created from a division of the Busia Kenya/Uganda District (now renamed the Busia Kenya District), and the new district includes the following three branches located in the Ugandan side of the city of Busia (Buchicha, Kisenyi, and Sofia). The realigned Busia Kenya District now includes just two branches (Busia and Mundika).
There are now 3 stakes and 4 districts in Uganda.
Botswana
A new district was created in Botswana. The Kanye Botswana District was created on December 8th from a division of the Gaborone Botswana Stake (organized in 2012). The new district includes the following three branches: the Kanye 1st, the Kanye 2nd, and the Lobatse Branches. Two of these branches, Kanye 2nd and Lobatse, were perviously wards in the Gaborone Botswan Stake. It is unclear why these units became their own district, as these cities are with relatively close proximity to Gaborone. Moreover, the Gaborone is only a couple units away from the creation of a second stake, albeit there are now no realistic prospects for a second stake in Botswana unless these branches in the new district are strong enough to become wards and are utilized to create a second stake. It is unclear why the three branches in Francistown are still not organized into its own district despite these congregations operating for over a decade. A lack of sufficient leadership to staff district leadership callings is a likely culprit with a lack of a district in Francistown.
There is now 1 stake and 1 district in Botswana.
Cote d'Ivoire
A new district was created in Cote d'Ivoire. The Dabou Cote d'Ivoire District was created on October 20th from three branches in the Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan West Mission (Dabou 1st, Dabou 2nd, and Grand Lahou) and the Songon Branch (a former ward in the Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Niangon North Stake). The first branch in Dabou was organized in 2018.
There are now 21 stakes and 11 districts in Cote d'Ivoire.
Ghana
A new district was created in Ghana. The Oda Ghana District was created on December 1st. The new district includes the following three branches: the Asene, the Oda 1st, and the Oda 2nd Branches. The Oda 1st and Oda 2nd Branches were previously wards in the Asamankese Ghana Stake (organized in 2017 and which now has five ward and two branches). Distance from Asamankese and good prospects to organize more small congregations in surrounding areas likely influenced the decision to create a separate district in Oda (a member group operated in Kokobeng years ago, although it is unclear if it still operates).
There are now 31 stakes and 12 districts in Ghana.
California
A stake was discontinued in California. The Los Angeles California Santa Monica Stake (organized in 1951) was discontinued. Retained wards were reassigned to the Los Angeles California Stake (organized in 1927), which now has nine wards. The Church has experienced a steady consolidation of stakes in the Los Angeles metropolitan area within the past two decades primarily due to active membership migration.
In California, there are now 147 stakes.
In the United States, there are now 1,709 stakes and 10 districts.
Guatemala
A stake was discontinued in Guatemala. The Guatemala City Utatlán Stake (organized in 1975) was discontinued. The stake had five ward before it was discontinued. Retained wards were reassigned to the neighboring Guatemala City Central Stake. Stagnant growth has occurred in this area of Guatemala for many years.
There are now 51 stakes and 11 districts in Guatemala.
New Zealand
For the first time in Church history, the Church has discontinued a stake in New Zealand. The Hastings New Zealand Stake (organized in 1960) was discontinued and consolidated with the neighboring Hastings New Zealand Flaxmere Stake (organized in 1995 and renamed the Te Matau a Maui New Zealand Stake). The two stakes previously had a combined nine wards and four branches which were reduced to five wards and two branches. Hastings has experienced stagnant growth and decline for decades, and the consolidation was long overdue given the few number of wards in the area. In 2001, the two stakes had a combined 10 wards and one branch, as each stake had only five wards. Most of the Church's growth in New Zealand within the past decade has been in Auckland and Hamilton. It is probable that another stake consolidation will occur in the Wellington area within the foreseeable future, as this area has also experienced stagnant growth for decades, and each of the three stakes in the area have the minimal number of congregations to operate as stakes.
There are now 29 stakes and 2 districts in New Zealand.
Japan
A district was discontinued in Japan.The Matsuyama Japan District (organized 1991) in was discontinued and combined with the Takamatsu Japan District (organized in 1979 and was renamed the Shikoku Japan District). No branches were closed as part of the consolidation of the two districts. The consolidation was likely done to conserve district leadership manpower. Some branches on the island have been close to meeting the qualifications to become wards, but with the increased standards to organize wards announced 1 year ago, prospects appear unlikely for the district to become a stake for some time.
There are now 22 stakes and 10 districts in Japan.
Mexico
A district was discontinued in Mexico. The Madera México District (organized in 1977) was discontinued. The Matachic Branch was discontinued. The remaining three branches are now directly supervised by the Mexico Chihuahua Mission. The branches in the district are small and spread over a large geographical area, which is likely why the district was discontinued.
There are now 230 stakes and 43 districts in Mexico.
South Africa
A district was discontinued in South Africa. The Phuthaditjhaba South Africa District (organized in 2017) was discontinued. The two branches were reassigned to the Ladysmith South Africa District (organized in 2017) which now has six branches. The decision to consolidate the districts was likely due to only two branches in the Phuthaditjhaba South Africa District, and the failure for member groups to become branches in the district. It is unclear whether the new district has any realistic prospects to become a stake in the foreseeable future.
There are now 18 stakes and 9 districts in South Africa.
53 comments:
Matt, just a minor spelling correction. The new Stake you have listed as #55 for 2024. At least on the Meetinghouse Locator map, is listed as just the "Kintambo Democratic Republic of the Congo Stake", without the "Kinshasa" City name added as a prefix.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2285118
The Bento Gonçalves Brazil stake is made up of 5 wards: Bento Gonçalves, Progresso, Cinquentenari,
Farroupilha and
Carlos Barbosa who, like Serraria, were elevated to ward status in the special division conference of the Caxias do Sul Brazil stake.
The Bento Gonçalves Brazil stake is made up of 5 wards: Bento Gonçalves, Progresso, Cinquentenari, Farroupilha
and Carlos Barbos, who, like Serraria, were elevated to ward status in the special division conference of the Caxias do Sul Brazil stake.
Thank you! Do you know anything else about the split of the Dallas Texas East Stakes, including potential realignment of wards and branches?
As far as I can tell, there was no other realignment of those stakes. The Heath Texas Stake only lost the Forney 1st Ward to the new stake, while the rest came from the Dallas Texas East Stake.
The new totals are as follows:
-Dallas Texas East Stake: 7 wards
-Forney Texas Stake: 6 wards, 1 branch
-Heath Texas Stake: 9 wards, 2 branches
The meetinghouse locater has not fully updated this stake, which is where I imagine the figures came from. On the locator, the new Bento stake only shows 4 wards, while both the Carlos Barbosa and Serrano (I presume you meant that) still show up as branches under the Caxias do Sul Brazil Stake. When the Kharkiv Ukraine District became a stake, it took a rather long time to update (I think it was almost a year), however I very much doubt we'll have to wait that long for Brazil. It should be correct on the meetinghouse locator in a matter of weeks.
The same is the case of the Makurdi Nigeria District being reorganized as a Stake. The Meetinghouse map still shows it as a District, not a Stake. And the units as Branches, not Wards. Even though there was a Facebook announcement of the Conference.
From what I'm told, it hasn't even been updated in the CDOL list of organizations yet officially.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2104423
I can confirm there were no realignments of wards and branches during the split. All boundaries remain the same as before the split.
Has Kinshasa tied Abijan for number of stales?
With how far west in the city the temple is, I would not be surprised if the second temple is built in the eastern edge of the urbanized Kinshasa area (technically still in the western part of the city-province, the eastern 80% of the province has a huge nature park and a few scattered small communities, and at present no branches.)
This would put a temple very close to the airport, and also a little less time to reach by those coming by land or water from the areas to the east and north east, for example from Bandulu (which has 3 branches) or Kisangani (although that is do far, air may be the only realistic method of travel from there).
I think Abijan and Kagos could also easily get 2nd temples announced (yes, I know the 1st Lagos temple is not complete, but having a close temple incomplete did not stop Syracuse, Lindon, Toluca or many other places from having a temple announced). In Lagos I think the Agege area or close to it would be where they would build a 2nd temple.
The new district being organized from Yenagoa Stake I think makes a Port Harcourt Temple even more likely. Yes I know Port Harcourt is close to Aba and the Aba Temple, but Aba essentially has enough stakes on its own to support the temple. Port Harcourt plus the Yenagpa stale and the new district, and maybe a bit more is more than enough to justify a Port Harcourt Temple.
I do hope we get further temple related announcements next Monday.
Other Matt here.
The island of Shikoku in Japan used to be one stake for the whole island, then split into two districts (Matsuyama, Takamatsu). Now it's back to one district for the whole island.
5 or 6 cities that used to be have branches are closed. Hopefully like other areas in Japan, these areas can be reinstated as groups, until the branches can be reopened
It depends if you count the Grand-Bassam Cote d'Ivoire Stake as part of the Abidjan metro. If yes, Abidjan has 15 stakes. If not (which I don't), Abidjan is tied with Kinshasa with 14 stakes. I couldn't really find a concrete answer, but most references I saw refer to Grand-Bassam as "near" or "close to" Abidjan, but none as "part of" the metro area.
I wonder how close the Obuasi Ghana District (2009781) with 10 branches, and the Sunyani Ghana District (1902822) with 11 branches, are to becoming full Stakes of Zion.
Also, along those lines, the Issia Cote d'Ivoire District (2125439), with currently 2 branches, would be another that I might include as a possible future full closure/merger. I personally think it would be difficult with just 2 branches to staff both and the district leadership. But this, is just my own opinion.
Can anyone with knowledge of the case explain why there are 9 branches and zero wards in the San Pedro Cote d'Ivoire Stake (2022494)? At least in the Meetinghouse Locator map. Or is it getting ready to revert back to District status or split into 2 districts? Or none have become wards since the Stake was organized on September 22nd, this year.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2022494
Some units just take a while to update. It could be days , weeks or months.
The same is true for the new stake in Kenya (since July). I think the reason is that local leaders do not enter the correct information into the churches system. They might need help from the area office but do not ask for it. But i do not know how the prosess exactly works.
No new missions have been announced this week, nor have new mission leaders been announced for next year. It occurs to me to wonder if the Church might not actually create any new missions this year, given the significant uptick in missions in the last few years. But as confirmed in a recent Church News podcast, the missionary program and thus the mission field continues to grow. My gut feeling is that the First Presidency is waiting until after the first of the year to announce new missions & mission leader couples. The Church also has a number of temples anticipated to be completed this year that have not yet had first leaders announced either. So we'll have to see what happens there. And I also fully anticipate that the final major new temple construction announcement for 2024 will be made on Monday. Based on what I am hearing, we could see a dedication or two, a groundbreaking or two, an exterior rendering or two, and/or a site confirmations or two. Just some scattered thoughts from me for whatever they might be worth to all who read them here.
Oh, and also, this update from the Newsroom may be of interest to you all. And this report is written by an associate teaching professor of Church history at BYU. He describes the Doctrine and Covenants as "a living, breathing, growing text of scripture", which implies that the volume is not yet complete. So I could see a day when the Church canonizes the Family Proclamation, The Living Christ, and the Restoration Proclamation. How soon that might happen is anyone's guess. My thanks once again to you all.
The France Lyon Mission has unexpectedly lost its mission president following a brief and sudden illness, with the exact cause of death YTBD:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/mission-president-passes-away-in-france
Elder James M. McConkie, Second Counselor in the Europe Central Area Presidency, will serve as interim mission president. My thanks once again to you all.
Other Noah Here.
James, Thank you so much for your analysis and the news. It is sad to hear about the Lyon France's Mission President passing.
I think you forgot to mention the two stakes established in Malawi during 2024.
In the Church News interview with the missionary department keaders about a month in maybe more ago thry said that missionary numbers are above what was projected.
That would seem to indicate creating a new mission or missions might be an option..
It also appears a large amount of the rise is in service missionaries, or at least thry have risen at a much faster rate. Possibly more than doubling in number in a year.
This leads to 3 observations. One is that the most pressing new missions for growth needs would seem to be on the African continent. However it is harder to say where growth in service missionaries has occurred. A year ago it seemed that the numbers in Utah were disproportionate to Church membership there. So it is hard to say if that kept up, or if better publicity for that option has caused much of the growth elsewhere. So it is hard to model how that affects things. Since service missionaries serve from home, it will not help a mission in Senegal and probably not in Malawi,
The other big issue is how do service missionaries factor in calculating wanted missionary force. There are probably reasonable upper limits of service missionaries and full time missionaries, but I think the total of both is probably higher than with just proselytize missionaries. That you have service mission leaders, and that thry are in some ways under their stake presidents means their addition is not exactly the same as when you add full-time missionaries.
I also wonder if with Elder Rasband's seminal talk on senior missionaries and with allowing men 40+ who are single to serve if senior missionary numbers have climbed.
Service and proselyting missionaries are separate, independent, mutually exclusive tallies; however, senior missionaries are lumped in with full-time missionaries it seems, hence some of the increase could be from seniors. However, my understanding is that the number of missionaries of all kinds is generally increasing. It would be hard to manage this continuing trend without additional missions. Especially for seniors, the need still far exceeds the supply. I hope that more who are able decide to serve.
If anyone is interested, I have just uploaded my personal version of both the Asia and Asia North Areas maps into Google Earth online. Here is the "Asia Areas" link.
https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1WVZQFyg9zEr0iQILpNMTobjFBh8xq8EC?usp=sharing
And here I have started uploading the "Pacific / Philippines Areas" also.
https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1xb61cKAcQOr6V78Tr1G-LPs500XlJUSL?usp=sharing
I believe the 80,000 figure includes all prosylyting missionaries plus all young full-time service missionaries. I think it does not include full-time senulior service missionaries. I am sure it does not include part-time service missionaries. I think for young service missionaries the numbers may have gone from under 4,000 to about 10,000 but that may be me misinterpreting things.
On another totally unrelated note it appears that the Wikipedia article on Ryan T. Murphy will soon be deleted, unless eomeone finds more sources. That will not be easy. You would have to count on some sources not using the T, bit Ryan Murphy is almost as common a name as John Smith. Plus, since he has been associate conductors for 15 or so years the number of name drops connected with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square will be huge.
I would not be surprised if within a year Murphy replaces Wilberg as Director and we get a whole flood of sources on him, but you cannot build an article on what might happen, especially not on as yet non-existant sources. I also once, just once, predicted a given current general authority would not become an apostle. Less than 5% of general authorities become apostles, so the fact that this prediction proved wrong shows my ability to predict such things is quite limited.
We shall see.
My last comment was based on Mack Wilberg turning 70 next year. However Richard Condie directed the choir until he was 76. Craig Jessop was 68 orc69 and everyone else a little younger than that, at least of those whose terms ended in the last 100 years. I think Wilberg is now the second oldest conductor of the choir ever. Based on this a change may occur, but it might not be for several years.
Daniel, If you are following my maps. I just added the Municipios, Regiãos Imediatas, and Regiãos Intermediarias of the Estados de Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul and part of Goiás, in the Região Centro-Oeste of Brazil, in my map of the "South America Areas" that I posted previously in this blog.
https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1xtVSIZEFuxKU1pLzuJCNIKNcGgzMrqyQ?usp=sharing
Yes, I'm following along, and I'm very excited about the results! Thanks
Wondering how the strategy for unit creation might shift as we see a fairly predictable demographic pattern in geographic areas, particularly in high cost-of-living areas:
1. New development in outskirt areas brings a flood of young families, and with it, thriving wards.
2. As the development ages, cost of living in that area has increased since these are no longer the "outskirts." Young families are priced out of the aging area, and wards have to be consolidated.
3. Young families instead move further out, precipitating the growth of new wards.
This is happening in various areas, but we see it with clarity in California, Oregon, Washington, and Utah. It's only a matter of time before Arizona joins this pattern - anywhere we see large pockets of development that brings a large tide of members, it seems we can predict that a low tide is just a couple of decades away. Even in the midwest wards I've been a part of, there is a generational aging to the entire wards - the wards have a robust primary but few youth, then a large youth program but few primary-aged children, which transforms into a relatively "mature," low energy ward, stuck in limbo without the critical mass of members needed to operate efficiently, and so wards have to consolidate formally or informally.
I'm curious about whether the church has experimented with addressing this issue in ways that are not the typical "create new wards, then dissolve those wards in 20 years" pattern.
To clarify, I'm not pointing this out as a criticism of the church - this is a cyclical nature to church units that could be entirely dependent on unsustainable or short-sighted suburban development patterns and a lack of thoughtful urban planning. But the church's strategy in light of these facts is interesting to me. I know of a few stake centers that could easily house 4 units in California that have one ward in them, for example. They used to be full. It would be difficult to sell those buildings because they are placed well for the unit they serve, and buying new property to build smaller buildings for the one unit remaining would be difficult.
What should the church do? Perhaps shift to more, but smaller, church buildings so that they aren't stuck with large buildings housing one ward unit? What about temples? These demographic shifts reflect a shift in temple patron population, but temples are not designed to be opened and closed in 20 year cycles. As the church builds more temples designed for smaller communities, it runs a greater risk of having temples that eventually go virtually unused, since they are built to target a smaller geographic area of members that may shift dramatically over time.
No major temple construction announcement today. I assume they will pick up again with those after the new year. In the interim, it did occur to me that the last time there wasn't temple news on Monday, we got some breaking news from the Church on Thursday (when the creation of the Canada Area was announced). In the absence of a major temple construction announcement today, I am assuming that there may be more breaking news on Thursday (January 2). My thanks once again to you all.
I forgot to add that, if I am correct, and something new is announced Thursday, I would assume it will be any new missions/new mission leader couples. My thanks once again to you all.
I would like to save everyone a little bit of time for 2025. Here is my prediction for temple news. Every week there could be several sites announced, several ground breakings announced, several renderings released and several dedications announced. I will be very bold here and guess that this will hold true for 2026. Thanks!
Phoenix and Tucson already experience this, as well as Mesa and Gilbert. My “edge” stake in North Phoenix growing up in the nineties split in the Oughts and then had to add a few more wards with boundary changes when the discontinuance of a more centralized stake happened in the 2020s. The more northern split stake is thriving.
My own stake in Scottsdale, even my ward, is a prime example. I am told my ward had large youth programs 15-20 years ago, we have a modestly sized one now, but my kids make up 4 of the 10 kids in our primary now.
Our only wards with decently sized primaries are ones with newer, more affordable development from the last decade or so.
It is interesting to see some exceptions to this process over time where the housing stock hits a sweet spot of not too expensive and not too cheap, but desirable still for Lds families seeking decent schools and other amenities families look for. It is a phenomenon that I observed out East in Connecticut.
It's usually the opposite from what I've seen, and you see it in Utah and other areas. While housing has generally greatly appreciated everywhere over the past 10 years, usually the homes that are 40 years old still have lower desirability than new homes on the fringe. A greater proportion of homes are rent, and this causes such areas to decrease in desirability and is replaced by populations that only move there because it is cheaper, and the expense of the general safety of the area. There is usually one or two small markets near the downtowns that are nicer and bougy, and then the rest are more run down.
This will cause flight of the more established and wealthy families to the new suburban areas, which is also where the young families want to be, so there will be a large swath of new housing coming to the area. Poor people can't afford new houses, so any census block with a large percent of new housing often has a significantly higher median household income.
In Orlando I lived just south of downtown. We had 500 households on the rolls and usually only a little more than 100 at sacrament. Had over 100k people living in our ward boundaries. We had to drive all the area to pick up youth for mutual and scouts due to the quality of families. Shortly after us leaving it was combined with another similarly urban ward while the suburban wards were often split every couple of years.
Contrast that with NW Arkansas, we are in an area with a large swath of new housing, and growing 10% a year in population. The branch became a ward in 2021, and then split into two wards after just 3 years. Median HH income was just $57k in 2015, and will likely surpass $100k next year.
More BYU-Pathway news:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2024/12/30/president-paul-v-johnson-visits-philippines-announces-opening-byu-pathway-resource-center-cebu/
BYU–Pathway community resource center in Cebu City
President Johnson, an emeritus General Authority Seventy and former commissioner of the Church Educational System, announced on Nov. 16, 2024, that BYU-Pathway Worldwide will open a community resource center in Cebu City in early 2025.
Volunteers will facilitate the community center, which will provide free resources and services to students, including access to high-speed internet, over 100 computers, equipment to practice skills students are learning online, and classes to improve English-speaking and writing skills.
BYU–Pathway is an online institution of higher learning sponsored by the Church, offering access to degrees granted by Church-sponsored universities in the United States. In 2024, BYU–Pathway served nearly 75,000 students in more than 180 countries.
President Johnson and Elder Michael B. Strong, second counselor in the Philippines Area presidency, met with over two dozen influential individuals in the city’s business and employment sectors, as well as business, information technology and workforce representatives in Cebu City.
Emeritus GA Seventy Elder Merrill C. Oaks has passed away. He is the younger brother of President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency. My thanks once again to you all.
Another couple of notes while I'm here: Despite the lack of a major temple construction announcement this week, the Church News has taken a look back at the highlights of temple construction this year, as has the Newsroom, and I will have my traditional year-end look at temple construction this year on my blog in about 7.5 hours from now. Hope you all have a happy, safe, and prosperous New Year's Eve. Happy New Year 2025 to us all!
Elder Merril Oaks passing is a sad event in deed. He was the area president in the Philippines immediately before President Dallin H. Oaks. The world has lost a truly great man.
Six new chapters of the "Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Russell M. Nelson" have been released by the Church today. My thanks once again to you all.
The Church News website recently posted these 2 articles reviewing the 23 Temple Sites and 33 Temple Renderings announced in 2024.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2025/01/01/33-temple-renderings-released-2024-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints/
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2025/01/02/temple-site-locations-maps-for-2024/
Posted on 1/2/2025 — The Campinas Brazil Campos Elíseos Stake became the Campinas Brazil Bandeirantes Stake.
I wonder if the name change was due to any consolidation of a Campos Eliseos Ward, into the now Campinas 3rd Ward? That covers the Jardim Campos Eliseos neighborhood of Campinas? Any thoughts anyone?
Since any previous units are no longer on the Meetinghouse website in that area.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/84255
The Campinas 3rd Ward always covers the Jardim Campos Eliseos neighborhood.
Here https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2025/01/03/salt-lake-temple-vertical-coring-complete-renovation-project/ is a Church News article on Salt Lake Temple project. The connected video on the veritable cables and their drilling is very informative. There is a machine shop on top of the Salt Lake Temple to build the needed equipment as close as possible. The plan appears to be to get almost all of the foundation work done by April 1, 2025.
They just added a statute "Come Follow Me" to Temple Square that shows Jesus calling 2 fishermen. A First Vision statue was added in November. The plan is to add 12 more statues to Temple Square grounds by the end of 2026.
The two baptisteies and the Baptistry chapel and many other parts of the renovation are under way. This is a huge project adding 100,000 Square feet, that is big. Lehi and West Jordan are 85,000 Square feet, yet Salt Lake is getting more added space then either of those have total.
There are lots of reasons for this. Salt Lake Temple will have a more international spread of visitors than any other Temple. This will require quite a large audio visual room.
I think this announcement on Temple progress was our main announcement for the week.
I broke my ankle last week. I have been stuck in bed most of the time since and had surgery on the 31st of December. It is not fun and has meant I had to take a brief pause from being a temple worker.
@John Pack Lambert
Sorry to hear about your ankle!
Hope you get well soon.
Get well soon. L. Chris Jones
I predict that 15 temples will be announced in April and 18 temples will be announced in October. Bringing us to 400 total announced temples. I would love to see more, b7t suspect those will be the numbers. I also hope we can have at least 35 site announcements, 35 artistic renderings released and 35 ground breaking for temples in 2025, if not more. I think the numbers for 2024 were 23, 33 and 14. I am not sure if the 33 site renderings includes Grabd Rapids which was a 2nd revised rendering, or if the 23 includes Tampa which was a new site. I do not think it is including Manhattan and Provo Utah Rick Canton or any other renovated temple artistic rendering.
I do wonder if other temples will close fir renovation in 2025. Los Angeles would be a strong contender, but I do not think thry will do that before both Yorba Linda and San Diego are fully operational. Logan has Bern announced to be renovated but there is not planned closing date announced. I think that will happen after the Smithfield Utah Temple is completed.
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