Reports from Latter-day Saints living in Tanzania indicate that the Church will organize its first stake in the East African nation of Tanzania this Sunday. The Dar es Salaam Tanzania Stake will be created from the Dar es Salaam Tanzania District, which was organized in 2005. Currently, there are 10 branches in the district, but it is unclear how many of these branches will become wards once the stake is organized.
Among countries with at least 2,000 Latter-day Saints, Tanzania provides a remarkable example of a nation that has experienced a dramatic shift from slow or stagnant growth to some of the most rapid growth rates in the worldwide Church over the past decade. From 2004 to 2018, there were only four branches in Dar es Salaam. It took nearly three decades for the Church to reach 2,000 members after its initial establishment in 1992. However, everything changed with the organization of the Tanzania Dar es Salaam Mission in 2020. Before this, the Kenya Nairobi Mission oversaw missionary efforts and Church administration in Tanzania, which meant limited resources were allocated to the nation’s 65.4 million people (2024 estimate).
Another major catalyst for growth was the Church’s decision in the 2010s to officially change the language used in Church administration and worship services from English to Swahili, enabling more effective missionary efforts. Church membership in Tanzania grew from 1,793 at the end of 2019 to 3,969 by the end of 2023. The number of branches in the country also increased significantly, from six in 2018 to 34 as of the end of 2024. Many of these new branches began as member groups to improve accessibility to worship services in major cities with an official Church presence.
Three additional districts were organized during this period of rapid growth: a second district in Dar es Salaam in 2022 (which reportedly will not be realigned or combined with the new stake) and the first districts in Arusha (2022) and Mwanza (2023). Given the higher member activity standards for new stake organization outside the United States, which were implemented in 2024, the creation of the first stake in Tanzania is an even greater accomplishment and a testament to the quality of this recent growth.
The creation of a second stake in Dar es Salaam also appears likely, as the Dar es Salaam Tanzania Chang'ombe District currently has eight branches and has experienced similarly impressive growth rates. Furthermore, the announcement of a temple in Dar es Salaam seems increasingly plausible given these developments, which establish a more self-sustaining center of strength for the Church in the area.
Despite this progress, the Church in Tanzania remains relatively small compared to the nation’s population. As of the end of 2023, only one in every 17,000 Tanzanians was a member on Church records, and only five cities have had branches organized.
For statistical data on the Church in Tanzania, click here.
118 comments:
FYI, the first group of 16 New Mission Leaderships for 2025, has just been posted the Biographies on the Church News website a few minutes ago.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/01/24/new-mission-presidents-companions-2025-florida-to-ghana/
Also, the original list of 164 New Presidents has been updated by 1. The France Lyon Mission has been added. With Pres. and Sister, Adam and Sherianne Schow, called to preside.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/01/10/2025-new-mission-leaders-presidents-companions-assignments-164/
I wonder when the Perú Limatambo Mission, changed it's name to "Perú Lima Limatambo Mission"? That was organized in 2019.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/2019/1/2/23214599/church-announces-creation-of-4-new-missions-dissolving-of-12-others/
Where in the new Biographies today, it says Pres. and Sister Michael Gardner, will succeed Pres. and Sister Walter Plumb IV to the "Perú Lima Limatambo Mission".
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/01/24/new-mission-presidents-companions-2025-florida-to-ghana/
The recent growth in eastern Africa is remarkable, and I'm glad to see the church is beginning to expand to new locations in many countries outside of just the capital/largest city (the expansion to new areas of DR Congo in the past few years is quite exciting). The gospel is supposed to go to the four corners of the earth, and there are still many unreached places where there are people who need to hear the good word.
Speaking of unreached places, even in North America there remain plenty of unreached locations. While many are quite small in population, some are not. Countries, dependent territories, and North American parts of primarily non-North American states that have a population >10,000 but no wards or branches:
--Anguilla, pop. ~ 16,000 (given the tiny fraction of the population who are church members on nearby islands, this is probably not enough to support even a small branch)
--San Andres and Providencia (Colombian department), pop. ~61,000, the vast majority of whom live in the capital city of San Andres, enough it seemingly could support a branch (or even a ward or two, if it reached the same % Latter Day Saint as mainland Colombia)
--Greenland, pop. 56,000 (Nuuk, pop. ~20,000, is the largest population center, and the only one with enough people for even a slim chance of forming a branch, assuming Greenland had membership rates comparable to Canadian northern and maritime provinces rather than the even lower rates in Scandinavia)
--Saint Marten, pop. ~32,000 (not to be confused with the Sint Maarten, which is the Dutch half of the island and does have a branch)
Saint Barts, pop. ~11,000 (given the tiny fraction of the population who are church members on nearby islands, this is probably not enough to support even a small branch)
It is also interesting to note that there are still a few states/provinces/departments on mainland North America with no ward or branch, though in most cases this is due to very low populations, or very spread out, low density populations (or both):
--Nunavut, Canada, pop. ~37,000 but where the largest town, Iqaluit (formerly Frobisher Bay) only has ~8,000 people, probably not enough to support a branch
--Toledo District, Belize, pop. ~38,000, but where the largest town, Punta Gorda, only has ~5,000 people
--Gracias a Dios Department, Honduras, ~94,000 people, and with the largest town of Puerto Lempira pop. ~62,000 people it could support a branch or ward
--Rio San Juan Department, Nicaragua, pop. ~137,000, while the largest town, San Carlos, pop. ~17,000 , but with about ~52,000 when including surrounding communities, probably could support a branch
--Ngäbe-Buglé Comarca, Panama, pop. ~212,000, but spread in many small, isolated settlements, with few appearing large enough to plausibly support a branch (maybe Kusapin or Buäbti?)
--Emberá-Wounaan Comarca, Panama, pop. ~13,000, inhabited by a semi-nomadic people (the church would need to be more flexible than is its wont if branches were to be formed in a semi-nomadic culture)
And of course, these examples are all quite small relative to many unreached places around the world. I just think it is interesting to realize that even in North America there are entire province-level places that remain unreached.
--Felix
This first group of 16 new mission leaders in mainly Americans. 10 of the 16 couples currently reside in the US.
Beyond that there is 1 couple from Nexico, 1 from Brazil, 2 from Chile, 1 from Ghana and 1 from South Africa.
However 1 couple were born in Romania and Syria. That is the couple who will lead the Armenia/Georgia Mission. They are in the North Hollywood California Stake and I think based on their last name the Romania born husband in ethnically Armenian. I am not sure about the wife but she was born in Aleppo Syria.
There is a couple called from Houston where the husband at least is clearly Hispanic, and a stake patriarch, they are also in a Spanish Ward, to lead the Pachuca Mission. That was one of the 4 greater Mexico City Area Temples announced by President Nelson in October 2022. The wife was born in Tijuana but her maiden name was Mason. The wife's name is Claudia. The article does not give her mother's maiden name, but her mother's first name was Dolores. These names are regular and accepted names in both English and Spanish. I suspect the wife is at least partly Hispanic, but cannot actually tell for sure.
I think there is 1 current and 1 former area seventy in this group of 16. The couple coming from Utah to kead the Florida Jacksonville Mission the wife was born in Florida. It was Palatka, Florida where she was born, about an hour out of Jacksonville, but still in that mission (it is 2 hours from Orlando). The husband was born in Pocatello. I have no idea how long the wife may have actually lived in Florida, but it might have been at least until she left for college.
Of those called from outside the US, 4 are serving in their home countries. 1 of the Chilean couples are going to Panama. The couple from South Africa is going to Uganda.
The including of Lima in the Peru Lima Limatambo mission name makes sense since it is within Lima.
I hope we see a temple announced for Dar es Salaam this year, although we might not see it quite so quick. With the dedication of the Nairobi Temple coming in May this is already another good year for the Africa Central Area. Hopefully thry will have some of the Nairobi sessions in Swahili.
To be fair forming 1 branch with a semi-nomadic people, along as it is the only branch in the region where the people wander, would not be too hard.
Do many of the people in Emberá-Wounaan Comarca in Panama speak Spanish? The linguistic issue is probably bigger than the nomadicism. I am about to go the Saints Vol. 4 podcast interview with Sister Silvia Allred. She and her husband lead the mission in Paraguay at a temple when they were engaged in out reach to non-Spanish speaking people there.
While those places that you mentioned have few if no presence of groups of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I contend that some bigger populated places are lagging, especially but not exclusively in the Caribbean. Martinique and Guadeloupe come to mind. Other islands should or could do better. But the Caribbean is very different than the South Pacific, where our peoples have grown in robust ways.
While Haiti has been a shambles the last few years (see the Gadianton robbers chapters), I would think that more French speaking missionaries could be placed across the Lesser Antilles. But, knowing how things have been going in Congo, (DRC), all the French speakers have been hustling there. Plus now Rwanda and Burundi, not to mention Cote D'ivoire.
How many states in Nigeria have no presence of the Church? Mostly the Muslim north, I would imagine.
The DR Congo is mostly staffed by local missionaries and so is Nigeria. These countries support their significant growth largely without "draining" global resources. In the DRC, vast areas and many neighborhoods of even the large cities (including Kinshasa and Lubumbashi) remain unreached. It is still quite a task ahead of the many thousands of native Congolese missionaries who will be called in the next few years. Similarly, the same will happen in Nigeria, but due to ethnic diversity it will likely be a bit slower.
Very exciting news about Tanzania! Outreach expansion there is just starting and will hopefully be accelerated as the two districts in the capital become stakes.
We're really just scratching the very surface in Africa. I am not sure if people who are not as familiar with this topic can appreciate it in full.
I agree that there are other, larger places than those I mentioned, and that scarce resources should generally be targeted towards more populous locales. I mention the unreached parts of North America not to suggest they ought to take priority, but by way of illustrating just how much of the world remains unreached, considering North America has had the most thorough missionary coverage of anywhere in the world, with the possible exception of parts of the Pacific. The scope of work that remains is staggering and exciting.
I spent some time in Nigeria last year. It is indeed a huge and diverse country, and the church is just scratching the surface. I had the opportunity to attend church while there, and was very impressed by the Saints I met there. While there are larger, denser countries in parts of Asia there is probably nowhere on earth that exceeds parts of Africa (including recently especially eastern Africa) in terms of population weighted by receptivity (both cultural and legal or political receptivity, combined).
In spite of the massive scope of the work to be done in taking the gospel to the world, it is the one-by-one covenants that are required for salvation. A good friend of mine will be baptized tomorrow morning (well, this morning, as it is after midnight where I am writing this), and I am quite excited about that.
--Felix
In Kinshasa 80% of the area of the city-province is unreached. The other 20% could be better reached, but the eastern 80%, in an area I think approaching 20,000 square miles has no branches. To be fair there is a gigantic wildlife refuge there, but that is a little less than half the area and I am sure has residents anyway. It is not a heavily populated area, and is humongous, but there is potential there.
That said, at least some DR Congo missionaries serve elsewhere. Elder Mutombo served his mission in Ivory Coast. So did Elder Monga who was the father of the Church in Kolwezi in his late teens and the first mission president in Brazaville as well as an area seventy.
Elder Binene, one of the current area seventies was not able to serve a mission due to being turned into a refugee by ethnic violence forcing him to flee Koleezi and go to Luputa. He was a local missionary, balancing subsistence farming and missionary work. Luputa did not have any furtive missionaries assigned to it until after it became a stake. It was displayed victims of ethnic violence building the Church through local missionary efforts.
Another thing to keep in mind is populations. DR Congo has over 100 million people, Nigeria over 200 million. How many people actually live in the Caribbean?
That said, missionaries who are French as a second language speakers at best coming from DR Congo to Martinique are not going to be much less cultural outsiders than white Americans in Martinique.
In my mind a bigger question is where did theyvsend Elder Browning, Sister Browning's son, on his mission. In her recent devotional address she mentioned that her son is on a mission, but not where. Her parents are Jamaican and she was partly raised in Jamaica. Her husband is as white as the day is long (he did serve his mission in New York City, maybe even under Elder Rasband, so he has interacted with more people from the Caribbean than many Utahs, even before he met Sister Browning).
In fact considering how many Haitian members are in Boston, and there are also some in Florida and various Varibbean members in New York City, getting more of those groups to serve missions is probably more vital to growth in the Caribbean than having excess missionaries from DR Congo. Especially since Ethiopia has one small mission for a population of 100 million.
Tanzania's 1 mission for 65 million people only seems not that bad because 5 years ago thry were in the same mission as Kenya. The thing is there are still huge amounts of unreached populations there. The good thing is that many people in Lubumbashi and other cities in Eastern DR Congo speak Swahili, and even some in Kinshasa. We can reverse the flow of the slaving networks of the late 19th-century and send Swahili speaking missionaries from the interior back towards the east coast.
On my mission in Las Vegas almost 25 years ago I had a companion from France. His older brother had served his mission in Germany.
That said at one time the mission covering Guadaloupe had a president from Guadaloupe, he may be the only resident of that mission to have been president. He was later an area seventy. So there are Church members in Guadaloupe, just not as many as would be nice.
There used to be a Sister temple worker at the Detroit Temple from Dominica. She was from Canada. We have had at least 1 Haitian temple worker since the temple opened. The wife has been a temple worker the whole time, the husband not as long, he was the president of the Detroit District before it was merged back with the suburban stakes. Their son served a mission but was sent to the Valifornia Aracadia Mission. At least here in Detroit I would say if we could always have at least 1 black missionary in every area we would make more progress. Yet I understand why mission presidents do not know leave black missionaries in the city their whole mission. The member of the high council assigned to my branch is an African-American from the Maryland DC suburbs who I think was in Detroit his whole mission, but that was 30 years ago before the large academy exodus of African-Americans to the suburbs.
At least when African-Americans come to my branch there are lots of other African-Americans there. This is not as true in some suburban wards that now have sizeable African-American populations, so having a black missionary in Sterling Heights, Canton, Livonia or many other wards is just as vital and in some ways more key. Of course when as has happened at least once our black missionary is an Arabic speaker originally from South Sudan, sending him somewhere like Sterling Heights where there are far more Arabic speakers than in my branch boundaries makes sense. Most people of Arab descent in my branch are 5th or more generation Americans of Lenanese descent who know no more Arabic than most Irish Americans and know Gaelic.
The Caribbean is a place we have not seen the Church thrive as much as would be liked. The Dominican Republic getting a 2nd temple is a good move forward. I hope we see others.
Is there still an MTC in the Dominican Republic. Sister Allred and her husband Jeffrey were at one time leaders of that mission.
Sister Allred was on the young women general advisory council in the 1990s and was looked to as the expert on if the new personal progress manual being prepared would work on an international scale.
Of the three mayor language groups of the Caribbean, Spanish seems to be the biggest grower, with maybe English outdoing French. Papiamento and Dutch come in after those, not counting Patois from Jamaica.
In Africa (taking it as one whole, with multiple nations having more than all the 50 or so million of the Caribbean), French seems to be in the lead, followed by Portuguese, then either Swahili or English. There must be other major languages that are more regional or local, like the two big ones in Ethiopia, or Igbo and Yoruba and others in Nigeria.
Is there any indication that the Western languages of Africa (throwing in Arabic, too) are overtaking the local ones?
Like the decrease of American Indian languages in much of the Americas, are Africans losing their native tongues?
I wonder about Zulu and Xhosa in South Africa, or the native tongues in Botswana and Gabon.
Fascinating to see how and where the Church of Christ grows.
The Church website only lists 9 - Brazil (São Paulo), England (Chorley), Ghana (Accra), Mexico (Mexico City), New Zealand (Auckland), Peru (Lima), Philippines (Manila), South Africa (Roodepoort), and Provo. It seems that they are missing the ones in Kinshasa and Bangkok. It's been a year since the opening of the MTC in Bangkok, and the one in Kinshasa has been operating since August (roughly 5-6 months).
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/callings/missionary/missionary-training-centers?lang=eng
that lists the 9 versus the one that lists 11
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/topic/missionary-training-centers
It appears the MTC in the Dominican Republic closed in January 2019.
There are far more English speakers in Africa than Portuguese. Nigeria alone assures that. However language uses in Africa is complex. English has a place in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi but so do various local languages.
So there are probably 4 times as many people in Nigeria alone as in the Caribbean, and it is the Dominican Republic and Cuba that have the biggest populations in the Caribbean.
In Nigeria there are still many areas in the Middle Belt where the Church could easily grow at present but really has not yet.
I was referring to the biggest growers of the Church membership and baptismal rates as far as which languages are growing more, not sheer population. If Nigeria is primarily English-speaking, and not attributed to Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa, I suppose the English speaking rates of conversion may be higher than Portuguese.
That said, the Church of Jesus Christ is growing well in Angola, Mozambique, and Cape Verde. Not so much in Guinea-Bissau or Sao Tome and Principe, but lining up all the English-speaking countries, perhaps they are baptizing more and growing more units?
Ghana speaks English, as well their main Twi, as does Sierra Leone and Liberia, and of course South Africa, plus all the languages there, to include Afrikaans. It would be interesting to compare where more growth is happening. I think that Portuguese would be competitive with English in the continent.
Not sure if the stats exist, but I would like to see them.
French speaking South Pacific seems to be dynamic, especially Tahiti, but I think that the island of New Caledonia is also a factor.
Despite the woes of Haiti and disappointments in the Lesser Antilles, French is growing so well the last few years. Portuguese may be outperformed by English speakers in Africa, but it is great to see robust growth with both.
What are the biggest language growth rates in Europe? (Not sheer population, I am talking about converts joining.)
Question about the Farmington New Mexico Temple - I saw that they are replacing the monument sign panels that only showed the name of the Church without the name of the temple (the new panels have both). Looking at the construction photos, one dated the 2nd of November 2024 shows the monument sign with no paneling, followed up with a picture dated 11 November that shows the monument sign with the panels now being replaced. I don't understand why they would install panels that only last 2 and a half months? Were these panels just placeholders until they got the proper panels?
Most likely a construction mishap more than anything. I’m architect and stuff like this happens all the time (despite everyone’s best efforts). The panels may have been delivered and installed without the correct inscription and no one noticed until it was too late, or it’s possible the signage design accidentally left the name off in their contract documents.
I'm wondering if the paneling was intended for the meetinghouse? Most of the signs with the name of the Church I've seen also has "Visitors Welcome," though there's probably some without. Hopefully, it can be repurposed, I'd hate to imagine those panels going to waste.
I doubt they’ll go to waste. The removed panels can still be engraved with more details and used elsewhere assuming they were carefully removed and still intact.
Obviously I don’t know the full story here, but it still just seems like a construction mistake to me.
Something similar happened with the Provo City Center Temple -- the original paneling installed said "Provo Utah City Center Temple". It was replaced, but personally I've felt that every temple should have the state, province, territory, or country name identified in it. Only Salt Lake (and now Provo City Center) are the exceptions to that.
Northern Virginia Update. They created they Brambleton Stake, which looks to be centered in Ashburn. They renamed the old Stake the Leesburg Stake, which is deeper into Loudoun County, which is good.
The Loudoun Branch is in Sterling, which I think I may have mentioned. The Spring Lake Spanish Ward has moved out of the Reston/Herndon building going closer to DC, maybe 4-5 miles. Others can fill in more details, I probably have a few things confused, as we stole from the Gainesville Stake, which I will understand better with time.
Any missionaries in Russia right now? I cannot imagine there would be. Where would they go instead? Caucasus?
It's interesting that they made a third stake out of two stakes that had 9 and 10 units. Obviously the math works out, but I'm keeping an eye on a few areas that seem to be in need of splits and/or buildings more urgently. A few examples:
The Bentonville Arkansas Stake has 13 wards, the next door Rogers Arkansas Stake has 10 wards and 2 branches; the next stake south Springdale Arkansas has 10 wards and 1 branch. Four chapels in this area serve 5 units each, which makes me wonder if they're holding off splitting any wards because a 6-unit chapel is just rarely approved. (Does any normal church building serve 6 wards right now?) Creating one stake only or building just one new building would seem inadequate for the growth, especially in the Bentonville/Centerton area. It'll be interesting to see if they do it one stake at a time or a 3 stake --> 5 stake/3-->6 split.
(Interesting point: Some of the Centerton wards have the smallest boundaries I've seen East of Utah; I wonder if NW Arkansas will slowly become a mini-center of strength the way we think of Arizona, Idaho, or even Henderson NV as a center of strength.)
Likewise, the Far West Missouri Stake has 13 wards and 2 branches, and the Liberty Missouri stake, 12 wards, 1 branch, and the Independence Missouri Stake, 10 wards, 1 branch. The stakes combined have more buildings than NW Arkansas does and meetinghouse locator has one new chapel listed without wards meeting in it, but it still raises questions about whether they'll carve out a Far West South (or Kearney) Stake and split the three into 4, or whether two new stakes are in the works.
Finally-- and this is an accident of Utah being a higher proportion LDS and lots of new homes-- the Eagle Mountain Utah West Stake has 9 wards, but 3 of the wards travel to Cedar Fort (a rural community with 1-2 units naturally) because they only have one building assigned to that stake. Maybe here too, more units and then more stakes will come as the number of buildings catches up to the number of homes.
I see on another thread some of the wards in Arkansas just split last year, so my speculation that one or more wards needs yet to be split may be off.
There are some major changes coming the Kansas City metro area. Expect at least two stakes to be created this year — I say *at least* two stakes because, as you observed, there are multiple stakes on the North and East sides of Kansas City with many units. There are enough units and members to create two additional stakes. Additional realignments occurred today, such as the Grain Valley Ward being moved from the Warrensburg stake to the Kansas City stake (headquartered in Lee’s Summit). However, the Olathe Kansas Stake also has 12 wards and 2 branches. It is expected that it has enough membership to split on its own (it recently took a couple of wards from the Lenexa stake), with the new stake likely HQ’d in Overland Park (there are 3 wards with OP in the name).
Here are the current units/stakes in the KC area:
Far West: 15 units — 12 wards, 1 YSA ward, 1 Spanish branch, 1 Tongan branch
Independence: 11 units — 8 wards, 1 YSA ward, 1 Spanish ward, 1 branch
Kansas City: 10 units — 10 wards
Liberty: 13 units — 11 wards, 1 YSA ward, 1 Spanish branch
Platte City: 10 units — 9 wards, 1 branch
Lenexa: 8 units — 6 wards, 1 YSA ward, 1 Spanish ward
Olathe: 14 units — 12 wards, 1 Spanish branch, 1 branch
Warrensburg: 9 units — 5 wards, 4 branches
As you noted, the two stakes likely to split are Liberty and Far West. Each could split on its own, creating the Liberty North/South stake and the Far West South/Kearney stake. There are enough units in the surrounding stakes to give up one or two.
Expect to start 2026 with 10-11 stakes in the Missouri Independence Coordinating Council:
Far West
Far West South/Kearney*
Independence
Kansas City
Lenexa
Liberty
Liberty North/South/Gladstone*
Olathe
Overland Park*
Platte City
Warrensburg
I believe the next temple in Missouri will be announced as the Columbia Missouri Temple. If that’s the case, I could see Warrensburg being renamed as the Sedalia Missouri Stake (the church owns land for a new building out there near the high school and performing arts center), and then could join the Columbia, Chariton River, snd St Roberts stakes in a new temple district, coordinating council, and mission.
Is there any resource that gives a breakdown on "specialty" units in the US (language/age based/correctional/care facility) or is there a way to get that data without a lot of manual work? I'm trying to get an idea of all the different languages that have branches/wards in the US.
Wow, thanks!
You’re welcome!
I’ll also add some additional, albeit unsolicited, insight regarding the South.
I’m anticipating that northern Mississippi and northern Alabama are going to see some boundaries adjusted later this year. Specifically, the much-anticipated state-line split in the Tupelo Mississippi Stake. This will keep all of the Mississippi units the Tupelo stake, and probably add a few more (Oxford, Senatobia, Holly Springs) from the Memphis stake. Meanwhile, all of the NW Alabama units in Tupelo will form a new stake, pulling from the greater Huntsville area (Decatur, Athens) and possibly even southern Tennessee (Lawrenceburg). This will add another stake to the Huntsville temple district, and the Huntsville and Madison stakes will probably form a 3rd stake in the area by the time the temple is dedicated. This would put 4 stakes in the Huntsville temple district, potentially up to 7 depending on if parts or all of Tupelo, Gadsden, and/or Chattanooga are added to the temple district. And although it wasn’t announced on Newsroom, the Huntsville Temple will most likely have a new stake center built on the property as well as a distribution center. It is possible a mission office is built into the new stake center for the creation of an eventual Alabama Huntsville Mission, which would include the 4-7 stakes mentioned above.
I believe the next temple to be announced for that region is either Hattiesburg (most likely) or Tupelo/Smithville/Mormon Springs (less likely, but not impossible).
In Arkansas the new Centerton stake center is likely set to open later this year. The church is in the process of purchasing two more spots for buildings in the Rogers Stake. One they've already closed on near the pinnacle area of Rogers, they are also doing due diligence on a site in Pea Ridge. Some think that they will demote the current Rogers stake center to a regular building and use the pinnacle one as the new Rogers Stake Center. Good chance Pea Ridge could also house a stake center, could grab the more northern Rogers wards and Bella Vista.
Thanks, #Anonymous. That is great news all around for both Stake and Mission growth in that area. I for one truly appreciate the update. And will try to keep an eye on the area as things progress naturally.
I wonder the same about Russia. If there are missionaries, (I heard somewhere that they call them "volunteers" in Russia.) They might currently only call Russian citizens. Maybe they call those not eligible for military service or have completed their military obligations. Perhaps the "volunteers" are only service missionaries. Anyone able to verify this?
At a stake conference I attended today, Elder Jackson, who currently serves as Assistant Executive Director in the missionary department, stated that there were over 300k baptisms in 2024. Assuming this is correct (there is always the possibility of final numbers being revised until they go through whatever process is used to review them and ensure they are correct), this is higher than I think many people were expecting. He also mentioned that the highest baptizing mission per missionary on earth last year was the Pakistan mission, with about 55 baptisms per missionary, which is truly amazing (both the number, and that Pakistan of all places leads the world in that metric).
--Felix
The growth in the Kansas City Metro area has been tremendous. Just this last year 8 wards and 1 branch were created in the 8 stakes in the Kansas City area. Last year in my stake (Independence Missouri Stake), the YSA branch was upgraded to a ward in March and then a new ward was created in June. My ward in Blue Springs was quite large before the boundary realignments, and some members were moved to other units in the stake when the new ward was created in June. Since my ward split, we have continued to see a lot of new families move in from the western United States from places like Utah, Idaho, California, etc. Now we fill about half of the cultural hall in sacrament meeting. Our stake has also seen a lot of baptisms in the past couple of years. A lot more than we have seen in previous years. I think that another ward could easily be created in Blue Springs from my ward and possibly another ward could be created from the two other wards in Blue Springs (these wards are in the Kansas City Stake). These wards seem to be fairly large as well. With the Independence Stake having 10 wards and 1 branch and the Kansas City Stake with 10 wards, plus possible additional wards in the area, I think that a new stake in Blue Springs or Lees Summit is also likely to be created in the foreseeable future.
Excellent to see the work progressing at such a rate. When was the last time the church had more than 300k baptisms in a year? It's been quite a while I believe. Pakistan has actually led in that metric for a couple years now, according to reports I've heard, but still shocking nonetheless. 55 baptisms per missionary is tremendous. How many missionaries are serving in Pakistan? Even if only 10 or 15 missionaries were serving, this would still mean that Pakistan baptized more total people than many missions in the United States (which often baptize 400-600 people), despite these missions often having 150-200 missionaries.
One more thing that I want mention about the growth in the Kansas City area, I noticed recently on the meetinghouse locator maps on the church’s website that 7 chapels were added to the maps without any units assigned to them, so I imagine that several new buildings are going to be built in the Kansas City area in the next few years.
To reply to my own comment, as far as I can tell, the last time more than 300k souls were baptized in one year was 1999, when 306k were baptized. 2014 did come close however, with 296k baptized.
What is driving such growth in Kansas City? I was shocked at the number of wards and stakes in that area. It is driven by families moving in due to affordability issues in California, Utah, and Arizona? Are there major employers who are recruiting heavily from BYU? I don’t know how accurate this is, but I’ve been told a lot of the growth in NW Arkansas was originally started by WalMart hiring a lot of BYU graduates. Is that accurate? Regardless, exciting news!
I'm almost more excited about NW Arkansas, frankly. I think (rightly or not), the KC growth could be dismissed as applying the Tenth Article of Faith prematurely; Having a 'center of strength' (for lack of a better term) in NW Arkansas, just three or four hours from Kansas City, will be a strength to the church, regardless of the timing of the prophecy I allude to being fulfilled.
There's an elder from Pakistan serving in my ward right now, and I was really surprised to hear how robust the Church's growth there has been. He's a 2nd generation member from a strong member family. I imagine there are sociopolitical concerns that the Brethren have to be aware of, but it seems like a stake or perhaps multiple stakes could be in the cards very soon there.
A family from my branch here in Detroit moved to the Independence Stake last year. This was because the husband got a job with an engineering firm there. Employment is a big driver of most migration.
In Pakistan I believe The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints only teaches the gospel to nom-Muslims. Pakistan has about 150 million people. Despite the tens of millions of people who moved in the Population exchange at the time of partition there are still large numbers of non-Muslims in Pakistan.
Actually I was way off. Pakistan has 241 million people. Nigeria has 223 million people.
There are over 3 million Christians and over 5 million Hindus in Pakistan. So over 8 million non-Muslims.
The 2025 Seminar for new MTC leaders was held on Friday. The Church News published two articles about that:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/01/27/elder-quentin-l-cook-seminar-new-mtc-leaders-objectives-emphasis/
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/01/27/2025-seminar-new-mtc-leaders-presenters-topics/
Those articles state there are 7 current Assistant Executive Directors of the Missionary Department, but the only one identified by name was Elder Jorg Klebingat. I wonder who the other 6 are.
No major temple construction announcments were made today during the 2:00 PM MST hour. Hopefully something is announced tomorrow or next Monday. My thanks once again to you all.
Aside from Elder Klebingat, I forgot that Elder Jackson was also an Assistant Executive Director for the Missionary Department. So that leaves 5 who were not identified by name.
I'm from Arkansas, but not NWA. However, I'm familiar with NW Arkansas as I'm the chief engineer for a state agency. Growth in NW Arkansas is Walmart, Tyson, JB Hunt and several other affiliated companies and has caused it to be one of the fastest growing metros in the nation. Walmart isn't afraid of hiring members as I know a few of their executives are members. Tyson employs a number of Marshallese (there's a consulate in Springdale because of that) which explains the number of Marshallese members. It's sometimes known as the "Springdale Atoll". There's a high rate of economic growth, low cost of living (although high for Arkansas), just makes it attractive to draw people in. NW Arkansas is also known as the mountain bike capital of the world.
Remote workers working out of state and previously living out of state can receive $10,000 and a free mountain bike from the NWA council if they move there.
In my above post, I've explained general population growth. For member growth, for decades it has had the only full time institute in the state and now the only temple. This draws a number of young adults from other parts of the state to NWA.
Speaking of Pakistan, I believe that they supplanted Brazil as number five in the world in overall population. Huge growth rates.
As far as bad ethnic violence and threats, it usually Shia Muslims who pay the highest price from the Sunni extremists. I have heard and seen that same sex or homosexuals are under constant threat of violence, so that becomes a reason for those seeking asylum elsewhere.
There has to be a few million Afghans in Pakistan, as usually life in Pakistan is a better option than much of what happens across the border. Half the Pashtun population live on the Paki side. Half of Afghanistan is Pashtun, who are the main supporters of the Taliban.
Pakistan also has the huge portion of Baluchistan, over half of which is in Iran. The Baluchis resent Sindhi or Punjabi or Pakistani federal control, and will fight and protest against the majority who rule the country. They want independence and sovereignty from Lahore and Islamabad.
Then there are the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the NW and Northern Provinces, plus Kashmir. Complicated nation, or nations composing one country.
I had no idea the Church was growing so much there!
Sounds like more than India, to me.
I hope all the members can stay safe and prosper. May the Lord continue to bless them.
Great stuff about Northwest Arkansas and Kansas City.
California's losses turn into other peoples' gains. Meanwhile, despite the consolidations and unit losses in the Golden State, they are building those new temples. Which indicates a good degree of permanence.
Both the new Brambleton Virginia Stake (2285614), and the name change of the old Ashburn Virginia Stake (523259) to Leesburg Virginia Stake (523259) have been updated on the meetinghouse website.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2285614
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/523259
Open House and Dedication announced for the new Syracuse Utah Temple.
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/open-house-and-dedication-announced-for-syracuse-utah-temple
On January 26th, the Santa Maria Oeste Brasil stake was created
Great News. Thanks, Luciano.
The "São Gabriel Brazil District (379298)" has become the above mentioned "Santa Maria Brazil West Stake (379298)"
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/379298
Also, a little piece of history of the Stake above mentioned.
Which includes the Rosario do Sul Branch.
The old Rosario do Sul Brazil Stake (#2031 in church Almanac), was organized March 5th, 1995, and discontinued November 4th, 2001. becoming the São Gabriel Brazil District since that date until now.
Church News article about the creation of the new stake in Tanzania:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2025/01/28/tanzania-central-africa-first-stake-created/
From the article:
"The stake comprises five wards: the Ubungo, Mbezi Beach, Kinondoni, Oysterbay and Tabata ward; and five branches: the Bunju, Tegeta, Salasala, Segerea and Kimara branches."
Here in Detroit people regularly refer to the wife of a pastor as the "first lady" of the Church.
I first decided to start calling the temple matron and her assistants as the matroncy. This would make some things a lot easier to explain. Then we could just say "such needs to be done by a member of the Presidency or matroncy".
This lead me to realize we still do not have a good word for the wife/companion of a mission president. Calling them collectively mission leaders does help.
In some ways I like the idea of referring to the First Lady of the mission. On the other hand the roles of the two mission leaders are more balanced than most cases where you have a president and a first Lady. So it might be a misleading term.
While we are on first ladies, a few weeks ago I realized both The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and BYU have a first Lady named Wendy.
It looks like the South Riding Ward was discontinued. Not sure if it was related to the new Stake creation. Also, the Wolf Trap YSA Ward was discontinued as well.
This gives us an important clue: the consolidation of units around Santa Maria in favor of the hub city is an increasingly clear indication that this city is being prepared to receive a temple. This makes Santa Maria the smallest city in Brazil to receive a temple so far, with around 280,000 people. It will also be the fifth non-capital to have a temple, after Campinas, Ribeirão Preto, Santos and Londrina.
I'm not exactly one to feel a strong need to give women special titles (my opinion can change), however, I did find it very odd when the Church did away with the names of the Young Women's classes. I don't know specifically know why it happened, but I feel the most likely issue was the term "mia maid." It could go either way - the issue with "mia" is that it's a dated term from long before I was born, alternately, "maid" might have been seen as problematic for some. There's nothing wrong with "beehive" or "laurel," and I don't know why they couldn't have just found a name that bridges the two (I have no ideas aside from something that deals with pollination)? Now, instead of "Laurel President," it's "Young Women 16-18 Class President," which sounds extremely generic. It can't be seen in the same regard as the young men, because those are offices in the Aaronic Priesthood. I just don't know.
The biggest reason for doing away with names is that they allowed for young women's classes to be structured as needed. My branch only has 1. I have siblings in wards with 2.
The thing with the woman mission leader is that she has a position, we just have less than ideal ways to describe it.
With the mateoncy it exists just as much as the Presidency. We even have wordings that refer to it. We just are not using the word.
No man's opinion is worth a straw. Follow the Brethren.
I don't believe a special title like "matroncy" is needed for the matron and her two assistants. The same is true for the companion of a mission president. I have heard a few Church references to the companion of a mission president as a "mission mother", and in many ways, the roles of mission presidents and their wives are somewhat familiar by nature, so that Church reference should be sufficient for our purposes here. But I agree with Anonymous above. Our individual opinions aren't relevant, What is relevant is that we follow the Brethren in all things.
Episode 144 of the Church News Podcast is a great interview from Pres. Bonnie H. Cordon. When asked why the Young Women class names were discontinued, she responded, "They were endearing, weren’t they? And for that season, so needed. But since we are a worldwide Church, they did not translate very well. You know, in Brazil, a Mia Maid, they did not know how to translate Mia Maid, so it just became “Girl Girl.” In Russian, they became Constellations. And so, the challenge of translation was hard. Plus, we realized that our Young Women classes are not always in three buckets. So the opportunity for them to structure their young women in each unit, according to what they need, has also been helpful. So for this season, those special names for three buckets have kind of been put on pause, and they are known as young women. So, someone who is 11 and someone who is 18 can come together unified as young women, similar to what we do in Relief Society."
Can someone give me a little commentary on what all is included at the Hyde Park Chapel?
What I know: basement parking, visitor's center, 1 chapel.
Are there offices? Are there any mission office functions? Is there a stage in the gym?
Lynn McKinlay Brätt and Elizabeth Ann Prestwich Brätt, have been called to preside over the new Lindon Utah Temple.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/01/30/8-temple-presidents-and-matrons-nauvoo-nigeria/
There are 8 new temple presidents and matrons with biographies published today. All of them come from the district of the temple they are assigned to. For example the new leaders of the Nauvoo Temple are from the Macomb Ward in the Nauvoo Stake, and were both born in Illinois. To be fair the husband was born at Great Lakes Naval Station. His father was probably in the navy, I am guessing an instructor there, not a new recruit. The family may have moved several other places in his youth. The wife was born in Galesburg, which I believe is north of Nauvoo quite some ways.
On the other hand the Monterrey Mexico Temple leaders not only currently reside in Monterrey they were both born in that city. In fact the Lindon Temple Matron bring born in Provo is one of the few not born in at least an adjacent temple district (Orem Temple district sits between Lindon and either Provo Temple disteict). The new Aba Temple president comes from Aba but was born elsewhere in Nigeria, I did not look it up since Nigeria is all one gigantic temple district fir now, it may either have the most stakes or be second only to Manila, but at about 12,000 Square feet I think is at the most stakes per square foot of any temple.
I am hoping we have the president and matron for Harare Temple, Alabang Temple and Neiafu Temple, and maybe some others, announced soon.
Sincere and non-aligned question (can you believe it): due to the growing persecution of immigrants perpetrated by the new government, is it possible that this will be reflected in the drop in attendance at ethnic units this year?
I wouldn't call that ‘persecution’ coming from a husband of a legal immigrant who through the correct process to become a citizen.
Article of faith #12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
As far as the drop in attendance i think it would be negligible in the us.
I haven't been reading much lately on the Mormonshrivel reditor blog. Nut jsut founf this bit of infor from the Sacramento California area. More specifically with the Antelope California Stake down to 3 wards. It was reported by their Stake President recently planned to be consolidated on Feb 23rd this year. Any comments or thoughts?
https://www.reddit.com/r/MormonShrivel/comments/1iapip0/antelope_california_stake_officially_on_life/
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/519006
It would be interesting to see where they end up. It would make sense for those 3 remaining wards to merge with the Citrus Heights California Stake, which currently shows 5 wards. Adding them would make it 8 wards. Another possibility is the Roseville California Stake, but that stake already has 9 wards. 2 of the wards do meet in Antelope, but it would make for some strange boundaries for those 2 to join Antelope to make it 5 wards.
Alternatively, the 3 remaining wards could go to the Sacramento California North Stake, which borders the Antelope California Stake to the south. The proper boundaries of these 3 wards aren't on the website yet, because there shows places with no assigned ward at all, when obviously, one of the realigned wards covers these areas. There could also be just a clear split with the Dry Creek Ward going to Sacramento North, with the other 2 going to Citrus Heights.
And here is another about the possible merger of 3 stakes into 2 in the Brea/Placentia California area. Although in the comments, they might be referring to the merger of the Placentia Stake a few years ago to become part of the Brea California Stake.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MormonShrivel/comments/1i8qzo3/shrinkage_in_placentia_north_oc_ca/
Sorry, Correcting my typo above. "Chris D.
Yes, Ryan, it seems from the comments on that Reditor blog. The Commenter that stated the Feb 23rd date as merger, also stated that they were members of the Citrus Heights CA Stake. But again, unclear if they will get all 3 wards or in combination with the Sacramento CA North Stake, as you mentioned above.
January 30, 2025 at 7:06 PM"
Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
Given that birthright citizenship is the constitutional law in the US, some of the "enforcement" being discussed should be seen as illegal persecution.
Even though we do strive to honor the law of every land we live in, Latter-day Saint perspectives on many laws have not aligned with those of the federal government. (The Edmunds Tucker act a clear example). I believe that Republicans would do well to remember Ronald Reagan's perspective on Hispanic immigrants.
To answer Daniel's question: it is definitley plausible that U.S. government policies effect immigrants units, especially Spanish speaking ones. I was on my mission during the first Trump presidency and many people noted that Spanish units in the US were baptizing less than previously due to less people crossing the border (even though the Obama administration was also very deportation happy- at least they didn't target churches).
Many trainings from GA 70s noted in this immigration the fulfillment of Isaiah 2 prophecies: did the church give any care to immigration status of those we were baptizing? Not in the slightest.
^^-con mucho amor, Hank
Maybe, maybe not. I cant say for here because I'm not around any ethnic wards, but do know when I lived in New Orleans, the 2nd Ward (Spanish) did have a number of undocumented migrants.
Getting here legally can be a challenging process. My neighbor's daughter just got here Tuesday after being separated from her family for 3 years because her visa application got left off the first time around. They all came legally.
Another potential impact is discouraging some from applying to come here, even legally.
One final potential impact is for church growth outside the US if perception becomes too negative. The church is perceived as a US based church by many outside the US, making US doctrine by political leaders being perceived as automatically sanctioned by the church. The church has a hard time flourishing in countries with negative relations with the US.
I believe in birthright citizenship too per the constitution Hank.
https://www.ksl.com/article/51241691/love-law-and-family-unity-church-of-jesus-christ-issues-immigration-statement
The church said the guidance "closely follows" prior church statements and identified three principles:
"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints obeys the law.
We follow Jesus Christ by loving our neighbors. The Savior taught that the meaning of 'neighbor' includes all of God's children.
We seek to provide basic food and clothing, as our capacity allows, to those in need, regardless of their immigration status. We are especially concerned about keeping families together."
The church statement said its Office of General Counsel has crafted guidelines "to help local leaders comply with federal laws that criminalize harboring, transporting or encouraging undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States. OGC also carefully tracks legal developments to ensure local outreach and area-initiated humanitarian activities are appropriate," the statement reads.
Read into and interpret that as you may from the church.
I agree if legal immigrants are deported then that is not acceptable. We will see if these “discussions” or rumors bear out. I hope not.
I'm rather impressed to remember Elder Gary E Stevenson's talk from April 2024 - Bridging the Two Great Commandments. I've always tried to be careful to ensure that my political leanings are aligned with what the Church teaches, and I feel that Elder Stevenson's talk beautifully summarizes how to do it.
"Some are so focused on keeping the commandments that they show little tolerance of those they see as less righteous. Some find it difficult to love those who are choosing to live their lives outside of the covenant or even away from any religious participation.
Alternatively, there are those who emphasize the importance of loving others without acknowledgment that we are all accountable to God. Some refuse entirely the notion that there is such a thing as absolute truth or right and wrong and believe that the only thing required of us is complete tolerance and acceptance of the choices of others. Either of these imbalances could cause your spiritual bridge to tip or even fall."
I'm trying to put the quote in italics, so we'll see if it works.
Other Matt here.
More Southern California growth to report.
Del Mar Stake in San Diego area has organized a Mandarin speaking Group. It's on its on its third week meeting with their own Sacrament Meeting. The goal is to become a branch soon. Meets at the Stake Center with 2 English Wards and a Farsi speaking Branch.
Placentia Stake was dissolved 2 years ago with parts of it going to Yorba Linda Stake (formerly called Anaheim East Stake) , then the rest going to the Fullerton Stake (which was renamed the Brea Stake).
Other Matt here.
My Sacramento friends tell me the remaining wards in the Antelope Stake transferring over to the Citrus Heights Stake.
The next group of 16 New Mission Leaders biographies was posted today on the Church News website.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/01/31/new-mission-presidents-and-companions-angola-to-australia/
I would say that it is much too early to say for sure how immigration policies will effect non-English language units. Many of the members of the Arabic group in my stake were born in the US, and many of the others have permanent residence.
The nature of immigration has somewhat changed. Most immigrants to the US from Mexico in the last 10 years have come through documented channels. Not only are many members of Soanish-language units US born, a certain percentage have last names like Johnson because of the high tendency of families to attend church units based on the native language of the mother, regardless of the native language of the father.
The other thing to keep in mind is that the planned numbers of deportations, which may or may not be reached, are far lower than the actual number of undocumented immigrants that is estimated to exist.
I really would like to see a process like we had in the 1970s where thry offer people who have been here a long time and lived stable lives a way to get legalized status. I think such a compromise is possible. I worry at present that political compromise is not a highly valued thing, but we will see.
One think that I find interesting is last year when the first Spanish-language stake was formed in Utah thry said 2 more would be created quickly. They created one only in Provo, not even including Springville or Orem, which a little surprised me that it could just be Provo. Not super lot, over 20 years ago at BYU I had a friend from Peru who had joined the ch6rch after moving to the area of Provo along Center Street, and I did attend the Spanish-language ward (or was it then a branch, I do not remember) in the Provo east stake once or twice.
Do they have a Spanish-language YSA ward in Provo? Is it assigned to a YSA stake or the Spanish-language stake?
So I am wondering when we will see a 3rd Spanish-language stake in Utah?
We have another 16 sets of new mission leaders announced.
The first is a couple from the Houston area, both born in the Phoenix area heading to the Charleston West Virginia mission. The husband served his mission in North Carolina the wife in Mexico City. The wife is an English-connect teacher. I do not think of Charleston as having many Latinos or non-English speakers, but it does have at least some.
The second couple us called from Lagos to lead the Enugu mission, which is one of the missions that has seen a lot of growth. The husband is from Abia state originally,much closer to the Enugu mission area than Lagos. The wife was avmctually born in a state within Enugu mission boundaries.
Well Sister Chibungu was born in Ebonyi Stake. It is next to Enugu State. I am not sure how exactly mission boundaries go. So it might not be in Enugu mission. It also borders Abia state.
JPL, This link may help with regard to the Mission Map of the Enugu Mission.
https://missioncall.app/worldmap.html?destination=details&missionId=nigeria-enugu
So this week there are 2 Mexican, 2 Australian, 1 Malaysian, 1 Guatemalan, 1 Nigerian and 1 couple resident in Northerm Ireland, with the remaining 8 resident in the US. However 1 couple from the US was born in Korea amd attend a Korwan language unit, another are born in Venezuela. 1 of the Australian resident couples was both born in New Zealand. The youngest is 47 and the oldest I believe 65.
The Malasian couple will be leasing the Singapore Mission which is where thry live..
I am surprised they are calling Americans to lead a mission in Venezuela. Even though they are Venezuelan-born.
1 of the Mexican couples will lead the McAllen Texas Mission. All other nom-Wmerican couples are leading a mission in the country they reside in or the country thry were born in.
I believe cumulatively Mexico is second to the US so far. We have seen 3 mission leader couples called from there this year, 2 from Brazil, 2 from Australia, and of those published I believe no other country exceeds 1.
As for splits/consolidations, you're right that it will take years, but it will be hard to pinpoint how much of an impact it has as there's so many variables that goes into growth. Non-Caucasians/non-Asians have higher birthrates which can cause increase due to natural growth.
International relations between countries also plays a factor in how well members in a particular country are treated. Even though the church tries to distance itself from US politics, the perception issue outside the US is that under first impression it is a US based religion.
The current president isn't afraid to make offence. Depending on how other countries take it, this could impact the treatment of members outside the US, by their neighbors and/or government leaders. It could be a hurdle or less of an incentive for investigators. Effects of bad perception can linger for decades. However, those that stay/join in spite of persecution tend to be stronger members in the end.
Yep, the England London Mission offices occupy the fourth floor and I believe there is also a small studio where they can do area broadcasts. The other floors are stake and ward offices and classrooms. There is a full-sized gym with a stage and a large industrial-style kitchen (though the oven setup is terrible). There is a small theater room on the ground floor that the visitors' center missionaries mostly use for their presentations, and there are also some mission-related offices attached to it.
The Hyde Park building is an incredibly effective missionary tool--we've had multiple baptisms just in the few months I've been here because people stopped by and were curious. It's in the primest of prime locations in London, sandwiched between Hyde Park and the Victoria & Albert Museum. I will say, though, it's terribly overused. Three wards (one a YSA) share it in addition to the mission and the London Institute, and the demand on it for activities is getting overwhelming. It wouldn't surprise me if changes to its usage are made soon.
According to the Meetinghouse locator there are at least 3 YSA Spanish wards in Provo and at least 1 YSA Spanish ward in Orem, Utah.
Provo YSA 30th Ward (Spanish) - Provo Utah YSA 22nd Stake
Provo YSA 71st Ward (Spanish) - Provo Utah YSA 22nd Stake
Provo YSA 75th Ward (Spanish) - Provo Utah YSA 22nd Stake
Orem YSA 46th Ward (Spanish) - Orem Utah YSA 4th Stake
I found by using the Language dropdown menu below the search bar and select "Spanish" and the "All Wards" dropdown menu to select "Young Single Adult 18-35" for this type of search and zoomed into the Orem/Provo Utah Metro area on the map to narrow the search. It only lists the nearest 4 in the area. There could be more but not sure.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/2240386
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/420344
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/2138360
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/2201755
Are all 3 of the YSA Spanish wards in Provo in the same stake because most YSAs who choose to attend a YSA ward that functions in Spanish in the same part of the city, or have the made that YSA stake effectively cover all Provo for Spanish-speakers? It would not shock me if the later is true, but that it is true because a large portion of Spanish-speaking YSAs who choose to go to a YSA unit live in that part of the city anyway, so it just makes sense to put them all in one stake because it would be hard to draw them not at all in that stake.
On the whole I think it makes sense to place YSA units in a YSA stake not in a language stake. I believe this is also done with Tongan and other language specific YSA units.
I know there have at times also been Spanish YSA units in California.
For various reasons there are still few YSA units outside the US and Canada. However the Church has recently crested YSA gathering places in some locations in Mexico.
I was always curious about the relative dearth of YSA units outside of the US until I moved to London. There is an astonishing amount of pressure on YSAs here *not* to attend the YSA ward, but to instead incorporate into their family wards. The family wards are just struggling so badly here, while the YSA is booming.
Other Matt here...
Why are family wards in the UK are "struggling so badly"? My interaction with UK Singles with they comment how the wards in UK (family or single) have a lot of drama, complaining, interpersonal issues, people being easily offended, or feeling their needs aren't being met.
I wonder if greater attention was made to changing the church culture in the UK with more healthier group dynamics, healthier communication styles, more outlets for people to better process feelings and emotions, that people would be more willing to stay active in church, and be able to help strengthen these wards.
Central Germany was supposed to get a combined YSA ward for the Frankfurt and Friedrichsdorf stakes. Rumor has it that it was already approved by the First Presidency and then one of the stake presidents decided to pull the plug. Which I find really sad. With the exception of perhaps Langen and Hanau and the Offenbach and Michelstadt branches, all the wards in the Frankfurt metro easily would still meet the minimum ward requirements under the new standard if the YSA were pulled out. Attendance across the metro wards is currently averaging around 200, from Hanau and Langen on the low end at about 100 to Frankfurt 2 at around 600, making it probably the largest non-military unit in Europe (the Ramstein wards may be about that same size by now but that is somewhat hard to gauge from the civilian side).
I live in Ogden Utah. I am one of those who hasn’t been able to go to church for a couple of years and I’m sure I’m considered less active on the church rules. I have to work two jobs because of an investment that went bad and I was cheated out of a whole lot of money and I’ve got to make it back to pay bills. Even though I don’t go to church and I’m considered less, it does not mean that my heart still with the church and with the Lord. In fact, during this tough time I have had to rely on the Lord more than ever in my life and I have learned so much through dreams at night that just strengthen my faith and my conviction to the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints.
My boss today who was a chainsmokers and probably has not stepped foot in a church in decades was laughing and talking with somebody today about how he is a “Mormon“. And he’s a good guy he really is, but I wonder how many other people out there like that… Members name only?
The point of this comment is simply this… Conversion is not an event. It’s a process, and throughout my 68+ years of life, living in many places, I have learned that there are a lot of people who deep down, still know the churches true and yet have stopped going to church. Sometimes they don’t know how to return to church because they been offended. Other times their personal beliefs don’t concur with what the church teaches and so that becomes a problem, but then again that is part of the process of conversion is growing grace by grace until we see in line and our one with the savior and with our heavenly father and with the Holy Ghost.
For the above reasons, I love coming to this site and reading all of your opinions and your information. I am personally convinced that the temple is the only place on earth where members of the church can a refuge from the storms of evil which are around us everywhere right now. That refuge inside the temple, help us who are able to attend come out with the strength to keep fighting. Believe me, I miss attending the temple and I really look forward to the day when I am able to have everything under my feet to where I can go back to church into the temple for truly, it is the house of the Lord and the only place on earth , or the greatest of all the blessings of the Lord revealed to us. Reveal some of the personal experiences I had inside the temple blowing, but they’re real, and I never can forget them. And anytime I start to waver whatsoever in my testimony, the Holy Ghost reminds me of the experience as I had in the temple so that I can’t let go, but just keep fighting the best I can and improving day by day. Hopefully that’s what’s happening with everyone throughout the world and the church is it we improve day by day to where we can come back into the light that we seek or that we once had. Sorry about the rambling but thank you for your support on site and your thoughts and your prayers .
Stay strong, brother! We will all be brought into the fold with true faith in Christ, faith in repentance, and repentance and good works.
I wanted to write a blog post about Shechem and Shiloh, how Ephraim took the leadership of ancient Israel while others maybe were shaky.
This happens everywhere, throughout history. We lean on others for strength, and the stakes have to be put in different parts of the tent.
Africa is strong and weak at the same time.
We need more economics, but we also need members of conviction. All of it. Prosperous living and effort and love and faith.
I hope you get your bills paid in Ogden.
Take care.
Pakistan is growing a lot. Wow.
Turkey is doing okay.
Thanks for your comment friend, I sincerely hope you are able to get to a more stable financial position and be able to return to being a more active member of the Church. Your testimony is inspiring and clearly heartfelt.
Your story reminds me of many people who I met while serving my mission in Bolivia. I met hundreds of less active and inactive members, but only occasionally would I met one who wasn't a believer in the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. The large majority, even if they hadn't attended Church in years, would always welcome the missionaries with open arms. They would ask us to read or tell them stories of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father from the Book of Mormon and from the Bible. They would share with us their hopes that they would make it to the Celestial Kingdom one day, or simply make it to the temple to be sealed with their families. I think it's a good reminder that among the millions of inactive members within the Church, many (I would even wager most, especially for those in non-western countries) of them remain believers in the Gospel, and for a myriad of reasons simply struggle to attend Church in a way that is recognized as "active". It's up to us all to reach out to those brothers and sisters, for truly the Kingdom of God here on Earth is stronger with them.
@Pascal Friedmann - The Frankfurt 2nd ward has 600 active members? Why hasn't it been split yet? I would wager there are a few of the smaller stakes in the world that don't even have that many active members.
This is an excellent question. I don't have an exact answer but there are some considerations:
1) Frankfurt 2 was actually split, albeit very unevenly, to help create Friedrichsdorf 2 a little over a year ago.
2) Frankfurt 2 still takes in English-speaking members from both the Friedrichsdorf and Frankfurt stakes. It would make the most sense to split along stake boundaries, but Friedrichsdorf doesn't really have an adequate building that could host another ward. Frankfurt could put a third ward into its stake center or into Offenbach or Darmstadt (which each have large buildings) but that would be quite a ways from where most of these members live.
3) The propensity to split wards under the current Frankfurt stake leadership is simply very, very low. There really should be a second ward in Darmstadt as well (or at least a Spanish branch), but there is just very little interest to make it happen as this would stretch leadership.
But I concur, I have been to smaller stake conferences than the Frankfurt 2 sacrament meeting I attended last fall. It's outrageously crammed. It could probably be split three-ways and still function very well.
Matt,
That's a complicated question, and I think there are a couple of components. First is that there is more outflow than inflow in the Church in London--it tends to be quite transient. The UK is not a country where religiosity is a cultural norm, so much of the growth via conversion tends to be immigrants or visitors, many of whom eventually leave the UK. New move-ins tend to be Americans who stay for a short time and then leave. Also, retention of new converts is disastrously poor, as bad as anywhere I've ever seen.
Another component is that the Church is getting old here, quite literally. Even among active members, birthrates are not at replacement level and haven't been for some time. So wards are getting increasingly top-heavy in age with fewer and fewer kids and youth coming up to take the place of those who are dying.
I know there are other parts of the UK that are doing much better, but those are my observations from the London metro area.
NW Arkansas is preparing for 3 new stakes. The first one appears to be Centerton once the new Stake Center is completed. Two additional Stake Centers are or will soon be under construction.
I can see Pakistan getting a stake in a couple years or so
@Felix
Hope your friend's baptism went well last week. :)
a new stake was created in the Philippines, in the island of Mindanao. The Malaybalay Philippines Stake is in the Cagayan de Oro Mission.
www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=937984771866755&id=100069657229244&rdid=mx4Z04Su4PiUbFvc#
The facebook reports there were over 1,170 in attendance. With only 6 branches (now 6 wards in the new stake) that is nearly 200 active members from each ward.
Is there a way to know from Sunday to Sunday, which new branches or wards were created throughout the world?
the chess pieces continue to move in the Kansas City area
Platte Woods and Tiffany Springs Wards moved to the Liberty Mo stake yesterday 2/2/25
Liberty Mo Stake 15 units
Far West Mo Stake 15 units
30 units typically can be split across four stakes.
There is now a group operating in Gisenyi, Rwanda. This is likely the first time the Church has really expanded beyond Kigali and its suburbs.
In Abuja Nigeria, the Wuse Stake and Lugbe Stake split to create a Karu Stake yesterday.
That's great news, Michael Worley. And, i see on the map there is a Karu Ward in the Abuja Nigeria Wuse Stake.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/1097563
Today was announced the Groundbreaking planned for the future Antananarivo Madagascar Temple. Also, the official Site location for the future Florianópolis Brazil Temple. Coincidentally will be located just about 2 streets away from the current Sao Jose Brazil Stake center.
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/news-for-temple-groundbreaking-site-map-antananarivo-madagascar-florianopolis-brazil
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/florianopolis-brazil-temple/street-map/
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