Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo)
Two new stakes were recently created in the DR Congo.
The Kinshasa DR Congo Mapela Stake was organized on June 29th, 2025, from a division of the Kinshasa DR Congo Mokali Stake (renamed the Kinshasa DR Congo Siforco Stake; organized in 2012). The new stake includes the following six wards: the Du Rail 1st, Du Rail 2nd, Mapela, Masina 2nd, Masina 5th, and Mulondo Wards. The new stake is the Church's third new stake created in Kinshasa this year, bringing the total number of stakes in the city to 17. Kinshasa has now surpassed Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, as the metropolitan city on the Afro-Eurasian landmass with the most stakes. New wards have been created in Kinshasa on nearly a weekly basis thus far in 2025, and there currently three stakes in the city that appear likely to divide in the immediate future. High rates of growth and member activity, a large number of stakes, and difficulty traveling across the city to reach the current temple (dedicated in 2019) suggest the announcement of a second temple for Kinshasa is highly likely in the immediate future.
The Church organized a new stake in Kolwezi on July 27th from a division of the original Kolwezi DR Congo Stake (organized in 2019). The new Kolwezi DR Congo Joli Site Stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Diur, Golf, Lupundu, Manika, Musompo 1st, and Musompo 2nd Wards and the Lualaba Branch. The Church organized the DR Congo Kolwezi Mission in 2024. Kolwezi appears likely to have a temple announcement in the medium term due to remote distance and high rates of growth in recent years.
There are now 40 stakes and six districts in the DR Congo - double the number of stakes and districts in 2018 (19 stakes, 3 districts).
Papua New Guinea
Today, the Church organized the Minj Papua New Guinea Stake from the Minj Papua New Guinea District (organized in 2010). Information on which of the eight branches became wards in the new stake remains unavailable. The new stake is the Church's third new stake created in the country since January of this year, and all of these stakes have been organized from districts, suggesting maturation in leadership development and sustained rates of member activity to warrant additional stakes to function. Despite this progress, the Church in Papua New Guinea has never created a new stake by dividing another stake. This has largely been due to a rural population spread over large, difficult to access areas, as well as problems with inactivity and slow growth in Port Moresby since the first and only stake in the city was organized 30 years ago.
There are now six stakes and eight districts in Papua New Guinea.
Philippines
Today, a new stake was created in the Philippines. The Panabo Philippines Stake was organized from the Panabo Philippines district (organized in 1993). It is likely most, if not all, of the six branches in the former district became wards, and local members have confirmed that the Carmen Branch has become a ward. The new stake is the Church's fifth new stake created on Mindanao since 2020, and all five of these stakes were created from districts.
There are now 134 stakes and 53 districts in the Philippines.
63 comments:
It's so cool to see so many new stakes being created from districts. Gowles to show the amount of growth happening in those areas.
The main temple announcement for today is the open house and dedication dates for the Alabang Philippines temple. The temple will be dedicated on January 18th, 2026 by Elder David A. Bednar
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/open-house-and-dedication-dates-announced-for-alabang-philippines-temple
The Church News covered this as well:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2025/08/04/alabang-philippines-temple-dedication-open-house-dates-set/
And here's my analysis:
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2025/08/breaking-temple-news-opening.html
My thanks once again to you all.
Panabo Philippines Stake (614726) - organized 3 August 2025
- Carmen Ward (193100)
- Lasang Ward (193119)
- Magsaysay Ward (207799)
- Panabo Ward (118087)
- Salvacion Ward (182303)
- Santo Tomas Ward (341649)
Assigned Mission: Philippines Davao Mission (2011433)
Assigned Temple: Cebu City Philippines Temple (493252)
No changes yet to the Minj Papua New Guinea District.
No other new stakes.
The Alabang Temple currently looks to be the 213th Temple, but that number may be adjusted if another Temple dedication is announced sooner than it.
After Alabamg is dedicated only Harare Zimbabwe Temple announced by President Monson will be uneducated. Unless thry announce the Harare dedication for earlier.
On the matter of the Kinshasa Temple, it is only 12,000 square feet. Detroit Temple and most other Hinckley era temples were built as 10,700 square feet buildings.
There are at least 18 stakes that will be assigned t Kinshasa, and at least 3 districts, when all completed temples are done (although these numbers are likely to be larger by then), so a second Temple in Kinshasa is easy to see being done. DR Congo already broke the record of the 2nd Temple announced after the first was completed (except maybe for the US, but since broken by Mozambique, since for Mozambique the 2nd Temple was announced before the first was completed).
The Kinshasa Temple has patron housing but not an arrival center. It is also not close to the airport. Eben when the 3 announced temples in DR Congo are completed there will be arras assigned to Kinshasa where air travel is the only reasonable option. So building a temple closer to the airport, especially with the number id stakes in the city bring more than the temple is really designed to support, would seem a wise decision.
Kinshasa may break the current record of time from 1st Temple is dedicated to 2nd Temple announced (help worldwide by Rexburg, and outside the US I am not sure, but it is well over 30 years).
I learned on Saturday there is a Pontiac City group in Pontiac Michigan that operates under the Rochester Ward in the Grand Blanc stake. It is at most 2 years old, and started with only a senior missionary companionship and some young missionaries attending. It is now to 37 attendees, so it may soon be formed into its own branch. Although I am not sure of other factors, so it might take more time.
The Church News ran the bio on Elder Mayswagothata. He is one of nor many general authorities who were serving as a temple worker at the time of their call. All the more interesting since he was a resident of Botswana. He is one of 3 general authorities born in a country that currently has no Temple, based on current country boundaries. The other two being Elder Kevin G. Brown from Jamaica (but resident in Utah when called as a General Authority) and Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf born in what is now the Czech Republic but resident in Germany when called as a general authority.
With the growth of stakes on Mindanao is there a possibility for a 3rd Temple on the island, or are we basically still at a level where the 2 temples being built (with Davao very close to dedication) will meet the need for temples for the time being?
JPL, I'm told that the cornerstone for the Lindon Utah Temple is inscribed "Erected 2025", so I'd take that as a clear indicator that the Church intends to dedicate that temple this year. There is only 1 temple (Bahia Blanca Argentina) scheduled to be dedicated in November currently, and there are no temple dedications currently scheduled to occur in December, so there are open dates for Lindon this year.
And we know for sure that Utah temples, especially those in Utah County, are usually easier to schedule for an open house and dedication than their counterparts elsewhere in the US (like Burley Idaho) and those outside of it (like Alabang and Davao Philippines and Harare Zimbabwe), so if I had to guess, I'd say Lindon Utah will be 212, with Burley being 213, and Alabang being 214. It is also possible that the dedication of the Harare Zimbabwe Temple could be set to occur on either date in January (the 11th or 18th) or even the week after Alabang (the 25th). Hope these thoughts are helpful.
With Davao close to dedication, I wouldn't anticipate another temple in the Mindanao area until after Cagayan de Oro is dedicated, which, based on the latest dedication announcement trends, appears to be likely in about 2 years. But I'd love to be wrong about that. I don't know where else a Mindanao temple may be needed. But it is an interesting question.
With a little more growth in the area, I could see a temple being announced for the western side of Mindanao, maybe in Butuan City. Probably not for a few years though.
Saw a video from the Church's pacific area today. Of note, the video mentioned the 5 new stakes created in the Pacific area in the last 12 months (Tanna Vanuatu and 4 in New Guinea) and said they are anticipating a similar number of new stakes to be created in the area in the next 12 months. Also, baptisms in the area where up from about 4,700 to 6,700 over a somewhat unspecified time period. It was 2024 to 2025, but I'm assuming that is just year to date baptisms, and baptisms from January-June 2024.
On my very extended list, I have one other location selected for Mindanao, specifically somewhere to serve locations in the Zamboanga Peninsula. Currently, I have Oroquieta down as it is the one place with a Stake. However, Pagadian would also be a possibility I think, especially if the District there was elevated.
Craig H
The Church News Almanac site just posted an article about the newly organized Canada Area a few minutes ago.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/almanac/
Good news from Crete in Greece. 36 people recently attended what appears to be a group in Heraklion, Crete. The first missionaries were assigned there in 2023, and they now have their own rented building to meet in.
Very cool! I have been wondering about outreach expansion in Greece for a while. Even though the native population has been historically pretty unreceptive, there are quite a few large immigrant groups living in Greece that seem more promising. Many are "recent arrivers" from the Middle East and Africa, while others work in the tourism and services industry. Outsourcing, for example of call centers, have been a growing industry in Greece and also in Cyprus and that has attracted a lot of digital nomads as well.
The Minj Papua New Guinea District was updated today on the Meetinghouse site to Stake.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/1229370
And they have a 2nd Stake Conference planned for a month from now on September 27-28, 2025.
And speaking of the Heraklion Group in Greece. Another recent development in the Mediterranean Sea, the old Amman 2nd Branch (English) (172596), renamed Amman Branch (English) from the Amman Jordan District (475149) also renamed Cairo Egypt District, sometime after June 2018, and the Beirut Branch (77690) (that covers all of Lebanon), of the old Beirut Lebanon District, have both recently appeared back on the Meetinghouse Mapsite.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/77690
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/172596
Besides the correctional districts there are now only four conventional districts in the United States. I don’t think MTC branches are divided in districts.
Wendover Utah do to proximity hard to be stake unless they make them wards and they travel far for Stake Conferences. I think they had four branches before. Now three, Matt must of shut down the us growth site, that told of wards and branches being organized and shut down in the United States.
Two of the districts were in Texas they now have one. How close is it to becoming a stake? The only other districts in the United States are in Michigan and New York. Will we get to a point that there is no conventional district in the United States?
Wendover to Grantsville, the nearest stake, is not even really that far of a drive, about 1 hour and 20 minutes, compared to a lot of other stakes that have much greater driving distances traversing their boundaries.
Just one of many examples, Williston North Dakota is over a 2 hour drive to its stake center in Minot and I would argue in generally much harsher winter weather than Wendover to Grantsville.
Pascal, there is a post on Facebook about this. Does posting Facebook links work on here? https://www.facebook.com/ChurchofJesusChristGreece/posts/pfbid02ieF7oAQ4uAaGXgeF8R6BX6pu65gTuuirwwR3cscfumEHowAWpPN5ivWQvtYHJqXVl
I don't know the constitution of the branch but the vast majority appear to be Caucasian (if that is of any interest/relevance). But someone more informed would be able to clarify to what extent the branch includes local Greeks.
Personally, I see the Fort Stockton Texas District being discontinued and absorbed into the Odessa Texas Stake in the event it inevitably splits to make the Midland Texas Stake. I have absolutely no idea how large the four branches are, but even if none of them are large enough to become wards, the Odessa Texas Stake comprises of 10 wards and 3 branches. Both units would make a total of 17 congregations. The Midland YSA Branch covers the Fort Stockton Texas District as well, but is not covered by the Odessa 3rd Ward (Spanish).
The furthest branch from Odessa is the Alpine Branch, which is a drive of over 2 hours. A slightly further drive is Van Horn, which is part of the Pecos Branch (the next town over, 13 minutes from Van Horn is Allamoore, which is part of the Socorro Ward in the El Paso Texas Stake). Then there is Presido (part of the Alpine Branch) on the border that would be about three and a half hours from Odessa. The next town on the edge is Dryden (part of the Fort Stockton Branch, 36 minutes away is Langtry that is assigned to the Del Rio 1st Ward in the Armistad Texas Stake) which is just over two and a half hours from Odessa.
I suppose to put it in perspective, the Valdez Ward, which is part of the Palmer Alaska Stake would have to drive nearly four and a half hours to attend stake conference in person. The Glennallen Branch (same stake) is the only other congregation in the state further than 2 hours from its stake center. Not even Seward or Homer to Soldotna, Delta Junction to North Pole, or Healy to Fairbanks. This excludes ferries (such as Whitehorse to Juneau).
I do feel that the Wendover Utah District should be discontinued, with the 3 branches placed in either the Elko East or Grantsville West Stakes.
The Potsdam New York Stake may very well be discontinued this year, since its Conference is on the same day as the Utica New York Stake Conference. The Utica Stake only has 4 Wards and several branches.
As with Fort Stockton, it very well could become part of a Midland Stake, but it could also remain if a new branch is created in Presidio or if a congregation or 2 from the Roswell New Mexico Stake are transferred.
The Traverse City Michigan District is the most obvious candidate to be upgraded to a Stake, but it would likely require consolidations of several branches to meet the ward minimum requirement.
After the most recent update to the Meetinghouse Locator, The Del Rio 3rd (Spanish) Branch in the Amistad Texas Stake has been upgraded to a Ward and renamed the Del Rio 2nd Branch (Spanish). The Stake now has 5 Wards and 2 Branches.
Other Matt here...
Wendover Utah District used to have 5 branches. (With 2 English branches and a Spanish branch in Wendover). So perhaps the thought once they bounce back to 5 branches , it's not that far off to then form their own stake.
There is a lot of traveling in Alaska. High School teams sometimes spend the night in other teams homes or gyms. Barrow Utkagvik now have to fly in and out. Sealift for ships in summer but flight only way in and out other times.
With internet can watch stake conference at chapel but lots of traveling there. I’m sure there’s lots of traveling in most Alaska stakes. Same for stakes in Midwest as well. That is United Stakes I’m aware of.
@Chris D., I can't tell for sure from your comment whether you already know this or not, but the Beirut Lebanon District still exists and the Beirut Branch is still assigned to it, in spite of that not showing up on the Meetinghouse Locator. I think the reason it is not shown is because most of the other units that belong to it are highly sensitive units that are also not shown on Meetinghouse Locator.
--Felix
Montello and Ibapah lack the population to become wards (both branch areas likely have an adult population of less than 100). So they would remain branches pretty much regardless. I don't envision four more ward-size branches being created in Wendover unless there is a serious economic boom in the area. I do believe the Wendover ward and the Montello and Ibapah branches should become part of Elko East.
There used to be an Alaska Bush district, they would do Sacrament meeting by video call. There still are quite a few people I am sure that do Sacrament meeting at home do to proximity. However everyone in Alaska is in the boundaries of a stake now.
Here is an article the Church News posted yesterday about deveolpments of the Church in the small European country of Montenegro with only 34 members as the article says.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2025/08/07/montenegro-mammography-machine-breast-cancer-donation-women/
And here is the inspiring story of how Mongolia's first stake president went from skepticism to a lifetime of faith and service in the Church. Also, a Church News video released yesterday shares Elder Quentin L. Cook's observations on the prophet, how he receives and responds to divine inspiration, and what he (Elder Cook) and his apostolic colleagues teach about the current prophet as they minister worldwide.
My thanks once again to you all.
This morning, as verified here and here, the Church broke ground for the Winchester Virginia Temple as scheduled. My thanks once again to you all.
When I was in the MTC 25 years ago the braches were organized into districts. My district president was a man who served his first mission in his early 20s leaving his wife back at home. That was in the late 1940s, although she did come and join him after a year.
I think neither MTC branches nor the districts show up in most church unit reports. Which is one reason why temple use estimates for Provo never quite add up to what is there. Which is why both a Provo Temple number 3 and a Springville Temple I think are likely in the short term.
Today in my Sacrament Meeting, they shared an urgent plea from the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple presidency: for at least 100 new workers to start ASAP to replace those who are being released to transfer as workers for the Lindon Utah Temple. So that more or less confirms that the Lindon Utah Temple will be dedicated later this year. My thanks once again to you all.
MTC districts and branches aren't really considered units in an official sense because the membership records of all missionaries while in the MTC (and in the mission field) remain in their home unit.
And the Church News just shared this inspiring story about unprecedented Church growth in Papua New Guinea. My thanks once again to you all.
I believe OHD33 is 100% correct here.
Also, as a mildly related aside, the home unit is supposed to mark as "present" all missionaries serving from that unit for attendance purposes. At least, that's how it was last time I was in charge of marking such things ~15 years ago.
I don't know if it was shared here. The recently redesigned Newsroom website section of the Facts and Statistics section, redirects you to the "learn" URL's. Such as this one as a starting point. To search by Continent or Country. It looks a lot like the old Church News 2010 Almanac format online.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/learn/facts-and-statistics?lang=eng
Alex, the previous policy you mentioned has not been the case for at least a few years. Now, full-time missionaries are counted as visitors in the unit they attend. They are not marked as attending any meetings in their home ward.
Here is an example of the Archived February 2010 Church News United States Information: Utah site.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/2010/2/2/23268855/united-states-information-utah/
Similar in format to the new Facts and Statistics page for the Kingdom of Norway.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/learn/facts-statistics/norway?lang=eng
Or a more direct comparison,
https://www.thechurchnews.com/2010/1/29/23229002/country-information-norway/
Save my numbers not by works
Regarding Papua New Guinea, there are several other districts that are strong candidates for becoming stakes in the near future. Just by the number of units:
- Sogere (11 branches)
- Rigo (10 branches)
- Moveave (8 branches)
- Gerehu (7 branches)
- Suki (5 branches)
More or less all of these likely also have a plethora of groups meeting under the direction of existing branches. This very prolific time of stake growth is unlikely to be over for a bit in PNG, especially if convert baptisms continue to keep up and retention remains strong.
"129 baptized during the same weekend as the creation of Papua New Guinea’s 4th stake in 14 months"
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2025/08/10/papua-new-guinea-new-stake-129-baptisms/
Gary, thank you for updating my dated knowledge on that matter.
What is the most likely location for a 2nd Temple is Papua New Guinea?
It appears there were no temple announcements today, although we had the Winchester Virginia Temple groundbreaking over the weekend.
Harare Zimbabwe Temple is now the last Temple announced by President Nelson to have not have a dedication date.
Besides Harare, Davao, Cleveland and Yorba Linda are there any other temples with president and matron announced but no dedication date sent.
With 14 announced temples do the Philippines have more announced temples than Mexico did when President Monson died?
The Harare Zimbabwe Temple was announced by President Monson, not President Nelson. Also, based on what I reported earlier (that the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple presidency needs around 100 workers, as they are looking to replace those who are being released to go work at the Lindon Utah Temple), it appears likely that Lindon will be the next temple dedication announced. I also have heard that the cornerstone reads "Erected 2025", so I fully believe that Lindon will be dedicated before the end of this year, likely in December. Harare may only follow in February of next year (at earliest). I could be wrong on both assessments, but I don't think I am.
The temple in Port Moresby is only anticipated to be completed next year, so I think it's too early to think about a second temple in that nation. But a year or two after the Port Moresby temple opens, I could see a second temple in either Daru or Lae.
You should be able to find the answers to your questions about Mexico with a simple internet search. Good luck on your research.
Johnathan, thanks for making sure we all saw that update. I had thought I posted that story in an earlier comment above on August 10, 2025 at 2:18 PM, but I might be misremembering. I am grateful for the unprecedented Church growth that is happening everywhere around the world.
The Antsirabe Madagascar District (1403184) in the Madagascar Antananarivo South Mission, just became a Stake.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/1403184
While reviewing the various missions on the Map, I came across the location in the India New Delhi Mission, just north of New Delhi on the border with Tibet, in Uttarakhand State. Recently organized, unknown date. The Dehradun Branch (2307499).
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/2307499
With the Central African Republic set to get a District in Bangui, I am curious where people stand on the next country to get their first District.
Craig H
To answer your question, Craig H, If we go scroll back about 2 weeks ago on July 27th, in the previous post, you will see I had correctly predicted the Bangui Central African Republic District. As a likely next candidate. I just hadn't expected it to happen 2 and a half weeks later.
"Chris D.
With now 3 Mission Branches in Bangui (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and a 4th branch covering the rest of the Central African Republic from Kribi, Cameroon, the Kribi Branch (2274868). I wonder how likely the 4 Branches could become the 1st District in the CAR (Central African Republic).
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/2274868
Even with Kribi, Cameroon located on the Atlantic coast of Cameroon. The Branch boundaries on the Meetinghouse include the rest of the CAR, far away.
July 27, 2025 at 11:04 PM"
So, my next prediction, since there are not a lot of Nation Countries without a District currently. If I were to choose a random selection. I would choose a tie between the 3 branches in the Republic of Georgia, in the Caucasus, that i also recently mentioned here. And the next runner up for me would be the 2 branches in the Kingdom of Morocco, in North Africa, which could also include the Tunis Branch in neighboring Tunisia. Those would be my Top 2 Wild Card selections for next countries for a Mission/Area District.
I clearly meant to say that Harare is the last temple announced by President Monson without a dedication date. The only other pre-Nelson announced temples in that status are Pago Pago Anerican Samoa, which was announced but then moved to a new place by President Kimball so it does not fully count. The other candidates are the temples announced for Missouri by Josrph Smith and the temple announced for White Plaines/Harrison New York by Gordon B. Hinckley. None of which are actually officially planned right now. If I want to be even more difficult I could argue that Neiafu Tonga was vaguely announced by President McKay when he said at a meeting in that city he had a vision of a temple "on these islands", bit weather "these islands" meant the Vava'u group or all the Tongan islands, or even a broader group of islands than Tonga otself is unclear.
Papua New Guinea has 6 stakes. Mozambique I think had 7 when it had a second Temple announced. Beira Mozambique still does not have a location announced, so it is much further from dedication than Port Moresby that is under construction.
The key in Mozambique is 2 multi stake cities so far apart that thry are each closer yo a temple outside Mozambique then they are yo each other
The journey from Minj to Port Moresby may be more undoubtedly. Yes Beira to Msputo is 19 hours, but there are roads. My search told me there is no way to drive from Minj to Port Moresby. You have to fly.
The logistics for picking a second Temple location in Papua New Guinea are complex. This might change if a not in Port Moresby stake split, do we had an area with 2 stakes. Buildi g a temple in a hard to reach area if New Guine with one spread out stake and other stakes hard to come from where you can actually go by land route from Minj.
@James G. Stokes
Hey, no problem, man. :)
I didn't see that you'd posted the text hyperlink until after I shared it.
Must be the "mouth of two witnesses." heh
Wow, that is great news. Given the political situation in India, any church growth comes as a welcome surprise. Though among surprises, when considering cities within the INDM boundaries, Dehradun is one of the more likely ones -- there has been an on-again off-again home group there (depending on which and how many members live there) for many years now. I know President Massey (the new branch president) and he is one of the most kind, humble people you could ever meet.
--Felix
Which is never a bad thing. It is a wonderful development, to be sure. I hope for many more such reports and for multiple comments that pass them along. It keeps that news fresh in my mind, and I love it when others verify they are as excited about such developments as I am.
Centerton Arkansas Stake to be created September 14th. Will be created from the Bentonville stake, and a ward and a branch from the Rogers stake will also be affected per the stake facebook page.
I found the post, says the congregations affected in the Rogers AR Stake is the Metfield Ward and the Rogers YSA Branch.
Likely Centerton AR Stake (7 Wards) composition based on the post:
- Centerton 1st Ward
- Centerton 2nd Ward
- Centerton 3rd Ward
- Gravette Ward
- Grove Ward
- Highlands Ward
- Morningside Ward
That would probably leave the Bentonville AR Stake (7wards, 1 branch) with:
- Bella Vista Ward
- Bentonville 1st Ward
- Bentonville 2nd Ward
- Central Park Ward
- Cornerstone Ward
- Elm Tree Ward
- Metfield Ward
- Rogers YSA Branch
A member in the area stated there might an additional branch/ward created as well, notwithstanding the space constraints… even with the new Centerton building.
Does anyone have more information on the creation of the Antsirabe Madagascar Stake? Is this the first stake outside the Antananarivo metro area? Was this stake created from a mission district? Are there any other stakes or districts in Madagascar that are large enough to be divided?
This is the second Stake outside the Antananarivo Metro area to be created. The Toamasina Stake was created December 11, 2022. This was a result of the Toamasina District being elevated to Stake level.
The Antsirabe District was initially created on November 28, 2010.
There is now one District remaining on Madagascar, the Tolagnaro District. This was created on March 18, 2018.
Craig H
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