New Stakes Created in the Philippines (3), Arkansas, Canada, Idaho, Kiribati, Madagascar, South Carolina, and Texas; New Districts Created in Brazil, Mozambique, and Utah; Stakes Discontinued in California and New Zealand; District Discontinued in Guatemala

Philippines

Three new stakes were created in the Philippines.

The Aparri Philippines Stake was organized from the Aparri Philippines District (organized in 1988) on August 10th. The new stake includes the following five wards and two branches: the Aparri 1st, Aparri 2nd, Camalaniugan 1st, Gattaran, and Lal-Lo Wards and the Camalaniugan 2nd and Magapit Branches. The Aparri Philippines District was one of the oldest districts that had not yet become a stake in the Philippines.

The Muñoz Philippines Stake was organized on August 10th from the Guimba Philippines District (organized in 1992). The new stake includes the following five wards and one branch: the Guimba 1st, Guimba 2nd, Muñoz 1st, Muñoz 2nd, and San Antonio Wards and the Guimba 3rd Branch. 

The Tarlac Philippines South Stake was organized on August 24th from the Tarlac Philippines Stake (organized in 1981). The new stake includes the following four wards and one branch: the Capas, Concepcion, Lapaz, and Tarlac 5th Wards and the Dap-Dap Branch.

There are now 137 stakes and 51 districts in the Philippines. 

Arkansas

A new stake was created in Arkansas on September 14th. The Centerton Arkansas Stake was organized from a division of the Bentonville Arkansas Stake (organized in 2014) and includes the following seven wards: the Centerton 1st, Centerton 2nd, Centerton 3rd, Gravette, Grove, Highlands, and Morningside Wards. The Rogers Arkansas Stake was also realigned with the Bentonville Arkansas Stake as part of the new stake creation.

There are now four stakes in northwestern Arkansas. There are now eight stakes in Arkansas. 

Canada

A new stake was created on September 21st in Alberta, Canada. The Beaumont Alberta Stake was organized from a division of the Edmonton Alberta Gateway Stake (organized in 1983) and includes the following seven wards: the Beaumont, Blackmud Creek, Ellerslie, Meadowlark (Tagalog), Rio Vista (Spanish), Wetaskiwin, and Wildrose (Tagalog) Wards. The new stake is the Church's seventh stake in Edmonton and the third new stake organized during the past decade. 

There are now 54 stakes and three districts in Canada. 

Idaho

A new stake was created in Idaho on August 24th. The Pocatello Idaho Highland South Stake was organized from a division of the Pocatello Highland Stake (organized in 1963). The new stake includes the following seven wards: the Highland 1st, Highland 2nd, Highland 6th, Highland 7th, Highland 8th, Highland 10th, and Highland 14th Wards. This is the first new stake in Pocatello since the late 1990s. There are now 11 stakes in Pocatello.

There are now 146 stakes in Idaho.

Kiribati

A new stake was created in Kiribati on September 14th. The Tarawa Kiribati Betio Stake was organized from the Tarawa Kiribati West Stake (organized in 2007). The new stake includes the following four wards and two branches: the Betio 1st, Betio 2nd, Betio 3rd, and Temakin Wards and the Borotiam and Tabontebike-Abaiang Branches. Reports also suggest that the Tarawa Kiribati North District may become a stake in October, although this has not yet been confirmed.

There are now three stakes and three districts in Kiribati.

Madagascar

A new stake was created in Madagascar on August 3rd. The Antsirabe Madagascar Stake was organized from the Antsirabe Madagascar District (organized in 2010). The new stake includes the following four wards and three branches: the Ambohimena, Antsirabe, Mahazoarivo, and Tomboarivo Wards and the Andranomanelatra, Manandona, and Saradroa Branches. Antsirabe is now the third city in Madagascar to have a stake following Antananarivo and Toamasina. 

There are now five stakes and one district in Madagascar. 

South Carolina

A new stake was created in South Carolina on August 24th. The Spartanburg South Carolina Stake was organized from the Greenville South Carolina East Stake (organized in 2003). The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Boiling Springs, Gaffney, Inman, Roebuck, Spartanburg, and Tyger River Wards and the Union Branch. There are now three stakes in the greater Greenville area and 11 stakes statewide. 

Texas 

A new stake was created in Texas on September 14th. The Temple Texas Stake was organized from the Waco Texas Stake (organized in 2010). The new stake includes the following five wards: the Belton, Morgans Point, Salado Creek, Temple 1st, and Temple 2nd Wards.

There are now 83 stakes in Texas. 

Brazil

A new district was created in Brazil on September 14th. The Tubarão Brazil District was organized from a division of what was previously known as the Tubarão Brazil Stake (organized in 1993; now renamed the Criciúma Brazil Stake). The new district includes the following four branches: the Bairro São João, Imbituba, Laguna, and Oficinas Branches. There are now 11 stakes and one district in Santa Catarina State.

There are now 288 stakes and 36 districts in Brazil.

Mozambique

A new district was created in Mozambique on August 17th. The Tete Mozambique District was organized from four Mozambique Beira Mission branches in Tete where the first branch was organized in 2005. The new district includes the following four branches: the Matundo, Moatize, Tete, and Zambeze Branches.

There are now eight stakes and three districts in Mozambique. 

Utah 

A new correctional facility district was created in Utah on August 19th. The Wasatch Range Utah (Correctional Facility) District was organized with correctional facility branches in Salt Lake City, Utah. The new district includes the following six correctional facility branches: the Atherton, Bonneville, Fortitude, Geneva Fields, Glendale, and Orange Street Branches.

There are now six correctional facility districts in Utah.

There are now 644 stakes and seven districts in Utah.

California

A stake was discontinued in California. Organized in 1992, the San Fernando California (Spanish) Stake was discontinued and its units were reassigned to neighboring stakes. As recently as a few years ago, the stake had seven wards and one branch. The decision to consolidate the stake with overlapping stakes was likely rooted in efforts in most areas of the United States to discontinue language-specific stakes and rather have Spanish-speaking congregations assimilate with English-speaking units in the same stakes (a similar decision was made in Houston, Texas several years ago). English-speaking stakes in the area that once covered the San Fernando California (Spanish) Stake have experienced a steady decline in the number of English-speaking congregations for decades.

There are now 145 stakes in California. 

New Zealand 

A stake was discontinued in New Zealand. The Upper Hutt New Zealand Stake (organized in 1977) was discontinued and consolidated with the neighboring Wellington New Zealand Stake which was renamed the Wellington and Hutt New Zealand Stake. Stakes in the Wellington area have had few congregations for many years, and the decision to consolidate the stake was likely to help conserve limited leadership and prepare to support the future Wellington New Zealand Temple. There are now two stakes in the Wellington area. 

There are now 28 stakes and two districts in New Zealand. 

Guatemala 

A district was discontinued in Guatemala. The Chiquimula Guatemala South District (organized in 2024) was discontinued and three of the district’s four branches were reassigned to the Zacapa Guatemala Stake after the San Luis Branch was closed. The district had been organized approximately 18 months ago. The reasons for the district’s early discontinuation remain unclear

There are now 51 stakes and 10 districts in Guatemala. 

New Temple Predictions - September 2025 Edition

I have updated my temple prediction map in preparation for General Conference in October. Several variables are used to identify prospective sites for future temple announcements. These include: the size of the Church in a given area (stakes, districts, wards, and branches), the age of the oldest stake, growth trends, distance to the nearest temple, traffic and transportation considerations, temple square footage, the historical number of weekly endowment sessions, and member/missionary reports on activity, temple attendance, and convert retention. Altogether, there are 186 potential temples on the map (which is 8 potential temple sites less than the total number of potential sites identified in March 2025, continuing a trend for many years of temple growth outpacing other growth metrics for the Church). The following five locations have been added to the temples prediction map with this current update - all of which are less likely temples:

• Cheyenne, Wyoming
• Eldoret, Kenya
• Fort Myers, Florida
• Greensboro, North Carolina
• Providence, Rhode Island

Also, there were two locations that were moved from the less likely to be announced list to the more likely to be announced list. Provided with a reasoning for the transfer from the less likely temples to be announced list to the more likely temples to be announced list, these locations include: 

• Augusta, Maine (remote location, third stake recently organized in Maine, no temple in the United States in the Northeast north of Boston, Massachusetts)
• Kinshasa DR Congo Kimbanseke (Kinshasa is now the metropolitan area with the most stakes of any city on the Afro-Eurasian landmass with 17, and several more stakes appear likely to be organized in the immediate future; rapid growth, high rates of member activity and convert retention, difficulty traveling to the current temple from far eastern areas of the metropolitan area)
• Tema, Ghana (12 stakes in the immediate Accra, Ghana and Tema, Ghana area, with four more stakes on the outskirts of the city; a couple stakes likely to divide in the near future; moderate growth in the city during the past two decades; improving accessibility to the temple for stakes in the northeast area of the metropolitan area)
• Yopougon, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (Abidjan is the metropolitan city on the Afro-Eurasian landmass with the second most stakes (16) with a couple additional stakes likely to be organized soon; high rates of growth in the past decade; high Latter-day Saint density in the city population in the Yopougon area)

For the first time, I am providing my top 20 most likely locations for a temple announcement this October. With 15–20 temples announced in nearly every General Conference for several years, expanding the prediction list feels appropriate. I welcome your own prediction lists and insights in the comments. However, I anticipate that this period of rapid temple expansion will eventually wind down, as the overall growth of the Church has not kept pace with the rate of temple announcements.

1. Angeles or Olongapo, Philippines 
2. Bo, Sierra Leone
3. Port Harcourt, Nigeria
4. Rigby, Idaho
5. Lomé, Togo 
6. Southeast Salt Lake City, Utah (i.e., Cottonwood Heights, Holladay, or Sandy)
7. Evanston, Wyoming
8. San Pablo City, Philippines
9. Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
10. Ibadan, Nigeria
11. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 
12. Lilongwe, Malawi
13. Santa Maria, Brazil
14. Augusta, Maine
15. Kimbanseke, Kinshasa, DR Congo
16. Tema, Ghana
17. Yopougon, Côte d’Ivoire
18. San Luis Valley, Colorado
19. Longview, Texas
20. Lahore, Pakistan