tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post580387035136564669..comments2024-03-18T18:50:55.345-06:00Comments on Growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church): Percent LDS by Country - 2016Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16030323360917985701noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-31947255395303235912017-05-01T13:44:39.265-06:002017-05-01T13:44:39.265-06:00The three branches in the new Oak Harbor Washingto...The three branches in the new Oak Harbor Washington Stake are all located in the San Juan Islands. I visited the Friday Harbor Branch in 2007. During Sacrament Meeting, groups from the other islands called in, then held their own Sunday School and auxiliary meetings. I was pleased when Eastsound and Lopez became their own branches in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Membership seemed too small to qualify for a ward, but that was 10 years ago.Gnesileahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17757196258988210760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-45304976550052921192017-05-01T11:06:14.757-06:002017-05-01T11:06:14.757-06:00And Providences and territories in Canada .And Providences and territories in Canada .Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06152909156868007897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-44419279749519281492017-04-29T01:06:15.446-06:002017-04-29T01:06:15.446-06:00My cousin could probably give you more information...My cousin could probably give you more information on the Wolfgramm heritage. She just did her doctoral thesis on the German diaspora in Tonga. Johnathan Reese Whitinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05271748150823074792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-69478820770787969082017-04-29T01:03:08.807-06:002017-04-29T01:03:08.807-06:00Wolfgramm is a common last name in Tonga. I don...Wolfgramm is a common last name in Tonga. I don't know the full history, but it's from a common ancestor of German descent. Two years ago, I lived in the Tongan neighborhood just south of Rose Park in SLC. Johnathan Reese Whitinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05271748150823074792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-59275539650629490282017-04-28T20:12:34.460-06:002017-04-28T20:12:34.460-06:00Ten units. Does anyone here think they are planni...Ten units. Does anyone here think they are planninf on making any of the branches wards like we see overseas, or is this really a number of smaller branches in smaller areas?Jim Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06692368202247687591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-70783120521158371682017-04-28T07:04:13.932-06:002017-04-28T07:04:13.932-06:00Oak Harbor Washington Stake (2087057) Created Apr...Oak Harbor Washington Stake (2087057) Created April 23 2017<br /><br />Eastsound Branch (1549774) <br />Friday Harbor Branch (26638) <br />Lopez Branch (1819976) <br />Anacortes Ward (24147) <br />Mount Erie Ward (2035499) <br />Mount Vernon YSA Ward (367915) <br />Oak Harbor 1st Ward (28363) <br />Oak Harbor 2nd Ward (110981) <br />Penn Cove Ward (259462) <br />South Whidbey Island Ward (110973) <br /><br />J S Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12136196488823430086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-15842209464861937042017-04-27T23:11:27.666-06:002017-04-27T23:11:27.666-06:00I am pretty sure the puoneer stake includes where ...I am pretty sure the puoneer stake includes where President Monson grew up. It is one of the three stakes along with Liberty and Ensign stakes created when Salt Kake City was divided into multiple stakes for the first time in 1903. In 1901 Granite and Jordan Stakes had been formed making it so most or all of Salt Lake County beyongmd the city limits was not in Salt Lake Stake.<br /><br />Pioneer Stake has 5 English designated wards and a Spanish branch. While I would be a little surprised if the stake Church membership was 67% Polynesian like the stake presidency I would not he at all surprised if it was significantly Polynesian although I have to admit I think of Rose Park and West Valley City as being the center places of Polynesianess. I knew a "Tongan" sister missionary here in the Detroit mission who was born in Salt Lake City and went to West High School. I am pretty sure I remember that she was from Rose Park.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-60609557961622379702017-04-27T23:01:46.479-06:002017-04-27T23:01:46.479-06:00I just learned that the Salt Lake Pioneer Stake ha...I just learned that the Salt Lake Pioneer Stake has a Tongan as the 1st counselor in the stake presidency and a Samoan as 2nd counselor. The Samoan man has a Tongan wife. He served a Spanish speaking mission in the San Antonio Texas Mission. I know this because he was my bishop in a YSA ward in Michigan just after my mission. I had nit even realized he now lived in Utah I lost track when he moved away from Michigan.<br /><br />The other Ensign Wolfgramm I suspected was Tongan even though his name sounds German. It took a bit of searching but at least there was a man by that name who was the nephew of a Tongan man mentioned in Elder Oaks May 2000 CES devotional talk on miracles.<br /><br />The stake president, President Defa, seems to have had ancestors who shortened the name from a longer Italian one. Hid ancestors seem to have come from Italy probably still Catholic but clearly not LDS and then intermarried with Latter-day Saints. At least there are I'd a Defa family who did this, living in Bingham, Utah and then Duchesne, Utah. Defa is a eare enough name, it appears there were only 3 families with it in the 1920 census, that this is likely to be President Defa's family.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-877417465728979142017-04-26T21:18:46.345-06:002017-04-26T21:18:46.345-06:00I assume you meant to say BYU. The Chatman family ...I assume you meant to say BYU. The Chatman family seems to be present a lot of places. Jeff and Leah Chatman have more children but who knows if any others will make it to being NCAA basketball players. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-73880130410737217892017-04-26T21:16:17.053-06:002017-04-26T21:16:17.053-06:00Teshie Ghana just got a stake. This is a suburb of...Teshie Ghana just got a stake. This is a suburb of Accra with 171,000 people. It os the site of Ghana's main military cadets training program and has an international peacekeepers training program as well. It also is the site of a carpentry workshop closely connected with the rise of elaborate celebrarion boffins among the Ga. The Ga are the ethnic group of Accra but since overall Ghana has more Akan than Ga and also other ethnic groups that have been drawn to Accra as it has becomes a major city as the capital how much of the population in Accra is Ga is hard to say. <br /><br />Teshie was the cite of a Danish controlled trading fort starting in 1711. It came under British control in 1857. <br /><br />Wikipedia does not give a good sense of what the driving forces in the economy are. Some have argued Wikipedia should be a gazeteer but at least for places in many African countries it does a horrible job at explaining the contemporary economy.<br /><br />On the other hand Teshie may be so connected to the overall Metro Chan's economy that a seperate delineation of economic activity may have little meaning.<br /><br /><br />John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-35028717315002487582017-04-26T16:18:43.081-06:002017-04-26T16:18:43.081-06:00Matt,
The Oak Harbor Washington Stake was created...Matt,<br /><br />The Oak Harbor Washington Stake was created from a division of the Mount Vernon Washington and Everett Stakes. As part of this wards were also realigned in the Marysville, Arlington, and Snohomish Stakes.ScottShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14621726377318682665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-58297255208405066332017-04-26T15:21:06.929-06:002017-04-26T15:21:06.929-06:00His sister Jessica also plays for by on the women&...His sister Jessica also plays for by on the women's team and she served in my mission (Lansing).David Toddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16633681311966766482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-64074140909762748092017-04-26T15:13:19.353-06:002017-04-26T15:13:19.353-06:00New stake in Washington created.
Oak Harbor Wash...New stake in Washington created. <br /><br />Oak Harbor Washington Stake, covering Whidbey Island, Anacortes, and the San Juan Islands.OC Surferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09359767278375204699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-3342799086891044872017-04-26T11:17:50.436-06:002017-04-26T11:17:50.436-06:00Jordan Chapman went to Boston College because BYU ...Jordan Chapman went to Boston College because BYU law school said no to him playing basketball while a student. He married his girlfriend who also went to BYU. I have no clear vindication of the race of either Jordan Chapman's mother or wife. In a way I like that. It either is a sign of more African-Americans at BYU than people acknowledge or that interracial marriage is more common than some think. Although if the latter I still wish it was more publicized because tjere are still those who try to make it seem the Church discourages inter-racial marriage. In 2003 Jeff Chatman was a member of the high council of a stake on the Vancouver Wasington area.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-65661875077625519742017-04-26T11:07:35.519-06:002017-04-26T11:07:35.519-06:00Oops, evidently it is Chat man with a t. I need to...Oops, evidently it is Chat man with a t. I need to pay closer attention. I am wondering if it is a sign of extreme presentism that Jeff Chatman lacks a Wikipedia article or if he really is not notable enough.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-14849447412286611852017-04-26T11:03:02.057-06:002017-04-26T11:03:02.057-06:00Chapman grew up in Vancouver, Washington. He serve...Chapman grew up in Vancouver, Washington. He served his mission in Taipei Taiwan and then went to BYU. He got a degree at BYU in Asian Studies on2 years. He was accepted to BYU law school but chose to go to Boston College as a graduate transfer. Is he the first NCAA African-American men's basketball player to have served a mission? I think there are some NCAA African-American women's basketball players who served missions. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-65932354425903213222017-04-26T10:56:51.208-06:002017-04-26T10:56:51.208-06:00Harrison probably just proves how out of touch wit...Harrison probably just proves how out of touch with NCAA basketball I am. While nothing I have read goes explicitly into Derek Harrison's, DeMarcus's dad's LDS connections, his seeming familiarity with LDS mission issues suggests to me he is an LDS member. Harrison is a member who seems to bear no ill will toward BYU for how things happened. BYU would have even let him play a second season its just that since he said he was going on a mission and then it was delayed they already gave up his scholarship for the interim. <br /><br />On the other hand I cant imagine that Harrison is the only person to jave put in their mission papers and have their stake president decide they needed to wait longer. Although the exact details might be unique, I dont even know them. The fact that Harrison at first didnt want do serve a missiin and then decided to anyway probably means he was pushing the time line tighter than normal. With the mad rush to have people lined up for the next fall the ligistics are always tight. Still I think there might be a better way to build in lee way but with various title IX and NCAA rules leeway in giving scholarships is not that broad.<br /><br />The fact that Harrison's older brother served a mission and attended BYU tells me there are signs we are making progress. Frank Jackson's older sister went to BYU and met her white husband there. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-41907834204102558312017-04-26T10:36:11.266-06:002017-04-26T10:36:11.266-06:00The caveat with Jackson was an LDS African-America...The caveat with Jackson was an LDS African-American father. Jabari Parker's father was not LDS. Nrandon Davies was only raised by a mom. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-64664162917025867292017-04-25T21:09:00.786-06:002017-04-25T21:09:00.786-06:00DeMarcus Harrison of South Carolina was probably r...DeMarcus Harrison of South Carolina was probably raised by by an African-American father but I am not sure. He played at BYU before transferring back home to Clemson. (Basketball).<br />Jordan Chatman is now at BC, his dad converted at the Y back in the 1980s. Both these guys pre-date Jackson and grew up outside of Utah.<br />Michael Hall of San Bernardino certainly has both black parents (I met him but not his folks), but he got baptized in France after BYU.<br />So depending on how you count it, there are a few African-American fathers of Div. 1 players before Jackson.<br />It's a good trend to see more LDS players of all ethnic backgrounds ib the Eastern US.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-4601993276702209232017-04-25T18:02:15.357-06:002017-04-25T18:02:15.357-06:00Port-Bouet Ivory Coast stake had 6 wards and branc...Port-Bouet Ivory Coast stake had 6 wards and branches created back on the 16th. That is half the units in that stake. This propelled it to being one of the 4 largest stakes in the Church by number of units.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-43282267817488638262017-04-25T17:08:55.167-06:002017-04-25T17:08:55.167-06:00On the other extreme is the man who was a tennis p...On the other extreme is the man who was a tennis player at Idaho State University. He is suing for harrasment, punishment because he intended to go on a mission and so forth. This culminated in an assistant coach hiring prostitues when the team was on a trip in Las Vegas to tempting and embarass him.<br /><br />It is teue that Idaho in general and Idaho stste in partucular have a kegacy and culture of anti-Mormonism unrivaled elsewhere. This is the state that banned all Mormons voting and had the law upheld by the Supreme Court in 1890. On the other hand this is tennis not as kboen for its players sexual prowess as basketball.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-76123770503220728632017-04-25T16:57:01.322-06:002017-04-25T16:57:01.322-06:00If the culture of some colleges in general is oppo...If the culture of some colleges in general is opposite to LDS values ghan the culture among some sports teams is even more so. BYU players and breaking the honor code even beckoned an issue altgough weather it is really more common or just gets more attention is hard to say.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-7532745340081307062017-04-25T16:53:18.794-06:002017-04-25T16:53:18.794-06:00In basketball there is Frank Jackson at Duke. He i...In basketball there is Frank Jackson at Duke. He initially said he would go to BYU but then decided he wanted to play somewhere where he would not be the best player on the team. Jackson may be the first Afeican-American Latter-day Saint in NCAA who was raised by an LDS African-American father. His dad was an LDS bishop in a primarily white ward in the DC area possibly the one that includee the DC temple. His dad has also been a state senator on Utah. His mom I'd white however so how African-American Frank Jackson is is hard to say but just as much as Jabari Parker. Jacksons decision not to serve a mission seems to have been a difficult one for him.<br /><br />At North Carolina at Chapel Hill this season there wad a returned missionary with the last name if Stillman. He had not expected to be able to return to play after his mission at least not at the same school.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-67505867484975333522017-04-25T16:43:08.918-06:002017-04-25T16:43:08.918-06:00I have no sense of who the stake missionaries are ...I have no sense of who the stake missionaries are in Southfield Ward. I do have a better sense I'm Sterling Heights Ward but not of their number. Southfield Ward has 4 temples and family history consultants I am not sure what the real number is in Sterling Heights Ward.<br /><br />I am tempted to say that both wards need to evaluate the people in this calling in light of its new nature. One of the people with this calling in one of the wards I am not even sure has ever been to the temple. I know when I had this calling all I was told to do was go to the family history center for a weekly shift. I wish I had been more proactive. I did on one occasion tey to get my ward members to join family search but the elders quorum president was lukewarm about the campaign. At the family history center I spent almost all my time helping those not of our faith. However it is not a strong missionary activity since guidelines siscourage trying to preach the gospel in a clear or concrete way. On one ocxasion the person I was helping was an investigator. A few times members would show up but this was extremely rare except since we were right by the temple back in the days of temple ready we would have people come and try to names processed to go to baptisms sometimes having given themselves way to little time.<br /><br />Even this ignores the fact that there were large chuncks of tone of no one at the family history center. This is why the stake president has since had the family history centers reduce their hours. At one time there was consideration of closing one and only having the one at the stake center. My mom would often express she wished this had been done. My parents ended practices against the handbook such as having the center open with no LDS staff present or having only one staff member pressent. I think there was a period of time when my Mom would spend 10 hours or more a weak at the center not counting the hour or more round trip to the chapel further than the other center at the stake center by the temple was closer. If the center had actually been heavily used than this amount of time there might have seemed justified. The reality is there were shifts no one showed up to use it. <br /><br />While there will always be a place and need for family history centers I hope the new system gets more one on one interaction.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-38160560475724742542017-04-25T14:16:15.982-06:002017-04-25T14:16:15.982-06:00Yeah, I meant all Indiana schools. I did think of ...Yeah, I meant all Indiana schools. I did think of Manti Teo at Notre Dame, which was a good sign. Hope there will be more. There's IU, Purdue, Ball State, Indiana St., then private schools like Valparaiso, Butler, Evansville, etc. <br />Perhaps there are some that I am not tracking but hopefully more will come with time. Although if I am a gifted LDS athlete, BYU or western schools make a lot more sense socially, which is a big part of college. Darell Bevell at Wisconsin was a good example at Wisconsin which Badger fans then will never forget. He served a mission in Cleveland, tead articles about it in local papers. We need more like him. Academically we need more as well. In all fields.<br />Indicators of greater growth per state, more visible. But as we have seen, most states seem to be growing positively. Some faster than others, obviously.<br />I forgot IUPUI and Fort Wayne.<br />Any or all the schools could use more represenation.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.com