Second Stake in Benin Created Today and Corrections to Updated Benin Reaching the Nations Article

Today, the Church organized its second stake in the West African nation of Benin. The new stake, the Cococodji Benin Stake, was organized from the Cococodji Benin District. The Cococodji Benin District was organized from a division of the Cotonou Benin Stake in late 2018. It is unclear whether any units from the Cotonou Benin Stake were reassigned to the new stake. A video of the conference can be found here. Likely thousands of members appear to be attending the conference in the video. For those French speakers, please try to find where the information is presented on the new stake organization and let me know which units were assigned to the new stake and which branches became wards.

I have received information from local members and leaders in Benin that estimates for member activity rates in Benin contained in the updated Reaching the Nations article are significantly less than what they actually are. Recent numbers indicate as much as 85% of recent converts continue to regularly attend church services. The Cotonou Benin Stake reported more than 80% of members regularly attend church services during early 2021, and there were approximately 100 converts baptized in the stake in 2020. These activity and retention rates stand in stark contrast to reports I had received from returned missionaries 2-4 years ago who reported the emergence of member inactivity and leadership development problems. I apologize for the inaccurate data, and I am very grateful for the updated information which appears likely to be very accurate. As with any updates I provide on this blog, or updates to the Reaching the Nations articles or other resources on cumorah.com, if you ever find inaccurate data please contact me so that way we can do our best to present accurate information. I will be amending the Benin country profile report sometime in the next week to reflect the new data we received.

Updated Country Profile: Benin

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Benin. So much has changed for the Church in Benin since we originally posted this article on cumorah.com over 10 years ago. See below for the Future Prospects section of the article:

The Church in Benin has achieved significant growth within a short period of time as attested by the establishment of the Church’s first two stakes in the country within less than two decades of the first branch being organized. Convert retention and member activity rates are among the highest in the world, albeit there have been periods of time when there have been challenges with local leadership development and convert retention in the recent past. Recent experience has demonstrated that there are excellent prospects for rapid Church growth in Benin, but there is a need for strict fidelity to the timeless principles of effective missionary work—namely adequate and careful prebaptismal preparation, local member-led finding and fellowshipping efforts, emphasis on full-time mission preparation for youth, and proper mentoring and training of local leaders who are almost entirely recent converts from the past 5-10 years. The expansion of the Church into additional cities outside of Cotonou since the early 2010s is a welcome development especially given the mission’s focus during this time with the establishment of the first district in 2012 and the first stake in 2016. The creation of a separate mission for neighboring Togo appears likely in the foreseeable future, and this development may further help strengthen the fledgling Church in Benin.

Updated Country Profile - Rwanda

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Rwanda. See below for the Future Prospects section of the report:

The Church in Rwanda has significant potential given a highly receptive population to Latter-day Saint missionary work, increases in mission resources allocated to the country in recent years, official government recognition, the translation of Latter-day Saint scriptures into Kinyarwanda, and the establishment of dedicated and committed local leaders. However, the Church continues to assign few resources to Rwanda, and the country remains under the jurisdiction of the Uganda Kampala Mission. The organization of a separate mission headquartered in Kigali is greatly needed to provide greater mission president oversight and more resources and attention to fledgling congregations which have seen a significant reduction in member activity rates due to the government’s closure of thousands of places of worship. Moreover, the Church will require strategic vision to reach more than 80% of the Rwandan population which lives in rural areas.

Updated Country Profile - Ethiopia

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Ethiopia. The Church in Ethiopia experienced slow growth in the 1990s and for most of the 2000s, and again since the mid-2010s. There was a five-year period from the late 2000s to mid-2010s when the Church experienced rapid membership growth and the organization of new congregations. However, these efforts have since dramatically reversed due to problems with local leadership development and disruptions to the continuity of full-time missionary outreach. Ethiopia ranks among the least reached countries of the world by Latter-day Saints among countries with populations of at least 100 million people. In contrast, most missionary-minded Christian groups report steady growth rates that range from moderate to rapid.

See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

President Hinckley visited members of the Church from Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda in Nairobi, Kenya in February 1998 and predicted that the Church would grow in Kenya and surrounding countries. He stated, “Here there are now hundreds, there will be thousands, there will be tens of thousands. This gospel is true; it will spread over the earth."

In 2020, this prediction had yet to be fully realized. The small size of the Church in Ethiopia today comes as the result of the large, rapidly growing population of Ethiopia that has been highly underserved as a result of few missionaries assigned to the country, the relatively short time in which the Church has operated in the country, modest membership growth, and stagnant congregational growth that has persisted for more than a decade. The newly organized Ethiopia Addis Ababa Mission was desperately needed given Ethiopia’s large population, high potential for self-sustaining church growth if consistent outreach is extended, long distance from prior mission headquarters, and few mission resources devoted to the country. However, the outlook for growth appears mediocre in the near-term, as the mission will likely utilize its resources to primary strengthen existing membership and leadership and develop more effective teaching approaches, including more formalized Amharic language study for foreign missionaries. More significant growth in the medium term appears likely once there are sustained increases in the number of active members in the three Church centers in the country.

Updated Country Profile - The Netherlands

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for the Netherlands. The Church in the Netherlands has experienced one of the most dramatic declines in the past two decades in regards to the number of congregations and the number of cities with a Church presence. Approximately half of the cities with a Church presence in 1999 currently have a Church presence today. This decline in national outreach has been primarily driven by stagnant growth in the number of active members for many decades combined with concerns that the few active members in smaller congregations may become burned out with leadership responsibilities. Unfortunately, this decision has come at a significant cost that not only retracts the scope of the Church's missionary reach, but it also poses difficulties for Latter-day Saints to assimilate into new congregations and continue to attend church despite longer travel times to reach the nearest meetinghouse. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article.

Until the 2010s, the Church in the Netherlands reported more significant rates of membership growth than many other secularized European nations, but the outlook for future growth appears bleak given the ongoing trend of congregation consolidations. The doubling of the average number of members per congregation since 1999 points to significant member inactivity and convert retention problems that have compounded for decades. The Church has dramatically halved its national outreach capabilities in terms of the number of cities with congregations. Combined with the consolidation of the Netherlands Amsterdam Mission and the Belgium Brussels Mission into a single mission back in 2002, the Church allocates much fewer resources to the Netherlands than in previous decades even though the size of the population continues to increase and more receptive immigrant groups have become a larger percentage of the national population. Perhaps the greatest failure of the Church in the Netherlands has been the inability for the Church to find, teach, baptize, and retain for life new converts in appreciable numbers to not only expand into previously lesser-reached or unreached areas, but to maintain the cities where the Church has already established a presence. Although recent efforts by stake, mission, and area leaders have focused on the establishment of congregations with larger numbers of active members to reduce member burnout and promote more socializations opportunities at church, the size of active Church membership in individual congregations has not appeared to be the primary barrier for member inactivity and convert attrition in previous decades. Rather, a lack of member-missionary participation, reduced national outreach capabilities, insufficient pre-baptismal teaching and preparation for new converts, reliance on foreign full-time missionaries to staff local missionary needs, a highly secularized society, and the lack of language-specific congregations for immigrant groups appear primarily to blame for the Church’s floundering progress in the Netherlands. Establishing a strong Latter-day Saint presence among immigrant groups will be crucial to improve member activity and convert retention rates among the most receptive populations. Stagnant growth and low receptivity exhibited by the indigenous Dutch population is concerning and appears to be at the forefront of the decline in national outreach in recent years together with fewer full-time missionaries assigned. Greater self-sustainability of full-time missionary numbers as well as minimizing emigration among Dutch members will be required to maintain membership growth, expand national outreach, and preserve what remains of the Dutch Latter-day Saint community.

Updated Country Profile - Spain

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Spain. The Church in Spain has achieved significant membership growth during the past three decades. Today, there are more Latter-day Saints on Church records in Spain than in any other European country with the exception of the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, the number of congregations in Spain has not noticeably changed in approximately there decades even though Church membership has increased by 160%. The greatest progress that has occurred in recent decades has been the organization of many new stakes and the maturation of branches into wards due to augmentation in the number of active members. Nevertheless, the Church in Spain continues to struggle to sustainably expand its national outreach. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

The Church has significantly reduced its outreach in Spain since the mid-2000s as indicated by the closure of three of the prior five missions, the consolidation of approximately two dozen branches (many of which were the only branches that operated in a city), the closure of the Spain MTC, and the reduction of the full-time missionary force to less than half its prior level. With fewer full-time missionaries, low member activity rates, small Latter-day Saint family sizes, and increasing secularism and disinterest in organized religion among the Spanish population, the Church faces significant challenges in expanding national outreach for the long-term. Greater breakthroughs with the native Spaniard population and improved member activity rates are needed to sustain long-term growth. Nevertheless, the Church in Spain continues to report steady annual membership growth rates (i.e. 2-3%) and moderate convert retention levels (slightly more than 50% for one year after baptism). Notwithstanding this finding, the Church in Spain operated fewer official congregations in early 2020 (138) than it did nearly thirty years ago in 1991 (144) even though Church membership has increased by approximately 160%. Local Church leaders must undertake an active role in the promotion of effective member-missionary strategies and laying the groundwork to organize new congregations in lesser-reached or unreached areas within their stakes and congregations to help reverse the longstanding trend of stagnant congregational growth and better reach the Spanish population before societal conditions may further worsen and result in even more diminished receptivity to the Latter-day Saint gospel message.

Updated Country Profile - Portugal

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Portugal. Portugal holds the distinction of the European country with the highest percentage of Latter-day Saints at 0.44%, but it also ranks among the countries with the lowest member activity rates (estimated at 11%). Convert retention rates for the past decade have generally been about 50% for one year after baptism for new converts. However, the bulk of Church membership in Portugal joined the Church between 1980 and 1995 when adequate pre-baptismal standards were not widely enforced. See below for the Future Prospects section for this article.

Portugal continues to present a receptive population to Latter-day Saint missionary efforts in comparison to other European countries as evidenced by generally 500-1,000 new converts baptized a year in only one mission. However, poor convert retention and low member activity accumulating over the past several decades have presented major concerns and have contributed to the closure of many branches and difficulties for districts to mature into stakes. Rejection of past rush-baptize tactics and rebuilding of mission policies based on scriptural mandates and the need for converts to firmly establish basic gospel habits prior to baptism will be key to the Church’s long-term efforts to experience real growth and develop a stable, self-sustaining and self-perpetuating local membership. Reestablishing a Church presence in cities that formerly had mission outreach centers will be vital to expanding nation outreach in Portugal, and this has already begun to occur within the past decade with some sustained success as most of these branches have continued to operate for many years now with local branch presidents. However, congregation consolidations have continued to occur, particularly in the largest cities. Youth involvement in church education programs like seminary, institute, family history and temple work, and missionary preparation classes may ensure greater convert retention and member activity, in addition to increasing the size of the local missionary force.

Updated Country Profile - Italy

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Italy. The Church reestablished missionary activity in Italy in 1966, and today there are approximately 27,500 members nationwide. The Church has achieved significant progress with the establishment of stakes in the country and the dedication of the Rome Italy Temple in 2019. There were only three stakes in 2000, whereas today there are 10 stakes. However, the establishment of stakes has come at the cost of closing dozens of branches to establish larger congregations due to slow membership growth during this period. Consequently, the Church in Italy maintained a more widespread presence in the late 1990s than 20 years later even though Church membership increased by over 11,000 during this time. Nevertheless, the Church in Italy has many strong wards with as many as 150 active members today. However, the Church will need to reverse its trend of declining national outreach in order to achieve greater growth. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

The trend of decreasing numbers of congregations and missionaries during the past two decades has resulted in more limited national outreach. Although membership has matured in many areas, smaller cities and rural areas have seen little or no progress in the growth of the Church over the past two decades. Long-term growth and self-sufficiency of the Church will largely depend on increasing native-Italian missionaries, breakthroughs in outreach among Italians, and a sustained reversal of congregational declines. Some positive developments have occurred in lieu of the Rome Italy Temple announcement and dedication, such as increasing convert baptisms of full Italian families. However, the Church in Italy continues to struggle with a lack of progress among Italian members and expanding the Church’s outreach rather than consolidating it. With the entire country administered by stakes as of 2020, stake presidents may have better opportunities to identify cities and towns which appear favorable to begin member groups to help spur greater growth. In sum, future Latter-day Saint growth in Italy will strongly depend on the local Italian Church’s ability to be self-sufficient in leadership and missionary needs, and the mobilization of local members to take the lead to find, prepare, and fellowship new converts who develop a lifelong conversion to the Church.

Updated Country Profile - Switzerland

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Switzerland. Switzerland has the highest percentage of Latter-day Saints of any Central European country, although only 0.11% of the population is a Latter-day Saint on Church records. The Church in Switzerland has a strong and highly self-sufficient leadership which contributed to Switzerland's selection as the location for the first European temple in the 1950s. Furthermore, Church leadership in Switzerland is also skilled and has very few Church employees who also serve in local lay positions. Nevertheless, very slow membership growth has occurred for decades and only 34% of Church-reported members regularly attend worship services. Significant ethnic diversification of Latter-day Saint congregations in Switzerland has occurred in the past two decades due to higher receptivity among immigrants, particularly from Latin America and Africa. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

Slow Latter-day Saint membership growth and a decline in the number of congregations during the 2000s and 2010s indicate modest convert retention rates and no recent expansion of national outreach. The creation of two new stakes and the maturation of several branches into wards during this period illustrates some progress strengthening existing congregations and local leadership, but many of these developments may be due to the influx of immigrant converts. Switzerland demonstrates that a mature church presence that has been established for decades longer than in most European nations does not guarantee greater potential for national outreach expansion, and, more often, national outreach declines over time as active Latter-day Saint populations form tight-knit socio-religious communities and reduce their interaction with the general population. Latter-day Saint populations appear much more stable in Switzerland than in many other Central European nations, but little church growth will likely occur unless greater member involvement in missionary activity occurs, along with adapting proselytism and teaching approaches to nominal Christian and secular Swiss populations. The creation and growth of the Frauenfeld Ward in the 1990s and 2000s and the growth of the church among English and Spanish-speakers in Geneva and Zurich illustrate that potential for church growth remains but requires vision, flexibility, and utilization of opportunities by local members and church leaders alike.

Updated Country Profile - South Sudan

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for South Sudan. South Sudan is one of only a few African nations where the Church no longer has an official Church presence. Although there were thousands of prospective members who requested baptism in the late 2000s, very few of these individuals have since joined the Church. The Church closed the Juba Branch in the mid-2010s due to the civil war. A peace deal was recently reached between the government and rebel forces, although it is unclear whether this agreement will result in long-term stability and peace. South Sudanese-specific outreach occurs in Salt Lake City, Utah at present and there is at least one ward in Kampala, Uganda that is predominantly South Sudanese. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

South Sudan presents valuable opportunities for future growth in the Church given a highly receptive population with several groups of prospective Latter-day Saints who appear to continue to await baptism. However, civil war, low living standards, and political instability all pose nearly insurmountable barriers to the Church’s use of foreign full-time missionaries unless conditions markedly improve. The lack of a Church presence in South Sudan today despite the operation of a branch between late 2009 and the mid-2010s underscores the Church’s struggles to develop greater self-sufficiency in local leadership that is capable to maintain the operation of basic congregations without the close support of foreign missionary manpower and leadership oversight. During the 2010s, other Christian denominations have achieved significant headway and growth through the use of local manpower and resources, whereas The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ceased its official operations. The lesson learned from the Church’s brief operation in South Sudan is the need to find creative and effective methods to support local leaders who have minimal leadership experience in the Church and who may not be able to be met in person by mission or area leaders for considerable time due to safety concerns for foreigners. Use of technologies such as videoconferencing may be helpful to overcome these challenges in the largest cities such as Juba. Flexible strategies that foster organic growth and self-sufficiency in the Church are greatly needed in countries such as South Sudan which may remain unreached by traditional Latter-day Saint missionary paradigms for years or decades.

Updated Country Profile - Central African Republic

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for the Central African Republic. The Church has maintained a continuous presence in the country for almost 30 years although young, proselytizing missionaries have never been assigned due to political instability. low living conditions, and geographical isolation from the nearest mission headquarters. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

The opening of the Cameroon Yaoundé Mission and the Africa Central Area in 2020 present good opportunities for more member and leader support and resources to explore options to begin deliberate missionary efforts in Bangui. Ongoing political instability, low living standards, and geographical isolation from the nearest cities with a Latter-day Saint presence remain major barriers to assign foreign, full-time missionaries. It is unlikely the Church will assign young, full-time missionaries until greater peace and political stability is established and maintained. Mobilization of local members and leaders to find, teach, baptize, and retain new converts appears the most appropriate method to help the Church grow in the immediate future. Translations of basic missionary and gospel study materials and the Book of Mormon into Sangho is greatly needed given the widespread use of this creole language throughout the country. The assignment of a senior missionary couple presents good opportunities to explore humanitarian and development projects to help alleviate suffering, especially in regards to literacy classes and medical care, although this may not be possible until conditions in Bangui become safer for foreigners to live in the city for extended periods of time.

Updated Country Profile - Turkey

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Turkey. The Church originally opened its Turkish Mission in 1884 and intermittent missionary efforts occurred among Armenians and Arabs in the mission until its headquarters were transferred to Syria in the 1930s. Although branches were organized in several cities during the 1970s for American military and foreigners who lived in the country, it was not until the 1980s when Turks began to join the Church in larger numbers. Nevertheless, Turks have been largely unreceptive to the Latter-day Saint gospel message albeit foreign groups, such as Iranians and Iraqis, have been receptive and join the Church regularly. Today, Iranians outnumber other ethnic groups in multiple branches, and the branch in one city (Isparta) is an Iranian Persian-speaking congregation. The Church first assigned proselytizing missionaries to Turkey in 2012, but their presence was periodically interrupted by visa renewal problems or political instability. Finally, the Church withdrew these missionaries in 2018 after greater safety threats were evident following the government's suspicions of the Church's involvement in the failed political coup. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

The assignment of proselytizing, full-time missionaries in the past decade was a significant development for not only the Church in Turkey but the Church’s efforts to reach Muslim-majority nations. The proactive efforts of the Church to also organize a mission headquartered in Istanbul and expand missionary activity into previously unreached cities is highly commendable in an era where the Church has been very conservative in its outreach expansion efforts in neighboring nations. These efforts led to quick tangible results, such as increases in church attendance, membership totals, and the number of congregations. The high receptivity among Iranians in Turkey has been one of the most noteworthy developments which has resulted in Iranians outnumbering all other ethnic groups in multiple congregations, and the organization of the first-ever Iranian Persian-speaking branch in Turkey in the city of Isparta. The withdrawal of foreign, full-time missionaries has come at a most unfortunate time in which the Church has achieved significant headway in establishing a Latter-day Saint community that is not predominantly comprised of Western expatriates. The ongoing absence of foreign full-time missionaries will be an important period to test the durability of new converts and whether the Church can achieve greater self-sufficiency in its functioning with little-to-no outsourced leadership resources.

Updated Country Profile - The Gambia

Click here to access the updated country profile for The Gambia - a small West African country inhabited by two million people whose population is 95% Muslim and 4% Christian. The Church reported 19 members in the country in 2013. There remains no official branch despite widespread religious freedom and the operation of many other Christian denominations in the country. The unprecedented expansion of the Church into traditionally Muslim areas of West Africa since 2016 may indicate the Church will soon establish a presence in The Gambia as well. For example, area leadership noted in 2018 that they had recently visited and met with Gambian members. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

The Gambia is one of the most tolerant Muslim-majority nations in West Africa and offers significant opportunity for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to grow due to freedom of religion despite the slow growth of most Christian denominations over the past decade. The recent establishment of the Church in Senegal, Guinea, and Mali has immediately produced good results and rapid growth in fledgling branches and member groups. However, other nearby nations with larger populations may take precedence over The Gambia due to limited missionary resources allocated to Muslim West Africa and the cautious manner in which the Church has expanded its presence in Africa. Gambian members petitioning area leadership to organize a member group in Banjul appears the most likely method that the Church will begin to establish an official presence in The Gambia. Humanitarian and development needs provide excellent opportunities for the Church to serve and establish a presence. Delaying an official Church establishment may result in missed opportunities if religious freedom conditions deteriorate or the population becomes more receptivity to Christianity one day and many join missionary-oriented Christian faiths that have maintained a long-term presence. The placement of even one senior missionary couple in Banjul could offer significant contributions to laying the foundation for consistent humanitarian activity and the initial establishment of the Church. Assignment of The Gambia to a full-time mission, such as the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission, would also permit greater attention and resources to establish a Church presence. Prospects for a future mission one day headquartered in Dakar, Senegal would also likely significantly improve the likelihood that the Church would establish an official presence in The Gambia complete with proselytizing missionaries.

Updated Country Profile - São Tomé and Príncipe

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for São Tomé and Príncipe. The islands are inhabited by slightly more than 200,000 people and number among the few predominantly Christian nations in Africa without an official Church presence. There are good opportunities for growth given the demographics of the country and the Church's historical successes in less populous island nations such as Cabo Verde and the South Pacific. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article.

In a period of Church history with unprecedented opportunities to expand mission outreach in Africa, São Tomé and Príncipe remains a lesser priority due to the lack of local members, remote location, and small Portuguese-speaking population. Nevertheless, the islands present a valuable opportunity for growth given the Church’s historical successes in other island nations such as Cabo Verde and in the South Pacific. Mission and area Church leaders will likely need to conduct additional exploratory trips to assess conditions and search for isolated members. The assignment of even one senior missionary couple may provide an impetus toward establishing a permanent presence and the opening of the islands to missionary work.

Updated Country Profile - Guinea-Bissau

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Guinea-Bissau. Guinea-Bissau is geographically one of the smallest nations in Africa and has a population of only 1.8 million. Guinea-Bissau is one of the few African nations without a Latter-day Saint presence where there is widespread religious freedom and a significant Christian minority (22% of the population). See below for the Future Prospects sections of this article:

The absence of a United States embassy in Guinea-Bissau, limited infrastructure and health care, and ongoing political instability may lead the Church to hesitate commencing formal missionary activity despite dozens of members who reportedly live in the country and widespread religious freedom. The Church’s historical reliance on American senior missionaries to establish the Church in unreached nations appears a major obstacle given these conditions. Security issues also pose potential concerns, although Latter-day Saint missions have long operated in Latin American nations with similar issues. Nevertheless, the Church in West Africa during the mid- to late 2010s promptly obtained government recognition and organized its first congregations in several previously unreached nations within a matter of months or a few years, suggesting that the Church may make similar strides in the remaining unreached West African nations such as Guinea-Bissau and The Gambia. Due to the maturation of the Church in many more established African nations like Ghana and Nigeria, African senior missionary couples may be assigned to the country to assist in establishing a presence. The growth of the Church in nearby Cabo Verde may result in Portuguese-speaking African missionaries being assigned in small numbers to Guinea-Bissau once regional and international Church leaders decide to begin proselytism.

Updated Country Profile - Equatorial Guinea

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Equatorial Guinea - a small nation in Central Africa inhabited by approximately 800,000 people. Distance from the nearest mission headquarters, a comparatively small population, corruption in government, use of Spanish as the primary language for inter-ethnic communication, and a lack of local members who have joined the Church abroad and returned to Equatorial Guinea all appear factors that have delayed the establishment of the Church notwithstanding a predominantly Christian population, no societal abuses of religious freedom, and no legal barriers that prevent a Church establishment. The creation of the Cameroon Yaounde Mission in July will likely be an important impetus for a Church establishment due to more mission resources in the region. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

Definite opportunities exist for the establishment of congregations and mission outreach in Equatorial Guinea, and some Latter-day Saints are known to live in the country. Other denominations have taken advantage of the opportunities for religious freedom and proselytism and have experienced rapid growth, whereas The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has not yet utilized these opportunities. Too long a delay may result in missing a window of religious freedom, or entering under circumstances of decreased receptivity due to increasing materialism or an environment in which religious interest has waned and most religious seekers have already been discipled into other denominations. Nonetheless, there appear to be no specific plans for the Church to enter Equatorial Guinea at present. The creation of the Cameroon Yaoundé Mission in 2020 may present an adequate impetus to permit mission and area leadership to seriously consider the establishment of the Church in Equatorial Guinea.

Updated Country Profile - Niger

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Niger. Niger is one of the most populous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where there The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has never had a presence. Distance from the nearest Latter-day Saint centers in West Africa, poverty, low living standards, a lack of Nigerien converts worldwide, political instability, and a homogeneously Muslim population have all appeared to deter a Church establishment. See below for the Future Prospects sections of this article:

Establishing the Church in Niger will be challenging, as there has never been a Church presence in Niger, and there are very few, if any, Nigeriens who have joined the Church abroad. A Church presence in Niger appears unlikely for many more years given poverty, illiteracy, political instability, and a homogeneously Muslim population. The Church appears most likely to establish a presence in Niger once there are multiple Latter-day Saints who live in Niamey and request the Africa West Area presidency for an official Church establishment. Area leadership and senior missionaries can help identify isolated members or prospective members to prepare for a future Church establishment. Religious freedom conditions in Niger are nearly unprecedented among countries where Muslims comprise 99% or more of the population. Expansion of Latter-day Saint Charities humanitarian and development projects may be an effective method to alleviate local suffering and establish a positive relationship between the Church and the government.

Updated Country Profile - Chad

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Chad. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has never maintained a presence in Chad despite religious freedom in most areas of the country. Poverty, political instability, and extremely few Chadian converts in other countries appear the primary reasons why there is no Church presence in Chad today. Nevertheless, there are good opportunities for growth, particularly in major cities and in southern areas of the country. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

The Church in West Africa has seen increasing outreach and expansion into neighboring nations, but prospects for future Church establishment in Chad appeared unfavorable in early 2020. Insurgencies and widespread poverty challenge missionary efforts. Very few Chadians have joined the Church abroad, which has created challenges for the Church to establish itself in Chad. Once greater stability is established, Chad appears a likely candidate for more widespread Church-sponsored humanitarian and development work starting in the southern regions. Such efforts can aim at improving quality of life of Chadians, establishing good terms with the government, and preparing the way for a future Church presence.

Updated Country Profile - China

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for China. I spent a great deal updating this important profile, which is over 14,000 words long, particularly in regards to the regional profiles for each administrative division of China. Although the Church in China has achieved significant growth among People's Republic of China (PRC) citizens, there remain many obstacles to growth, particularly in regards to religious freedom restrictions that have worsened just within the past couple years. I have received reports that the Church has closed a few of its branches for PRC citizen members due to the tightening of religious freedom in certain areas that forbids the assembly of congregations (even though The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is very strict to follow local laws and has a positive relationship with the government). Furthermore, in recent weeks we have seen the closure of the Mandarin-speaking branch in Macau, the Macau 3rd Branch, and the relatively recently organized Mandarin-speaking branch on the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong.

Although missionaries report that the decision to close the second Mandarin-speaking branch in Hong Kong was designated to strengthen the Mandarin membership in Hong Kong, it appears that there have been greater difficulties with PRC citizens visiting Hong Kong and Macau, and greater challenges operating more congregations to meet their needs as Mandarin-speaking members are often more transient. Nevertheless, the Church has reported a net increase in Chinese-specific congregations worldwide, particularly in the United States. In the early 2010s, there were fourteen Chinese-specific congregations in the United States (12 Chinese, 2 Mandarin), whereas in late 2019, there were twenty-four Chinese-specific congregations in the United States (14 Chinese, 10 Mandarin). Chinese-specific outreach efforts in the United States continue to be productive in many areas, such as in southern California where the Yale (Mandarin) Ward had 171 convert baptisms, thirteen members served full-time missions, and fourteen families were sealed in the temple all within the first decade of the congregation’s operation. See below for the Future Prospects section of this article:

Government policy and law currently forbid proselytism by foreign or native missionaries and restricts the communication between Chinese nationals and international Church leaders. The greatest limitations for future growth are an insufficient supply of local leadership, limited opportunities for mentoring and training from regional and worldwide Latter-day Saint leadership, restrictions on the importation and distribution of scriptures and church literature, and the significant tightening of religious freedom conditions by government officials and legislation since the late 2010s. Prospects for full recognition of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and permissions for foreign missionaries in the medium term appear to be slim to none. However, there is a more favorable outlook for continued growth through legal means of members sharing their beliefs with family members and the resultant increase in authorized congregations or small meeting groups. The quiet, rapid growth of Latter-day Saint membership in China over the past decade has occurred principally through the relatives of current members and provides an excellent outlook for future long-term growth and sustainability regardless of changes in religious freedom conditions. Furthermore, outreach to Han Chinese outside mainland China continues to expand in vision with the calling of Chinese-speaking missionaries to serve in many nations around the world in addition to the creation of Chinese-speaking congregations abroad. The increase in full-time missionaries who serve from China is a major success that will promote long-term growth, increase future leadership manpower, and provide returned missionaries with valuable experience in Church administration in areas where the Church is most established in the United States and other nations in which they may serve. In contrast to the entry of the Church into Russia following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, a basic administrative infrastructure is in place in many regions of China. The Church overall was not fully prepared to meet the needs and opportunities presented when Russia opened to missionary work and consequently experienced low retention, limited national outreach expansion following the first decade of formal missionary activity, and poor local leadership development. The Church has learned many lessons from Russia and has placed a stronger emphasis on member-missionary work in a family setting in accordance with government policy and local laws.

Updated Country Profile - Macau

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Macau. The Church has maintained a presence in Macau for over 40 years, but there remain less than 1,500 members organized into three branches today. Less than 20% of Church members appear to regularly attend Sunday meetings. Secularism, materialism, the gambling industry, and nominalism in traditional faiths are barriers for growth. See below for the Future Prospects section of the updated article:

The growth outlook over the foreseeable future appears mediocre due to the small community of active Latter-day Saints, low responsiveness of the population to the Church’s teachings, and the increasing influence of gambling and secularism on Macanese society. The operation of language-specific branches for English, Cantonese, and Mandarin speakers is meaningful and offers mission outreach support and infrastructure if the population one day becomes more receptive to Latter-day Saint teachings. Macau appears unlikely to become a stake for many years or decades until there are at least five, ward-sized congregations and 500 active members, whereas at present the Church appears only half-way in accomplishing this goal despite over forty years of outreach.