A new stake has been created in Utah. The Spanish Fork Utah Maple Mountain Stake was created by a division of the Spanish Fork Utah Palmyra Stake, which had 12 wards and one branch. The new stake has six wards and one branch. There are now 544 stakes in Utah.
Nice to see the church continually growing in Utah. I remember last year you quoted there were only 535 stakes in utah. Matt are you aware of the cause of this? is it
ReplyDeleteA) a high number of immigrants easily converted by the churches massive size and culural impact on the state?
B) birthrate factors are still high leading to a multiplier effect generation by generation?
It would be interesting to look at which cities (of a sufficient size) have the highest %LDS (of course you wouldn't be able to get the data). Spanish Fork would be right up there--in my ward boundaries it's about 90-95% LDS.
ReplyDeleteTom-
ReplyDeleteIn Utah, the growth that we see is actually very small when we look at percentages. Much of the growth in new stakes and wards is in areas where there are new urban developments. The Utah missions are among the highest baptizing worldwide and I imagine that retention is also very good. Some of this congregational growth is reflected by members moving away from the Salt Lake communities to cities and towns between Salt Lake and Provo.
Overall, congregational and membership growth in the United States are reflected by population shifts in LDS membership rather than birthrates and convert baptisms. One of the states that has seen tremendous growth is Texas, which is primary attributed to LDS members in the Western United States moving to the area.
To Tom:
ReplyDeleteAs of today there are 50 new wards in Utah so far this year, a reduction of 16 branches (many having changed to ward status), 1 district, and 545 stakes, including the Springville Dry Creek Stake announced today in LDSChurchtemples.com and the Directory of Officers and Leaders (CDOL). Total Utah wards: 4460; total branches: 360, for 4820 total Utah congregations.