Stakes Likely to Split Outside the United States and Canada

Below is an updated list of LDS stakes with large numbers of congregations that may split to create new stakes in the near future.  The previous list from January 2011 can be found here.

AFRICA

• Accra Ghana Adenta (9 wards, 4 branches)
• Benin City Nigeria Ihogbe (11 wards)
• Benin City Nigeria Ikpokpan (10 wards)
• Benin City Nigeria New Benin (15 wards) 
• Brazzaville Republic of Congo (9 wards, 4 branches)
• Bulawayo Zimbabwe (8 wards, 5 branches, 1 group)
• Katuba Democratic Republic of Congo (10 wards, 2 branches)
• Kinshasa Democratic Republic of Congo (10 wards)
• Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of Congo (11 wards)
• Roodepoort South Africa (12 wards, 6 branches)
• Takoradi Ghana (10 wards)
• Tema Ghana (13 wards)

ASIA

• Butuan Philippines (10 wards, 1 branch)
• Cavite Philippines (10 wards, 1 branch)
• Singapore (10 wards, 2 branches)

CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

• Alajuela Costa Rica (10 wards, 2 branches)
• Chimaltenango Guatemala (10 wards, 3 branches)
• Fesitranh Honduras (9 wards, 4 branches)
• La Ceiba Honduras (10 wards)
• Managua Nicaragua (10 wards)
• San Jose Costa Rica La Paz (11 wards, 1 branch)
• Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Ozama (10 wards)

EUROPE

• Milan Italy (10 wards, 2 branches)

MEXICO

• Amecameca Mexico (10 wards, 1 branch)
• Celaya Mexico (11 wards)
• Chalco Mexico (10 wards)
• Chilpancingo Mexico (10 wards, 5 branches)
• Ciudad Victoria Mexico (10 wards, 1 branch)
• Coatzacoalcos Mexico Puerto (13 wards)
• Colonia Juarez Mexico East (11 wards)
• Culiacan Mexico (10 wards, 1 branch)
• Jalapa Mexico (10 wards)
• Juchitan Mexico (10 wards, 3 branches)
• Mexico City Anahuac (11 wards)
• Mexico City Chapultepec (10 wards)
• Mexico City Cuautitlan (11 wards)
• Mexico City Culturas (11 wards)
• Mexico City Iztapalapa (10 wards)
• Mexico City Tecamac (11 wards)
• Mexico City Tepalcapa (11 wards)
• Mexico City Valle Dorado (11 wards, 1 branch)
• Oaxaca Mexico Monte Alban (10 wards, 3 branches)
• Puebla Mexico Nealtican (12 wards, 1 branch)
• Salta Mexico Republica (11 wards)
• Veracruz Mexico Villa Rica (10 wards, 1 branch)
• Villahermosa Mexico Gaviotas (10 wards, 1 branch)

OCEANIA

• Ha'apai Tonga (9 wards, 5 branches)
• Liverpool Australia (11 wards)
• Newcastle Australia (10 wards, 2 branches)
• Nuku'alofa Tonga (10 wards)
• Apia Samoa West (10 wards)
• Pesega Samoa (10 wards)
• Savaii Samoa (12 wards)

SOUTH AMERICA

• Brasilia Brazil Alvorada (10 wards, 2 branches)
• Buenos Aires Argentina Castelar (10 wards)
• Cochabamba Bolivia (11 wards, 1 branch)
• Cochabamba Bolivia Jaihuayco (10 wards)
• Fortaleza Brazil Litoral (9 wards)
• Godoy Cruz Argentina (10 wards, 2 branches)
• Guayaquil Ecuador Pascuales (10 wards, 1 branch)
• Joao Pessoa Brazil Rangel (9 wards, 1 branch)
• Juiz de Fora Brazil (11 wards)
• Jujuy Argentina (10 wards, 3 branches)
• La Paz Bolivia Miraflores (12 wards, 1 branch)
• La Plata Argentina Villa Elvira (10 wards, 2 branches) 
• Lima Peru Canto Grande (10 wards)
• Lima Peru Villa Salvador (10 wards)
• Luque Paraguay (10 wards, 3 branches)
• Montevideo Uruguay East (12 wards)
• Quito Ecuador Chillogallo (11 wards)
• Santa Cruz Bolivia Canoto (11 wards)
• Santa Maria Brazil (10 wards, 1 branch)

New Stake in Nigeria

A new stake was created in Nigeria.  The Port Harcourt Nigeria East Stake was created and becomes the third stake in Port Harcourt and the 18th in Nigeria.  The first stake in Port Harcourt was organized in 1990 followed by a second stake in 2003.  Congregational information will be posted under "comments" once it becomes available. 

First District Created in the Solomon Islands

Missionaries report that the first LDS district in the Solomon Islands was organized yesterday.  The Honiara Solomon Islands District includes the three branches on Guadalcanal (Burns Creek, Honiara, White River) and a group meeting on Malaita in Fauabu.  The Church dedicated the islands to missionary work in 1987 and the first LDS presence was established in 1995 when missionaries were assigned and began holding sacrament meetings.  A single branch met in Honiara, Guadalcanal until 2010 when two new branches were created in the Honiara area.  Full-time missionaries were recently assigned off of Guadalcanal for the first time in Fauabu, Malaita where a small group of approximately 40 members and investigators meet.

The creation of the new district is a major achievement for the Church that indicates maturing local leadership and good convert retention considering two of the three branches in the islands were organized just last year and the number of priesthood leaders is sufficient to staff branches and a district.  With nearly 600,000 inhabitants, the Solomon Islands is the third most populated nation in Melanesia after Papua New Guinea and Fiji yet has the lowest percentage of Latter-day Saints in Oceania among nations and territories with an LDS presence (approximately one member per 2,000 inhabitants).  Prospects appear favorable for continued outreach expansion but will hinge on increasing the number of full-time missionaries assigned due to few members in the islands.  More efficient LDS missionary activity will also require the translation of LDS materials into Solomons Pijin.

Two New Stakes in Utah

Two new stakes were recently created in Utah, the Saratoga Springs Utah Crossroads Stake and the Santa Clara Utah Heights Stake.  The Saratoga Springs Utah Crossroads Stake was organized from the Saratoga Springs Utah and Saratoga Springs Utah South Stakes whereas the Santa Clara Utah Heights Stake was organized from the Santa Clara Utah Stake.  I will provide congregational information for the two new stakes once it becomes available.  There are now 558 stakes in Utah.

So far this year there have been 57 new stakes organized; the largest number of new stakes created in a single year since 1998 when 84 new stakes were organized.

New Stakes in Colombia and Utah

Colombia

A new stake was organized in the Bogotá area.  The Bogotá Colombia La Libertad was created from the Soacha Colombia and Bogotá Colombia Kennedy Stakes and includes the following six wards and one branch: The Bosa, Casablanca, La Libertad, Patiobonito, Piamonte, and Roma Wards and the Tintal Branch.  The Soacha Colombia Stake now has five wards whereas the Bogotá Colombia Kennedy Stake has six wards.  Notwithstanding rapid congregation growth in the Bogotá area during the 1990s when the number of stakes doubled from four to eight, congregational growth in the 2000s was very slow and limited primarily to the Soacha area.  The new stake becomes the first new stake organized in the Bogotá area since the Soacha Colombia Stake in 2003.  There are now 29 stakes and 12 districts in Colombia.

Utah

A new stake was created in Utah.  The Farmington Utah West Stake was created from the Farmington Utah and Farmington Utah Oakridge Stakes and includes the following seven wards: The Farmington Pointe, Farmington Ranches 1st, Farmington Ranches 2nd, Farmington Ranches 3rd, Farmington Ranches 4th, Hunters Creek, and Quail Crossing Wards.  There are now five stakes in Farmington and 556 in Utah.

Stake Discontinued in Utah

A stake was discontinued in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Organized in 1943, the Salt Lake Park Stake was discontinued and four of its five wards (First, Legrand, Tenth, and Thirty First) were transferred to the Salt Lake Sugarhouse Stake.  The Salt Lake Valley 1st (Deaf) Ward was transferred to the Salt Lake Granite Stake. 

2011 has been an unprecedented year for stake consolidations in Utah.  Only five stakes were discontinued in Utah in the 2000s yet in 2011 six stakes have been discontinued in the state (Blanding Utah West, Salt Lake Mount Olympus North, Taylorsville Utah West, Bennion Heights Utah, West Valley Utah, and Salt Lake Park).  Stake consolidations have been long overdue in the Salt Lake City area as active members have steadily relocated to suburban communities or elsewhere over the past several decades resulting in dwindling numbers of congregations in operating stakes.  Stakes operating in areas of Salt Lake City bound by I-215 up to the downtown area appear most vulnerable to consolidations in the near future as many stakes have six or fewer wards.  The rate at which congregations have closed in the older areas of Salt Lake City has not appeared to have significantly changed over the past decade.

Currently there are 555 stakes in Utah; an increase of nine since the beginning of 2011.  Of the 15 new stakes created in Utah in 2011, 10 were YSA stakes.

Stake Discontinued in Panama

For the first time a stake has been discontinued in Panama.  Organized in 1998, the San Isidro Panamá Stake consisted of five wards and one branch and was consolidated with the neighboring San Miguelito Panamá Stake which had only four wards.  Congregation consolidations have occurred regularly throughout Panama and recently have occurred in the Panama City area.  The LDS Church reached a high of 112 congregations in 2001 and today there are 73 congregations nationwide; a decrease of 39 units in only a decade.  Low member activity and convert retention rates appear primarily to blame for this major contraction in LDS outreach and congregations.  Additional stakes may be consolidated if additional wards and branches are closed.  There are now seven stakes and five districts in Panama.

New Stakes in the Philippines and Venezuela

Philippines

Full-time missionaries serving in the Philippines Cauayan Mission report that the Tuguegarao Philippines Stake divided to create a second stake in the city of Tugegarao last Sunday.  Prior to the division of the stake, there were 10 wards and 3 branches in the stake.  Earlier this year, two additional stakes were created in the country in Santiago and Makati.  There are now 83 stakes and 85 districts in the Philippines.

Venezuela

The fourth new stake to be created in Venezuela in 2011 was organized a couple Sundays ago.  The Cabimas Venezuela Stake was organized from the Ciudad Ojeda Venezuela Stake and includes the following five wards and two branches: The Buena Vista, Cabimas, La Rosa, Los Laureles, and Los Medanos Wards and La Rita and Punta Gorda Branches.  The Ciudad Ojeda Venezuela Stake now has five wards and one branch.  Currently no other stakes in the country appear close to splitting although a couple districts may become stakes in the near future.  There are now 33 stakes and eight districts in Venezuela.  Of the 33 stakes operating at present, 17 have been created since 2001; nearly a 100% increase within only decade.