March 2014 Newsletter

We have posted our March edition of our monthly newsletter for cumorah.com detailing recent church growth and missionary developments and recently posted resources on our website. Click here to access the newsletter.

Rapid Growth in Cote d'Ivoire Continues

I may seem to be a bit fixated on recent church growth developments in the West African nation of Cote d'Ivoire, but I really want to emphasize how exceptional recent growth developments have been in this French-speaking country of 23 million. Some of these developments include:

• The simultaneous organization of six branches within a single weekend last month in Daloa. No branches previously functioned in this the fourth most populous city in the country. The Church has never appeared to organize so many new branches within a single weekend in a location that previously had no official wards or branches operating.
• The simultaneous organization of three branches within a single weekend in July 2013 within the Gagnoa area.
• The division of the Meagui Branch into two branches in early 2014; less than 18 months from when the original Meagui Branch was created.
• Since the beginning of 2012, the number of cities with an LDS ward or branch has nearly tripled from six to 15.
• Since the beginning of 2012, the number of congregations in the entire country has almost doubled from 42 to 82.
• Between year-end 2011 and year-end 2013, church membership has increased by approximately 40%.
• Since the beginning of 2012, the number of wards in Abidjan has increased from 30 to 47.
• In early 2013, the Church reported that two of the five stakes with the highest percentage of adult members who have submitted family names for temple ordinances are located in Abidjan.
• No non-African members have served full-time missions in Cote d'Ivoire within the past several years, indicating regional self-sufficiency in staffing the Ivorian full-time missionary force.  

Based on these recent developments, it appears likely that the Church will organize a second mission in Cote d'Ivoire due to recent rapid growth and excellent opportunities for continued expansion. Locations that appear most likely include a second mission in Abidjan or a mission headquartered in Yamoussoukro. Additionally, Abidjan appears a prime candidate for a temple announcement in the near future.

What are your thoughts? I am curious to get everyone's feedback on these unprecedented church growth developments.

New Stakes in Arizona, Brazil and Utah; New Districts in Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone

Arizona
Last Sunday, a new stake was created in Arizona. The San Tan Valley Arizona Stake was created from a division of the Queen Creek Arizona South Stake and includes the following six wards: The Bella Vista, Copper Basin, Desert Hills, Florence 1st, Florence 2nd, and Johnson Ranch Wards. There are now 96 stakes in Arizona.

Brazil
Last Sunday, a new stake was created in Santa Catarina State. The Joinville Brazil South Stake was organized from the Joinville Brazil Stake and includes the following five wards and one branch: The Fátima, Itaum, Itinga, Jaraguá do Sul, and Vila Nova Wards and the São Francisco do Sul Branch. There are now 250 stakes and 41 districts in Brazil and eight wards and one district in Santa Catarina State.

Utah
Last Sunday, a new stake was created in Utah. The Eagle Mountain Utah Cedar Pass Stake was organized from the Eagle Mountain Utah and Eagle Mountain Utah North Stakes and includes the following eight wards: The Cedar Pass 1st, Cedar Pass 2nd, Cedar Pass 10th, Highlands 1st, Kennekuk, Sage Valley, and Willow Springs Wards. There are now 568 stakes and one district in Utah.

Cote d'Ivoire
Last Sunday, a new district was created in Cote d'Ivoire. The San-Pedro Cote d'Ivoire District was organized from the Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan Mission and includes the following four branches: The LAC, San Pedro, Seweke 1st, and Seweke 2nd Branches. Two of these branches were organized within the past year. The new district becomes the Church's first district in southeastern Cote d'Ivoire. There are now five stakes and two districts in Cote d'Ivoire.

Sierra Leone
Last Sunday, a new district was organized in the Freetown area. The Kossoh Town Sierra Leone District was organized from the Freetown Sierra Leone East District (now renamed the Kissy Sierra Leone District) and includes the following four branches: The Allen Town, Grafton, Kossoh Town, and Waterloo Branches. Missionaries report that several additional branches will soon be organized in these two districts. There are now four districts and one stake in Sierra Leone.

Miller Eccles Study Group Presentation - April 11th and 12th, 2014

For those of you interested and living in southern California, David Stewart and I will be giving a presentation on LDS Church growth for the Miller Eccles Study Group during the weekend of April 11th and 12th. The presentation on April 11th will occur in Villa Park whereas the presentation on April 12th will occur in Flintridge. Click here for more information.

First LDS Mission to be Created in the Republic of the Congo

Missionaries serving in Africa report that this July the Church will organize the Republic of the Congo Brazzaville Mission from a division of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa Mission. It appears likely that the new mission will include the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, and Gabon. I will provide more details once they become available.

First LDS Stake by Country

Nearly three years ago I provided a list of countries around the world with LDS stakes and the year the first LDS stake was organized in each nation. Several additional countries have had the first LDS stake organized since this list was last updated. The year the second LDS stake was organized in each country is provided for countries with two or more LDS stakes and the number of stakes and districts is provided in parentheses (first number is the number of stakes and the second number is the number of districts at present).  With countries with only one LDS stake, N/A is listed after the year the first stake was organized.

1847-1959

United States: 1834, 1834 (1,514 - 9)
Mexico: 1895, 1961 (226 - 36)
Canada: 1895, 1903 (47 - 3)
New Zealand: 1958, 1960 (28 - 3)

1960-1969

United Kingdom: 1960, 1961 (45 - 0)
Australia: 1960, 1960 (37 - 9)
Germany: 1961, 1961 (14 - 3)
Netherlands: 1961, 1978 (3 - 0)
Switzerland: 1961, 1981 (5 - 0)
Samoa: 1962, 1970 (20 - 0)
Brazil: 1966, 1968 (249 - 41)
Argentina: 1966, 1972 (72 - 33)
Guatemala: 1967, 1975 (72 - 17)
Uruguay: 1967, 1974 (18 - 3)
Tonga: 1968, 1970 (19 - 2)
American Samoa: 1969, 1980 (5 - 0)

1970-1979

Peru: 1970, 1974 (100- 21)
Japan: 1970, 1972 (29 - 13)
South Africa: 1970, 1978 (14 - 3)
Chile: 1972, 1974 (74 - 23)
French Polynesia: 1972, 1983 (8 - 4)
Philippines: 1973, 1977 (88 - 83)
El Salvador: 1973, 1976 (18 - 2)
South Korea: 1973, 1977 (16 - 6)
Denmark: 1974, 1978 (2 - 0)
France: 1975, 1980 (10 - 0)
Sweden: 1975, 1977 (4 - 1)
Taiwan: 1976, 1981 (11 - 2)
China-Hong Kong: 1976, 1984 (4 - 1)
Colombia: 1977, 1978 (29 - 11)
Venezuela: 1977, 1979 (34 - 6)
Honduras: 1977, 1978 (23 - 7)
Costa Rica: 1977, 1978 (6 - 4)
Belgium: 1977, 1994 (2 - 0)
Finland: 1977, 1983 (2 - 2)
Norway: 1977, 2012 (2 - 0)
Ecuador: 1978, 1979 (35 - 9)
Bolivia: 1979, 1979 (27 - 10)
Paraguay: 1979, 1980 (10 - 10)
Panama: 1979, 1986 (7 - 5)

1980-1989

Puerto Rico: 1980, 1982 (5 - 0)
Austria: 1980, 1997 (2 - 0)

Nicaragua: 1981, 2000 (9 - 6) 
Portugal: 1981, 1986 (6 - 4)
Italy: 1981, 1985 (9 - 3)
Spain: 1982, 1982 (14- 4)
Fiji: 1983, 1995 (4 - 1)
United Arab Emirates: 1983, N/A (1 - 0)
Dominican Republic: 1986, 1988 (19 - 9)
Nigeria: 1988, 1990 (22 - 22)

1990-1999

Ghana: 1991, 1991 (12 - 8)
Papua New Guinea: 1995, 2011 (2 - 11)
Thailand: 1995, N/A (1 - 5)
Singapore: 1995, N/A (1 - 0)
Ireland: 1995, N/A (1 - 1)
Democratic Republic of Congo: 1996, 1997 (12 - 3)
Kiribati: 1996, 2007 (2 - 0)
Haiti: 1997, 2003 (4 - 3)
Cote d'Ivoire: 1997, 2000 (5 - 1)
Zimbabwe: 1999, 2003 (5 - 2)

2000-2009

Madagascar: 2000, 2011 (2 - 2)
Kenya: 2001, N/A (1 - 2)
Republic of Congo: 2003, N/A (1 - 0)
Ukraine: 2004, N/A (1 - 3)
Hungary: 2006, N/A (1 - 2)
Mongolia: 2009, N/A (1 - 2)
Trinidad and Tobago: 2009, N/A (1 - 0)
Marshall Islands: 2009, N/A (1 - 1)

2010-present

Uganda: 2010, N/A (1 - 1)

Guam: 2010, N/A (1 - 0)

Indonesia: 2011, 2012 (2 - 1)

Russia: 2011, 2012 (2 - 3)
Cape Verde: 2012, 2013 (2 - 2)
India: 2012, N/A (1 - 6)
New Caledonia: 2012, N/A (1 - 0)
Botswana: 2012, N/A (1 - 0)
Sierra Leone: 2012, N/A (1 - 3)
Armenia: 2013, N/A (1 - 0)
Togo: 2013, N/A (1 - 0)
Albania: 2014, N/A (1 - 0)
Federated States of Micronesia: 2014, N/A (1 - 3)

Details on the First Stake in Albania

The Church organized its first stake in Albania last Sunday from the Tirana Albania District and the Albania Tirana Mission. The new stake includes the following six wards and four branches: The Durrës, Tirana 1st, Tirana 2nd, Tirana 3rd, Tirana 4th, and Vlorë Wards and the Elbasan, Fier, Lushnjë, and Shkoder Branches. Missionaries report that members from Kosovo and Macedonia also participated in the special conference to organize the stake but branches and groups in these countries do not pertain to the new stake.

Missionaries report that the area presidency has encouraged the Church in Albania to set a goal to create a second stake within the next three years.

See below for a map of LDS units in Albania.



View Branches in Albania in a larger map

New District in Cape Verde

Missionaries report that this coming Sunday the Church will organize a new district in Cape Verde.  The new district will consist of the two branches and one group on the island of Sal and perhaps the recently organized Sal Rei Branch on Boa Vista.  Missionaries indicate that the new district will be called the Espargos Cape Verde District.  Once the new district is created there will be two stakes and two districts in Cape Verde.

I have still not found confirmation regarding the advancement of the Fogo Cape Verde District into a stake.  I will report this information once it becomes available.