New Stakes Created in Cote d'Ivoire, El Salvador, Florida, New Jersey, Nigeria, and the Philippines; Districts Discontinued in Costa Rica and Peru

Cote d'Ivoire
The Church organized its eighth stake in the Abidjan metropolitan area on September 6th. The Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Yopougon Attie Stake was organized from a division of the Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Toit Rouge Stake. The new stake includes the following seven wards: the Andokoi, Foncier, Koute, Nankoko, Selmer, Toit Rouge 2nd, and Toit Rouge 3rd Wards. Explosive LDS growth has occurred within the Yopougon sector of Abidjan as the number of stakes has mushroomed from one in 2009 to four at present.

There are now nine stakes and three districts in Cote d'Ivoire.

El Salvador
The Church organized a new stake in El Salvador on August 30th. The Usulután El Salvador Stake was organized from the Usulután El Salvador District and a portion of the San Miguel El Salvador Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards and three branches: the Jucuapa, Occidental, Oriental, Roosevelt, Usulután 1st, and Usulután 2nd Wards and the Berlín, Jiquilisco, and Santiago de María Branches.

There are now 19 stakes and one district in El Salvador.

Florida
The Church organized a new stake in Miami, Florida last Sunday. The Miami Florida Stake appears to have been organized from the Miami Lakes Florida Stake. No information is currently available on which congregations have been assigned to the new stake. The Church in South Florida has undergone a surprising reversal to stagnant/declining growth over the past decade. The Church discontinued the Miami Florida (Spanish) Stake in 2008 due to problems with member activity, leadership development, and stagnant "real growth" in the area. The realignment of LDS units in the Miami metropolitan area, combined with accelerated growth in the Florida Fort Lauderdale Mission, has culminated in the organization of two new stakes since 2014. The Church also dedicated its Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple in 2014. The Church has continued to regularly organize new units in the area to service several demographics including specialized units for Spanish and Portuguese speakers and additional young single adult (YSA) congregations. English-speaking wards have also been organized within the past couple years.

There are now 29 stakes in Florida

New Jersey
The Church organized a new stake in New Jersey last Sunday called the Liberty Park New Jersey Stake. Details on congregations assigned to the new stake are not currently available. The new stake appeared to be primarily organized from the Caldwell New Jersey Stake. The Paterson New Jersey District may have also been consolidated as part of the new stake creation.

There are now six stakes and one district in New Jersey.

Nigeria
The Church organized a new stake in Nigeria on September 13th. The Okpuala Ngwa Nigeria Stake was organized from the Okpuala Ngwa Nigeria District and includes the following six wards and two branches: the Amapu, Nbawsi, Okpuala Ngwa, Ovungwu, Umuapu, and Umuchima Wards and the Ndiolumbe and Ntigha Branches.

There are now 29 stakes and 19 districts in Nigeria

Philippines
The Church organized a new stake in the Philippines on August 30th. The Mabalacat Philippines Stake was organized from a division of the Angeles Philippines Stake. The new stake includes the following five wards and one branch: the Balibago, Dau, Mabalacat 1st, Mabalacat 2nd, and Pandan Wards and the Santa Lucia Branch.

There are now 95 stakes and 78 districts in the Philippines

Costa Rica
The Church discontinued the Limón Costa Rica District in July. Two of the three branches in the former district were discontinued and the sole remaining branch became a ward in the newly organized Guapiles Costa Rica Stake.

There are now nine stakes and two districts in Costa Rica.

Peru
The Church recently discontinued the Ayaviri Perú District. Only two branches pertained to the former district - both of which have been reassigned to the Perú Cusco Mission.

There are now 100 stakes and 20 districts in Peru.

First LDS Stake by Country - Updated List

Last year 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 (the 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 (4)

United States: 1834, 1834 (1,541 - 8)
Mexico: 1895, 1961 (231 - 38)
Canada: 1895, 1903 (47 - 3)
New Zealand: 1958, 1960 (29 - 3)

1960-1969 (12)

United Kingdom: 1960, 1961 (45 - 0)
Australia: 1960, 1960 (38- 8)
Germany: 1961, 1961 (15 - 2)
Netherlands: 1961, 1978 (3 - 0)
Switzerland: 1961, 1981 (5 - 0)
Samoa: 1962, 1970 (20 - 0)
Brazil: 1966, 1968 (255 - 37)
Argentina: 1966, 1972 (74 - 29)
Guatemala: 1967, 1975 (43 - 17)
Uruguay: 1967, 1974 (18 - 3)
Tonga: 1968, 1970 (19 - 2)
American Samoa: 1969, 1980 (5 - 0)

1970-1979 (24)

Peru: 1970, 1974 (100 - 21)
Japan: 1970, 1972 (28 - 13)
South Africa: 1970, 1978 (15 - 3)
Chile: 1972, 1974 (77 - 19)
French Polynesia: 1972, 1983 (8 - 4)
Philippines: 1973, 1977 (95 - 78)
El Salvador: 1973, 1976 (19 - 1)
South Korea: 1973, 1977 (15 - 6)
Denmark: 1974, 1978 (2 - 0)
France: 1975, 1980 (10 - 0)
Sweden: 1975, 1977 (4 - 1)
Taiwan: 1976, 1981 (14 - 1)
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 (9 - 2)
Belgium: 1977, 1994 (2 - 0)
Finland: 1977, 1983 (2 - 2)
Norway: 1977, 2012 (2 - 0)
Ecuador: 1978, 1979 (36 - 9)
Bolivia: 1979, 1979 (27 - 10)
Paraguay: 1979, 1980 (10 - 10)
Panama: 1979, 1986 (7 - 4)

1980-1989 (10)

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

Nicaragua: 1981, 2000 (9 - 6) 
Portugal: 1981, 1986 (6 - 4)
Italy: 1981, 1985 (10 - 1)
Spain: 1982, 1982 (14- 4)
Fiji: 1983, 1995 (4 - 1)
United Arab Emirates: 1983, N/A (1 - 0)
Dominican Republic: 1986, 1988 (20 - 9)
Nigeria: 1988, 1990 (28 - 20)

1990-1999 (10)

Ghana: 1991, 1991 (13 - 11)
Papua New Guinea: 1995, 2011 (2 - 11)
Thailand: 1995, 2014 (3 - 3)
Singapore: 1995, N/A (1 - 0)
Ireland: 1995, N/A (1 - 1)
Democratic Republic of Congo: 1996, 1997 (12 - 4)
Kiribati: 1996, 2007 (2 - 0)
Haiti: 1997, 2003 (4 - 3)
Cote d'Ivoire: 1997, 2000 (8 - 3)
Zimbabwe: 1999, 2003 (6 - 2)

2000-2009 (8)

Madagascar: 2000, 2011 (2 - 2)
Kenya: 2001, N/A (1 - 3)
Republic of Congo: 2003, 2014 (2 - 1)
Ukraine: 2004, N/A (1 - 2)
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 (19)

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

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

Indonesia: 2011, 2012 (2 - 1)

Russia: 2011, 2012 (2 - 6)
Cape Verde: 2012, 2013 (3 - 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 - 5)
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) 

Cambodia: 2014, 2014 (2 - 5)

Jamaica: 2014, N/A (1 - 1)

Bahrain: 2014, N/A (1 - 0)

Mozambique: 2015, 2015 (2 - 0)

Zambia: 2015, N/A (1 - 2)

Vanuatu: 2015, N/A (1 - 3)

New Temple Prediction Map - September 2015 Edition

I have updated my temple prediction map in preparation for General Conference in early October. One potential new temple location was added to the map: Tooele, Utah. I believe we will likely see three to five new temples announced during the upcoming conference for the following reasons:

• President Monson's announcement during the April 2015 conference that temple announcements will resume during future General Conferences. A hiatus on temple announcements occurred from April 2013 to April 2015.
• Four temples have been dedicated since April, namely the Córdoba Argentina Temple, Payson Utah Temple, Trujillo Peru Temple, and the Indianapolis Indiana Temple.
• Groundbreakings for two temples have occurred since last April (Star Valley Wyoming Temple and Cedar City Utah Temple)
• Two additional groundbreakings have been scheduled (Concepción Chile Temple and Tuscon Arizona Temple)

My top 10 picks for the most likely temple announcements during the October General Conference are as follows:

• Belém, Brazil
• Belo Horizonte, Brazil 
• Brasília, Brazil
• Davao, Philippines
• Guam OR Tarawa, Kiribati
• Harare, Zimbabwe
• Layton, Utah
• Managua, Nicaragua
• Puebla, Mexico
• Rogers, Arkansas

Timor-Leste (East Timor) Dedicated for Missionary Work

In an LDS Church News article published yesterday, the Church announced that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland dedicated Timor-Leste (East Timor) for missionary work last month. Timor-Leste has a homogeneously Christian population and no LDS presence. Investigatory trips from senior missionaries assigned to the Asia Area headquarters occurred several month ago in preparation for opening the country to missionary work. The first senior missionary couple was assigned on August 8th and has been primarily commissioned to begin LDS Charities activities in the country. There are no restrictions on religious freedom in Timor-Leste. Missionary work will commence in the Portuguese language under the Indonesia Jakarta Mission. Timor-Leste became independent from Indonesia in 2002 and currently has a population of 1.3 million.

A cumorah.com case study written in December 2014 entitled "Prospective LDS Outreach in Timor-Leste" can be found here.