- China - 11,000 members?
- Malaysia - 10,010 members - 33 branches - 6 districts
- Guyana - 5,674 members - 12 branches - 1 district
- Belize - 5,332 members - 12 branches - 2 districts
- Pakistan - 4,200 members? - 13 branches - 3 districts
- Armenia - 3,612 members - 11 branches - 1 district
- Romania - 3,059 members - 16 branches - 2 districts
- Malawi - 2,486 members - 8 branches - 2 districts
- Bulgaria - 2,429 members - 9 branches - 0 districts
- Angola - 2,123 members - 11 branches - 2 districts
- Poland - 1,940 members - 12 branches - 3 districts
- Swaziland - 1,940 members - 6 branches - 1 district
- Ethiopia - 1,916 members - 4 branches - 1 district
- Cook Islands - 1,843 members - 5 branches - 1 district
- Cameroon - 1,628 members - 13 branches - 1 district
- Suriname - 1,545 members - 5 branches - 1 district
- Tanzania - 1,516 members - 6 branches - 1 district
- Sri Lanka - 1,436 members - 3 branches - 1 district
- Macau - 1,429 members - 3 branches - 1 district
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
UPDATED: List of the Countries with the Most Members without a Stake
Below is an updated list of the countries with the most Latter-day
Saints without a stake. Membership totals are as of 2016 and
congregational and district totals are current. Estimated membership for mainland
China and Pakistan is provided as official statistics are available. The
number of branches and districts in mainland China is not provided due
to the sensitive nature of the
Church in that country. Previous lists of the countries with the most
members without a stake can be found here.
Though China has 11k members, I would imagine the political side of things influences when a stake will be officially created and I believe it will be quite a few (perhaps as many as 10) years away yet. Others listed in the paragraph at the end seem more likely.
ReplyDeleteBased on the information that I have I believe China is perhaps one of the two or three most likely countries to have a stake created in the next two years.
ReplyDeleteI hope Malaysia gets a stake very soon. I could see China getting a stake, especially one of non-citizens. My first reaction is it we can do it on the UAE then way not China. On the other hand we have a Chinese national who left on his mission from China serving in my mission.
ReplyDeleteSo the Church is progressing among native Chinese members in China. Forming a stake if it has any political impact at all would probably be viewed favorably by the Chinese government. This is because stake presidents are more ecclesiastcally autonomous than district presidents. The Church had 2 stakes in East Germany during the time it was under communist rule. This may not even be vaguely analogous to the situation in China but it does show that having a stake formed in a country where the Church can not engage in anything approaching open prosyletism is possible.
Malaysia has grown by slightly under 100 members and lost 1 branch on the last year. This may point to focused attempts to get to a point of membership activity and leadership strength where a stake can be formed.
ReplyDeleteMy former stake president in Indiana, Ned Hill, returned with his wife as presidents in Romania in 2014. I have not spoken to him at much length about the Church there, but I would hope that Romania might be close to creating a stake.
ReplyDeleteGood report, thanks.
Romania has the numbers only thing holding it back is active priesthood leaders. I'd estimate by 2020 they have a stake out of the Bucuresti District this includes the 11branches in eastern Romania. If they included all of Romania they may have enough but it would be distance prohibitive.
DeleteMatt, are you thinking a stake in China would be for Chinese Nationals or for foreign (English) congregations?
ReplyDeleteAre all non-Chinese congregations in China proper meeting in English. It would seem to me we should have them functioning in multiple languages. I know the non-Cantonese district in Hong Kong includes multiple Mandarins speaking branches, but the issues there are different than in Mainland China.
DeleteYes the Chinese would look favorably on a stake president as those are all locals and not foreign, we've had area seventies from Beijing and probably elsewhere right from when President Hinckley announced the office 20 years ago. So, stake presidents being local, would be looked on as local.
ReplyDeleteThere was a big stink several years ago when the Vatican refused to recognize a bishop chosen by the Government, the Vatican not only didn't recognize him, they promptly excommunicated him. He was catholic and not an outsider. I do not know what cane of that row.
My guess is the district presidencies on the Xhineae citizens districts are all Chinese citizens. That said I am wondering how Elder Wong is viewed by the Chinese goverment being that he is from Hong Kong. The fact he gave his general conference talk in Cantonese probably helps things as well, althoufh they might have liked in more in Beijing if he had spoken in Mandarin.
DeleteMy first comment above was from the thought process from the Chinese nationals, not foreigners in China. I could see that. Also, interesting perspective on the idea of autonomy making it more favorable to the government. It will be interesting to see the developments.
ReplyDeleteMember missionary work will help grilled China and traumatically. I understand that members of the church can legally teach and baptize immediate family members in China. The church has a really great website called members in China that I think is very beneficial and insightful on the topic.
ReplyDeleteGrow China not grilled.
ReplyDelete@Matt: It's pretty cool to go back through the old posts and see which countries have gotten their first stakes in the last few years. Thanks for posting this list each year.
ReplyDeleteAny word on whether the situation in Armenia has turned around since they lost their stake?
With the announcement of renovations for Memphis, Oklahoma City, and Asuncion, I wonder if they will be changing the exterior look to make it more unique, since all 3 of these temples are part of the 1999-2001 temples that are almost identical.
ReplyDeleteWould there be any enlargements? Are the properties big enough to add on to any of these temples?
ReplyDeleteWould there be any enlargements? Are the properties big enough to add on to any of these temples?
ReplyDeleteNot sure, the information on Oklahoma City and Asuncion only state "extensive renovations," while Memphis cites "extensive interior and exterior renovation."
ReplyDeleteThere do not appear to be any prospects within the foreseeable future for a stake in China for foreigners who reside in the country given few branches and long distances between cities with sizable numbers of foreign Latter-day Saints. Rather, a stake in China among native members appears highly like, particularly in the Guangzhou area where there are sizable numbers of congregations and members.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Church in Armenia, things improved actually quite a bit in regards to member activity and participation shortly after the discontinuation of the stake. I am not sure if things improved to levels of activity and leadership development prior to the stake's closure, but reports I received from missionaries indicate that many of the members who walked out of the meeting when the stake was discontinued returned to church. Given the recent issues the Church has had in Armenia, I would not count in a stake being reestablished for at least a few years given that the district meets the qualifications to become a stake again.
ReplyDelete@Matt: Thanks for the update on Armenia, I've been thinking about them as well! Also, any additional updates on your blog post from 1/30/17 about Senior missionaries serving in the Africa West Area reporting that the area presidency planned to organize the Church's first branches in two additional nations within the Africa West Area? Been hoping to see any updates but wondering if those plans changed. Thanks as always for your posts!
ReplyDeleteThere will be changes in the Arlington Washington Stake this Sunday. I believe that there will be two new wards added and two discontinued as part of boundary changes. I will post on Sunday or Monday the results.
ReplyDeleteThe rendering I have seen for the Memphis Tennessee Temple encloses the entrance canopy (which has been done to several temples of this design) and features a few floor plan tweaks, but it does not otherwise expand the temple. Since it is already sandwiched between a stake center and a residential area, there is really no room for expansion anyway. The building is given a more stately exterior appearance with a new off-white exterior stone, updated architectural lines (side-by-side circle patterns removed), a more substantial spire with windows, and beautiful dark-stained entrance doors with window sidelights and transoms. The decorative fence is replaced with a short circleless fence. A low-profile maintenance building is also added. I have not seen renderings for the others, but no doubt similar, personalized changes are planned for Oklahoma City and Asuncion.
ReplyDeleteCould they build up, instead of out? Or build down like they did with Provo City Center? Another option could be raze the stake center and build another one nearby in order to expand the Temple.
DeleteThank you, Matt, for the clarification in China. I didn't realize there was an area strong enough and in a concentrated area to warrant a stake so soon.
ReplyDeleteTempleRick, thanks as always for your temple updates and specifics on the renovations. Any further word on the progress of the Jordan River Temple? I heard there were issues after removing the escalators that have pushed the completion date back.
@Matt: Thanks for the update on Armenia!
ReplyDelete@TempleRick: Thanks for the info on the Memphis Renovation.
The main reason that the progress in Armenia interests me so much, is because the first mission president called when the Armenia mission was created in the mid to late nineties was from my home Stevensville, MT stake.
DeletePresident Sangster and his wife came home from their mission and taught us all about the culture and the struggles in Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
One of the next areas in Utah that may need to have a temple is the general area around Tooele and Grantsville. Found that the projected population three years from now is expected to be 87,000 and the number of households to be about 20,000. What percentage of that is
ReplyDeleteIn looking at the stakes of the Salt Lake Temple in chronological order, the majority of new stakes created in the last twenty years have been in the Toole area. I feel this increases the likelihood of a Temple near Toole.
ReplyDeleteI have not heard anything about the first branches being organized in additional West African nations. Once I confirm something, I will write a post about it.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you all for this wonderful, insightful discussion. It is interesting to look at the various aspects relating to where the Church is now vs. where it was even just 5 years ago. There have been temple announcements that no one could have anticipated, areas that didn't look to be receptive to the gospel that have now been reached, and so many wonderful things going on in terms of the progression of the work.
ReplyDeleteThe five temples announced last conference are a reflection of the growth that is happening in the areas in which their districts are anticipated to cover. I cannot verify this as more than a personal hope, but I could see the temples in Brasilia and the greater Manila area, which reportedly have already had a site identified, having a groundbreaking much sooner than the temples in Belem and Urdaneta, which, though announced longer ago, have not yet had a site, potential or otherwise, identified at all. And it seems that having a site identified for any temple is half the battle. That is why I have felt that we might, at minimum, see several temples have a groundbreaking next year.
There is still a chance that the Harare Zimbabwe Temple might have a site identified and a groundbreaking later this year, though the LDS Church Temples site notes that only the site confirmation is expected before the end of the year.) The temples for which I am predicting we might see a groundbreaking next year and when are as follows:
Early-to-mid 2018: Port-au-Prince Haiti (which had an official site confirmed earlier this year) and Bangkok Thailand (as there is talk that an existing building might be rebuilt and renovated into a multi-purpose edifice housing the temple, Church offices, and a meetinghouse, in similar fashion to the Hong Kong China and Manhattan New York Temples)
Mid-2018: Brasilia Brazil (the likely site for the temple has already been identified by priesthood leaders, which, because site confirmations are not generally announced by the Church now as much as they used to be, makes it likely that we could see this groundbreaking then)
Mid-to-late 2018: Pocatello Idaho (site is still reportedly under consideration and involves deciding between several options, but one of these sites is most likely for the temples, as it was annexed into the city of Pocatello exactly one week ago, on the day that also marked the 187th anniversary of the reestablishment of the Church, and I assume that plot is the one that was donated to the Church by the family of Rick Satterfield)
Late 2018-early 2019: Saratoga Springs Temple (this temple has yet to have a site announced, but we do know that the Church owns lots of land in that city, and also that temples in the United States in general and in Utah in particular generally have a groundbreaking much sooner after the announcement than other temples do).
As I have taken time to study the patterns that have generally held for temples in various areas, I have been able to determine a tentative timetable for future events. Temples that have a site announced through any means will typically have their groundbreaking within a year of the site identification and confirmation. So it is not unreasonable at all, in my mind, to predict that the groundbreakings for these temples might indeed take place in this order. If the sites for the Saratoga Springs and Pocatello Idaho temples have a site confirmation sooner, obviously, that would mean that the groundbreakings could happen sooner as well.
ReplyDeleteAs I have been keeping an eye on all temple-related developments, I do know this: For the Jordan River Temple, at the time the renovation was announced, it was only anticipated to take about a year and a half, and both the LDS Church Temples site and the Church itself initially verified that a rededication was more than likely sometime during the latter part of this year. But as things progressed, every available source I I have found indicates that this estimate had to be revised somewhat because there were some delays and difficulties that were encountered. So now construction is anticipated to be completed during the latter part of this year or the early part of next year, with a rededication happening during early-to-mid 2018. In tracking the progress of that renovation, as well as other events that might soon happen, it is definite that we will see a lot of temple related events. With that in mind, I have ventured the following time frame for the temple events we might see during next year:
Late January or early February: Jordan River Utah temple rededicated
NOTE: The Jordan River Utah Temple was initially slated for completion during the latter part of this year. That was pushed back to the early or midde part of next year. It is not hard to believe that the renovation work could be completed in the latter part of 2017, so if we add a month or two to that (as that is the typical time frame between completion of work on a temple and its rededication), we arrive at this time frame. And unless a site is identified and ground subsequently broken before the end of 2017, it is even more probable to happen during this time frame instead.
Early February (likely Thursday February 1): Renovation begins on the Oakland California Temple
NOTE: Announced renovations typically start on the first day of the month.This renovation, announced on February 23, 2017, will serve as a way to upgrade and update seismic and systemic elements of the temple that are now outdated.
Late February or early March: Dedication of the Rome Italy Temple (160th operating temple)
NOTE: This temple, despite all the delays that have happened during the construction period, is still anticipated to be the first one dedicated during 2018. Unless further substantial delays occur, this seems like a reasonable estimate.
Early March (likely Thursday March 1): Renovation begins on the Washington DC Temple
NOTE: Recognizing that renovations typically start on the first day of the month they are scheduled, it seems very reasonable to assume that this is likely what will happen for this temple.
March 24 and 31 and April 1: 188th Annual General Conference
NOTE: While this event has not yet been confirmed, it does conform to the general timeline under which previous general conferences have taken place. Temple announcements are always possible during General Conference.
I also think Toole is a good candidate for a temple. The thing is many people in the Toole area work in Salt Lake City and its vicinity, and others travel there quite regularly. Distance is not keeping temple attendance down. A temple in Toole would lessen the travel time for those in Elko, but not by much.
ReplyDeleteSo there would need to be enough use of the Salt Lake City Temple to justify splitting the temple district, and at a level that this would be a priority over other areas. Obviously that has not yet been the case. I have no clue when it will be the case, but suspect a northern Davis County Temple will get built before a Toole one, but I could be wrong.
I noticed reading the report at ldstemples.com today that a 4th Branch was formed in Nogales, Mexico bringing tat district to 6 branches. I am hoping that Nogales District can be made a stake soon. While it might not be a big factor, more Church strength in places like Nogales may lead to a situation where a Culiacan Temple will be built. Although I have to admit I suspect Puebla and Durango will get temples first. The Mexico City Temple District has one of the highest number of stakes in the world, although it is also a huge temple. Considering how insanely far Durango and some areas right around it are from the temple, I could see them getting a temple soon.
I also noticed that Umuhia Stake got another branch, putting it to 7 wards and 5 branches. Actually Umuahia Stake has evidently gotten 3 new branches in the last month or so. Umuahia is the capital of Abia, which also in cludes Aba, the city with the temple and essentially the first place where the Church was established in Nigeria, it was where the first branch was established and where Anthony Obinna had worked to spread the gospel, and it was where the first stake was formed in 1988 with David W. Eka as the first stake president, who may have also been the first black African to serve as an Area Seventy, although Emmanuel Kissi had been a Regional Representative, and was an Area Seventy, although I am not sure if he was one as early on as Brother Eka. Brother Eka and John Grinceri from Australia were the first 2 area seventies called as a general conference after the one in which the initial mass call of area seventies was made.
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ReplyDeleteToole has a lower percentage of LDS and a higher percentage of Catholics than Utah overall. However the percentage LDS is higher in Toole than in Salt Lake County. While much of the growth is natural population growth and move ins, the Church does see missionary success there. My brother lives in a ward there and they have periodic convert baptisms in his ward.
ReplyDeleteContinuing the timeline for temple events in 2018:
ReplyDeleteEarly-to-mid May: Rededication of the Freiberg Germany Temple
NOTE: Renovations, even for temples outside the Unites States, are generally completed much more quickly than new temples. With that in mind, this seems like an excellent initial prediction for the rededication of this temple. I will be making adjustments as I find out more about things.
Late May or early June: Dedication of the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo (161st operating temple); groundbreakings for the Port-au-Prince Haiti and Bangkok Thailand Temples
NOTE: As Winter 2018 ends in the northern hemisphere near the end of March, it is my feeling that we might see the groundbreakings for the temples in Port-au-Prince Haiti (where a site has already been confirmed) and Bangkok Thailand (where an existing building might be rebuilt and renovated into a multi-purpose edifice) during this time. That said, with so much unknown about future temples, it is only my best-estimated prediction.
Early August: Dedication of the Barranquilla Colombia Temple (162nd operating temple)
Mid-to-late August: Groundbreaking for the Brasilia Brazil Temple
NOTE: Though this temple was just announced during General Conference, the site has been made known by local leaders, opening the possibility that the groundbreaking could happen at around this time.
September or October: Groundbreakings for the Greater Manila Philippines and Pocatello Idaho Temples
NOTE: The Facebook page for the Philippines confirms that the newest Filipino temple will be built on the southern side of the Manila metropolitan area in the area known as Alabang, Muntinlupa City. And while many options are under consideration for the next Idahoan temple, one of the most likely locations is the 10-acre land parcel that neighbors the meetinghouse on which the Pocatello Idaho Highland Stake Center sits, especially as that land plot was annexed into the city of Pocatello on April 6. So it is very likely that these two groundbreakings could happen around this time, as identifying a site is half the battle. It all depends on how quickly the Church is able to confirm these sites. But it wouldn’t surprise me.
September 29 and October 6 & 7: 188th Semiannual General Conference
NOTE: While this is yet-to-be confirmed, it does conform to the general timeline under which previous general conferences have taken place. Temple announcements are always possible during General Conference.
Early-to-mid November: Dedication of the Concepcion Chile Temple (163rd operating temple)
NOTE: Since this temple is slated for completion during mid-to-late 2018, it is not impossible to believe that we will see the dedication for this temple during this time, as it perfectly conforms to the time frame within which most South American Temples have been completed previously.
Late November-Early December: Groundbreaking for the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
NOTE: As the Church reportedly owns several acres of land in this community, the temple could be built on any of those developments. It is not impossible to believe that a
Final part of the estimated timeline:
ReplyDeletegroundbreaking could happen by the end of 2018, but I could see the Church either pushing it back to the early part of the following year, or having a groundbreaking sooner, depending on how soon its site is confirmed.
Early December: Dedication of the Durban South Africa Temple (164th operating temple)
NOTE: This temple, the last one anticipated to be dedicated during 2018, has progressed steadily. If construction is completed as anticipated during the mid-to-latter part of this year, this dedication could take place at this time, as it conforms perfectly to the average time frame in which previous temples on the African continent have been completed.
In the meantime, Tooele is one that has been mentioned to me personally for a possible future temple that I have added it to my list of other possible temples that could potentially be announced during the next General Conference. For now, those are some of my thoughts. I hope they are helpful to some of you. Thanks for letting me comment.
One other thing: A more complete timeline for all future temple related events has been posted on my blog. If any of you would like to visit that post and provide feedback about that timeline as a whole, please let me know. You can find it at the link below. Thanks.
ReplyDeletehttp://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2017/04/yet-another-update-to-timeline-for.html
Memphis probably does not merit a major expansion. There is only one more stake in the district than when the temple was built.
ReplyDeleteOklahoma City might merit some expansion, but with the new stakes all located in Tulsa, North-west Arkansas and South-east Missouri (the last not in the Oklahoma City Temple Distict, but would be a factor towards a new temple), it would seem that a new temple would be better than expanding Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City has a district of 14 stakes. Memphis Temple only has 6 stakes. Yet the temples are the same size. The Asuncion Temple serves 15 stakes and 16 districts. Of course not all stakes and districts have the same level of temple attendance so comparisons are not easy. There are 9 stakes right in and around Asuncion, and the Formosa Argentina Stake is about half way from Asuncion to Resticencia. The current temple president in Paraguay is from Uruguay and he is the first Latino to be temple president there.
The 2012 Church Almanac says the Oklahoma City Temple is on a 1.05 acre site, so that would suggest expansion would be very hard. It also says the Detroit Temple is on a 3.01 acre site, but the Church actually owns 8 acres there, and I am not sure that any of even the parking lot shared by the temple and stake center is included, so these numbers might not always show total expansion potential. Suva Temple went from 10,700 to 12,700 square feet in the remodeling process.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, the pictures of the Detroit Temple still pre-date the remodel and enclosure of the entrance. I assume that the enclose of the entrance would also increase the counted square footage for the Detroit Temple. It was down without a rededication and only slightly longer than a normal maintenance closure, so it was not fully officially acknowledged. Maybe like the 5 or so expansions the Idaho Falls Temple had seen over the years.
The Asuncion Temple has 7 acres of land, but that includes a stake center. So unless a stake center is built elsewhere in the city, I doubt there will be much expansion of the temple. Although it could be rebuilt on the Hong Kong model.
ReplyDeleteIn Mozambique Elder Koch, newly called as a general authority, is being succeeded as mission president by a Brazilian. His predecessor was also a Brazilian.
ReplyDeleteOne of the people in the most recent Church News obituaries was on the Young Woman General Board starting in 1948. That blows my mind. True, the general boards were much larger than, and she was about 24 when called to the general board.
ReplyDeleteOne of the new area seventies from Brazil is married to Jaqueline Torgan. I know there is a Moroni Bing Tongan who is a promeninet politician in Brazil and was an Area Seventy. I wonder if Jaqueline is his sister.
ReplyDeleteAnother new Area Seventy I Raymond Egbo is Area Director for seminaries and institutes, I guess of the Africa West Area. He is only 42 and has previously served as a mission president. I strongly suspect Elder Egbo will some day be a general authority, but I could be wrong. He was called as a mission president back when he was 34. Back then he was an institute director. Brother Egbo is a native of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Another of the new Area Seventies, Marcel Gueï, is just finishing up his time as first president of the Ivory Coast Abijan West Mission. It was under his leadership that the miracle in Daloa happened. Hopefully as an Area Seventy he can help implement these developments more broadly.
ReplyDeleteIn my stake there are lots of couples who no longer have children at home who are called to help with various units they do not live in, especially urban ones. I am thinking though it might help if a family or two with teenagers was assigned to go to such units. One thing I worry about most with my girlfriend's grandson when he gets to be a teenager is him having enough friends at Church to hang out with, and if he is in Belle Isle Branch I do not see that being the case. I know there are possible cultural misunderstanding issues, but I still think giving people lots of time to develop friendship would be good. Looking at this plan, I think it would work best if the families with teenagers were rotated out regularly.
ReplyDeleteAfter the devastating earthquake in Armenia in 1988, Jon Huntsman Sr. visited the country and has consistently provided aid to Armenia since then. During that first visit, he impressed his assigned tour guides so much (they said when he entered a room, he radiated this physical light, to their wonder and astonishment), that they became some of the first converts when that nation opened up. They moved to Utah and were my neighbors. They received their Patriarchal Blessings and were declared to be members of the tribe of Gad. They assisted in the translation of the Book of Mormon into Armenian. I remember walking into Sacrament Meeting one Sunday and this wonderful Armenian member walked up to my Mom and I and excitedly told us that the Church just announced a mission was being opened in Armenia. She said she knew a temple would eventually be built there. I was elated when the first districts were organized, then a stake was created, and devastated when it was closed.
ReplyDelete@Gnesileah: Cool info on your connections to Armenian members. I remember President Sangster's wife talking in detail about the Armenian earthquake.
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ReplyDeleteJohn, can you tell me more about the miracle in Daola? Or tell me where I can read about it?
ReplyDelete@John Pack Lambert: Moroni B. Torgan is still an area seventy. He was sustained in April 2012 and is serving still, as far as I know. As for Jacqueline Torgan, I don't know if she is Elder Torgan's sister. But if she is, it is a credit to the faithfulness of the Torgan family to have two of their priesthood holders serve as Area Seventies.
ReplyDeleteAs I have mentioned previously, my wife and I have great home teachers, one of whom is Armenian, and he often speaks of how different his experience with the Church was before coming to the United States. Armenia is a nation which I am keeping my eye on and hoping to hear of extensive growth, perhaps even a temple someday. But it would not surprise me at all if an Armenian temple is 20-30 years out.
I would also not be surprised at all to see a temple in Tooele Utah soon, and I have felt confident enough in what I've heard about growth in the area to have added it to my list of possible temple announcements for next time. It is always great to see where the Lord inspires His prophet to announce temples.
Daloa is a city that now has a district with at least 7 branches mainly in the city that three years ago had no church presence at all.president Macei sent in I think 4 sets of missionaries and had each form a group that then progressed to a branch.
ReplyDeleteI can ghink of at least 2 ethnic Armenian Church members I have known. One was born in Baku, fled Azerbaijani for Armenia during the Pogroms of the early 1990s, then lived got a time in Russia and then joined the Church after coming to the US. She married the guy who was my hometeaching companion on the Ann Arbor YSA ward. Be was an American. The other was a lady born to Church member parents in I think Syria after he family fled Western Armemia, a land that no longer exists, during the Armenian Genocide by the Turks. I belive here first name came from that of Sister Booth, who along with her husband oversaw the Armenian mission for decades, until his death in the mid-1920s.
Some smaller temples could expand size with renovations. However many of these are on small acreage and often share land with a meetinghouse. Is it possible to build up adding an additional floor or build down adding a basement as was done with Provo City center? Or we could raze the chalpel to rebuild nearby. Adding another nearby Temple may be more feasible than an expansion. (Such as is being done in Utah, Idaho, Lima and Manila)
ReplyDeleteUtah and Idaho though the temples seeing new nearby temples are all of significant size. It isnt like we are seeing a Moab or Coure d'Alene Temple (the later to relieve presure on the small Spokane Temple in theory).
DeleteJohn M Huntman Sr's grand daughter was sealed in the DC temple today by Elder Ronald A. Rasband.
ReplyDeleteRenovating, expanding, and converting non-temple church buildings, or even temple buildings, has proven difficult, I would say.
ReplyDeleteThe refurbishing of the Vernal Tabernacle proved more costly and difficult than originally planned, and since 1997 the church has used that as an example of "putting new wine in old bottles", in my opinion.
More people worldwide need temple access, and those in crowded sessions suffer a great dilemma.
The Xopenhagen Denmark Temple was a result of renovating an existing chapel. So was Provo City Center. Although that was a special case. Temples are built to higer standards and the space needs are very different.
ReplyDeleteThere's our X named temple ;)
DeleteI think we have four buildings renovated I into temples so far. Verbal, Copenhagen, Manhattan, and Provo City Center. The two Utah renovations seemed to be the most extensive.
ReplyDeleteMamhattan is complex because it still has space that functions as the stake center. Provo City Center was a post-fire restoration. I know Hong Kong involved demolition an existing LDS building and then rebuilding on the site. Did any other temples involve the same thing?
ReplyDeleteI think Cordoba Argentina and others involved razing a meetinghouse to build a Temple.
ReplyDelete@Matt: Thank you, sounds good!
ReplyDeleteMaybe the Copenhagen Temple was repurposed a bit like Vernal.
ReplyDeleteIn extreme urban environments like Hong Kong and Manhattan the conversion makes more sense, too.
I do think it is easier for money and planning to start afresh.
The Provo City redoing was due to a fire, and I recall the Samoan Temple burning during renovation, which reminds me of the Nauvoo Temple back around 1846?
Those are the only 3 I know of that have burned (although one was not a temple at the time), unless an ancient temple of Jerusalem ended that way.