Rapid LDS growth continues in Cote d'Ivoire. In late April, the Church reached the milestone of 200 wards and branches. No other country has experienced as rapid congregational growth within the past five years as Cote d'Ivoire in regards to percentage and numerical growth rates. The number of wards and branches reached 40 in 2010, 50 in 2012, and 100 in 2015. Annual congregational growth rates have exceeded 30% every year since 2013. These findings indicate that the Church in Cote d'Ivoire has experienced significant increases in the number of active members, rapid expansion of the Church into previously unreached areas, and good local leadership development.
Click here to access the LDS statistical profile for Cote d'Ivoire on cumorah.com
46 comments:
I think we might see 300 by 2019-2020
It seeme like, once leadership is trained sufficiently we could have
-2 new stakes in the Niangon area of Abidjan
-1 new stake in Cocody
The first stake created in:
Abengourou
Aboisso
Adzope
San Pedro
Of course, keeping this rate of growth up would be wonderful,, but even 17-20 stakes is a huge accomplishment.
Hope they break ground and start construction on the temple very soon.
The very active pace of new districts is also hopeful. If the people continue to be receptive, these districts could help keep steady growth for years.
1987 Ivory Coast dedicated for missionary work by Elder Marvin J. Ashton
1991 Official government recognition
1993 Cameroon Yaounde Mission relocated to Ivory Coast Abidjan Mission
1998 assigned to Africa West Area
2014 Ivory Coast Abidjan West Mission created
2015 Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple announced
Ivory Coast is along with the DR Congo and to a lesser extent Ghaname one of the great current growth areas of the Church. Nigeria too, although Nigeria may,be the country with the most extremes of Church development. Tha t is saying something when in the US we have wards in Utah County where everyone I need t get boundaries is a member, not many but some and on ther other hand Rhode Island with moreach than a million people all within one stakes boundaries.
From mapping Mormon ism I just learned that in 1899 the San Juan Stake in the 4 corners region 4 wards and 940 members. The Salt Lake Stake had 38,000 members in 48 wards at the same time. It was reforms under Lorenzo Snow and Joseph F. Smith that lead to smaller wards and stakes on averagetting and a system of callings for most members where before many were merely spectators at Church.
I was actually looking in mapping Mormon ism for the answer to the percentage of Mormons by state in Nigeria. The last 3 years have seen enough developments that a 3rd edition of the book might be justified.
So Akwa-I domain States in Nigeria is 0.6% LDS. Asia state and the one Benin City are in areality over 0.2% as well. These are insanely low percentages but there have been many new branches and wards in these areasons since 2012 when that particular map is from.
Quetzaltenango is the 6th largest city in Guatemala. I guess I,assumed it was 2ND since it got the 2ND temple. Missionary success there shows sending missionaries to villages can work. While Ivory Coast success involves hitting more locations even there villages rarely get missionaries.
Especially in Guatemala and El Salvador the Church has seen huge success with indigenous people. It makes me wonder if we could see even more success in places like Nigeria and Kenya if more literature were available in local languages. I know in Zimbabe all the scriptures exist in Shona but I am pretty sure there are other local languages lacking materI also. I know the endowment in some Mayan languages was key to LDS growth in Guatemala.
I wish there was somewhereally we could learn what l angyages yhe endowment exists in. Hopefully some forms of Akan, the main kanguage October Ghana, hopefully Ga, the langurge indigenous to Accra, and hopefully Fantasy although tg ed, lasts distinctness as a language from Twi (pronounced like tree) the most formalized language ofthe Akan system is a matter of debate.
Other languages I hope the endowment is in include Swahili, Shona, Swazi, BaSotho, Xhosa, Zulu and Igbo. Also Yorba.
One question does the Church generally try to gave the endownment in a local language before opening a temple there. I know when my grandfather went on his mission to Hawaii his missi I need was mainly thought to minister to Hawaiians with another ministering to thexpect Japanese. He learned Hawaiian but it was a dying language even then on the eve of World War II. Once World War II started his mission also at times involved proselytizing US troops stationed in Hawaii and working to strengthen spiritually members in the military.
I know the endowment was not in Hawaiianew because as of 1941 it had never been translated.
If I am calculated correctly Ivory Coasis is less removed from its first branch being organized, than than the time from the 1st branch to 1st stake in Brazil.
West Africa growth in church units is up 63 for the first third of 2017. It was up 47 for the comparable period in 2016.
Cote d'Ivoire + 18 W & Br vs. +14 2016. Nigeria + 38 vs. + 12 2016. Ghana + 11 vs. + 16 2016. Stake and district growth for West Africa + 2 for 2017 to date vs + 4 in 2016.
I think a Spanish Stake in Miami, Florida could be organized soon.
I believe it is the second largest outside of the Guatemala City metropolitan area. I believe that most if not all of the others are just an extension of the capital.
The Church used to have a Spanish-speaking stake in Miami but it waseems realigned to be not languaget specific and a stake c was discontinued. A new stakes was organized in the area since then. I really really do not expect to see a Spanish-speaking stake organized there again. The new president of the Fort Lauderdale Temple is an Anglo man with a w I feel born in Cuba, the type of,daily situation that suggests languge separation of units is not needed.
I do think that measuring any organization demographically by race, language, and ethnicity is interesting to do, but there are other valid ways to discuss and measure organizations and their people and growth. For instance, economic status is another way the leadership and membership can be an interesting way to categorize LDS or others. This is a difficult way to divulge, but I find it telling when stake presidencies are announced and their professions are described.
However, based on economic differences from region to region and country to country, an LDS educator in Chile or Botswana has a better economic status than a CES director in Phoenix or Seattle.
My dad, who has lived in West Africa and rails against wealthy hubris and many things of that nature, believes that "race" and religious background is overplayed to a large degree; part of his view is well taken, and I suppose that with that Spirit he joined the faith as an adult in 1968. Color blinded, if you will. And, might I add, that in the essence of the Gospel of Christ, we are all the same as sons and daughters of God.
We all share the divine spark despite outer trappings and financial purses.
But I must say economic stations do make a difference in many people's faith and activity, whie it is beautiful when those categorizations do not matter.
I'd also argue determining wealth status from employment description is misleading. The CFO of a small business is in a different settings thanot the CFO in a multi-national corporation. Plus people have not only the perspectives of their current position bat of all the situations they have been in in life.
Very true. Some people accuse LDS leadership of only being wealthy (men) and that there is a required professional standard to be called to higher positions. Jesus started with men and women of very humble means, yet they were dedicated and loyal to their occupations and callings.
May it ever be so.
People of all backgrounds and languages and kindreds make the Kingdom advance.
Anyone know where I can get a church almanac for 2016/2017.
I have reaching the nation's on Amazon prime but their latest is around 2014.
Bryan, the annual church almanac published by the Deseret News ceased publishing with the 2013 edition. The reason they gave was that "all the information is available online," with reference, no doubt, to this blog as well as cdol.lds.org and ldschurchtemples.com.
But I agree--it was wonderful to leaf through pages packed with information, statistics, history, and photos. It's a shame it's no longer being compiled and made available every year.
US growth in wards and branches through April 30 was +14 (vs +34 in 2016). For Utah it was
+19 in 2017 vs +14 in 2016. Without Utah's growth there would have been a decline of 5 W&B for the US through Apr. 30, 2017
US stake growth through Apr. 30 was +6 stakes, vs. +12 for the same period in 2016. UT stake growth 2017 +1 vs. -2 stakes through Apr. 30, 2016
US net stake growth for 2016 was +40, and only +3 for Utah. Total net stake growth for 2016 was +92. US states with most net new stakes in 2016 were AZ, +12, TX, +8, WA +4, UT +3, NV +2, and VA +2.
Other nations with high stake growth were Brazil +9, Nigeria +9, Honduras +5, Ghana +3, Dem. Rep. Congo +3, Australia +2, Guatemala +2, and Cote D'Ivoire +2.
When they said 100 stakes in West Africa by 2018, did they mean by the end of 2018? That seems more likely considering the (frankly abysmal) rate of stake growth we've seen this year, which is nearly half over already. And when President Hinckley said 100 temples by the year 2000, it ended up being partway through the year 2000.
Two points
1- Stake growth worldwide is lower so far than 2016, but we're still trending at or ahead of 2015 and prior years.
2- Given the number of large stakes/districts in Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Ghana, it seems like the Africa West Area is just delaying approval for new stakes, but we should comfortably have 7 from Ivory Coast alone within the next 12-18 months.
Didn't Virginia add 3 stakes in 2016? I am counting Stafford, Gainesville, and the DC YSA Stake, even though a couple units are divided between DC and Maryland. Most are VA.
Eduardo, yes, Virginia added 3 stakes last year. The Washington DC YSA Stake has 5 Virginia YSA wards and the stake center in Virginia. There are also two YSA wards based in Maryland with the District split between them. TempleRick counts it as a Virginia stake, just as he counts the Washington DC Temple as a Maryland Temple and the Washington DC Stake as a Maryland Stake.
You never know how fast stakes can be created, in 1988, 6,stakes were created in Lima,Peru on the same day.
Eduardo, you are right. TempleRick counts it as a Virginia Stake, but I originally recorded it as a Maryland Stake, since it was entered in the CDOL as adding to the Maryland total but not the Virginia total. It still is shown that way, but if the stake center is in Virginia, then it is a Virginia stake. Thanks for pointing that out.
Wealthy is always re l ative. I doubt that Elder Edward Dube quite counts as wealthy and considering he literally worked as a serant for the guy we hope invited him to Churchave he began his life totally not wealthy.
Actually the Church do a search provide much of the synoptic information in their country pages at lss.org. However no lists are quite like the Church almanac stake lists. Seeing name chanel over time, listing of first president and a few other details was quite interesting.
Also there are two 14 ward stakes in Utah. So we may see more growth there.
A recent flareup in political instability in Cote d'Ivoire may reduce LDS growth rates there this year if additional problems happen. This is why it is so important for the Church to be self-sufficient in meeting its missionary needs because these conditions make the assignment of foreign missionaries very difficult or impossible. Here's an article about this development from the BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39920149.
My understanding was that the Church is essentially missionary self sufficient in Ivory Coast. However as we learn from the film "Freetown" missionaries native to a place can have t heir work disrupted by civil war.
On ot h error notes the Church just organized a branch in the Abu h a North Stake in a city that has seen anti-Igbo action. This is interesting because it is the Igbo along with the Efik and Ibibio who seem to have been the earliest converts to the Church in Nigeria.
After reading about the Church in Igbo areas I was encouraged that the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Greater Price and Doctrine and Covenants are all available in Igbo. I am hoping more material will come out in Igbo. Of course I look forward to a day when treatise on Mormon doctrine, books on Mormon history and works of Mormon fiction are all composed in Igbo.
Has the endowment been translated to Igbo. This us one question not answered in the Cummorah.com profile on Igbo. I hope the answer is yes.
My previous comment caused me to wonder if any Mormon fiction has ever been composed in a language other than English. I know that Agricol Lozano wrote poetry in Spanish but do not know much about it beyond that. I actually bought a copy of Chris Heimerdinger'so 'Passage to Zarahemla" and I believe a doctrinal book by Elder Holland both in Spanish but they ended up with my ex-wife in the divorce. Still not the same as these works originating in Spanish.
Well there has been some Mormon literature written in Spanish. A novel by a Mexican Mormon that portrays current Mexican Mormons as hypocrites. Also Gabriel Garcia Nunez wrote a book of vignettes of Book of Mormon characaters and there have been a few other works. We are still waiting for Elder de Hoyos or another Church leaders to stand and call for the Church to produce it's own Cervantes. Unlike Gabriel Garcia Nunez I expect that this day will come. Although strong LDS literary output and tHoughton will only happen after BYU accepts that it will in its humanatitespecially college accept those who focus only on say the literary study of the Book of Mormon. This will in turn only follow Mormon studies gaining a much wider base of respect which in turn will follow multiple debates over its direction.
I have commented before that just because Utah shows dynamic church growth does not mean that the worldwide church is slacking in growth. Many who convert globally end up moving to Utah, which still translates to overall growth. A Chilean youth that I worked with as a second counselor in Angol ended up moving to Utah, marrying a Brazilian, and who knows where they will wind up someday?
Californians who joined there emmigrated to Utah thereafter...
It is better to build up globally and continue to expand abroad, but Utah and Intermountain West development is still fantastic to see.
We do wish to see stakes expand across the world, however, but Zion continues to overall move forward.
Many reasons for optimism.
And always plenty of reasons to be concerned or sceptical, sure.
I found a few wards that could split in my area very soon. (provided they have the required number of full tithe melchezedik priesthood holders. Their sacrament attendance was recorded at 300+ *the ward name is just my guess
Kentlands Ward-Washington DC Stake(300)
* North Potomac Ward
Kensignton Ward Washington DC Stake (300)
* North Kensington Ward
Susquehanna Ward- Baltimore Maryland Stake (300)
*Aberdeen Ward
Jones Falls Ward - Baltimore Maryland Stake (375)
*Towson Ward
The flare-upnin Ivory Coast proved to be an issue over pay and bonuses, the Government agreed to settle that just today (Reuters) so the effect should only be very minimal and temporary on our work there
Bryan: if those Maryland wards were to split, would there be a need for more buildings or would they share their former meetinghouses? Also, with more wards between DC and Baltimore, would there be a possibility of a new stake? When was the last new stake to be created in the Catholic colony?
I think Ft. Meade has added a lot of jobs the last few years, the economy is good in general, and despite secular trends everywhere the church continues to progress in the East, with more temple coverage than ever.
The last Maryland stake is the Columbia Maryland Stake created in 1991.
30-Jun-40 Washington DC Stake 9 Wards, 2 Branches
13-Sep-70 Silver Spring Maryland Stake 6 Wards, 1 Branch
8-Dec-74 Baltimore Maryland Stake 7 Wards, 1 Branch
19-Aug-79 Suitland Maryland Stake 10 Wards, 1 Branch
12-Dec-82 Frederick Maryland Stake 8 Wards, 2 Branches
12-Jun-83 Annapolis Maryland Stake 6 Wards, 3 Branches
27-Oct-85 Seneca Maryland Stake 8 Wards, 1 Branch
10-Nov-91 Columbia Maryland Stake 6 Wards, 2 Branches
That is 60 wards and 13 branches in these stakes. The Washington DC and Suitland Maryland stakes each have 1 ward that is entirely in DC and which meets in a DC building. There are two branches (1 in each of the stakes) that meet in DC but extend much further than DC.
Also, there are two YSA wards in the Washington DC YSA Stake. I haven't accounted for other Maryland unts that are likely in stakes centered inside another stake and some of these units may be in another state (such as Pennsylvania or Delware). I simply haven't checked.
I believe yhe Dover Delawar ed Stake has some Maryland units. The acne is true for a stake in West Virginia.
I believe yhe Dover Delawar ed Stake has some Maryland units. The acne is true for a stake in West Virginia.
A couple of comments here:
In terms of how soon we could see the first temple in the Ivory Coast make progress, that is difficult to say. I have my own theory that a groundbreaking could happen in a year or two if a suitable site is found within that time, but that remains to be seen.
I have also heard rumors that we could see another temple announced for the Ivory Coast within the next 2-3 years, if not before, especially if growth continues.
The Ivory Coast is growing well in terms of the increase of members and Church units. When the time is right, growth will really take off there, even more so than it has already.
In the meantime, with Africa generally, they have had one new temple announced every year for the last three years. So I have no doubt that it could happen again. The Lord is very much aware of the Church in Africa, and if the people continue to be receptive to the gospel as they have been, we are likely to see so much more happen there.
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