- Senegal - 74 members
- Guinea - 56 members
- Mali - 42 members
Monday, June 25, 2018
History of the Church in West Africa Video
Click here to watch a 46-minute video regarding the establishment of the Church in each country in West Africa. This video was created to commemorate three milestones: the 40th anniversary of the the 1978 Revelation regarding Blacks and the Priesthood, the 30th anniversary of the creation of the first stake in West Africa, and the creation of the 100th stake in West Africa. Furthermore, the video provides membership information for several countries where no LDS membership information is provided on www.mormonnewsroom.org. This data appears current as of April 2018 as this was the last time membership, congregation, and organization data were provided on the Africa West Area website. These countries include:
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66 comments:
We have an Elder from my ward serving in Sierra Leone.
A few more updates:
Abomosu Ghana Stake
- Akrofufu Branch created
Sunyani Ghana District
- Sunyani Odumase Branch created
Monrovia Liberia Bushrod Island Stake
- Point Four Ward renamed Point Four 1st Ward
- Point Four 2nd Ward created
Abak Nigeria Stake
- Ikot Akpan Eda Branch created
Lagos Nigeria Ikeja Stake
- Gberigbe Ward created
Cabanatuan Philippines Stake
- Cabanatuan 8th Branch discontinued
Betim Brazil Stake
- Juatuba Branch created
Comayaguela Honduras Torocagua Stake
- Rio Abajo Branch upgraded to Ward
Apodaca México Stake
- Treboles Branch created
Veracruz México Stake
- Cinco de Mayo Ward discontinued
- Uribe Ward discontinued
Veracruz México Reforma Stake
- Aeropuerto Ward discontinued
- Altamirano Branch discontinued
- Las Palms Ward transferred to Veracruz México Mocambo Stake
- Venustiano Carranza Ward transferred to Veracruz México Mocambo Stake
- Progreso Ward transferred to Veracruz México Villa Rica Stake
Veracruz México Mocambo Stake
- Revolución Ward discontinued
- Zaragoza Ward discontinued
- Anton Lizardo Branch discontinued
Veracruz México Villa Rica Stake
- Veintiuno de Abril Ward discontinued
- Tejeria Branch discontinued
Miami Florida South Stake
- Key West Branch upgraded to Ward
Liberty Missouri Stake
- Liberty 1st Ward renamed Bennett Park Ward
- Liberty 2nd Ward transferred from Independence Missouri Stake and renamed Liberty Ward
- Hodge Park Ward created
Great Falls Montana East Stake
- Fort Benton Branch upgraded to Ward
Edmond Oklahoma Stake created, as previously reported by JSA
- Edmond 1st, Edmond 2nd, Edmond 4th, Oklahoma City University Ward (Student), and Village Wards transferred from the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Stake
- Oklahoma City University Ward (Student) renamed Oklahoma City YSA Ward
- Cushing, Edmond 3rd, and Shawnee Wards, and McLound Branch (Correctional Facility) transferred from the Stillwater Oklahoma Stake
Oklahoma City Oklahoma Stake
- Quail Creek Ward renamed Deer Creek Ward
Laredo Texas District
- Laredo 3rd Branch discontinued
Ogden Utah Rock Cliff Stake
- Monroe Branch (Correctional Facility) discontinued
What will be the next temple announced in West Africa? Nigeria for its second? Sierra Leone.
You raise an interesting question, Eduardo, that is well worthy of consideration. If memory serves, on this blog, Matt has previously predicted both a second Nigerian temple (in either Lagos or Benin City) and a temple for Freetown Sierra Leone. I am of the opinion that all three cities will at some point have their own temple, so our task then becomes determining in which order those might be announced.
According to an April 12, 2018 post on this blog in which Matt shared data about the top ten nations of the world with the strongest Church presence that do not have a temple in any phase, Sierra Leone now ranks 4th. So a temple is needed there. The closest temple is Accra Ghana, which is 1,272.1 miles from the Sierra Leonean capital city, more than six times further than the 200-mile goal set by Church presidents. Once the temple in Abidjan Ivory Coast is built and dedicated, that distance will be cut to 942 miles, which is still over 4.5 times further than the goal.
Lagos and Benin City have been mentioned by several people as being the most likely locations for Nigeria's second and third temples, although there are differing opinions as to which might occur first. The city of Lagos is 372.8 miles from Aba, while the city of Benin City is 181.7 miles from Aba.
With that in mind, and without knowing how busy the Aba Nigeria Temple might be, if I had to prioritize the three cities from most imminently likely to least, I would do so as follows: Freetown Sierra Leone, Lagos Nigeria, and Benin City Nigeria.
There are other factors to consider here: The distance between Lagos and Benin City is 195.3 miles, so their distance from each other may be a consideration as well. Another option I have commonly heard mentioned is the idea of a second temple for Ghana. Right now for that nation, the most likely prospect appears to be Kumasi, which is 154.3 miles from Accra.
So I would then prioritize my list of the four cities in this order: Freetown Sierra Leone, Lagos Nigeria, Kumasi Ghana, and Benin City Nigeria. Whatever might happen in that regard, West Africa may be in for a temple-building boom. Matt also previously ventured his opinion that there will likely be around 13 temples either operating or in various stages of construction for the Africa West Area by sometime during 2030.
Since there are only 2 operating temples and 1 other announced for the moment, there will need to be 10 others announced through West Africa within the next 12 years, which could easily occur. It will be interesting to see. Hope that helps answer your question. Just my own thoughts, for what they are worth.
The consolidations in Veracruz are troublesome, but understandable. Veracruz is a very dangerous state right now as far as the cartel problems are concerned. Lots of journalists have been killed there, and the previous governor was accused of letting off of hundreds of millions if not billions of pesos, all in the while giving distilled water to patients dying of cancer, claiming it was chemotherapy. Now the consolidations are mostly in the city. Xalapa, Orizaba, and Cordoba are growing nicely.
After the recent consolidations and reorganizations in Puebla, we have been relatively quiet in our sector. But I will predict more growth for the areas of Mexico that have as a triangle shape Guadalajara in the west, Monterrey in the northeast, and Puebla in the southeast. Plus Oaxaca state and Chiapas state to the south and Yucatan in the far east.
James, thanks for the insight. I just wanted to point out that while 195 miles from Benin City to Lagos does sound like a harder trip than 154 miles from Kumasi to Accra, it isn't that simple. But both trips in normal traffic are 4.5 hours long. In fact, Google Maps has Kumasi to Accra at 4:31 while Benin City to Lagos is 4:27. And there are tolls on the route from Kumasi to Accra.
While distance is an important factor, I don't think the Church thinks only in miles to measure distance. What does it take to actually travel that distance is more important.
I think the Church looks at the membership that would be served at least as much as the distance.
We don't have all of the factors the Church uses and the the Temple Department gets surprised occasionally when the Prophet announces something because of inspiration received.
So, our guesses are as good as any. I prefer looking at the time to reach the temple and not just the mileage, which provides a very misleading view of the difficulty of the journey.
I had a friend who lived in Sao Paulo and said it took him three hours to get to the temple in Sao Paulo.
What the Church uses, anecdotally and actually, in determining when to announce a new temple in an area, gathered from published sources and some leader comments inmeetings, etc., that I have heard about.
1. Number of members in an area.
2. Tithing faithfulness, was emphasized in the Philippines the last couple years.
3. Distancew to another temple.
4. Sacrament meeting attendance.
5. Use by the members in that area of other temples nearby. This criteria application varies because of other factors such as distance and transportation availability and cost.
There may be others, but that is what I have been able to glean.
Apodaca México Stake
- San Miguel Ward transferred to the Monterrey México Libertad Stake
- Valle de Huinala Ward discontinued
Monterrey México Anáhuac Stake
- Hidalgo Ward transferred from the Monterrey México Morelos Stake and renamed the Topo Chico Ward
- Los Andes Ward transferred to the Monterrey México Moderna Stake and renamed Nogalar Ward
Monterrey México Andalucía Stake
- Arboledas Ward discontinued
Monterrey México Libertad Stake
- San Miguel Ward transferred from the Apodaca México Stake
- America Ward transferred to the Monterrey México Moderna Stake and renamed the Estancia Ward
- Los Laureles Ward transferred to the Monterrey México Moderna Stake and renamed the Linda Vista Ward
- San Rafael Ward downgraded to Branch
- Miguel Alemán Ward discontinued
Monterrey México Los Angeles Stake
- Valle Hermosa Ward transferred from the Monterrey México Paraíso Stake
- Zaragoza Ward transferred from the Monterrey México Paraíso Stake
- Tacubaya Ward downgraded to Branch
Monterrey México Mitras Stake
- Moctezuma Ward transferred from the Monterrey México Morelos Stake and renamed the Modelo Ward
- Morelos Ward transferred from the Monterrey México Morelos Stake
- Cumbres Ward transferred to the Monterrey México Valle Verde Stake and renamed the Hacienda Ward
- Balcones Ward discontinued
- Mitras Ward discontinued
Monterrey México Moderna Stake
- America Ward transferred from the Monterrey México Libertad Stake and renamed the Estancia Ward
- Los Laureles Ward transferred from the Monterrey México Libertad Stake and renamed the Linda Vista Ward
- Los Andes Ward transferred from the Monterrey México Anáhuac Stake and renamed the Nogalar Ward
- Modero Ward renamed the Founder Ward
- Querétaro Ward renamed the Casa Blanca Ward
- Azteca Ward discontinued
- Infonavit Ward discontinued
- Moderna Ward discontinued
- Sada Vidrio Ward discontinued
Monterrey México Morelos Stake
- Hidalgo Ward transferred to the Monterrey México Anáhuac Stake and renamed the Topo Chico Ward
- Moctezuma Ward transferred to the Monterrey México Mitras Stake and renamed the Modelo Ward
- Morelos Ward transferred to the Monterrey México Mitras Stake
- Bernardo Reyes Ward discontinued
- Loma Linda Ward discontinued
- Stake discontinued
Monterrey México Paraíso Stake
- La Pastora Ward transferred to the Monterrey México Roma Stake and renamed the Pastora Ward
- Valle Hermoso Ward transferred to the Monterrey México Los Angeles Stake
- Zaragoza Ward transferred to the Monterrey México Los Angeles Stake
- Guadalupe Ward discontinued
- Paraíso Ward discontinued
- Veintiuno de Enero Ward discontinued
- Stake discontinued
Monterrey México Roma Stake
- La Pastora Ward transferred from the Monterrey México Paraíso Stake and renamed the Pastora Ward
- Buenos Aires Ward renamed the Paradise Ward
- Mirador Ward renamed the Valle Alto Ward
- San Angel ward renamed the Río La Silla Ward
- Central Ward downgraded to Branch
- Campestre Ward discontinued
- Independecia Ward discontinued
- Estanzuela Branch discontinued
Monterrey México Valle Verde Stake
- Cumbres Ward transferred from the Monterrey México Mitras Stake and renamed the Hacienda Ward
- Hacienda Mitras Ward renamed the Libramiento Ward
- Solidaridad Ward the Fraile Ward
- Valle Verde 1st Ward discontinued
- Valle Verde 2nd Ward renamed the Valle Verde Ward
San Nicolás México Stake
- Fraustro Ward renamed the Amaranto Ward
- Héroes de México Ward renamed the Concordia Ward
- Real de Palmas Branch upgraded to Ward and renamed the Zuazua Ward
- Los Robles Ward discontinued
The creation of 4 new stakes in the Benin City Nigeria Mission boundaries make me suspect that a temple for Benin City could be in the very near future. Still I always find it hard to judge and predict what will occur.
All 3 stakes, 10 districts, 17 wards, 82 branches, and 4 of the 6 missions in Russia appear to have been designated as sensitive units now, at least according to LDS Maps and the generic CDOL site. Maybe it is a temporary fluke, or maybe things there continue to worsen...
False alarm -- Russia is back online today. Thank goodness.
Wow, lots of consolidations in Monterrey. On the meetinghouse locator, I found the three meetinghouses in Veracruz and 8 in Monterrey now appear without an assigned unit. This usually happens when the church decommissions a chapel. It will be interesting to know what becomes of those buildings in the future. Most of them are older and smaller buildings. Though, I see that the larger, newer building next to the Temple had all three units discontinued.
Yesterday, all the meetinghouses in Russia were also detached from their units. Today, most the the meetinghouse locations are gone. The boundaries are still there, and classic maps still has the locations, although disconnected from their units.
Madero México Stake
- Ampliación Ward transferred from the Madero México Ampliación Stake
- Playa Ward transferred from the Madero México Ampliación Stake
- Independencia Ward transferred from the Madero México Ampliación Stake and renamed the Refinería Ward
- Villa Cuauhtémoc Ward transferred from the Tampico México Stake and downgraded to Branch
- Boulevard Ward discontinued
- Hidalgo Ward discontinued
- Jardin Ward discontinued
Madero México Ampliación Stake
- Ampliación Ward transferred to the Madero México Stake
- Playa Ward transferred to the Madero México Stake
- Independencia Ward transferred to the Madero México Stake and renamed the Refinería Ward
- Blanco Ward discontinued
- Del Valle Ward discontinued
- Unidad Ward discontinued
- Stake discontinued
Tampico México Stake
- Aeropuerto Ward transferred from the Tampico México Chairel Stake
- Modelo Ward transferred from the Tampico México Chairel Stake and renamed the Chairel Ward
- Morelos Ward downgraded to Branch
- Villa Cuauhtémoc Ward transferred to the Madero México Stake and downgraded to Branch
- Unión Ward discontinued
Tampico México Bosque Stake
- Los Sabalos Ward discontinued
- Monte Alto Ward discontinued
Tampico México Chairel Stake
- Aeropuerto Ward transferred to the Tampico México Stake
- Modelo Ward transferred to the Tampico México Stake and renamed the Chairel Ward
- Cañada Ward discontinued
- Las Lomas Ward discontinued
- Nuevo Progreso Ward discontinued
- Tancol Ward discontinued
- Stake discontinued
Sunyani Ghana District
- Berekum Branch created
Abakaliki Nigeria District
- Edda Branch created
Nigeria Benin City Mission
- Jesse Branch created
Cape Town South Africa Stake
- Grassy Park Branch created
Kaysville Utah Stake
- Old Farm Ward created
Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa Mission
- Boma Branch created
Chennai India District
- Tembaram Branch created
Toulouse France Stake
- Albi Branch renamed the Rodez Branch
Metan Argentina District
- El Galpon Branch discontinued
San Pedro Argentina Jujuy District
- Fraile Pintado Branch discontinued
Campinas Brazil Flamboyant Stake
- Progresso Ward renamed the Proença Ward
Comayaguela Honduras Torocagua Stake
- Jordán Branch upgraded to Ward
Texas McAllen Mission
- Rio Grande City Branch transferred from the McAllen Texas West Stake
- Zapata Branch transferred from the Laredo Texas Stake
West Haven Utah Stake
- Olive Bluff Ward created
"Laredo Texas Stake" is that a typo, or was the district upgraded to a stake?
Oops, that was a typo. It is still the Laredo Texas District.
Interesting develipment in Texas. Those may be the only two branches in the US not in a stake or district.
Boma where a branch was just formed is a port about 100 miles up river on the Congo River. From the 16th-century it was a key point on the trans-Atlantic slve trade and it was the capital of the Belgian Congo until 1926.
Boma has about 200,000 people. DR Congo still has even the major cities unreached.
If I am following right the two most recently announced new wards in Utah were both in the Ogden Temple district and one is almost certainly in the future Layton Temple District.
@Mike Johnson: Thanks for what you shared above. I recognize that, while mileage from any city is one of the main metrics I use, it is not by any means infallible, and you raise some valid points about the Church potentially prioritizing areas where getting to a current temple may present an undue hardship for Saints. While this and the other metrics I use are far from perfect, I hope that the thoughts I offered above are helpful to some of you.
Between the October 2017 and April 2018 General Conferences, I focused several blog posts on a new series covering the most imminent possible locations for future temples within each of the Church's geographical areas. The mileage metric was one of many I used when presenting that information. My intention within the next month or so is to revisit that series and to address some changed thoughts I have had about such prospects, for which I will be inviting comments until the week before General Conference when I will need to finalize that list.
Of course, the timing of those posts will largely depend on how soon I can access some of the information I need to put those together. Between a personal computer crash that left me without many of my major files and a crash of one or two websites from which I pull information I use to formulate posts on those topics, I have a limited amount of information presently. But that should change within the next month or two, and once it does, I will be cranking out those posts.
I have found that there is no shortage of opinions on where, when, and how soon temples might be built in the future, and it is an interesting topic. I am therefore pleased to exchange ideas on that topic here, on my blog, or in any other location. Thanks again for your insight on that subject.
@James Anderson: Thank you for sharing your insights on the criteria used by the Brethren in determining the timing and location of temple announcements. As I mentioned above to Mike Johnson, there are probably a number of factors that go into all of that, and, as we have seen, there are also matters of timing. I know that I was not personally anticipating temples being announced in either India or Russia last time, but as soon as they were announced, the Lord confirmed that those selections were inspired, which was verified once I learned more about the timing and circumstances that led to both announcements.
That said, while I have had a fair amount of success in terms of having the Lord justify my reasoning about certain locations by announcing them through His prophet, one of many reasons I have solicited more feedback in those personal preferences has been my effort to recognize that others may be (and usually are very much) more aware of prospects that may be more likely or imminent than some locations on my list.
That is why I originally opted to open more of a dialogue about such prospects between October 2017 and April 2018, and that is why I will begin revisiting that series at some point within the next month or two, just as soon as I can compile relevant information that factors into my reasoning on the thoughts I will be presenting. I hope that when that process begins, both you and Mike Johnson, along with anyone else who may wish to, will feel free to comment on any of those posts to share anything I may have missed or overlooked. In working together with anyone who shares their thoughts, hopefully my list for October will be the best one I have done so far.
Thanks to you all for the ongoing dialogue on matters of interest to so many. And my thanks again to Matt for letting our conversations cover such a wide scope of topics.
Another change took place early this week, and those that did not see the story about what we have known as the New Mission Presidents Seminar it will from this year forward be known as the New Mission Leaders Seminar, and it will be only three days instead of four or in some cases it was five days
Elder Cook also said that if we need to shorten the name of the Church in a few cases we should refer to it as The Church of Jesus Christ rather than LDS or Mormon Church.
Thank you, James Anderson. I had noted the change in a few posts on my blog, but I am grateful you mentioned this. I think that the name change of this seminar was done to be more inclusive, but perhaps more importantly, to pay tribute to the wonderful work of the wives of our mission presidents.
While I never had the opportunity to serve in a full-time setting myself, in talking to people that have (including my own wonderful wife), conversations about such service inevitably lead to remarks about how the wives of the mission presidents were just as influential (if not more so) than the mission presidents on the lives of the missionaries under their care.
So I applaud this change. The wives of our mission presidents have sacrificed as much or more than their husbands to serve as called by the First Presidency, and this is another in the series of positive changes the Church is making to more fully recognize the wonderful contributions of the sisters of the Church. I am fully on board with this development, and frankly a little surprised it has not occurred sooner.
As to the name of the Church, I agree with Elder Cook that, as Church members, we should not use the same designations for ourselves as the world does for the Church and its' members. That said, in certain settings, for purposes of recognition, I can understand in the public discourse why a shortened version of the Church's name would be appropriate. And I fully believe that there is a reason why the usage of the full name of the Church is being emphasized.
President Hinckley once gave a great talk about how "Mormon should mean 'More Good'", and during his administration and that of his two successors, we have seen greater emphasis being given to using the full name of the Church. And this greater emphasis agrees with the scriptural mandate to call the Lord's Church by His name.
The name of our Church was also given by revelation, so it makes sense that the Brethren would emphasize the use of proper terminology. Times are changing, but the doctrine of the Church remains constant. And since we have been exhorted to prepare for the Savior's Second Coming, it will be increasingly more important to ensure we are acknowledging His status as its' literal head.
I just saw an interview with Church spokesman Alfredo Salas where the interviewer stated that the Concepcion Temple will be the biggest in South America. Is that true? What would be bigger in the continent?
Asaba Nigeria Stake
- Asaba 1st, 3rd, 4th, and Ugbolu Branches upgraded to Wards
Warri Nigeria Stake
- Warri Ward renamed the Warri 2nd Ward
- Warri 1st Ward created
- Ughelli 3rd Ward created
Nürnberg Germany Stake
- Bamberg Ward discontinued
Lima Perú Magnolias Stake
- La Fragata Ward created
St Louis Missouri South Stake
- Crystal City Ward renamed the River View Ward
Mission changes starting to hit LDS Maps (partial list):
Cote d'Ivoire Yamoussoukro Mission (created)
- all units transferred from the Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan West Mission
- Daloa Cote d'Ivoire Stake
- Yamoussoukro Cote d'Ivoire Stake
- Bouafle Cote d'Ivoire District
- Bouake Cote d'Ivoire District
- Gagnoa Cote d'Ivoire District
- San Pedro Cote d'Ivoire District
- Soubre Cote d'Ivoire District
- Bangolo Branch
- Danané Branch
- Duekoue 1st Branch
- Duekoue 2nd Branch
- Issia Branch
- Logouale Branch
- Mahapleu Branch
- Man Branch
- Saioua Branch
- Sinfra Branch
- Dakar (Senegal) Branch
- Parcelles (Senegal) Branch
- Cote d'Ivoire Yamoussoukro Mission Branch created
Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan Mission
- renamed the Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan East Mission
Hungary Budapest Mission
- renamed the Hungary/România Mission
Ukraine Kyiv Mission
- renamed the Ukraine Kyiv/Moldova Mission
Russia Samara Mission (discontinued)
- Saratov Russia Stake transferred to the Russia Rostov-na-Danu Mission
- Samara Russia District transferred to the Russia Rostov-na-Danu Mission
- Orenburg Branch transferred to the Russia Rostov-na-Danu Mission
- Izhevsk Branch transferred to the Russia Yekaterinburg Mission
- Russia Samara Mission Branch discontinued
Ukraine L'viv Mission (discontinued)
- L'viv Ukraine District transferred to the Ukraine Kyiv/Moldova Mission
România/Moldova Mission (discontinued)
- Bucharest and Oradea România Districts transferred to the Hungary/România Mission
- Chişinau Moldova District transferred to the Ukraine Kyiv/Moldova Mission
Portugal Porto Mission (discontinued)
- All units transferred to the Portugal Lisbon Mission
Washington Federal Way Mission (discontinued)
- Auburn, Enumclaw, Federal Way, Kent, Maple Valley, and Renton Stakes to Washington Seattle Mission
- Graham, Puyallup, South Hill Stakes to Washington Tacoma Mission
Washington Seattle Mission
- Bothell and Seattle Shoreline Stakes to Washington Everett Mission
Washington Tacoma Mission
- Centralia and Elma Stakes to Washington Vancouver Mission
@Eduardo: It took more than a little research on my part, but I did some digging and found you at least a preliminary answer. First, when the interviewer referenced the "biggest temple", were they referring to square footage or height? While I have not assembled any data on the height, I did look into the square footage. Since the Church counts Brazil as its' own area, I only included the data I could find on the South America Northwest and South America South Areas.
What I found was that there are 6 South American temples with a greater square footage than what is anticipated for the Concepcion Chile Temple. If I have my facts straight, that temple is only anticipated to take up an area of 23,000 square feet. That said, I have confirmed that the Concepcion temple will have over 200 square feet more area than the Santiago Chile Temple, so perhaps what the interviewer meant is that this temple will be the biggest temple in Chile. Does that help address your question? If not, let me know what other information you might need, and I will try to get it for you. Great question, though.
At a branch conference in Dakar, Senegal attended by Elders Soares and Anderson last month there were 120 in attendance. Elder Soares in an interview with the Church news mentioned this was far more than the 30 to 35 that attended the branch he was raised in.
Washington Seattle Mission
- Seattle North Stake to Washington Everett Mission
Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission renamed Brazil Rio de Janeiro North Mission
- Arsenal Brazil, Macae Brazil, Niteroi Brazil, Rio de Janeiro Brazil and Rio De Janeiro Brazil Andarai
"New" Brazil Rio de Janeiro South Mission
- NOVA IGUACU BRAZIL
RIO DE JANEIRO BRAZIL CAMPO GRANDE
RIO DE JANEIRO BRAZIL ENGENHO DE DENTRO
RIO DE JANEIRO BRAZIL ITAGUAI
RIO DE JANEIRO BRAZIL JACAREPAGUA
RIO DE JANEIRO BRAZIL MADUREIRA
Transferred to : ENGLAND BIRMINGHAM MISSION
- NORTHAMPTON ENGLAND
BRISTOL ENGLAND
PLYMOUTH ENGLAND
POOLE ENGLAND
Transferred to : ENGLAND LEEDS MISSION
- NORWICH ENGLAND
Transferred to : ENGLAND LONDON MISSION
- CRAWLEY ENGLAND
LONDON ENGLAND WANDSWORTH
MAIDSTONE ENGLAND
PORTSMOUTH ENGLAND
READING ENGLAND
STAINES ENGLAND
Also, BRAZIL RIO DE JANEIRO NORTH Mission
- Cabo Frio Brazil District
Also related to missionary leadership training. There are now two women on the misdionary executive council, Sister Cordon and Sister Franco. Also Elder Soares is on the council.
Transferred to : New Jersey Morristown Mission
- NEWBURGH NEW YORK
New York New York North Mission renamed New York New York City Mission
- Transferred : NEW YORK NEW YORK
NEW YORK NEW YORK YSA
WESTCHESTER NEW YORK
YORKTOWN NEW YORK
BROOKLYN NEW YORK
LYNBROOK NEW YORK
PLAINVIEW NEW YORK
WOODSIDE NEW YORK
"New" Nigeria Ibadan Mission
- Transferred from Nigeria Lagos Mission
ABEOKUTA NIGERIA Stake
IBADAN NIGERIA Stake
ILE-IFE NIGERIA Stake
IJEBU-ODE NIGERIA District
"New" Philippines Cabanatuan Mission
- Transferred from Philippines Angeles Mission
CABANATUAN PHILIPPINES Stake
GAPAN PHILIPPINES Stake
SAN JOSE NUEVA ECIJA PHILIPPINES Stake
GUIMBA PHILIPPINES District
BONGABON PHILIPPINES District
BALER PHILIPPINES District
Spain Malaga Mission (Discontinued)
- Transferred to Spain Barcelona Mission
CARTAGENA SPAIN Stake
ELCHE SPAIN Stake
- Transferred to Spain Madrid Mission
CADIZ SPAIN Stake
GRANADA SPAIN Stake
SEVILLE SPAIN Stake
SANTIAGO SPAIN District
LEON SPAIN District
LA MANCHA SPAIN District
Utah Salt Lake City Mission renamed Utah Layton Mission
Assigned Stakes : BOUNTIFUL UTAH
BOUNTIFUL UTAH CENTRAL
BOUNTIFUL UTAH EAST
BOUNTIFUL UTAH HEIGHTS
BOUNTIFUL UTAH MUELLER PARK
BOUNTIFUL UTAH NORTH
BOUNTIFUL UTAH NORTH CANYON
BOUNTIFUL UTAH ORCHARD
BOUNTIFUL UTAH SOUTH
BOUNTIFUL UTAH STONE CREEK
BOUNTIFUL UTAH VAL VERDA
BOUNTIFUL UTAH YSA
CENTERVILLE UTAH
CENTERVILLE UTAH CANYON VIEW
CENTERVILLE UTAH NORTH
CENTERVILLE UTAH SOUTH
CLEARFIELD UTAH
CLEARFIELD UTAH NORTH
CLEARFIELD UTAH SOUTH
CLINTON UTAH
CLINTON UTAH NORTH
CLINTON UTAH WEST
FARMINGTON UTAH
FARMINGTON UTAH NORTH
FARMINGTON UTAH OAKRIDGE
FARMINGTON UTAH SOUTH
FARMINGTON UTAH WEST
FRUIT HEIGHTS UTAH
KAYSVILLE UTAH
KAYSVILLE UTAH CENTRAL
KAYSVILLE UTAH CRESTWOOD
KAYSVILLE UTAH DESERET MILL
KAYSVILLE UTAH EAST
KAYSVILLE UTAH HAIGHT CREEK
KAYSVILLE UTAH SOUTH
KAYSVILLE UTAH WEST
LAYTON UTAH
LAYTON UTAH CREEKSIDE
LAYTON UTAH EAST
LAYTON UTAH HOLMES CREEK
LAYTON UTAH KAYS CREEK
LAYTON UTAH LAYTON HILLS
LAYTON UTAH LEGACY
LAYTON UTAH NORTH
LAYTON UTAH NORTHRIDGE
LAYTON UTAH SOUTH
LAYTON UTAH VALLEY VIEW
LAYTON UTAH WEST
LAYTON UTAH YSA
MORGAN UTAH
MORGAN UTAH NORTH
MORGAN UTAH WEST
NORTH SALT LAKE UTAH
NORTH SALT LAKE UTAH LEGACY
NORTH SALT LAKE UTAH PARKWAY
ROY UTAH
ROY UTAH CENTRAL
ROY UTAH MIDLAND
ROY UTAH NORTH
ROY UTAH SOUTH
ROY UTAH WEST
SOUTH WEBER UTAH
SUNSET UTAH
SYRACUSE UTAH
SYRACUSE UTAH BLUFF
SYRACUSE UTAH LAKE VIEW YSA
SYRACUSE UTAH LEGACY PARK
SYRACUSE UTAH SOUTH
SYRACUSE UTAH WEST
WEST BOUNTIFUL UTAH
WEST POINT UTAH
WEST POINT UTAH LAKESIDE
WOODS CROSS UTAH
WOODS CROSS UTAH NORTH
Utah Logan Mission discontinued -
Transferred to Utah Ogden Mission :
BENSON UTAH
BRIGHAM CITY UTAH
BRIGHAM CITY UTAH BOX ELDER
BRIGHAM CITY UTAH NORTH
BRIGHAM CITY UTAH SOUTH
BRIGHAM CITY UTAH WEST
FIELDING UTAH
FRANKLIN IDAHO
GARLAND UTAH
HUNTSVILLE UTAH
HYDE PARK UTAH
HYRUM UTAH
HYRUM UTAH NORTH
LOGAN UTAH
LOGAN UTAH CACHE
LOGAN UTAH CACHE WEST
LOGAN UTAH CENTRAL
LOGAN UTAH EAST
LOGAN UTAH MARRIED STUDENT 1ST
LOGAN UTAH MARRIED STUDENT 2ND
LOGAN UTAH MOUNT LOGAN
LOGAN UTAH SOUTH
LOGAN UTAH YSA 1ST
LOGAN UTAH YSA 2ND
LOGAN UTAH YSA 3RD
LOGAN UTAH YSA 4TH
LOGAN UTAH YSA 5TH
LOGAN UTAH YSA 6TH
MALAD IDAHO
MENDON UTAH
NIBLEY UTAH
NORTH LOGAN UTAH
NORTH LOGAN UTAH GREEN CANYON
NORTH OGDEN UTAH
NORTH OGDEN UTAH BEN LOMOND
NORTH OGDEN UTAH COLDWATER
NORTH OGDEN UTAH EAST
OGDEN UTAH LORIN FARR
OGDEN UTAH MOUNT LEWIS
OGDEN UTAH ROCK CLIFF
OGDEN UTAH YSA 2ND
PERRY UTAH
PLEASANT VIEW UTAH
PLEASANT VIEW UTAH SOUTH
PRESTON IDAHO NORTH
PRESTON IDAHO SOUTH
PROVIDENCE UTAH
PROVIDENCE UTAH SOUTH
PROVIDENCE UTAH YSA
RICHMOND UTAH
RIVER HEIGHTS UTAH
SMITHFIELD UTAH
SMITHFIELD UTAH NORTH
SMITHFIELD UTAH SOUTH
SMITHFIELD UTAH YSA
TREMONTON UTAH
TREMONTON UTAH SOUTH
TREMONTON UTAH WEST
WELLSVILLE UTAH
WILLARD UTAH
Utah Salt Lake City East Mission renamed Utah Salt Lake City
Assigned Stakes :
COALVILLE UTAH
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS UTAH BRIGHTON
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS UTAH WASATCH
EVANSTON WYOMING
EVANSTON WYOMING SOUTH
GREEN RIVER WYOMING
KAMAS UTAH
KEMMERER WYOMING
LYMAN WYOMING
MIDVALE UTAH
MIDVALE UTAH EAST
MIDVALE UTAH NORTH
MIDVALE UTAH UNION FORT
MIDVALE UTAH UNION PARK
MURRAY UTAH
MURRAY UTAH LITTLE COTTONWOOD
MURRAY UTAH NORTH
MURRAY UTAH PARKWAY
MURRAY UTAH SOUTH
MURRAY UTAH WEST
MURRAY UTAH YSA
PARK CITY UTAH
ROCK SPRINGS WYOMING
SALT LAKE
SALT LAKE BIG COTTONWOOD
SALT LAKE BONNEVILLE
SALT LAKE BONNEVILLE YSA
SALT LAKE BUTLER
SALT LAKE BUTLER WEST
SALT LAKE CANNON
SALT LAKE CANYON RIM
SALT LAKE CENTRAL
SALT LAKE COTTONWOOD
SALT LAKE COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS
SALT LAKE EAST MILL CREEK
SALT LAKE EAST MILL CREEK NORTH
SALT LAKE EMIGRATION
SALT LAKE ENSIGN
SALT LAKE FOOTHILL
SALT LAKE GRANITE
SALT LAKE GRANITE PARK
SALT LAKE GRANT
SALT LAKE HIGHLAND
SALT LAKE HILLSIDE
SALT LAKE HOLLADAY
SALT LAKE HOLLADAY NORTH
SALT LAKE HOLLADAY SOUTH
SALT LAKE HOLLADAY YSA
SALT LAKE LIBERTY
SALT LAKE LITTLE COTTONWOOD
SALT LAKE MARRIED STUDENT
SALT LAKE MILLCREEK
SALT LAKE MONUMENT PARK
SALT LAKE MOUNT OLYMPUS
SALT LAKE OLYMPUS
SALT LAKE PARLEYS
SALT LAKE PIONEER
SALT LAKE PIONEER YSA
SALT LAKE RIVERSIDE
SALT LAKE ROSE PARK
SALT LAKE ROSE PARK NORTH
SALT LAKE SOUTH COTTONWOOD
SALT LAKE UTAH (TONGAN)
SALT LAKE VALLEY VIEW
SALT LAKE WILFORD
SALT LAKE WINDER
SALT LAKE WINDER WEST
SOUTH SALT LAKE
Australia Sydney South Mission discontinued.
Australia Sydney North renamed Australia Sydney Mission :
CANBERRA AUSTRALIA
GOSFORD AUSTRALIA
LIVERPOOL AUSTRALIA
MacARTHUR AUSTRALIA
NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA
PENRITH AUSTRALIA
SYDNEY AUSTRALIA BAULKHAM HILLS
SYDNEY AUSTRALIA FAIRFIELD
SYDNEY AUSTRALIA HARBOUR
SYDNEY AUSTRALIA HEBERSHAM
SYDNEY AUSTRALIA MORTDALE
SYDNEY AUSTRALIA PRAIRIEWOOD
ORANGE AUSTRALIA District
NOWRA AUSTRALIA District
COFFS HARBOUR AUSTRALIA District
Mexico Ciudad Obregon Mission Discontinued
Transferred to Mexico Hermosillo Mission -
CIUDAD OBREGON MEXICO
CIUDAD OBREGON MEXICO NAINARI
NAVOJOA MEXICO District
Transferred to Mexico Culiacan Mission -
LOS MOCHIS MEXICO
LOS MOCHIS MEXICO EL FUERTE
EL FUERTE MEXICO District
Mexico Reynosa Mission discontinued
Transferred to Mexico Monterrey East Mission
MATAMOROS MEXICO
REYNOSA MEXICO
REYNOSA MEXICO EAST
VALLE HERMOSO MEXICO
TAMAULIPAS MEXICO RIO BRAVO District
California San Fernando Mission discontinued
Transferred to California Los Angeles Mission
CANOGA PARK CALIFORNIA
GRANADA HILLS CALIFORNIA
NORTH HOLLYWOOD CALIFORNIA
SAN FERNANDO CALIFORNIA (SPANISH)
Transferred to California Bakersfield Mission
SANTA CLARITA CALIFORNIA
VALENCIA CALIFORNIA
Illinois Chicago West Mission discontinued
Transferred to Illinois Chicago Mission
JOLIET ILLINOIS
NAPERVILLE ILLINOIS
ROCKFORD ILLINOIS
SCHAUMBURG ILLINOIS
Transferred to Iowa Des Moines Mission
PEORIA ILLINOIS
Mississippi Jackson Mission discontinued
Transferred to Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission
GULFPORT MISSISSIPPI
HATTIESBURG MISSISSIPPI
JACKSON MISSISSIPPI
MONROE LOUISIANA
Transferred to Texas Dallas Mission
SHREVEPORT LOUISIANA
Ohio Cleveland Mission discontinued
Transferred to Ohio Columbus Mission
AKRON OHIO
KIRTLAND OHIO
YOUNGSTOWN OHIO
Transferred to Michigan Detroit Mission
CLEVELAND OHIO
TOLEDO OHIO
Eduardo Here is the info I have on South American Temple sizes
Arequipa Peru - idk
Asuncion Paraguay 10,700
Belem Brazil - idk
Bogota Columbia - 53,500
Brasilia Brazil - idk
Buenos Aires Argentina 30,659
Campinas Brazil - 48,100
Caracas Venezuela - 15,332
Cochabamba Bolivia - 33,302
Concepcion Chile - 23,000-30,000 (I have seen 2 different articles so that is an estimate)
Cordoba Argentina - 34,369
Curitiba Brazil - 27,850
Fortaleza Brazil - idk
Lima Peru - 9,600
Lima Peru Los Olivos - idk
Manaus Brazil - 32,032
Montevideo Uruguay - 10,700
Porto Alegre Brazil - 10,700
Quito Ecuador - idk
Quetzaltenango Guatemala - 21,085
Recife Brazil - 37,200
Rio de Janeiro Brazil - idk
Santiago Chile - 20,831
Sao Paulo Brazil - 59,246
Trujillo Peru - 28,200
If it helps, in the official Mormon Newsroom release on the Concepcion Chile Temple groundbreaking, it said that the temple was anticipated to be 23,000 square feet in area. I don't know where the 30,000 square feet would have been noted. But again, my research showed that six of the South American temples (excluding those in Brazil, which, as noted in my comment above, has its' own Church area) have a bigger square footage than is anticipated for Concepcion. That number goes down to 5 if, as observed by Nephi above, the square footage is actually closer to 30,000. Either way, though, the Concepcion Chile Temple will be larger than its' counterpart in Santiago, so I am still of the opinion that the interviewer meant it will be the largest temple in Chile, not in the South American continent as a whole. Without reading the interviewer's comments in context, I can't be sure, but that would be my guess, because, as shown by Nephi above, if Brazil is included, there are more than 5 or 6 temples on the South American continent that are larger than either of the two square footage numbers he provided above. Hope these additional answers are helpful to you, Eduardo.
In the meantime, I just wanted to note for all who are interested that I have provided a number of new posts on my own blog within the last week or so, covering such topics as temple developments, general Church news, and even some interesting information about the assignments of Elders Gong and Soares that were specified in several articles covering their recent interviews. With my thanks to Matt for graciously continuing to allow me to do so, I am again posting my blog address below. I would appreciate any feedback any of you have for me.
http://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com
And I also want to again thank Matt for allowing all of us to have such wide-ranging conversations in the comment threads to this blog. Each conversation has increased my understanding of pertinent Church growth matters, and I have likewise appreciated the chance to exchange ideas on a variety of subjects with all of you here. So thanks again to Matt and to all of you for that.
I was watching the video here. I was surprised not even the Freeze in Ghana was me ntioned. There is a lot of steps in each vountry from the small beginnings to the current numbers. The 50 stakes in Nigeria reach to many places not reached until long after 1978 and that process of growth has its own history. I look forward to the day when more of that history is told. Liberia and Sierra Leone and even Ivory Coast have weathered civil wars. Especially in the first two cases they seem to have delayed Church growth.
Has anyone heard any official announcement of what Stakes/Districts will be part of the new "Concepcion Chile Temple District" after October? My prediction is 20 Stakes and 8 districts approx. in the southern half of Chile. Recently, Rick on the LDSChurchTemples Facebook site had announced the official 11 Stakes and 1 district + mission branches for the new "Rome Italy Temple District" when it is opened next May 2019...and i know before the site went down due to server crash, Rick had predicted 7 stakes and 2 districts for the new "Baranquilla Temple district"...Is there any official word of the assigned units? It is odd they would make official announcement for Rome Italy before the Concepcion Chile and Baranquilla Colombia dedications this year.
Also I am still waiting for the last 3 Mission Updates in Classic LDS Maps app starting tomorrow, 07/01/2018 : the merging of the Greece Athens Mission and the Nicosia Cyprus District + Mission Branches with a neighboring country as was announced in February. Also, the merging of the California Modesto mission and its (6) Stake units with neighboring Missions. and lastly the division of the Zimbabwe Harare Mission, to create the new "Zimbabwe Bulawayo" Mission announced in February 2018 also. Thanks. I will keep posted of any new changes.
Thanks for all the research James. The TV interviewer said, " mas grande en Sudamerica". Then Elder Salas of the Seventy did not correct him but did mention the Santiago Temple.
The former missionary who clarified said "biggest in Chile" which seems to be accurate. Brazil and Colombia have bigger temples for sure.
Concepcion will be located further south than any other temple. Someday Patagonia will get one and beat that. Thinking Argentine side.
Not a problem, Eduardo. While I had information about the square footage for the temples in South America, I did not include Brazil in that list, because the Church views that nation as its' own area. I in turn am grateful to Nephi for actually putting into perspective how the Brazilian temples compare with the others.
@Chris: I am sure that the stakes that will belong to the Concepcion Chile Temple have been announced, but I don't have any information on that. But I do know that in December of last year, I had noted that there were 77 stakes and 16 districts in Chile at that time. When the Church has previously built a second temple in any nation, that has generally cut the size of the original temple district roughly in half. Given that some cities in Chile are just about the same distance from Santiago as they are from Concepcion, those units could go either way.
Also, at times, the Church has held off on making an official announcement about which units will fall under the districts of new temples until closer to the time of dedication. The reason the units comprising the Rome Italy Temple District were released may have been because that temple is of considerable interest to the world in general and Church members in particular. It could also be true that the units that will be served by the Rome Italy Temple were more easily determined than those that will be served by the Concepcion Chile Temple, in which case, that information could be released within the next month or two.
Confirmed on Classic LDS Maps.
Stakes transferred from Texas Dallas Mission to Texas Fort Worth Mission:
Carrollton Texas Stake
Irving Texas Stake
Confirmed on Classic LDS Maps.
Stakes transferred from California Modesto Mission to California Fresno Mission:
MODESTO CALIFORNIA
MODESTO CALIFORNIA NORTH
TURLOCK CALIFORNIA
Stakes transferred from California Modesto Mission to California Sacramento Mission:
STOCKTON CALIFORNIA
LODI CALIFORNIA
MANTECA CALIFORNIA
Confirmed on Classic LDS Maps.
Stakes transferred from Zimbabwe Harare Mission to "New" Zimbabwe Bulawayo Mission:
BULAWAYO ZIMBABWE
GWERU ZIMBABWE
NKULUMANE ZIMBABWE
I think the new Salta Argentina Temple will cover parts of Northern Chile, such as Antofagasta. I look forward to the day when one will be built way down in the South of either Chile or Argentina plus another in Mendoza. Also what country now has the most members without a temple? What countrues with stakes are the furthest from the nearest temple at any stage of development?
I miss Rick's temple site. I hope and pray that he gets everything for that site resolved soon.
Hi, first time visitor to your blog - could not find an email address by which to address my question to the owner, so will post my question here and hope I am not diverting off the thread.
One of the areas that various parts of our extended family have enjoyed over the years, and have given thought to possibly moving to as retirement nears is East Tennessee. Bottom line - what is the membership of the church like in the Knoxville Mission area, and have you thought / projected any thoughts of a temple being built there? Atlanta is about 3 hours, Nashville, with the traffic is about the same, Richmond will still be 6+ hours, and with no interstate highways crossing the Appalachians, the Carolina temples too are a bit far for regular trips.
I did do a search before posting on "Knoxville" but had no hits, so appreciate your views based on your insights and experience.
gaijin79@hotmail.com
Try this bloggers other site cumorah.com
@L. Chris Jones: It will be interesting, to be sure, to find out which areas are covered by all of the currently announced temples, as well as those currently under construction. The Church definitely seems to have specifics in mind in terms of which units would be served by each temple, and how and in what way a new temple anywhere might divide the current districts. It is a very interesting process to observe.
You make a good point about the areas of Chile that might be served by the Salta Argentina Temple. I had not realized that could be the case. That said, I fully anticipate that the next Chilean temple will be built in Antofagasta, but the question then becomes how imminently likely that prospect might be. Even if the Saints there are initially served by the Salta temple, that would still be a journey of over 500 miles. It will be interesting to see what happens there.
I also join in your hopes and prayers for the full restoration of the LDS Church Temples site, and for those working on that effort. Current projection is that the site will likely be back in late summer of this year, which I would imagine will be between late July and early September. But at least the restoration process is far enough along that such an estimate can be offered. Hopefully if we all continue to pray for a speedy resolution to that process, that will help decrease the amount of time remaining until it is up and running again. That said, it is wonderful that updates have continued to be provided on the Facebook page for that site, so at least we have that.
Regarding your question about which country now has the strongest Church presence but does not have a temple in any phase, I don't know if you saw this when it was originally posted on this blog, but shortly after the April 2018 General Conference, Matt revised his list of the top ten nations with the strongest Church presence that do not have a temple in any phase, which you can find at the address below:
http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2018/04/updated-10-countriesdependencies-with.html
According to that post, the #1 nation fitting that category is now Papua New Guinea, although reports are that land has been held in reserve by the Church in Port Moresby, where an official announcement will follow once the time is right. Hope that helps answer your question.
@Stuart McHardy: Welcome. The topics covered on the comment threads of this blog are wide-ranging, so any new topic is no diversion at all. As to your question, if I may venture an answer, although I do not have much experience with the area you mentioned, I am pretty good at doing research to find answers to questions like these. What I was able to ascertain from a search related to your question was that there is actually an official Facebook page for Latter-day Saints in the Knoxville Area, who may be able to address some of your questions directly. You can find that page at the address below:
https://www.facebook.com/KnoxAreaMormons/
While they would be able to answer the parts of your query related to the Church in that area, I would also like to address your question about the prospect of a temple in the Knoxville area. Future temples are a subject often covered on this blog, by both the author of it, and by those of us who comment regularly. As far as the prospect of a temple in the Knoxville area, you make a great point about the driving distance from that city to the nearest temples, which is one of many considerations the Church takes into account in determining where to build a temple.
That said, as you may or may not be aware, the Church closed its' temple in Memphis in October of last year for a massive renovation project. Current projections are that that temple could be rededicated within the next 12-18 months. Why do I mention this? Under President Hinckley's temple-building boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was fairly common for more than one temple in any of the Church's 10 areas within the US to be under construction or undergoing renovation. But within the last decade or so, if one or more temples in any of those ten areas is under construction or undergoing renovation, the Church has generally held off on announcing new temples until the "backlog" of temple projects in such areas is diminished.
The one exception to that is, of course, the Mormon corridor (which covers Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and Nevada), where it is fairly uncommon to not have more than one temple project underway at the same time. With that in mind, since the Memphis Tennessee Temple is 1 of 3 temples in the North America Southeast Area that is being renovated (the other two are the Baton Rouge Louisiana and Raleigh North Carolina Temples). So I would anticipate that the Church will likely not announce another temple in that area until those temples are at least closer to being rededicated.
It appears that Knoxville is 180 miles from Nashville, where there is a temple, and while that is just below the 200-mile goal within which our last few Church presidents would like members everywhere to be from their nearest temple, perhaps it is near enough to make it a feasible option at some point in the near future. And as others have observed in previous comments on this same thread, the number of miles may not be as much of a factor in terms of how soon any city might get a temple in comparison with other considerations. We have seen some temple announcements that have been surprising recently.
This last conference, the two announced for India and Russia fit that description. President Nelson recounted how he had only planned to announce 6 new temples until the night before General Conference began, at which point, he was inspired to announce a temple in India as well. With that in mind, nothing can be completely ruled out in terms of likely prospects for a temple at some point. That said, how imminent such prospects might be is often anyone's guess. My personal feeling is that a temple in Knoxville (which would be the third in Tennessee) may not be as imminent as other locations, but could happen at some point. I have been wrong before, though, so I cannot rule it out completely for either the near or more distant future. Hope this additional comment is helpful to you.
There is more where that came from as far as things to be announced suddenly that we may see yet, as Joy D. Jones, according to a report this morning on KKUT/KUDE/KMTI and possibly one or two others they own, reported she had just left Salt Lake the day she went to do a devotional for those in the pageant in Manti, the meeting was the Temple and Family History Executive Committee, and her words paraphrased say there is lots of revelation right now, anything can happen now.
@James Anderson: The Church News covered her remarks as well. As I understand it, Church council meetings are generally only scheduled to last between 45-60 minutes, so the 3 hours Sister Jones mentioned were somewhat surprising. Although I know quite a bit about the process by which temples are planned, announced, built, and dedicated, it is not often that we hear of a council meeting lasting 3 hours.
That said, it does not surprise me at all to hear that this council meeting ran that long. While all Church presidents have expressed a love for and highlighted the importance of worldwide temples to serve the Church membership, our current prophet made it clear right from the start that temples would be a high priority of his prophetic administration.
Although several people said prior to General Conference last April that it would not surprise them if no temples were announced, as President Nelson had plenty on his plate for his first conference as Church president, the fact that many of the first announcements made during his presidency were temple-related, including the announcement of 7 temples last April (the second-highest number to ever be announced at one time in Church history) is very significant, and is an additional testament that he will make that a high priority.
With that in mind, and in remembering Elder Wilson's statement (made in late April last year) in which he noted that 80 potential locations were on a list that might be announced within the 15 years following that statement, it would not surprise me at all to learn that part of the reason that meeting ran as long as it did was to discuss potential future locations.
At the same time, with 19 temples that have not gone beyond an announcement, I also believe that part of that 3-hour discussion may have focused on what could be done to expedite the progress of those 19 temples. It is somewhat unusual to get halfway through any given year without any temple groundbreakings being held, but perhaps with the other major announcements, there may not have been time before now to discuss how to get those temples closer to a groundbreaking. So I would anticipate at least one groundbreaking by the end of this year (for the Bangkok Thailand Temple, which I have projected may occur in November, which would coincide with the anniversary of that nation's dedication for the preaching of the gospel).
It would not be out of the question, in my opinion, to assume as well that some discussion took place about the temples in various phases of construction or undergoing renovation, in addition to potential discussion of which temples might need renovation work in the near future as well.
Particularly, unless something has changed in the last couple of months, we may still be waiting for renovation efforts to begin in full on the Asuncion Paraguay Temple. That temple closed 8-9 months ago, and, AFAIK, has not seen a start to that process yet. And although it had originally been anticipated to reopen next year, I recently offered my opinion that we might not see it back up and running until sometime during 2020, unless something changes in the very near future.
My point in mentioning all of these things is that if all of these subjects (and others as well) were covered during that meeting, it is no wonder that the meeting ran so long. While the timing of any and all temple events (from announcements, to groundbreaking, to construction, to dedication) is up to the Lord and his prophet, certainly, feedback President Nelson receives from others will help those processes along.
I have no doubt there will be many more surprise temple announcements (particularly in locations that few (if anyone) have on their lists, and there is certainly not a shortage of locations that are frequently mentioned in the public discussions of such prospects, so anything is possible. We are certainly seeing a direct fulfillment of the prophecies that the Church and its' temples will truly spread worldwide, and it is amazing to think about.
About the Concepción temple. The Church demographic center for Chile is right inside Santiago, so somewhere in there, you have the same amount of stakes + districts to the north and to the south. This is what makes it unlikely to have a similar amount of units assigned to each temple. The Talca stake is basically halfway between Santiago and Concepción, so I think that is where the district boundary will be. The Talca stake will go to either temple and likely anything south of Talca would be assigned to the Concepción temple.
I have taken the bus between Chillan and Concepcion a number of times, and it was windy, hence somewhat slower than it may look on paper. I hope that they have graded it better since 2005. Back in 1994 we had quite a scare when a cow appeared along that road, seemingly unannounced! That would have been quite the collision but better heads prevailed.
There are many less active members throughout Chile so hopefully this reactivates many thousands. And attracts many more.
When I wrote "windy" I meant bendy and curvy. Long and winding, like the Beatles sing.
And it has been such a road for the second Chilean temple! And the thousands affected by it.
Thank you, R. Jofre, for clarifying where the likely boundaries for the Concepcion Chile district might be. It has not been uncommon for the Church to build a second temple in any nation that does not wind up splitting the only other existing temple district in half. We have seen that occur repeatedly. So you would surely have a better answer to the question of which Church units are most likely to comprise the Concepcion Chile Temple district. I cannot recall off the top of my head if anything has been officially or unofficially announced in that regard. Either way, since the Concepcion temple will not be splitting the Santiago Temple District in half, that would seem to strengthen my belief that not long after the Concepcion temple is dedicated, another Chilean temple is likely to be announced.
Eduardo, interesting insight into the roads in Concepcion. I would also hope that any road issues have been straightened out since your last experience with it. That was something I had not been aware of, and I appreciate hearing about it.
For those who are interested, with just over three months left before the October 2018 General Conference, I am in the preliminary stages of starting my next series of posts on my own blog about the most likely prospective locations that may have a temple announced at that time.
Given what has been noted on this same thread about the Temple and Family History Executive Council Meeting that lasted 3 hours, I think it would be very safe to assume that some major temple news will be coming within the next several months, either of currently announced temples having a groundbreaking, or currently operating temples being scheduled for renovation, or additional temple locations being announced during that General Conference.
I will be continuing to request and accept feedback on that series of posts up until the last week or so of September, at which point I will need to finalize my list before conference begins.
So any feedback anyone has for me would be both welcome and very much appreciated. With my thanks to Matt for allowing me to do so, I am posting a link to that introductory post on my blog below. Thanks again to you all for the ongoing tremendous discussions we have here.
http://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2018/07/october-2018-temple-site-possibilities.html
Yes Eduardo, the road between Concepción and Chillán used to be a really small and winding road. I usually got dizzy traveling in that area. Now there is a pretty straight highway between those two cities with a speed limit of 120 km/h, roughly 75 mph. Nowadays Talca is roughly 15 minutes closer to the southern temple when traffic conditions are perfect, but traffic can be an issue near Santiago, and you will usually lose an hour or more on ok days. Of course, this is just technicality and the boundary could be set nowhere near Talca.
James, you are welcome. I also believe that in the case of Chile several temples could be announced depending on resources and if certain conditions improve or show a positive trend, which seems to not be the case at the moment.
Santiago could get a second temple. Also, Valparaíso, Antofagasta, La Serena, Arica and Osorno seem like good candidates.
Chris - great job posting the mission changes!
Nephi - grateful you have been keeping track of temple sizes!
San Salvador El Salvador Stake
- San Patricio Branch discontinued
Nigeria Ibadan Mission
- Awe Branch renamed the Oyo Branch
Ilorin Nigeria District created
- Araromi Branch created
- other units not yet ascertained
R. Jofre, I know that in the 3 or so years within which I have been sharing my thoughts on future temple locations, Valparaiso and Antofagasta have emerged from my personal research as the most likely candidate cities in Chile for a temple. I know that for both the April General Conference and the upcoming one in October, I have listed a potential temple for Antofagasta. But if Chile is experiencing negative growth trends, perhaps I should eliminate that prospect from my lit for the near future. I agree with your assessment as to which cities could eventually get a temple of their own at some point. Hopefully things improve there in the near future. If not, then perhaps the temples in Santiago and Concepcion will be sufficient to serve the needs of the Chilean Saints for now. Interesting information. Thanks again.
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