Nebraska
The Church organized a new stake in Nebraska for the first time since 1991. The Omaha Nebraska Millard Stake was organized on March 31st from a division of the Omaha Nebraska Stake and the Omaha Nebraska Pampillion Stake. The new stake includes the following seven wards and one branch: the Chalco Hills, Elmwood, Gretna, Harrison Hills, Millard, Rockbrook, and Lakeview Wards, and Field Club Branch. There are now four stakes in the Omaha metropolitan area (three on the Nebraska side, one on the Iowa side).
There are now five stakes in Nebraska.
Nigeria
The Church organized one new stake and one new district in Nigeria.
The Ibadan Nigeria North Stake was organized from a division of the Ibadan Nigeria Stake and the Ilorin Nigeria District on March 24th. The new stake includes the following five wards and three branches: the Adegbayi, Akobo, Mokola, Ojoo, and Sawmill Wards, and the Oke Itunu, Olodo, and Oyo Branches. The Church organized its first stake in Ibadan in 2014 and has reported rapid congregational growth since that time which has warranted the stake to divide only five years later. The original Ibadan Nigeria District was organized in 1991. Slow growth occurred for the Church in Ibadan for much of the first couple decades of a Church presence in the city. However, rapid growth has occurred in Ibadan for nearly one decade. There are now five stakes in the Yorubaland region of Nigeria. In contrast, there were no stakes in Yorubaland prior to 2014. Given steady growth in the region and a population numbering in the tens of millions, Ibadan appears like a likely candidate for a future temple one day, perhaps in the next 5-10 years given current growth rates.
The Nsukwa Nigeria District was organized on March 31st from a division of the Ogwashi-Nsukwa District (renamed Ogwashi Nigeria District). The new district includes the following three branches: Nsukwa 1st, Nsukwa 2nd, and Ossissa Branches. Rapid growth has occurred in this region of Delta State in Nigeria since the mid-2000s. The Church organized its first district in the region in 2006 in Asaba. The district divided in 2013 to create two additional districts in Agbor and Ogwashi-ukwu. The Asaba Nigeria District became a stake in 2018. Thus, within the matter of 15 years the Church progressed from only a few branches in northern Delta State that pertained to the Onitsha Nigeria District, to one stake and three districts all headquartered in Delta State. Additionally, the Ogwashi Nigeria District appears close to becoming a stake as the district has eight branches that all function within the city of Ogwashi-ukwu. With two branches in Adonte, this village appears likely to become its own district if a third branch is organized or have the two branches in the district become assigned to the new district in Nsukwa.
There are now 56 stakes and 17 districts in Nigeria.
Utah
The Church organized a new stake in Lehi, Utah on March 31st. The Lehi Utah Holbrook Farms Stake was organized from a division of the Lehi Utah Jordan Willows Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards: the Evans Farm, Holbrook Farms 1st, Holbrook Farms 2nd, Jordan Willows 1st, Jordan Willows 2nd, and Jordan Willows 7th Wards. The new stake is the Church's 600th stake in the state of Utah. To put things into perspective, there are more than twice as many stakes in Utah as there are in any other country in the world aside from the United States. Brazil is the country with the second most stakes in the world with 273.
St Vincent and the Grenadines
The Church organized its first district in the Caribbean nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines. The Kingstown St Vincent District was organized from six mission branches that previously were under the direct supervision of the Barbados Bridgetown Mission. The branches assigned to the mission include the Calliaqua, Castries, Georgetown, Kingstown, St George's, and Vieux-Fort Branches. Of the six branches, three are in St Vincent and the Grenadines, two are in St Lucia, and one is in Grenada. The three nations that pertain to the new district have reported some of the most rapid growth for the Church in the Lesser Antilles although growth rates nevertheless remain slow.
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ReplyDeleteI came out to my family in November 2015, two days before the Exclusion Policy was leaked. The policy took a heavy toll on my family, crippling my faith, destroying my brother's faith (he's now atheist), and bruising my mom's testimony. Even recently, my mom was talking about trying to come to grips with the complicated reality of having a gay son who had a testimony but who had been told by leaders that he was apostate (no, I never married a man or even got close) and a danger to youth, children, and the Church, all because I'm gay (these leaders thought the Exclusion Policy validated these beliefs). Fortunately, most of my leaders have realized that such rhetoric was inaccurate in my situation.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad God clarified His will, now specifying that homosexual transgression should be treated the same as heterosexual transgression. There's a lot more to unpack, but I'm just going to release a huge sigh of relief that Iv'e held in for three and a half years.
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/first-presidency-messages-general-conference-leadership-session-april-2019#oaks
I'm sorry to hear of you and your family's sad experiences with the church of Jesus Christ. .. testimonies can be shaken if we don't diligently remember our relationship with the Lord. As someone whom has seen Christ himself my heart pours out to you and encourage you to learn the difference between church doctrine, church policy and church opinions , this can be helpful. When Jesus suffered in the garden of Gethsemane he also would have felt your struggles and I'm positive is keenly aware of them and still desires you to succeed. I hope your family will return one day.
DeleteThe Church policy only said that entering into same-gender marriage was apostasy, not feelings of same-gender attraction.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn’t change the fact that after the Exclusion policy was leaked, many local leaders felt empowered to say hurtful and wrong and untrue things to LGBT members...what the policy said doesn’t change what people did with it
DeleteNor does it change the fact that most of the rhetoric spread about ut by LGBTQ related activists was down right lies. I also reject these continued attempts to smear those of us who stand by and uphold the teachings of the Church based on unsubstatiated third hand rumors often advanced without either evidence of consideration of actual context.
DeleteOh, so if one party lies and “smears”, it justifies the second party’s harmful policies? Sounds like the law of Moses.
DeleteCould you cite some of these “downright lies” as well as enlighten us on the context that you’re talking about?
While you’re at it, could you please tell us the context in which Paul and “all” the ancients (but not Jesus) made their comments about homosexuality? Cause if we’re going to use cultural and historical context as justification for our own practices (denying priesthood to men of African descent, Joseph Smith marrying a 14 year old, etc.) then we should demand the cultural and historical context of why Paul et al forbade homosexuality.
I think we’ll find that the context of how homosexuality was seen back then (pederasty and the like, with no legal gay marriage) is nothing like what we know about homosexuality today (loving, committed, legal marriages). Context matters, after all.
I just was looking over the LDS International Society conference program. From this I came across mention of Carter Charles, a BYU Church History and Doctrine professor. Brother Charles is a native of Haiti. Here is https://religion.byu.edu/carter_charles his BYU profile. I would love to see him rework his doctoral disseration into a book. It would sort of stand as the prequel to ''The Mormon Image in the American Mind'' which covers the Romney to Romney perseption of Mormonism, but with maybe less emphasis on politics than Brother Charles has.
ReplyDeleteBrother Charles was a professor at a university in Bordeaux before he joined the BYU faculty. Is this the trend of the future for BYU to have more and more professors from outside the US? I blieve another professor in that same department is from Italy.
My experience as a gay member of the Church has been almost completely positive. I came out to my bishop when I was 14, and he and my stake president knew full well when they recommended me for a mission. I was so excited to serve. That was nearly 20 years ago. Later, I learned to be more comfortable with who I am, and while I didn't advertise it, my accent gives it away, so I didn't deny it when it came up in conversations with others, including Church members. Everyone treated me kindly and totally embraced me nevertheless. In 2014, I even gave a Sacrament talk about living as a gay member despite the worldly pressures to live another way. After the meeting, it took a full 10 minutes to leave the chapel after being tearfully hugged by so many people, even elderly people, and this in a deeply conservative state in the U.S. I was saddened by the 2015 policy, but it didn't really change anything for me. I think it affected my family more. As such, my family is feeling a load lifted from them today, but still, nothing really changes for me. If anything, I am deeply touched by the sensitivity Church leaders have displayed by readdressing this policy.
ReplyDeleteI can't help but wonder how my Bishop feels today. He spent a half hour back then trying to convince me how wise and just the 2015 policy/revelation really was.
ReplyDeleteTo all of you who have had to deal with the pain and sadness... A big hug from me. And know that I love you no matter what.
ReplyDeleteI echo R. Jofre's sentiments. A warm embrace to all!
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ReplyDeleteJust because a policy is no linger being followed now in no way means it was not wise or just when implemented. Gods ways are higher than our ways and
ReplyDeleteGod speaks to every man in his own language. The speaking is based on the needs and goals of each time and place.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean by leaked? It wasn't suppose to have come out in 2015? But it did, and they just went with it? OR it wasn't suppose to come out now?
ReplyDeleteSomeone said something to KUTV I think it was in November 2015, I had left for Salt Lake to practice for a missionary event where I had to take multiple trains and buses to get to the practice and when I came in close to midnight I found it all had hit the fan. The fuss over things was hot on social media and by the next afteernoon there was a video posted by the Newsroom site and a second one followed, both related to what had just happened.
ReplyDeleteUnknown, by name and by substance of wording, strikes me as an authoritative Voice from Above.
ReplyDeleteTo a God Unknown.
Is that Hemingway?
I wonder about cases of gay men and the priesthood in the 1800s. Any examples?
Well ifcwe believe Quinn Joseph Smith had same sex attraction. I am with James in thinking Quinn fails to understand past cultures.
ReplyDelete