Friday, November 15, 2019

Updated Country Profile - Hong Kong

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Hong Kong. The Church in Hong Kong experiences one of the lowest member activity rates in the world. Membership and congregational growth trends have most closely mirrored Western Europe, albeit nominal church membership accounts for a greater percentage of the population in Hong Kong than any Western European or Asian country except for the Philippines, Portugal, and Mongolia. Nevertheless, convert retention rates in the 2010s ranked among the highest in Asia based on reports from approximately one dozen returned missionaries who served in Hong Kong since 2010. Hong Kong boasts the fifth most stakes in Asia. See below for the Future Prospects section for this article:

Continued strong church participation and activity among church-going Latter-day Saints in Hong Kong has sustained leadership capable of meeting the responsibilities demanded by stakes, but extremely low member activity rates among the general Church membership threaten the stability of Cantonese wards due to comparatively few active members. Quick-baptize policies and practices and low standards for convert baptisms in previous decades have compromised the harvest of the China Hong Kong Mission and have fueled very low member activity rates at present despite significant improvements in convert retention rates in the 2010s. This has posed long-term challenges for strengthening the local church and has drained the resources of local congregations in efforts to reclaim less active and never-active members still on church rolls. Maintaining increased standards for convert baptism and emphasis on the need to develop consistent gospel habits will be key to the Church’s long-term prospects for real growth. Materialism and high cost of living have contributed to low birth rates among Latter-day Saints and exacerbate low receptivity. Local leaders stressing participation in seminary and institute may help address retention and member inactivity issues by providing opportunities for less active members and new converts to socially integrate with active membership and strengthen their testimonies and doctrinal understanding.

39 comments:

John Pack Lambert said...

I have been told the Church in Hong Kong always faces high rates of members emigrating.

Any idea how the ongoing civil unrest may affect the Church in Hong Kong?

coachodeeps said...

2 missionaries assigned to go to Hong Kong are serving in my Stake right now waiting until the middle of December to report to Hong Kong. Been here a little over a month.

James G. Stokes said...

Per the Church Temples site, it appears renovation work has finally been able to begin on the temple in that city. In the meantime, I hope for better things ahead for both Hong Kong and mainland China.

Chris D. said...

Latter-day Saint missionaries evacuate from Bolivia Cochabamba Mission

https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2019-11-15/bolivia-missionaries-lds-political-unrest-167048

James G. Stokes said...

The Newsroom reported on that as well today:

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-transferring-63-missionaries-bolivia-november-2019

Also, the new missionary handbook is now being made available more widely. It will focus less on rules and policies and more on doctrine and principle, with the goal that missionaries will thus be taught correct principles and then be given the chance to govern themselves:

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/updated-missionary-handbook-2019

Hope this information is helpful to you all.

Chris D. said...

In addition to Rick's Church Temples site, 16 Stakes + 15 Districts assigned backed to the newly rededicated Asunción Paraguay Temple District, these 5 Stakes + 4 Districts were reassigned this week on Classic Maps site, from the neighboring Campinas + Curitiba Brazil, Buenos Aires + Cordoba Argentina Temple Districts from Mato Grosso + Mato Grosso do Sul Brazil States and Northern Argentina :

Stakes :
523267 Cuiabá Brazil
1065483 Cuiabá Brazil Industriário
520675 Campo Grande Brazil
1057863 Campo Grande Brazil Monte Libano
2107333 Foz do Iguaçu Brazil

Districts :
614904 Goya Argentina
2121891 Reconquista Argentina
617598 Rondonópolis Brazil
612073 San Pedro Argentina Jujuy

The Sorriso Brazil District in northern part of Mato Grosso State remains assigned to the Manaus Brazil Temple.

Chris D. said...

This next week we will see how many, if not more, of the 9 Stakes currently assigned to the Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple, that will be rededicated tomorrow morning.

6 of those 9 were temporarily reassigned to nearby Temples, such as Birmingham Alabama, Memphis Tennessee and Houston Texas, during reconstruction.

Christopher Nicholson said...

I think the best thing that could happen is for the Hong Kong protests to spread across the mainland and grow into a revolution that overthrows that wicked, wicked government once and for all. I can dream.

John Pack Lambert said...

The withdrawn missionaries from the Cochabamba mission only number 63 and were only north American missionaries. This was probably only about half the mission or less.

Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

Baton Rouge and Asuncion were the most recent of the small Hinckley-era temples to be rededicated. Now that they're done, I'm curious to see which of that design will be the next on the renovation block.

James G. Stokes said...

Johnathan, as one who is not privy to the deliberations occurring at Church headquarters, once 2020 rolls around, there are options as far as which Hinckley-era smaller temple might be the next one to be renovated. My gut feeling is that, with none of those newer temples having had a closure scheduled since President Nelson became Church president, there could be 4 or 5 at minimum from that era which might be scheduled to close next year. But as far as the temples from that era that are within United States are concerned, I would certainly hope the Church might avoid the prospect of having multiple temples from a single region be closed at the same time, which was the case for the eastern US when four temples covering a similar region therein were all closed earlier this year.

And I suppose a lot of that would also depend on how the Church's relationship stands with state governments within the US, or international leaders outside of it. Also, in some cases, I assume that the preference would be to hold off on renovating those temples until temples nearby are dedicated or rededicated, and are thus able to accommodate the Saints affected by those future closures.

I mentioned previously that I had a combined list of temples for which a renovation closure could happen in the near future. That list includes a total of 58 temples. 36 of those are Hinckley-era smaller temples. And any of those 36 could potentially be the next to close. Time will tell. Hope these thoughts, such as they are, are helpful to all who read them.

Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

@James

Did you post that list on your blog? I'm curious to look at it.

John Pack Lambert said...

We have to bear in mind Church resources are limited. The Salt Lake Temple renovation is a hugely costly project. There are lots of temples announced. Renovations of temples that are only 20 years old may not be a top priority for resources right now.

James G. Stokes said...

Johnathan Whiting, I did post that list a while back:

https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2019/01/updated-list-of-temples-which-may-be.html

I have made a few edits to that list in the interim, and am hoping to post an updated copy at some point within the next few months. Thanks for the question.

JPL, what makes you think Church resources are limited? Anyone who has read up on Church finances knows that, when it comes to temple construction, the Church has built up a reserve of financial resources for that purpose. The thing to remember is that we don't know how long plans to renovate the Salt Lake Temple were in the works before they were annnounced by President Nelson last April. And depending on how much in advance the apostles knew that the renovation of the Salt Lake Temple was coming, it seems more reasonable to surmise that the Council on the Disposition of the TIthes would have allowed for such an expense and had a remaining surplus to work with for the construction of additional temples and the renovation of many others.

The Church doesn't just announce such intentions or plans without contingencies and allowances being taken into account, which is somehting I think many people (including myself at times) tend to forget. If the Church couldn't afford to renovate any other temples as a result of the closure of the Salt Lake Temple, then how do you explain the recent closures of the Hamilton New Zealand, Hong Kong China, and St. George Utah Temples? Clearly, the Church can afford to renovate all of these temples around the same time the construction of so many other new temples has begun. So why then is it a stretch or illogical to believe that the Church can and will be able to afford to renovate other temples? The Church has never worked that way, and if it did, then things like the construction of the Bangkok Thailand Temple (which will be another big one) would render constructing any others during that time impossible, which we know is not the case.

James G. Stokes said...

For that matter, why would the Church be renovating the Hong Kong China, St. George Utah, and Salt Lake Temples at the same time if the renovation of the latter would suck up all available funds? All of them are large temples, as is the Hamilton New Zealand Temple in comparison to others being constructed or that have recently been renovated. All available Church resources are never sucked up by any single project. If that were the case, then the statements and assertions in the Church Auditing Department Report each year would be categorically false, and the Church would be accused of spreading false information. For further verification on the Church's wise financial practices, one need only consult the relevant Doctrine and Covenants revelations about temple construction and the Council on the Disposition of the Tithes, and recent statements about Church finances. And, as previously indicated, the annual Church Auditing Department Report clearly notes each year the budgetary practices governed by that Council have been followed and that the Church is in good financial shape. So I fail to see, JPL, how your prior assertion possibly stands up as correct upon this scrutiny. If you have a further explanation of the reasoning behind your statement, I'd love to hear it. Otherwise, everything I have read indicates that the Church not only has abundant resources for all of these projects, in addition to those that may be announced in coming years, which could include several older temples in addition to those of the Hinckley-era to which I have previously referred.

Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

@James

Thanks for sharing the list.

It'll be interesting to see, not just which ones of the Hinckleyan Era smaller temples get redone, but what designs the Brethren decide for their renovation. Some of them have had some small adjustments without changing the overall design, as in the cases of Asuncion and Montreal (where they added some maple leaf motifs). Some of the others have had slightly more significant upgrades, like with Memphis and Baton Rouge. I'm betting in the future we'll see some of them completely torn down and redone from the ground up, like what happened with Ogden's total facelift.

James G. Stokes said...

No problem, Johnathan. I will have to see what I can do about publishing an updated version of that list on my blog at some point, because, as I noted previously, i have done some minor updates on it since I published it in January. As far as the redesigns for the Hinckley-era (I only add the "-ian" to the names of prophets that end with "on", which may be either more gramatically correct or else more of a personal preference), most of those that were done so far (particularly those of the standard 10,700 square foot original design that have been expanded to 10,890 square feet), mosst have used a new, uniformally similar design. One notable exception recently was the Asuncion Paraguay Temple, which was still expanded but appears to maintain essentially the same exterior appearance. I don't know why that is the case for the Asuncion temple, but it was likely something to do with either local style or problems with getting a different look approved by the government.

As I said, I may have added several temples to the list since posting it in January. Right now, I am fighting personal illness, still tryiing to post new updates to my blog, and also attempting to finalize the initial version of my April 2020 General Conference predictions, so that hasn't left me much leeway to provide the less-crucial updates like the changes I have made to that list in the last 10 months. But I will hope to have something up on my blog in that respect before the end of this year, if all goes well. Thanks, Jonathan.

Anonymous said...

I agree that church resources are limited. That includes time, talents, funds, etc. The temple department has a certain size and capacity. There seem to always be unfilled senior missionary assignments, etc. It’s true that members have more resources (time, talents, funds, etc.) that they could consecrate. The church could grow much faster as members become more right-eous

James G. Stokes said...

Anonymous, you are certainly entitled to your own opinion on that, just as JPL is. But there have been verified reports indicating that the Temple Department has hired dozens of new employees specifically for the purpose of accommodating a surge in temple construction. That would not have been possible if Church funds were limited. And again, with the Hong Kong China, St. George Utah, and Salt Lake Temples having overlaps in renovation (all of which are larger temples) and with the Church having queued up several temples of a larger size (including Layton, Richmond, and now Phnom Pehn, to say nothing of the Bangkok Temple) in addition to the many other temples that have had renderings released or had construction begin this year alone, none of that would be possible if the Salt Lake Temple renovation would strip the Church of any significant temple construction funds. It would be more correct, IMHO, to say that in some areas, such as time and talents, there are parts of the world where that is lacking in terms of the members' ability to help meaningful growth to occur, which is a separate issue. But as far as temple construction is concerned, the Church has enough and to spare for all projects that are underway or will be so within the next couple of years, whether in terms of new temples or temples undergoing renovation.

Ohhappydane33 said...
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James G. Stokes said...

If being a shut-in makes me inactive, I guess I am guilty as charged. But anyone who thinks that my inability to attend Church regularly makes it impossible for me to acquire spiritual knowledge through personal study of relevant matters may need to have their heads examined. Perhaps my time would be far more effectively spent launching frequent attacks on people who comment here against whom I may have a personal vendetta. But then, that seems to be your area of expertise, Dane, so far be it from me to take that away from you. At the last day, the Lord will judge me for what I have said here, and the same will be true for you. Until then, I have no regrets about and stand by everything I have said in this thread.

Ohhappydane33 said...
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James G. Stokes said...

Follow-up: I apologize if I was overly harsh in that above comment, but would remind Dane of the counsel set out in the hymn: "Who am I to judge another when I walk imperfectly? In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can't see." And I also ascribe to the ideal that we can disagree without becoming disagreeable. That was my intention, and if anyone took it otherwise, that was either poor phrasing on my part or someone choosing how to interpret and take my comments, for which I am not personally responsible. And if anyone besides Dane has constructive criticism about my comments, I am more than happy to dialogue about that. In a way, Dane, I feel sorry for you. You must have a pretty horrible life if your only acctions on these threads are to attack other people. Hope things improve for you, whatever your issues may be.

Ohhappydane33 said...
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Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

@James:

Looking forward to seeing the updated renovation list when you get around to it.

Aside:

I believe I coined the "Hinckleyan" term, as I haven't seen it used by anyone anywhere else, either. It was a tongue-in-cheek gag based on others who comment here on this blog using "Monsonian" and "Nelsonian" for those respective prophetic eras (I haven't seen those terms used anywhere else but this blog or JPL's, either).

The Wesleyan Church's name is based on reformer John Wesley, so I thought naturally, "If Wesley = Wesleyan, then Hinckley = Hinckleyan, of course." :)

You'll probably see me continue to use that original term, as I've grown fond of it.

James G. Stokes said...

You raise an interesting point, Johnathan Whiting. If it is correct for Wesleyan (which is something I had not considered), then Hinckleyan might be correct in that sense. That may be one of those weird grammatically things for which there is no correct usage, and if I appeared to incorrectly correct you, I apologize. I am busy putting the finishing touches on my April 2020 General Conference predictions, which I hope to have up on my blog before Thanksgiving. After I get those published, I may well have a chance to publish that list of temples for which I feel a renovation may soon occur, but the timing on that will depend on a few different things, including whether or not any other breaking developments occur. Thanks for your interest. I will keep you informed on that.

Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

No offense taken, James.

Here's something I just came up with for fun:

Nelsonian
Monsonian
Hinckleyan
Hunterian
Bensonian
Kimballian
Leeyan? Lee-ite? Lee Anne? ;)
Smithian
McKayan
Smithian
Grantian
Smithian
Snowian
Woodruffian
Taylorian
Youngian
Smithian

That's off the top of my head (had to sing that old Latter-day Prophets primary song in my head a few times to remember)

Let me know if I missed any, or you have better suggestions. Couldn't quite figure how to get Harold B. Lee to fit the pattern.

Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

Alternatively, here's another fun idea:

What if we assumed the modern-day prophets followed the Book of Mormon pattern, and had their own tribes?

Thus:

Nelsonite
Monsonite
Hinckleyite (Hincklite?)
Hunterite
Bensonite
Kimballite
Leeite (not quite "Lehite")
Smithite
McKayite (McKite?)
Smithite
Grantite
Smithite
Snowite
Woodruffite
Taylorite
Youngite
Smithite

That would also work for if the prophets had types of stone name after them. Although, "Monsonite" would be changed to "Monzonite" (Monzonite coincidentally being the type of stone the Salt Lake Temple is built out of, and not true granite). And "Grantite" would be changed to "Granite," of course. ;)

Also, "Youngian" from the previous list should not be confused with "Jungian" (the adjective used to describe the theories of Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychiatrist).

Whaddya think?

Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

Also, "Snowite" should not be confused with "Snow White," as that's another story entirely.

James G. Stokes said...

Interesting, Johnathan. IMHO, only when the prophet's last name ends with an "n" should the "-ian" appendage come into place. I have also heard the inaugural era of the Church under Brother JOseph refered to as the "Restoration era", with the Young years referred to as "migration and colonization", and so on, focusing on highlighting the major contributions of the presidents of the Church during their eras to define the era rather than some fancier name. In the case of prophets between Lee and Hunter, no fancy attachments to their names may be needed, with the possible exception of the "Bensonian era". At least, that's the way I kind of differentiate those categorizations. I'd steer away from the "-ite" distinction in that respect personally due to the fact that several offshots from our Church use it (Rigdonite, Cutlerite, Godbedite). Thanks for your thoughts on that.

In the meantime, I wanted to mention here a brand new development: After literal hours and days involving a lot of hard work, I have finally been able to publish a three-part series featuring the initial version of my predictions for the April 2020 General Conference. Anyone who would like to do so is welcome to read and comment on any of those posts on my blog:

https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/

My thanks to you all in advance for your feedback, and to Matt for his continued willingness to allow me to share such updates here.

Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

"Woodruffian" sounds like a thug out in the forest.

"Watch out for that wood ruffian! He's coming out from behind that tree!"

James G. Stokes said...

Jonhathan Whiting, here is the web address for my post covering the updated list of temples for which a renovation may occur in the near future:

https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2019/11/updated-list-of-temples-which-may-be_21.html

Thanks for your interest in that.

John Pack Lambert said...

My point was the money the Church has is not limitless. I have no idea how much money the Church has, or how much it saves by ending its connection with BSA, or various other actions. It is clear to me leaving BSA saves money, but that much I know.

Considering we still do not have announcements on the planned temples for Harare and Nairobi or Lagos we have no clue how much those temples will cost. There are lots of factors involved.

John Pack Lambert said...

Some people actually refer to eras by just the name. This you see "Obama administration" etc. I have to say I like Monsonian and Nelsonian. I am not as committed to earlier years being so categorized.

James G. Stokes said...

JPL, you raise some important observations. And you are technically correct. Very few people or organizations have "limitless resources". But prophets and apostles have been very clear and transparent about the wise practices the Church follows. The same methods they recommend to members are those they themselves employ, including meeting obligations in a timely manner, staying out of debt, and maintaining and gradually increasing an acculumated financial reserve for any eventualities or emergencies that are not anticipated or planned for.

And when it comes specifically for temples that are announced, there is a specific part of the budget that is alloted for that to a degree that, no matter the involved sizes of details, the Church has more than enough for any eventuality. As far as specific details on the three African temples you mentioned by name, with the Harare Zimbabwe Temple, roughly a year ago, Elder Andersen was in Zimbabwe. At that time, he met with the Vice President of that nation, at which time he noted that the Church hoped to break ground for the temple in that city before the end of this year.

In relation to the Nairobi Kenya Temple, when President Nelson visited Africa last year, a public affairs representative noted that the site had already been selected for that temple, which was anticipated to be smaller, and was estimated to be dedicated in 2021. Further, not long ago, the Church Temples site reported that a construction contract had been awarded for that temple, so that process is likely to get underway within the next 3-6 months or sooner.

For the Lagos Nigeria Temple, the details at the moment are sparse, but given what I have read about Nigeria, that temple is likely to be smaller as well, and thus more easily approved. But given the fact that so many other temples originally announced in October 2018 have had something official announced about them this year, I'd anticipated something being mentioned with respect to the Lagos Nigeria Temple sooner rather than later.

And FWIW, information I came across before the announcement was made about a temple in Freetown Sierra Leone, the Church has had land held in reserve for that prospect for at least a half-decade. With that in mind, I have no doubts that major action will be taken on each of these newest African temples of the Church within the next 6-9 months. Time will tell, but it appears more likely than not.

Johnathan Reese Whiting said...

@James

Thanks, man.

Of the list of smaller Hinckleyan temples - I'm sure your aware that Monticello and Anchorage have previously had expansions.

Speaking of "Hinckleyan," I told a friend of mine from the Singles Ward my prophet-era adjectives, and he suggested "Gordonian" (Not to be confused with "Gordian," as in the Gordian Knot of Alexandrian fame). But perhaps referring to the era by the prophet's first name would be taking it too far.

John Pack Lambert said...

Monticello, Anchorage and Colonia Juarez were the first temples built after President Hinckley announced his plans for temples that could accomdate populations of very few members. They only had one room for the endowment, while the next round of temples that includes Montreal, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Ascuncion and many more, was built with a 2 endowment room progressive endowment plan. This makes those later temples about 30% larger. The Monticello and Ancorage temples were expanded to the later plan. On the other hand the changes in temples like Memphis had little effect on their size.

James G. Stokes said...

You are correct in that respect, JPL. But my material point was that such expansions and rededications, when they occurred, were carried out at around the same time some of the other temples on my list were originally dedicated, which could make them eligible for further renovations in the near future, even if those renovations are not as imminent as that for some of the others from that same era. Since none of us are privy to the deliberations going on at Church headquarters, there is no real way to tell from the information now available that the three temples in question have the same updated systems and functionality of the other temples that have recently been renovated and rededicated from that era. Just my own additional observations, for whatever they may be worth to anyone here.

Eduardo said...

I liked the stats of the Hong Kong profile and seeing the steady growth there. The PRC (China) has to figure out that they cannot control hearts and minds as they think they can. It will be interesting to see how the government deals with religious and other freedoms after the current turmoil ends...
May the Restored Gospel continue to grow there, the neighboring Chinese states, and the rest of East Asia!