For one thing, the Mexican state of Chiapas has not been as hard hit by the pandemic as other areas within the country...it is relatively isolated and the climate is warm to hot most of the year (except up in the mountains).
Union Juarez is NOT within the Comitán district but one of the Tapachula stakes (I think the Tapachula Mexico stake). Las Rosas and Las Margaritas are in the Comitán district.
Unión Juárez is known as the Switzerland of Chiapas as it is a beautiful mountain village immediately northeast of Tapachula on the way to the Tacaná volcano.
Matt, thanks for your latest reports. It is wonderful to see that Church growth continues, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Does anyone here happen to know the net change in known congregational totals for year-end 2020? I'm trying to include that informaton in the initial draft of my predictions for the April 2021 General Conference and had to settle for a guesstimate for now. Speaking of those predictions, I got that initital version published on my blog at the beginning of this month, and I am opening up a two-month commenting period on them, which is set to end on Thursday April 1 at 10:00 PM MDT. You can comment on those at the following web address:
My thanks to you all in advance for any feedback you might provide to me, and my continued thanks to Matt for allowing me to share such updates here in the threads of his blog.
Recently added to the Classic Maps site, the new "Herriman Utah Anthem Stake - 2173611", which includes the Anthem 1st, 2nd, Copper Creek 3rd, Legacy Creek, Legacy Ranch and Miller Crossing 2nd Wards.
Tried to submit this comment earlier, either on this thread, or on one of the other recent threads, but it was apparently not approved for some reason. First, I want to thank you, Matt, for your latest updates here on this blog. We appreciate your diligence in providing those reports. Secondly, I wanted to ask if anyone here has any information on the total net increase in the number of congregations Churchwide last year. I believe that there was an increase of 404 noted in 2019, and I'm sure COVID-19 conditions may have slowed typical congregational growth, but I don't believe anyone menntioned anything about the net increase in congregations last year. Does anyone have that information?
Thirdly, I wanted to note that, in preparation for General Conference roughly two months from now, I published the initial draft of my predictions for the April 2021 Gekneral Conference on my blog around a week ago. I am accepting feedback on those from now until 10:00 PM MDT on Thursday April 1, which will give me around 36 hours to make any last-minute adjustments to those predictions. I have particularly reworked my list of potential locations in which a temple could be announced. Given the fact that the current queue of announced temples is down to 28, and that 9 others have had preliminary details confirmed, with at least 1 or 2 of those 9 likely to have a groundbreaking either before General Conference or by no later than the end of April.
Regardless of the timing for temple groundbreakings this year, all current temples which have been announced in the United States have had some information officially confirmed. It seems likely, therefore, that there could be another 3 or more US temples announced in April, and it could also be that there will be a double-digit number of temples announced in the upcoming General Conference for the first time since October 2018.
That being said, any of you who are interested can feel free to comment on any part of my General Conference predictions at the following web address:
My thanks once again to Matt for allowing me to continue to share these updates, and to all of you who may weigh in on these predictions. Matt, hopefully all is going well for you. I look forward to the day when comment moderation will no longer be needed here, but am grateful for it now, since it has helped to reduce spam comments. Keep up the great work, Matt, and thanks again!
Recently organized, the "Salem Utah Woodland Hills Stake - 2172933", which includes the Foothills, Harvest Ridge, Loafer Canyon, Maple Canyon, Mount Loafer, Oak View, Salem 6th and Woodland Hills Wards.
Recently organized "Lake Point Utah Stake - 2173573", near Stansbury Park Utah and about 8.9 miles from the future site of the Deseret Peak Utah Temple. The new Stake includes the following Wards : Adobe Rock, Big Canyon, Brigham Park, Lake Point, Oquirrh Mountain, Porter Way and Rockwood.
James, I have recorded the increase in wards and branches from information taken from the CDOL for 2020 as follows: 205 net new wards and branches, with 208 new wards and 3 fewer branches. There is also an undetermined number of new branches in sensitive nations as well as some new groups organized, which are not reported. In addition, there were 26 net new stakes and 5 fewer districts. The US accounted for 117 of the new wards and branches (106 new wards and 11 new branches). The US had 16 new stakes and 0 new districts. There were 230 temples reported at the end of 2020 vs. 167 at the end of 2019, although the 2019 figure was for operating temples, whereas the 2020 figure is for operating as well as announced temples. Growth in 2021 is continuing apace.
Ray, thanks for providing that information to me. It makes sense that, in 2020, a net increase in congregations totaling 404 was noted from the previous year, and that for 2020 itself, given the impacts of COVID-19 on normal Church growth trends, there would only be a net increase of 205 congregations total.
I also appreciate you noting the net changes in stakes and districts. When it comes to the statistical report, I will be interested to see what happens in terms of how temples are listed. I know that up until last April (when the 2019 statistical report was shared), the Church was focused more on noting the number of temples dedicated, rededicated, or currently-operating.
So I'll be interested to see whether the total mentioned in the report in April on the numbers for 2020 will do the usual metrics, or just the totals. BTW, if it makes a difference at all, the number of temples had been listed as 230 in total on the Church's official list for most of last year, since there were logistical concerns about the parameters under which the Shanghai PRC Temple could be officially listed with the others. But at some point between the October 2020 General Conference and the end of last year, it appears that the Church has finagled a workaround that will alllow the Shanghai Temple to be listed among the others that are currently announced.
Another quick side-note, if I may offer it, relative to the Church's list of temples, which can be found here:
Interestingly enough, for whatever reason, under the "Announced" section of that list, the Church has kept the last 5 temples that had a groundbreaking last year in that section, rather than moving them over to the "Under Construction" section. I reached out to the Church website support staff to alert them to this issue, but it appears that that problem has not been fixed.
I am not sure whether COVID-19 has impacted the process of updating portions of the official Church website, but it is interesting that the Church is now able to list the Shanghai Temple and that some temples which have had a groundbreaking and are now under construction are still listed in the "Announced" section of that website. Anyways, thanks again, Ray, for that data which I have been attempting to locate for a while now. I appreciate your help. I also hope that some of the information I have provided on temples here is useful to any of you who may read it.
For one thing, the Mexican state of Chiapas has not been as hard hit by the pandemic as other areas within the country...it is relatively isolated and the climate is warm to hot most of the year (except up in the mountains).
ReplyDeleteUnion Juarez is NOT within the Comitán district but one of the Tapachula stakes (I think the Tapachula Mexico stake). Las Rosas and Las Margaritas are in the Comitán district.
Unión Juárez is known as the Switzerland of Chiapas as it is a beautiful mountain village immediately northeast of Tapachula on the way to the Tacaná volcano.
Good to see that growth in Chiapas. The southern states of Mexico seem to be less involved in the cartel violence.
ReplyDeleteMatt, thanks for your latest reports. It is wonderful to see that Church growth continues, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Does anyone here happen to know the net change in known congregational totals for year-end 2020? I'm trying to include that informaton in the initial draft of my predictions for the April 2021 General Conference and had to settle for a guesstimate for now. Speaking of those predictions, I got that initital version published on my blog at the beginning of this month, and I am opening up a two-month commenting period on them, which is set to end on Thursday April 1 at 10:00 PM MDT. You can comment on those at the following web address:
ReplyDeletehttps://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2021/02/initial-predictions-for-april-2021.html
My thanks to you all in advance for any feedback you might provide to me, and my continued thanks to Matt for allowing me to share such updates here in the threads of his blog.
Recently added to the Classic Maps site, the new "Herriman Utah Anthem Stake - 2173611", which includes the Anthem 1st, 2nd, Copper Creek 3rd, Legacy Creek, Legacy Ranch and Miller Crossing 2nd Wards.
ReplyDeletehttps://classic.churchofjesuschrist.org/maps/#ll=40.529676,-112.015617&z=15&m=google.hybrid&layers=stakecenter&q=Herriman%20Utah%20Anthem%20Stake&find=stake:2173611
Stakes Opened
1 Feb 04, 2021 Herriman Utah Anthem Stake
Recently upgraded Stake from previous District, "Santa Cruz Zambales Philippines Stake - 613088".
ReplyDeletehttps://classic.churchofjesuschrist.org/maps/#ll=15.702769,120.018329&z=10&m=google.hybrid&layers=stakecenter&q=Santa%20Cruz%20Zambales%20Philippines%20Stake&find=stake:613088
Stakes Reorganized from Districts
1 Feb 06, 2021 Santa Cruz Zambales Philippines Stake
Tried to submit this comment earlier, either on this thread, or on one of the other recent threads, but it was apparently not approved for some reason. First, I want to thank you, Matt, for your latest updates here on this blog. We appreciate your diligence in providing those reports. Secondly, I wanted to ask if anyone here has any information on the total net increase in the number of congregations Churchwide last year. I believe that there was an increase of 404 noted in 2019, and I'm sure COVID-19 conditions may have slowed typical congregational growth, but I don't believe anyone menntioned anything about the net increase in congregations last year. Does anyone have that information?
ReplyDeleteThirdly, I wanted to note that, in preparation for General Conference roughly two months from now, I published the initial draft of my predictions for the April 2021 Gekneral Conference on my blog around a week ago. I am accepting feedback on those from now until 10:00 PM MDT on Thursday April 1, which will give me around 36 hours to make any last-minute adjustments to those predictions. I have particularly reworked my list of potential locations in which a temple could be announced. Given the fact that the current queue of announced temples is down to 28, and that 9 others have had preliminary details confirmed, with at least 1 or 2 of those 9 likely to have a groundbreaking either before General Conference or by no later than the end of April.
Regardless of the timing for temple groundbreakings this year, all current temples which have been announced in the United States have had some information officially confirmed. It seems likely, therefore, that there could be another 3 or more US temples announced in April, and it could also be that there will be a double-digit number of temples announced in the upcoming General Conference for the first time since October 2018.
That being said, any of you who are interested can feel free to comment on any part of my General Conference predictions at the following web address:
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2021/02/initial-predictions-for-april-2021.html
My thanks once again to Matt for allowing me to continue to share these updates, and to all of you who may weigh in on these predictions. Matt, hopefully all is going well for you. I look forward to the day when comment moderation will no longer be needed here, but am grateful for it now, since it has helped to reduce spam comments. Keep up the great work, Matt, and thanks again!
Recently organized, the "Salem Utah Woodland Hills Stake - 2172933", which includes the Foothills, Harvest Ridge, Loafer Canyon, Maple Canyon, Mount Loafer, Oak View, Salem 6th and Woodland Hills Wards.
ReplyDelete2 Feb 08, 2021 Salem Utah Woodland Hills Stake
https://classic.churchofjesuschrist.org/maps/#ll=40.036951,-111.603598&z=12&m=google.hybrid&layers=stakecenter&q=Salem%20Utah%20Woodland%20Hills%20Stake&find=stake:2172933
Recently organized "Lake Point Utah Stake - 2173573", near Stansbury Park Utah and about 8.9 miles from the future site of the Deseret Peak Utah Temple. The new Stake includes the following Wards : Adobe Rock, Big Canyon, Brigham Park, Lake Point, Oquirrh Mountain, Porter Way and Rockwood.
ReplyDeletehttps://classic.churchofjesuschrist.org/maps/#ll=40.668991,-112.288016&z=12&m=google.hybrid&layers=stakecenter&q=Lake%20Point%20Utah&find=stake:2173573
3 Feb 10, 2021 Lake Point Utah Stake
James, I have recorded the increase in wards and branches from information taken from the CDOL for 2020 as follows: 205 net new wards and branches, with 208 new wards and 3 fewer branches. There is also an undetermined number of new branches in sensitive nations as well as some new groups organized, which are not reported. In addition, there were 26 net new stakes and 5 fewer districts. The US accounted for 117 of the new wards and branches (106 new wards and 11 new branches). The US had 16 new stakes and 0 new districts. There were 230 temples reported at the end of 2020 vs. 167 at the end of 2019, although the 2019 figure was for operating temples, whereas the 2020 figure is for operating as well as announced temples. Growth in 2021 is continuing apace.
ReplyDeleteRay, thanks for providing that information to me. It makes sense that, in 2020, a net increase in congregations totaling 404 was noted from the previous year, and that for 2020 itself, given the impacts of COVID-19 on normal Church growth trends, there would only be a net increase of 205 congregations total.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate you noting the net changes in stakes and districts. When it comes to the statistical report, I will be interested to see what happens in terms of how temples are listed. I know that up until last April (when the 2019 statistical report was shared), the Church was focused more on noting the number of temples dedicated, rededicated, or currently-operating.
So I'll be interested to see whether the total mentioned in the report in April on the numbers for 2020 will do the usual metrics, or just the totals. BTW, if it makes a difference at all, the number of temples had been listed as 230 in total on the Church's official list for most of last year, since there were logistical concerns about the parameters under which the Shanghai PRC Temple could be officially listed with the others. But at some point between the October 2020 General Conference and the end of last year, it appears that the Church has finagled a workaround that will alllow the Shanghai Temple to be listed among the others that are currently announced.
Another quick side-note, if I may offer it, relative to the Church's list of temples, which can be found here:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples/list?lang=eng
Interestingly enough, for whatever reason, under the "Announced" section of that list, the Church has kept the last 5 temples that had a groundbreaking last year in that section, rather than moving them over to the "Under Construction" section. I reached out to the Church website support staff to alert them to this issue, but it appears that that problem has not been fixed.
I am not sure whether COVID-19 has impacted the process of updating portions of the official Church website, but it is interesting that the Church is now able to list the Shanghai Temple and that some temples which have had a groundbreaking and are now under construction are still listed in the "Announced" section of that website. Anyways, thanks again, Ray, for that data which I have been attempting to locate for a while now. I appreciate your help. I also hope that some of the information I have provided on temples here is useful to any of you who may read it.