New Stakes Created in Utah (2), Ghana, Nigeria, North Carolina, Sierra Leone; District Reinstated in Brazil; Stake Discontinued in Utah

Utah

The Church recently organized two new stakes and discontinued one stake. 

The Lehi Utah Canyon Hills Stake was organized on September 5th from a division of the Lehi Utah Traverse Mountain Stake and the Lehi Utah Pheasant Pointe Stake. The new stake includes the following eight wards: the Canyon Hills 1st, Canyon Hills 2nd, Canyon Hills 3rd, Traverse Mountain 1st, Traverse Mountain 2nd, Traverse Mountain 3rd, Traverse Mountain 11th, and Traverse Mountain 12th Wards. There are 18 stakes in Lehi.

The Saratoga Springs Utah Lake Mountain Stake was organized on October 10th from a division of the Saratoga Springs Utah South Stake. The new stake includes the following eight wards: the Harbor Bay, Hawks Landing 1st, Hawks Landing 2nd, Lake Mountain 1st, Lake Mountain 3rd, Lake Mountain 4th, Pelican Bay, and Spinnaker Bay Wards. There are now nine stakes in Saratoga Springs.

The Roy Utah Central Stake was recently discontinued. The stake was originally organized in 1984 and had five wards immediately prior to its discontinuation. These five wards have since been reassigned to neighboring stakes in Roy. The original six stakes in Roy have had few wards assigned to each stake for at least the past two decades. 

There are now 620 stakes and 2 districts in Utah.

Ghana

The Kumasi Ghana Konongo Stake was organized on September 26th from the Kumasi Ghana Konongo District. The new stake includes the following seven wards and four branches: the Ahenbronum, Ahyiaem, Domeabra, Freetown, Lowcost, Nkawkaw 2nd, and the Patriensa Nyaboo Wards, and the Akoasi, Juaso, Mpraeso, and the Nkawkaw 2nd Branches. All of the congregations in the new stake are located in the Konongo and Nkawkaw area.

There are now 28 stakes and 9 districts in Ghana.

Nigeria

The Port Harcourt Nigeria Central Stake was organized on September 12th from a division of the Port Harcourt Nigeria Stake and the Port Harcourt Nigeria East Stake. The new stake includes the following seven wards and two branches: the Akpaju, Elelenwo, Mini-Okoro, Rumuogba, Rumuokwurushi 1st, Woji 1st, and Woji 2nd Wards, and the Elekahia and Rumuomasi Branches. There are now seven stakes in the Port Harcourt metropolitan area - four of which have been organized since 2016. 

There are now 62 stakes and 17 districts in Nigeria.

North Carolina

The Morehead City North Carolina Stake was organized from a division of the Kinston North Carolina Stake (renamed Greenville North Carolina Stake) and the Wilmington North Carolina Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Harkers Island, Havelock, Jacksonville 2nd, Jacksonville 3rd, Morehead City, and New Bern Wards, and the Camp Lejeune Military Branch. The new stake is the Church's first new stake organized in North Carolina since 2015.

There are now 18 stakes in North Carolina.

Sierra Leone 

The Wellington Sierra Leone Stake was organized from a division of the Kissy Sierra Leone Stake (organized in 2017) and the Kossoh Town Sierra Leone District (organized in 2014). The new stake includes the following five wards and one branch: the Allen Town, Calaba Town, Congo Water, Grassfield, Wellington 1st, and Wellington 2nd Wards, and the Allen Town Branch. The Church has experienced rapid growth in the Kissy Sierra Leone Stake since its organization in 2017 from a district. The new stake is the Church's fourth stake in the Freetown metropolitan area.

There are now eight stakes and two districts in Sierra Leone. The first stake in Sierra Leone was organized in 2012.

Brazil

The Church reinstated the União da Vitória Brazil District on October 24th. The district was originally organized in 1995, but it was discontinued in 2015. The reinstated district includes the same three branches originally part of the district immediately before the district was discontinued in 2015, namely the Canoinhas, Mafra, and União da Vitória Branches. 

There are now 280 stakes and 40 districts in Brazil.

New Branch Created in Cairo, Egypt

The Church recently published an article on its Newsroom site regarding the recent visit of Church leaders to Latter-day Saints in Cairo. The article indicated that there is now an Arabic-speaking branch in Cairo to service members, most of whom are recent converts, who primarily originate from Arabic-speaking areas in Africa such as South Sudan and northern Nigeria. The Arabic-speaking branch appears to have been recently organized. The two Cairo branches are small, and there appear to be only approximately 60 active members in the two branches. For more information about the Church in Egypt, click here.

13 New Temples Announced - Analysis - Part II

As promised, this is a continuation of my previous blog post regarding the 13 new temple announced made by the Church on October 3rd, 2021:

Vitória Brazil Temple

The Vitória Brazil Temple will be the Church's 14th temple in Brazil. Vitória was a major surprise given that there are few stakes in the Vitória metropolitan area and it surrounding cities in Espírito Santo State. However, given the trend with the Church announcing more temples in locations distant to the nearest temple, this location was added to my less likely locations for a new temple map in September 2019. The new temple will likely include only four stakes and two districts. The Church first established a stake in Vitória in 1987 and has experienced slow growth as only two additional stakes have been organized in the metropolitan area since then in 1995 and 2005. The Brazil Vitória Mission was created in 1993. Stakes in Espírito Santo State will likely be assigned to the Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple once the temple is dedicated. Currently, stakes and districts in the likely district for the new Vitória Brazil Temple are assigned to the Campinas Brazil Temple.

La Paz Bolivia Temple

The La Paz Bolivia Temple ranked as one of the most likely locations to have a new temple announced given that it was the metropolitan area with the most stakes without a temple announced or dedicated outside of the United States prior to October 2021. There are nine stakes in the La Paz/El Alto metropolitan area, and the new temple will likely have nine stakes and one district in its temple district. The first stake in the metropolitan area was organized in 1979, and the most recently organized stake in the metropolitan area was created in 2013. Now, all three cities in Bolivia with more than one million people have a temple announced or dedicated. The Bolivia La Paz Mission was originally organized in 1966, and a second mission in the metropolitan area was organized in 2015 (Bolivia La Paz El Alto). La Paz was on my list of top 10 most likely locations to have a temple announced since March 2020. There are now three temples in Bolivia, namely the Cochabamba Bolivia Temple (dedicated in 2000) and the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple (announced in 2020). Currently, stakes in La Paz/El Alto attend the Cochabamba Bolivia Temple. The new La Paz Bolivia Temple will be the temple located at the highest altitude of any temple in the world given that the metropolitan area rests at approximately 12,000 feet (3,700 meters) above sea level. Currently, the dedicated temple at the highest elevation in the Church is the Cochabamba Bolivia Temple at approximately 8,700 feet (2,650 meters) above sea level.

Santiago West Chile Temple

The Santiago West Chile Temple is the Church's fourth temple in Chile. The Church has previously dedicated temples in Santiago (1983) and Concepción (2018), and the Church announced a temple in Antofagasta (2020). I added a second temple for Santiago to my less likely list for temple announcements in March 2021, but I had predicted a second temple was most likely for southern Santiago. The new temple will likely include 15-20 stakes and three districts in Santiago and cities south of the city in O'Higgins and Maule Regions. The Church organized its first stake in Santiago in 1972, and there are currently 30 stakes in the metropolitan area. Santiago is now the fifth metropolitan area outside of the United States with two temples dedicated or announced after Lima, Peru; Manila, Philippines; Guatemala City, Guatemala; and São Paulo, Brazil.

Fort Worth Texas Temple

Forth Worth was added to my list of less likely temple locations in March 2021. The new temple is the sixth temple in Texas, and the new temple will likely include 11 stakes in the Fort Worth area and cities to the south and west. The first stake in Fort Worth was organized in 1967, and the Texas Fort Worth Mission was created in 1986. The Church dedicated its temple in Dallas in 1984. Currently, the Dallas Texas Temple has 28 stakes in its district. Rapid growth in the number of stakes has occurred in the Dallas/Fort Worth area within the past 10 years as there have been eight stakes created in the metropolitan area during this time. Other temples in Texas are located in Houston (dedicated in 2000), Lubbock (dedicated in 2002), San Antonio (dedicated in 2005), and McAllen (announced in 2019, currently under construction).

Cody Wyoming Temple

The Cody Wyoming Temple was a complete surprise to me, and I did not include it on any of my predictions of locations likely to have a new temple announced. The new temple will likely include only three stakes: the Cody Wyoming Stake (organized in 1973), the Lovell Wyoming Stake (organized in 1901), and the Worland Wyoming Stake (organized in 1980). The Cody Wyoming Stake appears likely to divide in the near future as there are 13 wards in the stake. The new temple is the Church's third temple in Wyoming after the Star Valley Wyoming Temple (dedicated in 2016) and the Casper Wyoming Temple (announced in 2021, currently under construction).

Rexburg North Idaho Temple

Commenters on this blog have speculated about the announcement of a second temple in Rexburg prior to the October 2021 General Conference, and these speculations ended up being correct. The new temple announcement appeared heavily influenced by the Church's growing university in Rexburg and reports of the current Rexburg Idaho Temple being well utilized by membership in the area. Currently, the Rexburg Idaho Temple (announced in 2003 and dedicated in 2008) has 26 stakes in its temple district (15 of which are young single adult stakes or married student stakes). It is likely that the new temple will include half of the stakes currently assigned to the Rexburg Idaho Temple. The first stake in Rexburg was organized in 1884. The new temple is the eighth temple in Idaho after the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple (announced in 1937, dedicated in 1945), Boise Idaho Temple (announced in 1982, dedicated in 1984), the Rexburg Idaho Temple (announced in 2003, dedicated in 2008), the Twin Falls Idaho Temple (announced in 2004, dedicated in 2008), the Meridian Idaho Temple (announced in 2011, dedicated in 2017), the Pocatello Idaho Temple (announced in 2017), and the Burley Idaho Temple (announced in April 2021).

Heber Valley Utah Temple

The Church has announced a new temple in Utah at every General Conference since April 2018. The Heber Valley Utah Temple is the Church's 28th temple to be announced in Utah. Heber City has numbered among the most likely locations in Utah given its location and number of stakes in the area. The new temple will likely service eight stakes in Wasatch and Summit Counties. The first stake in Heber City was organized in 1877. Previously dedicated or announced temples in Utah include: the St. George Utah Temple (announced in 1871, dedicated in 1877), the Logan Utah Temple (announced in 1876, dedicated in 1884), the Manti Utah Temple (announced in 1875, dedicated in 1888), the Salt Lake Temple (announced in 1847, dedicated in 1893), the Ogden Utah Temple (announced in 1967, dedicated in 1972), the Provo Utah Temple (announced in 1967, dedicated in 1972), the Jordan River Utah Temple (announced in 1978, dedicated in 1981), the Bountiful Utah Temple (announced in 1990, dedicated in 1995), the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple (announced in 1992, dedicated in 1996), the Vernal Utah Temple (announced in 1994, dedicated in 1997), the Monticello Utah Temple (announced in 1997, dedicated in 1998), the Draper Utah Temple (announced in 2004, dedicated in 2009), the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple (announced in 2005, dedicated in 2009), the Brigham City Utah Temple (announced in 2009, dedicated in 2012), the Payson Utah Temple (announced in 2010, dedicated in 2015), the Provo City Center Temple (announced in 2011, dedicated in 2016), Cedar City Utah Temple (announced in 2013, dedicated in 2017), the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple (announced in 2017), the Layton Utah Temple (announced in 2018), the Red Cliffs Utah Temple (located in St. George) (announced in 2018), the Deseret Peak Utah Temple (located in Tooele) (announced in 2019), the Orem Utah Temple (announced in 2019), the Taylorsville Utah Temple (announced in 2019), the Syracuse Utah Temple (announced in 2020), the Lindon Utah Temple (announced in 2020), the Smithfield Utah Temple (announced in 2021), and the Ephraim Utah Temple (announced in 2021). There is an average of 22 stakes per temple at present given the number of stakes in Utah (621).

13 New Temples Announced - Analysis - Part I

One week ago, the Church announced plans to construct 13 new temples. This post provides an analysis of the first six of the 13 announced temples. I will provide Part II of this analysis within the next week.

Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple

The Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple will be the Church's second temple in Taiwan. The Church has maintained a presence in Taiwan for more than 60 years. The Church's first temple in Taiwan was dedicated in Taipei in 1984. The Church in Taiwan achieved significantly higher membership and congregational growth rates than other industrialized East Asian nations until the early 2010s. The announcement of the temple in Kaohsiung is a significant development given returned missionary reports have noted significant long-term challenges with leadership development and church growth in southern Taiwan for decades. For example, the Church discontinued the Pingtung Taiwan Stake (located immediately east of Kaohsiung) in 2019 - the first time the Church had ever discontinued a stake in Taiwan. The new temple in Kaohsiung will likely include at least four stakes in the new temple district (and perhaps as many as eight stakes if the four stakes in the Taichung area are included in the district). All of these stakes currently pertain to the Taipei Taiwan Temple district. Returned missionaries report that the greatest centers of strength of the Church in Taiwan are Taipei and Taichung. The Church organized its first stake in Kaohsiung in 1981, but it discontinued the Taiwan Kaohsiung Mission in 2009. There are now two missions in Taiwan. I added Kaohsiung to my list of less likely temple locations for future temples in September 2019.

Tacloban City Philippines Temple

The Tacloban City Philippines Temple will be the Church's eighth temple in the Philippines. The Church has maintained a presence in the Philippines for 60 years and reports more than 800,000 members on the records for the country. The Church in the Philippines has achieved an impressive turnaround with growth during the past decade after a decade of low membership growth rates and few new stakes and congregations organized. This has been evident by the number of temples in the Philippines (dedicated and announced) increasing from three in 2011 to eight today. The new temple will be the Church's third temple in the Visayas region of the Philippines after Cebu (announced in 2006 and dedicated in 2010) and Bacolod City (announced in 2019). Other temples recently announced by the Church include Urdaneta (2010), Alabang (2017), Cagayan de Oro (2018), and Davao (2018). The new temple will likely include five stake and six districts on the islands of Leyte, Samar, and Biliran - all of which are currently assigned to the Cebu City Philippines Temple. The Church organized the Philippines Tacloban Mission in 1990, and the Tacloban Philippines Stake was organized in 2007. I added Tacloban City to my list of more likely temple locations for future temples in September 2018.

Monrovia Liberia Temple

The Monrovia Liberia Temple will be the Church's first temple in the West African nation of Liberia. The Church has maintained a presence in Liberia since the late 1980s. The Church in Liberia has experienced two periods of rapid growth: 1987-2002 and 2011-present. Currently, the Church in Liberia has five stakes (all organized since 2016, albeit the original Monrovia Liberia Stake operated from 2000 to 2007). The Church continues to experience rapid membership growth notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently there are approximately 15,000 Latter-day Saints in Liberia. Rapid national outreach expansion has also occurred in the past five years with the number of cities/towns with an official congregation increasing from three in 2008 to nine at present. The new temple will likely include all five stakes and the one district in Liberia - all of which are currently assigned to the Accra Ghana Temple. Monrovia has ranked among the three most likely locations to have a temple announced on my prediction list for more than two years given the large number of stakes in the metropolitan area and continued rapid growth. The Church organized the Liberia Monrovia Mission in 2013. It appears likely a couple new stakes will be organized in Monrovia in the near future.

Kananga Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple

The Kananga Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple is the Church's third temple announced for the DR Congo after Kinshasa (announced in 2011, dedicated in 2019) and Lubumbashi (announced in 2020). Apostle Elder Neil L. Andersen visited the Kasai Region in 2016 (the area in the central DR Congo where Kananga is located) and counseled the members to prepare for a temple in the Kasai Region one day. The Kasai Region has experienced some of the most rapid growth of the Church in modern times. The first stake in the region was organized in 2011, and today there are six stakes. The creation of additional stakes appears imminent given steady growth in the number of congregations. The Church operates a mission headquartered in Mbuji-Mayi to service the Kasai Region which was organized in 2016. Kananga is currently the only city in Kasai with multiple stakes (3), and the first stake in the city was created in 2011. The new temple will likely include the six stake and one district in the Kasai Region, albeit many more stakes will likely be organized by the time a temple is completed. Previously trained construction crews utilized to build the Kinshasa temple will likely be utilized in the construction of the new temple in Kananga. The Kasai Region has been included on my list of likely temples for many years. Currently, the region pertains to the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple.

Antananarivo Madagascar Temple

The Antananarivo Madagascar Temple is the Church's first temple to be announced for Madagascar where there are approximately 13,000 Latter-day Saints. The Church was first established in Madagascar in 1990, and the Madagascar Antananarivo Mission was created in 1998. The new temple will likely service the Church's two stakes and three districts in Madagascar, its district in Mauritius, and its district in Reunion. Currently, Madagascar pertains to the Johannesburg South Africa Temple district. The first stake in Madagascar was organized in 2000. Antananarivo was added to the list of likely locations for new temples in September 2018.

Culiacán México Temple

The Culiacán México Temple is the Church's 17th temple to be announced for México where there are approximately 1.5 million members on Church records. I had included Culiacán on my list of more likely locations to have a temple announced until September 2018 when I transitioned the city to less likely locations for a temple to be announced as a result of concerns with violence in Sinaloa State and many ward/stake consolidations in the region. The Church organized a stake in Culiacán in 1977 and a mission in 1987. Stakes in Sinaloa State currently attend the Hermosillo México Temple. The new temple will likely service six stakes and four districts in Sinaloa and Sonora states. The Church in México has previously dedicated or announced the following temples: the México City México Temple (dedicated in 1983), the Colonia Juárez Chihuahua México Temple (dedicated in 1999), the Ciudad Juárez México Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Hermosillo Sonora México Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Oaxaca México Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Tuxtla Gutiérrez México Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Tampico México Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Villahermosa México Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Mérida México Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Veracruz México Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Guadalajara México Temple (dedicated in 2001), the Monterrey México Temple (dedicated in 2002), the Tijuana México Temple (dedicated in 2015), the Puebla Mexico Temple (announced in 2018), the Querétaro Mexico Temple (announced in 2021), and the Torreón Mexico Temple (announced in 2021).

13 New Temples Announced

Today, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced plans to construct 13 more temples in the following locations:

• Kaohsiung, Taiwan
• Tacloban City, Philippines
• Monrovia, Liberia
• Kananga, Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Antananarivo, Madagascar
• Culiacán, México
• Vitória, Brazil
• La Paz, Bolivia
• Santiago West, Chile
• Fort Worth, Texas
• Cody, Wyoming
• Rexburg North, Idaho
• Heber Valley, Utah

There are now 265 temples in operation, under construction, or planned. 

I will provide analysis of these new temple announcements in the coming days.

September 2021 Newsletter

 Click here to access the September 2021 newsletter for cumorah.com.