November 2022 Monthly Newsletter

 Click here to access the November 2022 monthly newsletter for cumorah.com.

New Stakes Created in California, North Carolina, the Philippines, and Utah; New Districts Created in Tanzania

California

The Church organized a new stake in California on September 11th. The San Marcos California Stake was organized from a division of the Escondido California Stake and the Vista California Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Buena Creek, Double Peak, Palomar YSA, Santa Fe Hills, Shadowridge, and Twin Oaks Valley Wards and the Las Posas Branch (Spanish). The creation of the new stake is essentially a reinstatement of the Escondido California South Stake (created in 1992, discontinued in 2011). This marks the first time the Church has created a new stake in California since the Lake Elsinore California Stake was organized in 2013. The Church has discontinued two stakes in California in 2022: the Concord California Stake and the Hayward California Stake.

There are now 146 stakes in California.

North Carolina

The Church organized a new stake in North Carolina on September 18th. The Lake Norman North Carolina Stake was organized from a division of the Gastonia North Carolina Stake and the Hickory North Carolina Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards: the Statesville, Cornelius, Huntersville, Lake Norman, Mooresville, and Mountain Island Wards. 

There are now five stakes in the Charlotte metropolitan area - two of which have been organized in the past five years. There are now 19 stakes in North Carolina.

Philippines

The Church organized a new stake in the Philippines. The Naga Philippines North Stake was organized from a division of the Naga Philippines Stake (organized in 1985). The new stake includes the following five wards and one branch: the Calabanga, Camaligan, Canaman, Naga 1st, and Naga 5th Wards, and the Tinambac Branch. The Church announced plans to build a temple in Naga in October 2022.

There are now 125 stakes and 55 districts in the Philippines.

Utah

The Church organized a new stake in southern Utah on November 20th. The St George Utah Boulder Ridge East Stake was organized on November 20th from the St George Utah Boulder Ridge Stake. The new stake includes the following five wards: the Cobblestone, Stonehedge, Stucki Farms, Sugar Plum, and Treasure Valley Wards. There are now 26 stakes in the St. George metropolitan area (excluding Hurricane and La Verkin). 

There are now 628 stakes and two districts in Utah.

Tanzania 

Two new districts were organized in Tanzania.

The Arusha Tanzania District was organized on November 20th. The new district includes three branches in the city of Arusha that were previously mission branches in the Tanzania Dar es Salaam Mission. These branches include the Arusha, Morombo, and Njiro Branches. Of these three branches, two were organized earlier in 2022. This marks the first time the Church has organized a district in Tanzania outside of the most populous city of Dar es Salaam. 

The Dar es Salaam Tanzania Chang'ombe District was organized on November 13th from a division of the burgeoning Dar es Salaam Tanzania District which had 16 branches after the creation of eight new branches in mid-2022. The new district includes four branches in the southern portion of the Dar es Salaam metropolitan area, including the Chanika, Kigamboni, Chang'ombe, and Mbagala Branches. Of these four branches in the new district, two were organized in mid-2022 and one was organized in 2021. It is unclear why the new district includes only four branches rather than evenly dividing the original Dar es Salaam Tanzania District into two districts of eight branches, but additional districts may be organized in Dar es Salaam in preparation of creating new branches and member groups. Recently returned missionaries report that the mission has aggressively organized member groups and small branches in Dar es Salaam to improve accessibility to the Church for Latter-day Saints and populations targeted by mission outreach. It appears that the focus has been to delay the creation of the first stake by providing greater saturation of congregations and meetinghouses in Dar es Salaam rather than trying to build up ward-sized units that cover large swaths of the city that include an average of half a million to one million people who live within the boundaries of each congregation. This type of strategy in Africa has generally be most effective in the long term for achieving greater growth. The population of the Dar es Salaam metropolitan area is 6.75 million. The Church in Tanzania is experiencing a period of rapid growth after decades of slow membership growth and stagnant congregational growth - a change that has appeared instigated by the creation of the Tanzania Dar es Salaam Mission in 2020 and transitioning to Swahili instead of English for church meetings. Church membership increased by nearly 30% between year-end 2019 and year-end 2021. In contrast, the Church had not reported annual membership growth rates year over year of 10% of higher since the early 2000s.

The End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion

David Stewart, a colleague of mine who has collaborated on research regarding the growth and missionary program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at cumorah.com, recently published an article in the Journal of the Mormon Social Science Association entitled: The End of Growth? Fading Prospects for Latter-day Saint Expansion. The article can be accessed here. This article masterfully chronicles declining growth rates in the Church during the past several decades and identifies institutional and societal factors that appear primarily responsible for lackluster growth rates.

Six New Missions to be Created in July 2023: Analysis

As promised, see below for an analysis of the six new missions to be organized in July 2023. The Church announced plans to organize these new missions on November 23rd, 2022. It is important to note that all but one of the new missions announced are in Africa. This decision likely reflects increasing numbers of African members serving full-time missions as well as good opportunities to expand missionary outreach in nations with populations that have exhibited strong receptivity to the Latter-day Saint gospel message. No missions have been announced to close in 2023.

Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan North Mission

The new Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan Mission will be the Church's third mission headquartered in Abidjan and the fourth mission in Cote d'Ivoire. The new mission will be organized primarily from a division of the Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan East Mission (organized in 1993), although some areas of the Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan West Mission (organized in 2014) will be included in the mission boundary realignment. It is likely that the Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan West Mission will include the six stakes in the Yopougon area of Abidjan, whereas the nine stakes in the eastern half of Abidjan will probably be fairly evenly divided between the Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan North Mission and the Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan West Mission. There are also six districts located in the current boundaries in the Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan East Mission - most of which will probably be assigned to the new mission. The Cote d'Ivoire Abidjan East Mission also currently includes the Bamako Branch in Mali. It is unclear what mission will administer Mali after the new mission is organized. A member group in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso has also been administered by the Cote d'Ivoire Yamoussoukro Mission, although Burkina Faso is assigned directly to the Africa West Area per the Church's meetinghouse locator. The boundaries of the Cote d'Ivoire Yamoussoukro Mission (organized in 2018) are not reportedly affected by the creation of the new mission. The Church in Cote d'Ivoire has reported some of its most rapid growth in the world during the past decade, with the number of cities/towns with an official ward or branch increasing tenfold, the number of stakes increasing from 5 to 18, the number of districts increasing from 1 to 15, the number of congregations increasing from 42 to 257, and the number of Latter-day Saints increasing from 16,248 to 56,804. In another historical milestone, the creation of the Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire North Mission will mark the first time that the Church has ever organized three missions within the same metropolitan area on the African continent. The Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire Temple has been under construction for more than four years and appears to be nearing completion. It is suspected that the temple construction has taken so long due to difficulties with local work teams meeting the high standards for temple construction. There are nearly 29 million people who live in Cote d'Ivoire.

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) Kananga Mission

The creation of the new DR Congo Kananga Mission will increase the number of missions headquartered in the DR Congo to five. The new mission will be created from a division of the DR Congo Mbuji-Mayi Mission (organized in 2016). Senior missionaries have reported that the DR Congo Mbuji-Mayi Mission has baptized as many as 1,000 converts in a single month during 2022. Convert retention remains among the highest in the worldwide Church. It is not uncommon for many congregations in the DR Congo to have a larger number of people in attendance than there are members on the records for the particular congregation, although sacrament meeting attendance is generally about 80% nationwide. The new mission in Kananga will likely include just the three stakes in Kananga where the first stake in the city was organized in 2011. Reports from senior missionaries indicate that two new stakes will likely be organized in Kananga in 2023. The new mission will likely play a pivotal role in the expansion of the Church's presence into unreached cities where groups of members reside such as Tshikapa and Lodja. Moreover, the realigned DR Congo Mbuji-Mayi Mission will likely include four stakes and one district. The creation of new stakes in the DR Congo Mbuji-Mayi Mission also appears imminent considering the Mbuji-Mayi DR Congo Stake has 13 wards, the Mwene-Ditu DR Congo Stake has nine wards, and the Ngandajika DR Congo District has seven branches. The Church announced a temple for Kananga in 2021. The other missions headquartered in the DR Congo include the DR Congo Kinshasa West Mission (organized in 1987), the DR Congo Lubumbashi Mission (organized in 2010), and the DR Congo Kinshasa East Mission (organized in 2019). Also, the recently organized Rwanda Kigali Mission (organized in 2022) includes branches and member groups in the eastern DR Congo near the borders of Burundi and Rwanda. The Church in the DR Congo reported its most rapid membership growth in the world during the past two years as membership increased from 68,871 to 89,136 - a 29.4% increase. During the past 10 years, the Church in the DR Congo has grown from 30,435 members to 89,136 members, 9 stakes to 25 stakes, and 107 congregations to 255 congregations. The DR Congo is now the world's 14th most populous nation with 108 million people.

Nigeria Aba Mission

The Nigeria Aba Mission will be the Church's eighth mission in Nigeria following the creation of the Nigeria Lagos Mission (organized in 1980 as the West Africa Mission and renamed in 1985), the Nigeria Port Harcourt Mission (originally organized in 1988 as the Nigeria Aba Mission, relocated to Port Harcourt and renamed in 1995), the Nigeria Enugu Mission (organized in 1992 as the Nigeria Jos Mission and relocated to Enugu and renamed in 1993), the Nigeria Uyo Mission (organized in 2002, relocated and renamed the Nigeria Calabar Mission in 2008, relocated back to Uyo and renamed in 2019), the Nigeria Benin City Mission (organized in 2013), the Nigeria Owerri Mission (organized in 2016), and the Nigeria Ibadan Mission (organized in 2002, relocated to Lagos and renamed the Nigeria Lagos East Mission in 2007, discontinued in 2009, reinstated in 2018). The Church's first and only operating temple in Nigeria is located in Aba where there are now five stakes. The new mission in Aba will be organized primarily by a division of the Nigeria Owerri Mission, albeit the Church announced that other missions (Nigeria Benin City Mission, Nigeria Enugu Mission) will be realigned as part of the creation of the new mission. The Church in Nigeria has discontinued one mission that was never reinstated: the Nigeria Ilorin Mission (1992-1993). 

Nigeria Abuja Mission

The Nigeria Abuja Mission will be the Church's ninth mission in Nigeria. The new mission will be created from a division of the Nigeria Lagos Mission. The Church realigned its missions in Nigeria in 2019 and transferred northern Nigeria from the Nigeria Enugu Mission to the Nigeria Lagos Mission. The new mission will likely include the three stakes in Abuja (all of which have been organized in the past decade) and one district in Jos. The new mission will likely include half of the population of Nigeria - more than 100 million people - although most the population lives in states with Sharia law with predominantly Muslim populations and significant conflict between Muslims and Christians. Kano is the second most populous metropolitan area in Nigeria (4.9 million people) and remains without an official ward or branch of the Church. 

The Church has reported significant growth in Nigeria during the past decade, growing from 103,898 members to 211,219 members, 21 stakes to 68 stakes, and 315 congregations to 758 congregations. However, the number of districts has decreased in the past decade from 20 to 16. Three additional temples are planned for Nigeria in Lagos (announced in 2018), Benin City (announced in 2020), and Eket (announced in 2022). Nigeria is now the sixth most populous country in the world with 225 million people.

South Africa Pretoria Mission

The new South Africa Pretoria Mission will be the Church's fourth mission headquartered in South Africa (assuming that the Botswana/Namibia Mission will be relocated to Gaborone, Botswana from Pretoria, South Africa. It is possible that this mission may continue to be headquartered in South Africa, and thus, Johannesburg, South Africa will together with Abidjan become the first metropolitan areas to have three missions). The new mission will be organized from a division of the Botswana/Namibia Mission (organized in 2013), although the boundaries of the South Africa Johannesburg (organized in 1903) and South Africa Durban Mission (organized in 1991) will also be realigned. There is one more mission headquartered in South Africa: the Cape Town South African Mission (organized in 1984). The new mission will likely assist with greater focus on missionary efforts in Botswana and Namibia. The Church has reported moderate growth rates in South Africa during the past decade. During the past decade, Church membership has increased from 57,546 to 69,438, the number of congregations has increased from 151 to 195, the number of stakes has increased from 12 to 17, and the number of districts has increased from 4 to 10. There are 57.5 million people who live in South Africa.

Romania Bucharest Mission

The Church will reinstate the Romania Bucharest Mission which operated in Romania from 1993 until 2018 when it was consolidated with the neighboring Hungary Budapest Mission. I previously wrote about this decision to close the Romania Bucharest Mission here. Church growth trends have been stagnant in Romania for many years, and receptivity to Latter-day Saint proselytism has been poor for more than a decade. The decision to reinstate the Romania Bucharest Mission may be partially explained by difficulties with a single mission effectively servicing both Hungarian and Romanian speaking populations as well as efforts to provide greater mission leader oversight over members in both Romania and Hungary. As of 2021, there were 3,087 members, 15 branches, and 3 districts in Romania, whereas there were 5,278 members, 21 congregations, one stake, two districts, and one announced temple in Hungary. The current population of Romania is 18.5 million, whereas the current population of Hungary is 9.7 million.

Six New Missions to be Created in 2023

Today, the Church announced plans to organize the following six missions in July 2023:

• Cote d’Ivoire Abidjan North Mission
• Democratic Republic of the Congo Kananga Mission
• Nigeria Aba Mission
• Nigeria Abuja Mission
• South Africa Pretoria Mission
• Romania Bucharest Mission
  

The creation of the new missions will increase the number of missions in the Church to 416. I will provide additional analysis regarding these new mission creations in the coming days.

Survey Request on Growth Trends in Your Congregation

Please click here to complete a survey regarding the growth of the Church in your ward, branch, or member group. Your responses will be utilized for research purposes for cumorah.com.

October 2022 Newsletter

 Click here to access the October 2022 Newsletter for cumorah.com.

2021 Canadian Census

This past week, demographic data regarding religious affiliation and ethnicity was released for the 2021 Canadian census. These data can be found here. Some of the most noteworthy findings in the census data in regard to major religious groups include the percentage of Canadians who identify as Christian declined from 67.3% in 2011 to 53.3% in 2021, the percentage of Canadians who reported no religious affiliation increased from 23.9% in 2011 to 34.6% in 2021, the percentage of Canadians who identify as Muslim increased from 2.0% in 2001 to 4.9% in 2021, and the percentage of Canadians who identify as Hindu increased from 1.0% in 2001 to 2.3% in 2021.

The 2021 census noted 85,315 self-affiliated Latter-day Saints in Canada, or 0.23% of the total population and 42.8% of official Church-reported membership for year-end 2021. The percentage of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints compared to Church-reported membership was 56.9% in 2011. However, it is important to note that figures for Latter-day Saints in Canada on the census are extrapolated from sample data - not the entire data set. The database notes indicate that 25% of the persons in private households in occupied private dwellings were utilized for sample data to make the estimates for religious affiliation by group. Thus, the database also includes 95% confidence intervals for ranges with the data reported. Consequently, the following analysis should be considered with this in mind, especially given that these data may be prone to error for a small religious group (less than one percent of the population) in which only 25% of households were considered. It is unclear what the process was for the selection of the 25% sample, but I would assume that it was done randomly by statistical area to ensure that this sample is representative of the population. Despite this limitation, the census estimates appear to match well with Church-reported membership, even for areas where there are few Latter-day Saints on the records (like Northwest Territories). In other words, the census data do not appear to over-estimate the number of Latter-day Saints in areas with few Latter-day Saints.

The 2021 census figure for Latter-day Saints is 20,050 less than the number of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints tallied in the 2011 census (105,365) - a 19.0% decline in one decade. This marks one of the most significant percentage declines in the self-affiliation of Latter-day Saints noted on a national census. The percentage decline in the number of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints between 2011 and 2021 is similar to the percentage decline of self-affiliated Christians in the Canadian population during this same time period. The demographic composition of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints in the 2021 Canadian census was as follows: 85.2% not a visible minority (White, First Nations), 5.15% Latin American, 3.65% Filipino, 1.89% Black, 1.58% Chinese, 0.73% "multiple visible minorities," 0.47% Japanese, 0.35% "visible minorities not included elsewhere," 0.32% Korean, 0.28% Southeast Asian, 0.28% South Asian, 0.04% West Asian, and 0.02% Arab. In contrast, the Canadian population is 73.5% White/First Nations, 7.08% South Asian, 4.72% Chinese, 4.26% Black, 2.64% Filipino, 1.91% Arab, 1.60% Latin American, 1.07% Southeast Asian, 0.99% West Asian, 0.91% "multiple visible minorities," 0.60% Korean, 0.48% "visible minorities not included elsewhere," and 0.27% Japanese. Thus, self-affiliated Latter-day Saints are slightly more White than the general Canadian population, Latin Americans are significant over-represented in self-affiliated Latter-day Saints (more than three times the national percentage of Latin Americans), and self-affiliated Latter-day Saints are significantly under-represented in South Asians, West Asians, Southeast Asians, Arabs, and Blacks. Ranked from the highest to the lowest percentage of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints in the population, the 2021 census noted the percentage of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints by Province/Territory as follows: Alberta (1.43%), British Columbia (0.32%), Northwest Territories (0.24%), Yukon (0.20%), Saskatchewan (0.17%), Nova Scotia (0.17%), Prince Edward Island (0.12%), Ontario (0.12%), Manitoba (0.11%), New Brunswick (0.10%), Quebec (0.04%), Newfoundland and Labrador (0.03%), and Nunavut (0.03%). The percentage of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints of Church-reported official membership by province/territory is as follows: Northwest Territories (53.1%), Alberta (52.3%), British Columbia (33.5%), Prince Edward Island (31.5%), New Brunswick (30.6%), Nova Scotia (28.7%), Saskatchewan (28.6%), Yukon (26.4%), Manitoba (23.2%), Quebec (22.0%), Newfoundland (20.8%), and Ontario (20.2%). Thus, these data suggest that the Church has the highest member activity rates in Northwest Territories and Alberta and the lowest member activity rates in Ontario, Newfoundland, and Quebec. These findings are consistent with reports from local members and returned missionaries over the decades in regard to member activity rates in these locations.

Although the census data suggest a major contraction in active members, other statistical indicators do not suggest that there has been a major decline in active membership. For example, congregational growth rates in Canada have not supported major changes in the number of active Latter-day Saints in the country. Congregations require certain minimum criteria to operate, and increases in the number of congregations correlates with increases in active membership. The number of congregations in Canada increased from 477 as of year-end 2011 to 499 as of year-end 2021. Moreover, Church membership in Canada increased from 185,149 to 199,534 during this 10-year period. The average number of members per congregation in Canada increased from 388 in 2011 to 400 in 2021 - one of the lowest members-to-congregations ratios in the world among countries where there are at least 100,000 members on the records. These data indicate membership growth rates have outpaced congregational growth rates - a finding typical in situations where the member activity rate may be decreasing (or where the number of active members per congregation is increasing). Furthermore, there has been a slight increase in the number of stakes in Canada between 2011 and 2021, as there were 47 stakes in 2011 and 53 stakes in Canada in 2021. The significant decline in census-reported Latter-day Saints indicate that significant congregation consolidations may occur in the foreseeable future. However, it is unclear whether the decline in self-affiliated Latter-day Saints was primarily due to larger numbers of less active/inactive Latter-day Saints no longer self-affiliating with the Church on the census, active members leaving the Church, or a combination of the two. Furthermore, it is also unclear whether birth and death rates in the Church may also account for these changes in census data, albeit this seems unlikely given Church-reported membership growth trends have not appeared to significantly change in recent years. I have not been able to find data from the 2011 Canadian census that breaks down religious affiliation by province/territory - such data would be valuable to assess how self-affiliation has changed in the past decade by province or territory. 

Finally, I wanted to post a link to the local member Church growth survey. Please complete this survey on the Church in your congregation to assist our research for The Cumorah Foundation. You can complete the survey here.

New Temples Announced in October 2022 - Part III - The United States

Jacksonville Florida Temple

The Jacksonville Florida Temple is the Church's fifth temple to be announced or dedicated in Florida following the Orlando Florida Temple (dedicated in 1994), the Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple (dedicated in 2014), the Tallahassee Florida Temple (announced in 2020), and the Tampa Florida Temple (announced in April 2022). Jacksonville has long been a site included on my temple predictions map due to distance to the nearest temple in Orlando. The new temple will likely include six stakes (five in Florida, one in Georgia). The Church organized its first stake in Jacksonville in 1947, and there are four stakes in the Jacksonville metropolitan (if the Kingsland Georgia Stake is included). Church growth in the Jacksonville area has been slow in recent years with only one new stake created in the past 20 years (Jacksonville Florida South Stake in 2009).

Grand Rapids Michigan Temple

The Grand Rapids Michigan Temple is the Church's second temple in Michigan following the dedication of the Detroit Michigan Temple in 1999. The new temple will likely have five stakes (four in Michigan, one in Indiana) and one district within the temple district. The Lansing Michigan Stake (organized in 1962) is the oldest stake in the likely temple district. Only one new stake has been organized in the Grand Rapids area within the past 40 years - the Holland Michigan Stake in 2022.

Prosper Texas Temple

The Prosper Texas Temple is the Church's eighth temple in Texas and its third temple in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. Other temples in Texas include the Dallas Texas Temple (dedicated in 1984), the Houston Texas Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Lubbock Texas Temple (dedicated in 2002), the San Antonio Texas Temple (dedicated in 2005), the McAllen Texas Temple (announced in 2019), the Fort Worth Texas Temple (announced in 2021), and the Austin Texas Temple (announced in April 2022). The new temple in Prosper will likely include 8-10 stakes in northern Dallas - half of which have been organized in the past 15 years. Northern Dallas has numbered among the most rapidly growing areas of the Church in the United States. The announcement of the new temple in Prosper makes the Dallas/Forth Worth metropolitan area the first metropolitan area east of the Rocky Mountains to have three temples.

Lone Mountain Nevada Temple

The Lone Mountain Nevada Temple is the Church's fourth temple in Nevada following the Las Vegas Nevada Temple (dedicated in 1989), the Reno Nevada Temple (dedicated in 2000), and the Elko Nevada Temple (announced in 2021). The new temple will likely include approximately 10 stakes within the temple district. Steady growth has occurred in northwestern Las Vegas where the new temple will be constructed, with three stakes created in the area during the past seven years. There are 28 stakes in the Las Vegas/Henderson metropolitan area.

Tacoma Washington Temple

The Tacoma Washington Temple is the Church's fifth temple in Washington following the Seattle Washington Temple (dedicated in 1980), the Spokane Washington Temple (dedicated in 1999), the Columbia River Washington Temple (dedicated in 2001), and the Moses Lake Washington Temple (announced in 2019). The new temple may serve as many as 20 stakes in the Tacoma area and in southwestern Washington State, and the Seattle Washington Temple may have as few as 15 stakes assigned following the creation of the new temple. The Church has experienced essentially stagnant growth in the Tacoma area during the past 20 years, and there have been significant consolidations of congregations in the Seattle area in the past few years after many years of no significant change in the number of congregations in the area. The oldest stake in the Tacoma area, the Gig Harbor Washington Stake, was organized in 1952.

New Temples Announced in October 2022 - Part II - Latin America

Chiclayo Peru Temple

The Chiclayo Peru Temple will be the Church's sixth temple in Peru following temples in Lima (dedicated in 1986), Trujillo (dedicated in 2015), Lima Los Olivos (announced in 2016), Arequipa (dedicated in 2019), and Cusco (announced in April 2022). The Church organized its first stake in Chiclayo in 1980, and there are now six stakes and one district in the Chiclayo metropolitan area. Chiclayo was previously one of the metropolitan areas outside of the United States with the most stakes without a temple. The new temple will likely include 13 stakes and three districts in northern Peru. The Church organized its own mission for Chiclayo in 2011. Stakes in Chiclayo and extreme northern Peru are currently assigned to the Trujillo Peru Temple district. Church growth trends in stakes and districts within the likely temple district for the Chiclayo Peru Temple have been slow in recent years. Only one new stake has been organized in the area during the past decade (Paita Peru Stake in 2019). The new temple is the Church's first temple in Lambayeque Region.

Buenos Aires City Center Argentina Temple

Buenos Aires was previously the metropolitan area outside of the United States with the most stakes with only one temple. There are 26 stakes in the greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area (including La Plata and excluding Zárate). The new Buenos Aires City Center Argentina Temple will be the Church's sixth temple in Argentina following temples in Buenos Aires (dedicated in 1986), Córdoba (dedicated in 2015), Salta (announced in April 2018), Mendoza (announced in October 2018), and Bahía Blanca (announced in 2020). The new temple district appears likely to include as many as 13 stakes in central and northwestern Buenos Aires. The current Buenos Aires Argentina Temple is fairly centrally located in Buenos Aires, and the new temple may not be very far away from the current temple unless it is built in the north-central area. The Church organized its first stake in Buenos Aires in 1966. The most recently organized stakes include the Lujan Argentina Stake (organized in 2016) and the Buenos Aires Argentina Chacabuco Stake (organized in 2014). Unlike most Latin American countries, the Church has never discontinued a stake before in Argentina, but there has been a net decline of more than 100 congregations for the country during the past 15 years. Church growth trends in Buenos Aires have been slow, and the number of congregations in the metropolitan area has slightly declined in the past decade. The new temple is the Church's third temple for Buenos Aires Province.

Londrina Brazil Temple

The Londrina Brazil Temple will be the Church's 17th temple in Brazil following temples in São Paulo (dedicated in 1978), Recife (dedicated in 2000), Porto Alegre (dedicated in 2000), Campinas (dedicated in 2002), Curitiba (dedicated in 2008), Manaus (dedicated in 2012), Fortaleza (dedicated in 2019), Rio de Janeiro (dedicated in 2022), Belem (announced in 2016, to be dedicated in November 2022), Brasília (announced in 2017), Salvador (announced in 2018), São Paulo Brazil East (announced in 2020), Belo Horizonte (announced in April 2021), Vitória (announced in October 2021), Maceió (announced in April 2022), and Santos (announced in April 2022). The new temple in Londrina will likely include eight stakes and three districts in western Paraná and São Paulo states. The Church organized its first stake in Londrina in 1979, and there are two stakes in the city today. Church growth has been slow, but steady, in this region of Brazil, with only two new stakes organized in the likely new temple district during the past decade. Stakes in the likely new temple district primarily pertain to the Curitiba Brazil Temple district and the Campinas Brazil Temple district, albeit the Foz do Iguaçu Brazil Stake is assigned to the Asunción Paraguay Temple district. The Brazil Londrina Mission was organized in 1995. The Londrina Brazil Temple is the Church's second temple in Paraná State.

Riberão Prêto Brazil Temple

The announcement of the Riberão Prêto Brazil Temple marks the second time in Church history in Brazil when two temples were announced on the same day (the first such instance was in April 2022). The Riberão Prêto Brazil Temple is the Church's 18th temple announced for Brazil. The new temple will likely include 13 stakes and one district in extreme northwestern São Paulo State and extreme western Minas Gerais State - areas currently serviced by the Campinas Brazil Temple. The Church organized its first stake in Riberão Prêto in 1987, followed by a second stake in 1992, and two additional stakes in 1993. However, the two stakes organized in 1993 were discontinued in 2001. Nevertheless, the Church organized a third stake in Riberão Prêto in 2019 after steady increases in the number of congregations in the city during the previous 5-10 years. Thus, Riberão Prêto is the city (that has never previously had a temple announced) to have had the most stakes previously discontinued and have a temple announced (the city with the most stakes ever discontinued to have another temple announced is Santiago, Chile where a second temple was announced in 2021 after 15 stakes were discontinued between 2000-2019 - the original Santiago Chile Temple was dedicated in 1983). Like the region that will likely be assigned to the Londrina Brazil Temple, Church growth trends have been slow, but steady. Only two new stakes have been organized in the area likely to be serviced by the Riberão Prêto Brazil Temple during the past decade.

São Paulo State is the province/state with the most temples (five) dedicated or announced in the world outside of the United States.

Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple

The Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple is the Church's fifth temple in Guatemala following temples in Guatemala City (dedicated in 1984), Quetzaltenango (dedicated in 2011), Cobán (announced in 2019), and Miraflores Guatemala City (announced in 2020). This location was not on my list of likely locations for new temple announcements due to few stakes and proximity to Quetzaltenango. The new temple in Huehuetenango will likely be a small temple as the prospective temple district will likely include only three stakes (all located in Huehuetenango) and two districts. The first stake in Huehuetenango was organized in 1988 followed by additional stakes created in 1994 and 2014. Stakes and districts in the Huehuetenango area currently pertain to the Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple district and the Guatemala Quetzaltenango Mission.

Cuernavaca Mexico Temple

President Nelson explained during the announcement of four new temples in locations near Mexico City that, "We are also planning to build multiple temples in selected large metropolitan areas where travel time to an existing temple is a major challenge." 

The Cuernavaca Mexico Temple is the Church's 20th temple in Mexico. The Church in Mexico has previously dedicated or announced the following temples: the Mexico City Mexico Temple (dedicated in 1983), the Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple (dedicated in 1999), the Ciudad Juárez Mexico Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Oaxaca Mexico Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Tuxtla Gutiérrez Mexico Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Tampico Mexico Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Villahermosa Mexico Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Mérida Mexico Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Veracruz Mexico Temple (dedicated in 2000), the Guadalajara Mexico Temple (dedicated in 2001), the Monterrey Mexico Temple (dedicated in 2002), the Tijuana Mexico Temple (dedicated in 2015), the Puebla Mexico Temple (announced in 2018), the Querétaro Mexico Temple (announced in April 2021), the Torreón Mexico Temple (announced in April 2021), the Culiacán Mexico Temple (announced in October 2021), the San Luis Potosí Mexico Temple (announced in April 2022), and the Mexico City Benemérito Mexico Temple (announced in April 2022). The new Cuernavaca Mexico Temple will likely include 12 stakes in Morelos State, southern Estado de Mexico State, and Guerrero State. The first stake was organized in Cuernavaca in 1983, and there are two stakes in the city. The oldest stake in the prospective temple district was organized in Cuautla in 1975 where there are three stakes today. Church growth has been slow in the area of Mexico. The most recently organized stake was created in 2009. The Church organized a mission in Cuernavaca in 2006. The Cuernavaca Mexico Temple was the first temple to be announced in Morelos State. Stakes in the likely new temple district pertain to the Mexico City Mexico Temple.

Pachuca Mexico Temple

The Pachuca Mexico Temple is the Church's 21st temple in Mexico. The new temple will likely include five stakes in the Pachuca area. The oldest stake in the probable temple district was created in 1984 in Pachuca. There are three stakes in Pachuca. The Church has reported some of its more rapid growth in Mexico in the Pachuca area as attested by the creation of new stakes and districts (three of the five stakes likely to be in the new temple district were organized in 2008, 2010, and 2018). The Mexico Pachuca Mission was organized in 2013. The Pachuca Mexico Temple is the first temple to be announced in Hidalgo State. Stakes in the likely new temple district pertain to the Mexico City Mexico Temple.

Toluca Mexico Temple

The Toluca Mexico Temple is the Church's 22nd temple in Mexico. This temple was not included on my most recent map of likely locations for future temple announcements because there are only three stakes in the Toluca area and close proximity to Mexico City where there are two temples (one dedicated, one announced). The Toluca Mexico Temple will likely include only three stakes and one district (in Michoacán). However, a fourth stake in the area appears likely to be organized in the foreseeable future. The new temple will be the Church's first temple in Estado de Mexico State - a state with dozens of stakes that surrounds Mexico City proper. The first stake in the Toluca area was created in 1991. Church growth in the Toluca area has been steady and more rapid than most areas of Mexico, with the next two stakes created in 2005 and 2014. Stakes in the area are assigned to the Mexico Mexico City West Mission. Stakes in the likely new temple district pertain to the Mexico City Mexico Temple.

Tula Mexico Temple

The Tula Mexico Temple is the Church's 23rd temple in Mexico. Like the Toluca Mexico Temple, this location was not included on my most recent temple prediction map due to few stakes in the area and close proximity to Pachuca which I considered a much more likely prospect for a new temple (which coincidentally also had a temple announced at the same time). The Tula Mexico Temple will likely service only four stakes in western Hidalgo State. The announcement of the Tula Mexico Temple marks the first temple two temples have been announced at the same time for the same state/province where no temples previously operated. There is only one stake in Tula that was organized in 1975. Three of the four stakes in the prospective temple district may divide in the coming years if additional congregations are organized and the number of active members increases to warrant it. Stakes in the likely new temple district are divided between the Mexico Pachuca Mission and the Mexico Mexico City North Mission. Stakes in the likely new temple district pertain to the Mexico City Mexico Temple.

September 2022 Monthly Newsletter

Click here to access the September 2022 monthly newsletter for cumorah.com.

New Temples Announced in October 2022 - Part I - Asia and Africa

See below for the promised analysis of new temples announced during the October 2022 General Conference. Given the large number of temples announced and my goal to provide a quality and in-depth analysis of each temple announcement, this analysis will be broken down into several parts. This post provides analysis of new temples that were announced in Asia and Africa. With the exception of the Busan Korea Temple, the temple announcements in these regions of the world have occurred in areas with steady or rapid growth within recent years.

Busan Korea Temple

As a returned missionary from Korea, this announcement was very exciting as Korean members have speculated and hoped for a second temple in Korea to be one day announced for the port city of Busan. The Busan Korea Temple will likely include 6-7 stakes and three districts in southern South Korea. Church growth in southern South Korea has been essentially stagnant for more than two decades, albeit no stakes have been discontinued in the area yet. However, several stakes have only four wards, so it is probable that stake consolidations will occur in the foreseeable future unless a reversal in the decline in the number of congregations occurs accompanied by an increase in the number of active members. The oldest stake in the likely temple district is the Busan Korea Stake (organized in 1979), whereas the most recently organized stake in the likely temple district is the Daejeon Korea Stake (organized in 1998). It is probable that the new temple in Busan will be a small temple, perhaps like the Fukuoka Japan Temple, given there are only likely to be six stakes assigned and the area has experienced stagnant growth for multiple consecutive decades. The Busan Korea Temple will be the Church's second temple in South Korea. 

Naga Philippines Temple

The Naga Philippines Temple will be the Church's ninth temple in the Philippines following temples in Manila (dedicated in 1984), Cebu (dedicated in 2010), Urdaneta (announced in 2010), Alabang (announced in 2017), Cagayan de Oro (announced in 2018), Davao (announced in 2018), Bacolod City (announced in 2019), and Tacloban City (announced in 2021). The announcement of temples in Naga and Santiago constitutes the first time the Church has announced two temples in the Philippines on the same day. The new temple in Naga will likely include six stakes and six districts in southern Luzon and Masbate. The Church in southern Luzon has experienced a significant reversal in Church growth trends in the past few years from essentially stagnant congregational growth and no new stakes organized between 2001 and 2018 to the creation of two new stakes (from districts) and the regular creation of new wards and branches. The oldest stake in the likely new temple district is the Naga Philippines Stake - organized one day prior to the Legaspi Philippines Stake in 1985. A second mission was created in the region headquartered in Legaspi in 2013. Also, there are reports that a second stake will be created in Naga on November 6th, and two other stakes also appear likely to divide in the foreseeable future (Daet and Goa). It is unclear whether districts in the likely temple district are close to becoming stakes, but Ligao and Tabaco appear most likely based on the most recent information I have received. Most members in the likely temple district speak Bikolano, making the new temple the first temple to operate in a predominantly Bikolano-speaking area of the Philippines.

Santiago Philippines Temple

The Santiago Philippines Temple will be the Church's 10th temple in the Philippines, and the new temple will likely include 10 stakes and 10 districts in extreme northern Luzon - most of which are in the Cagayan Valley. Church growth has been slow, but steady, in this region of the Philippines during the past decade. Of the 10 stakes likely to be in the new temple district, four have been organized since 2011. None of the stakes in the area appear likely to divide within the near future, albeit some member districts appear close to becoming stakes. Santiago is one of only two cities in the Cagayan Valley with two stakes as all other cities in the region have only one stake if there is a stake present. The oldest stake in the region is the Tuguegarao Philippines North Stake which was created in 1989. Most members speak Ilokano in this area of the Philippines.

Eket Nigeria Temple

The Eket Nigeria Temple will be the Church's fourth temple in Nigeria following temples in Aba (dedicated in 2005), Lagos (announced in 2018), and Benin City (announced in 2020). The new temple will likely include 14 stakes and one district in the Nigerian states of Akwa Ibom and Cross River - the same number of stakes that were assigned to the Aba Nigeria Temple when it was dedicated in 2005. The new temple's location in Eket is less than 10 miles from where the Church organized most of its first branches in Nigeria in small villages in 1979, such as Ikot Anang, Ikot Eyo, and Ukat Aran. Some local government areas (LGAs) in this area of Nigeria may be as high as 2-3% Latter-day Saint in the general population. Eket is the largest city in southern Akwa Ibom State, but there is only one stake headquartered in the city (albeit it is likely to divide soon as the stake has 10 wards and four branches). Rapid growth has occurred for the Church in Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers. Of the 14 stakes likely to be assigned to the new temple district, eight were organized after 2014. The oldest stake in the likely temple district is the Eket Nigeria Stake, organized in 1996. Six of the 14 stakes in this area of Nigeria appear likely to divide in the near future. Thus, there may be as many as 20 stakes in the temple district by the time the temple is dedicated if the process for design, approval, and construction occur at a typical rate (within 3-5 years).

New Temples Announced - 300 Temples Now Announced, Planned, or Under Construction

Today, President Nelson announced plans to construct 18 new temples in the following locations:

• Busan, Korea
• Naga, Philippines
• Santiago, Philippines
• Eket, Nigeria
• Chiclayo, Peru
• Buenos Aires City Center, Argentina
• Londrina, Brazil
• Riberão Prêto, Brazil
• Huehuetenango, Guatemala
• Jacksonville, Florida
• Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Prosper, Texas
• Lone Mountain, Nevada
• Tacoma, Washington
• Cuernavaca, Mexico
• Pachuca, Mexico
• Toluca, Mexico
• Tula, Mexico

With these 18 temples announced, this brings the total number of temples planned or dedicated to 300.

I will provide further analysis in the coming days regarding these announcements.

Update to Temple Prediction Map - Pakistan

I have added one more less likely site for a potential temple announcement, namely Lahore, Pakistan. 

The Church in Pakistan has more than 5,000 members organized in three districts and 13 branches. Multiple member groups also operate, such as in Mian Channu. The first mission of the Church in Pakistan, the Pakistan Service Mission, was organized in 2021 from a division of the India New Delhi Mission. The creation of the new mission was greatly needed given difficulties with travel between India and Pakistan, and the need for greater supervision and support of missionary and leadership development efforts. Church attendance has waxed and waned over the years in Pakistan from as high as 42% of total membership on Church records to as low as 10%. Local members report that much of these wide historical fluctuations have been due to leadership development issues and convert attrition. More recently, local members report significant improvements in church/conference attendance and an increase in convert baptisms. For example, more than 400 young single adults in Pakistan attended a special conference in 2021. Generally, the Church has baptized approximately 100 converts per year in Pakistan in recent years. An extremely well attended recent conference for the Lahore Pakistan District, with perhaps as many as 1,000 in attendance, suggests that the district may become a stake in the near future. In 2019, there were enough Latter-day Saints on Church records for both the Islamabad Pakistan District and the Lahore Pakistan District to become stakes.

New Delhi, India has been identified as a less likely site for a temple announcement on my temple prediction map, and this city was identified by Elder Neal A. Maxwell in 1992 for a proposed temple. However, a future temple in New Delhi would likely be very difficult, if not impossible, for most Pakistani Latter-day Saints to utilize given the political situation between India and Pakistan despite relatively close proximity to Pakistan. The planned Dubai United Arab of Emirates Temple is likely to be more easily accessed than a temple in India. Therefore, I have added Lahore, Pakistan to the temple prediction map (see below).

New Temple Predictions - September 2022 Edition

I have updated my temple prediction map in preparation for General Conference in October. Historically, data used to identify probable locations for future temples include the size of the Church in a specific geographical area (i.e. number of stakes and districts, the number of wards and branches), the age of the oldest stake in a specific geographical area, church growth trends, distance to the nearest temple, the square-footage of the nearest temple, the historical number of weekly endowment sessions scheduled at the nearest temple, and member and missionary reports regarding member activity, temple attendance, and convert retention. I have made updates to the current predictions map given recent trends in temple announcements that have favored locations distant to the nearest temple where there are at least two stakes that would be serviced by a temple. Altogether, there are 163 potential temples on the map (27 more like temples, 137 less likely temples).

Thirty-three (33) less likely locations and two more likely locations were added to the temple prediction map in September 2022. Most of these locations have not experienced significant church growth in recent years, but many of these locations appear likely candidates for a future small temple due to remote location. Many of the Church's recently announced temples have been in locations with few Latter-day Saints but where there is sufficient membership to support a small temple. Locations added to the temples prediction map for September 2022 include:

• Resistencia, Argentina 
• Kingman, Arizona 
• Page, Arizona
  
• Yuma, Arizona 
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• Araçatuba, Brazil  
• Goiânia, Brazil 
• Passo Fundo, Brazil 
• Redding, California 
• San Jose, California (more likely)
  
• Santa Maria, California 
• Santa Rosa, California
  
• La Serena, Chile 
• Rancagua, Chile
  
• Bucaramanga, Colombia 
• Medellín, Colombia
  
• Otavalo, Ecuador 
• Pensacola, Florida 
• Düsseldorf, Germany OR Dortmund, Germany 
• Bloomington, Illinois 
• Acapulco, Mexico 
• Mexicali, Mexico 
• Poza Rica, Mexico
  
• Grand Rapids, Michigan 
• Great Falls, Montana
  
• Hastings, New Zealand 
• Wilmington, North Carolina
• Cincinnati, Ohio Temple OR Dayton, Ohio 
• Bend, Oregon 
• Huánuco, Peru 
• Barquisimeto, Venezuela 
• Guayana City, Venezuela 
• Valencia, Venezuela 

The following prospective temple was transferred from the less likely category to the more likely category:

• São José, Brazil

The following 10 locations appear most likely to have temples announced this coming General Conference. You are welcome to provide your top 10 picks for temple announcements in the comments below.

1. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
2. Spanish Fork, Utah 
3. Charlotte, North Carolina
4. Santiago/Tuguegarao Philippines
5. Angeles or Olongapo, Philippines 
6. Tacoma Washington
7. Colorado Springs, Colorado 
8. Kampala, Uganda
9. Iquitos, Peru 
10. São José, Brazil
    

See below for the map of likely and less likely new temple sites:

 

August 2022 Newsletter

Click here to access the August 2022 Newsletter for cumorah.com. Notable updates include the creation of a new branch in Gabon, a member group established in the third largest city in Piauí State, Brazil, and the creation of a third stake in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

New Stakes Created in Mexico and Utah

 Mexico

The Church organized a new stake in the northern Mexican city of San Luis Potosi on August 21st The San Luis Potosi Mexico Industrias Stake was organized from a division of the San Luis Potosí México Benito Juárez Stake and the San Luis Potosí México Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards: the Españita, Independencia, Industrias, Las Joyas, Oriente, and Prados Wards. There are now three stakes in the city with the two previous stakes being organized in 1981 and 1996. The Church announced a temple for San Luis Potosi in April 2022.

There are now 226 stakes and 47 districts in Mexico.

Utah

The Church organized a new stake in Syracuse, Utah on August 21st. The Syracuse Utah Fremont Park Stake was organized from a division of the Syracuse Utah West Stake. The new stake includes the following seven wards: the Eagle Estates, Fremont, Glen Eagle 1st, Lakeshore, Miller Springs, Trailside, and Turnberry Wards. There are now seven stakes in Syracuse. 

There are now 627 stakes and two districts in Utah.

July 2022 Newsletter

 Click here to access the July 2022 Newsletter for cumorah.com.

First Branch Created in North Cyprus

Last Sunday, the Church organized its first branch in North Cyprus and the Church's first meetinghouse in North Cyprus was also dedicated with approximately 100 in attendance. This marks one of the first times, if not the first time, in Church history when an official branch has been organized in a de facto country. The Church has generally avoided de facto nations, such as Transnistria and Abkhazia, largely due to a lack of mission resources in neighboring countries, the unclear legal status of these nations and whether proselytism is permitted, and political instability. It is unclear what city the new branch in Cyprus operates in, but it appears that it likely meets in northern Nicosia. Branch members appears to have highly diverse backgrounds with many from African nations. The new branch pertains to the Nicosia Cyprus District in the Adriatic South Mission. Essentially all Latter-day Saints in Cyprus speak English, and Church meetings are held in English. Extremely few native Cypriots have joined the Church in Cyprus. There were 534 Latter-day Saints in Cyprus as of year-end 2021. Approximately 20% of Church membership in Cyprus regularly attended church meetings in the late 2010s. For more information on the Church in Cyprus, click here.

Self-Affiliated Latter-day Saints in Mexico: 2010 vs 2020 Censuses

Recently, statistical data was released from the 2020 Mexican census. This data provides valuable insights into member activity and growth patterns in membership for the Church in Mexico compared to prior censuses. See below for a table that displays 2010 and 2020 census data regarding the number of Latter-day Saints by administrative division in Mexico. It is important to note that self-affiliation as measured by what people report on the census is not a perfect measurement of the total number of self-identified Latter-day Saints in a particular country. However, most self-identified Latter-day Saints appear to self-affiliate as Latter-day Saints in the census, so this statistic can provide valuable insights into the number of active members. The Church does not publish a breakdown of its membership by Mexican state.

Mexican States with the highest percentage of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints on the 2020 census include:

1. Yucatán - 0.51%
   
2. Chihuahua - 0.47%
   
3. Hidalgo - 0.45%
   
4. Quintana Roo - 0.43%
   
5. Tamaulipas - 0.40%
   
6. Morelos - 0.40%
   
7. Sonora - 0.38%
   
8. Campeche - 0.36%
   
9. Coahuila de Zaragoza - 0.35%
   
10. Baja California - 0.34%

Mexican states with the lowest percentage of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints on the 2020 census include:

1. Michoacán de Ocampo - 0.08%
   
2. Guanajuato - 0.09%
   
3. Zacatecas - 0.11%
   
4. Jalisco - 0.12%
   
5. Nayarit - 0.14%
   
6. San Luis Potosí - 0.14%
   
7. Guerrero - 0.14%
   
8. Chiapas - 0.16%
   
9. Colima - 0.17%
   
10. Tlaxcala - 0.17%

These data indicate that self-affiliated Latter-day Saints generally comprise the highest percentages of the population in Mexico in the Yucatán Peninsula and in northern Mexico along the United States border and the lowest percentage of the population in central Mexico west of Mexico City. 

The number of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints increased by the highest percentage in the following states between 2010 and 2020:

1. Querétaro - 66.2%
   
2. Quintana Roo - 21.5%
   
3. Hidalgo - 17.9%
   
4. Puebla - 17.6%
   
5. Tlaxcala - 17.4%
   
6. Nuevo León - 14.7%
   
7. Oaxaca - 14.0%
   
8. Yucatán - 13.1%
   
9. Tabasco - 12.3%
   
10. Durango - 11.8%

The number of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints decreased by the highest percentage, or increased at the smallest percentage, in the following states between 2010 and 2020:

1.  Colima - -9.7%
2. Guerrero - -8.9%
   
3. Michoacán de Ocampo - -6.8%
   
4. Coahuila de Zaragoza - -6.6%
   
5. Nayarit - -6.1%
   
6. Sonora - -1.5%
   
7. Baja California - -0.3%
   
8. Sinaloa - -0.1%
   
9. Ciudad de México - 0.3%
   
10. Chiapas - 1.9%

The percentage of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints in the population increased in only seven states between 2010 and 2020, including:

1. Querétaro - 0.05%
   
2. Oaxaca - 0.01%
   
3. Puebla - 0.01%
4. Tabasco - 0.01%
5. Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave - 0.01%
6. Hidalgo - 0.01%
7. Tlaxcala - 0.004%

On the contrary, the percentage of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints in the population decreased most rapidly in the following states between 2010 and 2020:

1. Coahuila de Zaragoza - -0.08%
   
2. Baja California - -0.07%
   
3. Quintana Roo - -0.07%
   
4. Baja California Sur - -0.05%
   
5. Sonora - -0.05%
   
6. Colima - -0.04%
   
7. Morelos - -0.03%
   
8. Nayarit - -0.03%
   
9. Sinaloa - -0.03%
   
10. Nuevo León - -0.03%
    

Overall, the percentage of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints in the population slightly decreased from 0.24% to 0.22% between 2010 and 2020. The 2010 census reported 314,932 Latter-day Saints, whereas the 2020 census reported 337,998 Latter-day Saints. There was a net increase of only 23,066 self-affiliated Latter-day Saints between 2010 and 2020, whereas Church-reported membership increased by 246,985. Thus, the increase in the number of census-reported Latter-day Saints was 9.3% of the Church-reported increase in membership during this time. The Church in Mexico has struggled for decades with low convert retention and member activity rates. Probably only 20% of Church-reported membership in Mexico regularly attends church - a percentage that has not appeared to have significantly changed in the past two decades based on survey data from returned missionaries and local members and census data (i.e., 23.2% of Church-reported membership self-affiliated on the census in 2000). The number of Latter-day Saint congregations in Mexico decreased between 2010 and 2020 from 2,007 to 1,843 primarily due to the consolidation of wards with few active members. Moreover, Latter-day Saints are the most urbanized religious group among the largest religious groups on the Mexican census, and this appears primarily attributed to the centers of strength policy. Two-thirds (65.4%) of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints in 2010 resided in cities of 100,000 or more people—the highest percentage of any other major religious group in Mexico. Only 47.7% of Mexicans lived in such cities at the time. There has also been research that indicates Latter-day Saint families in Mexico have fewer children than non-Latter-day Saint families in Mexico per Fox K (2011) Mormon fertility in Latin America found in the BYU Scholars Archive.

Querétaro stands out as an anomaly in the data for Latter-day Saints given a whopping increase of 66.2% in self-affiliated Latter-day Saints between 2010 and 2020. Moreover, Querétaro was the only Mexican state where the percentage of Latter-day Saints in the population increased by more than 0.01% during this period. Local members report that Querétaro is an important emerging economic center in Mexico that has attracted many young families who work in the tech industry. Thus, much of the growth in membership in Querétaro appears attributed to Latter-day Saint families moving to the city.

Click on the image below to see the data table for the statistical data I presented above. Data from 2010 was presented and analyzed in this post.

New Stake Created in Mexico and Preview of 2020 Mexican Census Numbers

Last Sunday, the Church organized a new stake in the city of Querétaro. The Querétaro México Stake was divided to organize the new Querétaro México Valle Stake. The new stake includes the following four wards and two branches: the Fresnos, Juriquilla, Satelite, and Valle Wards, and the San Jose de Itubide and San Luis de la Paz Branches. With only four wards, the creation of additional wards appears imminent. There are now four stakes in the city of Querétaro where the Church organized its first stake in 1995. The Church in Querétaro has generally organized one new stake every decade. The Querétaro Mexico Temple was announced in April 2021.

The 2020 Mexican Census indicated that the number of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints in Querétaro State increased by a whopping 66.2% from 2010 - the largest percentage increase of any state in Mexico during that time period. This percentage increase was more than twice the rate of population growth during that same period. Young families, particularly those with professional training, have reportedly been moving to Querétaro in appreciable numbers during the past decade based upon local member reports. This growth has also likely contributed to the announcement of a temple in the city in 2021. Although these statistics are very positive, the number of self-reported Latter-day Saints in Mexico as a whole increased by only 7.3% between 2010 and 2020 even though Church-reported membership increased by 23.7% during this time period. I will be posting an analysis of the 2020 Mexican Census numbers in the coming days.

There are now 225 stakes and 47 districts in Mexico.

Number of Branches in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Doubles from Eight to Sixteen

The Church in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania recently organized eight new branches in the city, thereby doubling the number of branches from eight to 16. This marks one of the largest numbers of new congregations organized in a city in a single event in Church history. At least one of these new branches (Pugu) previously operated as a member group. Recently returned full-time missionaries who served in the Tanzania Dar Es Salaam Mission report that the mission has placed an emphasis on the organization of member groups in lesser-reached urban areas in cities, and that there has been a preference to organize new branches to improve the accessibility of the Church to the urban population rather than organize a stake in Dar Es Salaam as soon as possible. The creation of a second district in Dar Es Salaam appears imminent given there are 16 branches in a single district. Dar Es Salaam is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in Sub-Saharan Africa, with an estimated 6.75 million people as of early 2022.

This rapid expansions of the Church in Dar Es Salaam is undoubtedly due to the organization of the Tanzania Dar Es Salaam Mission - the first mission ever created in the country - which was created in 2020 from a division of the Kenya Nairobi Mission. The new mission has channeled greater mission resources and oversight into the Church's missionary and outreach expansion efforts. Recently, a member group was established in the city of Dodoma, the first branch was created in Moshi, and two new branches were organized in Arusha. There are several additional cities with isolated members that may have member groups organized soon. Furthermore, the Church also officially transitioned from English to Swahili as the language used in church services and proselytism several years ago. These developments have resulted in an acceleration of membership growth since 2019 as there was a 28.8% increase in membership between year-end 2019 and year-end 2021. Nevertheless, Church membership in Tanzania remains extremely small (2,309 members as of year-end 2021), and the Church has historically experienced slow growth since its initial establishment approximately 30 years ago.

New Stake Created in the Philippines

Yesterday, the Church in the Philippines organized a new stake from a district. The Mati Philippines Stake was organized from the Mati Philippines District (originally organized in 1988). All five branches in the former district appear to have become wards in the new stake. The Mati Philippines Stake is the fourth stake to operate in the Philippines Butuan Mission (organized in 2006) which services eastern Mindanao. The other three stakes in the mission were organized in Butuan (1989), San Francisco (2018), and Tagum (2021).

There are now 124 stakes and 55 districts in the Philippines.

New Stakes Created in Nigeria (5), Utah (5), Cote d'Ivoire (2), and Mexico (2); New District Created in Sierra Leone; Stakes Discontined in Japan (3), California (2), Australia, and the United Kingdom; Districts Discontinued in Japan (2) and Cote d'Ivoire

Nigeria

The Church organized five new stakes in Nigeria during the months of May and June. 

The Church organized the Aba Nigeria Osisioma Stake on May 15th from a division of the Aba Nigeria North Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Abayi 2nd, Osisioma 1st, Osisioma 2nd, Osisioma 3rd, Osisioma 5th, and Owerrinta Wards and the Osisioma 4th Branch. The new stake is the Church's fifth stake in Aba. Of the five stakes now in Aba, three have been organized since 2015. Aba is the location of the Church's only operating temple in Nigeria.

The Church organized the Ohafia Nigeria Stake from the Asaga Ohafia Nigeria District (originally organized in 2014) and one branch from the Abakaliki Nigeria Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards and two branches: the Abiriba, Akanu, Amuma, Asaga Ohafia 2nd, Ebem, and Isiama Wards, and the Asaga Ohafia 1st and Edda Branches.

The Akamkpa Nigeria Stake was organized on June 12th from the Akamkpa Nigeria District (organized in 1998). The new stake includes the following six wards and two branches: the Akamkpa Urban, Awi, Ayeabam, Ikami, Iwuru Central, and Uyanga Wards, and the Akamkpa and Mbarakom Branches. The former district was one of the oldest districts in Nigeria that had not become a stake yet. Only the Jos Nigeria District is older which was organized in 1993.

The Church organized two new stakes in Lagos. The Lagos Nigeria Ikorodu Stake was organized on June 19th from the Lagos Nigeria Ojodu Stake (organized in 2018), whereas the Lagos Nigeria Ikotun Stake was organized from the Lagos Nigeria Egbeda Stake on June 26th. The Lagos Nigeria Ikorodu Stake includes the following six wards: the Gberigbe, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Imota, Itamaga, and Ketu Wards. All but one of the congregations in the Lagos Nigeria Ikorodu Stake operate in the city of Ikorodu where the first branch was organized in 2009. The Lagos Nigeria Ikotun Stake includes the following seven wards: the Akesan, Egan, Ejigbo, Igando, Ikotun, Isolo, and Jakande Wards. There are now eight wards in the Lagos metropolitan area. At least one more stake in Lagos appears likely to divide within the near future, the Lagos Nigeria Yaba Stake, which has 11 wards.

There are now 68 stakes and 15 districts in Nigeria. Provided with current stake totals in parentheses, Nigeria is the country with the eighth most stakes following the United States (1,677), Brazil (281), Mexico (224), Philippines (123), Peru (112), Argentina (78), and Chile (74). However, it is important to note that Church membership in Nigeria as of year-end 2021 (211,000) is nearly one-third of Church membership for Chile (603,000) which has only six more stakes than Nigeria. This is primarily due to significantly higher member activity rates in Nigeria compared to Chile and all other countries with 400,000 or more Latter-day Saints on Church records.

Utah

The Church organized five new stakes in Utah between April and June. 

The Eagle Mountain Utah Eagle Valley Stake was organized on April 24th from the Eagle Mountain Utah Central Stake and the Eagle Mountain Utah West Stake. The new stake includes the following eight wards: the Cedar Trails, Eagle Crest, Eagle Mountain 6th, Frontier, Heritage, Lake Mountain, Landing, and Summit Wards. There are now 10 stakes in Eagle Mountain.

The Lehi Utah Meadow View Stake was organized on April 24th from the Lehi Utah East Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Lehi 4th, Lehi 14th, Lehi 17th, Lehi 34th, Lehi 36th, and Lehi 46th Wards and the Lehi 50th Branch (Care Center). There are now 19 stakes in Lehi.

The St. George Utah Hidden Valley Stake was organized on May 1st from a division of the St George Utah Bloomington Hills Stake. The new stake includes the following seven wards: the Bloomington Hills 5th, Desert Hills, Hidden Valley, Highland Hills, Parkway, Price Hills, and White Sage Wards. There are now 20 stakes in St. George. 

The Herriman Utah Mountain Ridge Stake was organized on May 22nd from a division of the Herriman Utah Mountain View Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards: the Juniper Canyon, Meadow Rose, Park House, Saddle Brook, Shadow Run, and South Hills Wards. There are now 11 stakes in Herriman.

The Vineyard Utah Springwater Stake was organized from a division of the Vineyard Utah Stake. The new stake includes the following nine wards and one branch: the Springwater 1st, Springwater 2nd, Springwater 3rd (Spanish), Springwater 4th, Springwater 5th, Springwater 6th, Springwater 7th, Springwater 8th, and Springwater 9th Wards and the Geneva (Care Center) Branch. There are now three stakes in Vineyard.

There are now 626 stakes and two districts in Utah

Cote d'Ivoire

Two new stakes were recently organized in Cote d'Ivoire. Also, one district was discontinued. The Quatre Etages Cote d'Ivoire was organized on May 29th from the Abobo Cote d'Ivoire East Stake and the Dokui Cote d'Ivoire Stake. The new stake includes the following seven wards: the Abobo, Agbekoi
Belleville 1st, Belleville 2nd, Plaque 1st, Plaque 2nd, and Quatre Etages Wards. There are now 15 stakes in Abidjan - more than any other metropolitan area on the Afro-Eurasian landmass.

The Church organized the Gagnoa Cote d'Ivoire Stake on June 19th, 2022 from the Gagnoa Cote d'Ivoire District (originally organized in 2014) and the Divo Cote d'Ivoire District (originally organized in 2015). Mission leaders had worked for approximately two years to prepare the districts to become a single stake. The Divo Cote d'Ivoire district was discontinued when the new stake was organized. Also, the new stake is entirely within the boundaries of the Cote d'Ivoire Yamoussoukro Mission. The new stake includes the following four wards and eight branches: the Divo, Dougako, Konankro, and Plateau Wards, and the Babre, Baruhio, Garahio, Guiberoua, Lakota, Ouragahio, Soleil, and Zapata Branches. All four wards in the new stake are located in Divo. It appears that updates have not been made to the Church's meetinghouse locator website in regard to which branches in Gagnoa advanced to ward status. One branch was discontinued as part of the creation of the new stake (Plateau 2nd). Gagnoa is the third city outside of the Abidjan metropolitan area to have had a stake organized following Yamoussoukro (2015) and Daloa (2017). 

There are now 18 stakes and 15 districts in Cote d'Ivoire.

Mexico

Two new stakes were organized in Mexico on June 5th.

The Nealtican México South was organized from a division of the Nealtican Mexico North Stake and the Nealtican Mexico South Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards: the Carranza, Citlalli, Independencia, Prolongación, Yetlaneci, and Zaragoza Wards. There are now three stakes in the small city of San Buenaventura Nealtican which has a population of 13,243. The last time a new stake was created in the city was in 2012. No other city in Mexico with at least 10,000 people has as high of a concentration of Latter-day Saints as San Buenaventura Nealtican.

The Oaxaca México Brenamiel was organized from a division of the Oaxaca Mexico Monte Alban Stake. The new stake includes the following six wards: the Casa Blanca, Cosijoeza, Guelaguetza, Lindavista, Marquesado, and Montoya Wards. The new stake is the Church's first new stake organized in Oaxaca since 2000. There are now five stakes in the city of Oaxaca. 

There are now 224 stakes and 47 districts in Mexico. The Church in Mexico reached an all-time high of 230 stakes in 2015, and the number of stakes declined to 220 in 2018 after massive congregation consolidations across most major cities in Mexico.

Sierra Leone

A new district was organized in rural Sierra Leone in a region known as Sierra Rutile. The Moriba Town Sierra Leone District was organized on June 26th from five mission branches, namely the Matagalemah, Matru Jong, Mogbwemo, Moriba Town, and Mosenesie Junction Branches. Two groups also operate within the new district: Gbangbatok and Mukongi. The first three branches in the area were organized in 2017. The creation of the new district also coincided with the completion of the first Church-built meetinghouse in the area. At least one other meetinghouse is also under construction in the area. 

There are now nine stakes and two districts in Sierra Leone.

Japan

Three stakes and two districts were discontinued in Japan in two separate events on Hokkaido and in the Osaka metropolitan area. 

On Hokkaido, the number of stakes decreased from three to two and the sole district on the island was discontinued. The discontinued Asahikawa Japan Stake was organized in 1998, whereas the discontinued Kushiro Japan District was organized in 1974. There were also at least three wards and three branches that were discontinued as part of the discontinuation of the stake and district. Unlike essentially every other area of Japan, the Church in Hokkaido had not undergone a significant reorganization of congregations and closure of stakes/districts. For example, 20 years ago there were nearly the same number of wards/branches on Hokkaido as there were prior to April 2022.

In Osaka, two stakes were discontinued, namely the Osaka Japan North Stake (organized in 1977) and the Osaka Japan Sakai Stake (organized in 1982). Also, the Church discontinued the Fukuchiyama Japan District (organized in 1980). The Church has experienced some of the most significant decline in the number of congregations and stakes/districts in the Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto area. There are now only three stakes in the metropolitan area and surrounding regions, whereas there were six stakes and two districts in 2000. At one point, the Church also briefly operated a second stake in Kyoto from 1992-1993. Moreover, the Church in Japan closed its only ward or branch in 13 cities during the past two months—10 of which were in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area. Most of these cities had a ward or branch continuously operating for 40-50 years, and now members must travel to another city to attend church unless member groups may function under the supervision of a nearby ward or branch. However, it is important to note that most of the wards and branches closed as part of this consolidation have had few active members for many years. For example, many of the wards closed in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area have had 50 or fewer active members for at least 5-7 years. 

There are now 22 stakes and 11 districts in Japan. In contrast, the Church in Japan reached an all-time high of 31 stakes and 19 districts in 2000.

California

Two stakes were discontinued in the East Bay area of California. During the month of June, two stakes in the East Bay area closed. The Concord California Stake was originally organized in 1963, whereas the Hayward California Stake was organized in 1956. The decision to discontinue these stakes came as no surprise given they had the minimum number of congregations to function as stakes and that there has been a steady decline in the number of members in the area for decades which has resulted in steady consolidations of wards. There are now 145 stakes in California—down from an all-time high of 162 stakes in 1995.

Australia

The Church in Australia discontinued the Gosford Australia Stake in June, marking only the second time a stake has been discontinued in Australia. The only other time the Church has discontinued a stake in Australia was in 2011 when the Sydney Australia Parramatta Stake was discontinued. Interestingly, the Sydney Australia Parramatta and the Gosford Australia Stake both operated in the same approximate geographical area in northern Sydney. The Gosford Australia Stake was organized only back in 2015. The Gosford Australia Stake had five wards prior to its discontinuation, although it used to have six wards prior to the closure of the Toukley Ward. During the past decade, new stakes have been organized in Australia in 2019, 2018, 2016 (2), 2015 (1), 2013 (3), and 2012 (2). Only one district in Australia has been discontinued in the past decade (Mildura in 2015). Also, the Australian government recently released the 2021 census data which indicated the number of self-identified Latter-day Saints decreased between 2016 and 2021 from 60,864 to 57,868. In contrast, official membership totals for Australia increased from 148,862 to 155,383. Thus, these data suggest that the number of active Latter-day Saints may have decreased during this period, albeit it is also possible that fewer less-active or inactive members on Church records self-affiliated as Latter-day Saints in 2021 versus 2016.  

United Kingdom

The Church in the United Kingdom discontinued a stake for the first time in Church history. The Lichfield England Stake was originally organized in 1977 and was discontinued in June. The stake had eight wards prior to its discontinuation, and there were two wards in the former stake that were also discontinued. Retained wards in the stake were reassigned to the neighboring Birmingham England Stake and the Coventry England Stake. It is important to note that each of these two stakes had only five wards and one branch prior to the closure of the Lichfield England Stake. Thus, the discontinuation of the stake appeared prompted to strengthen these two stakes as there were enough wards in the Lichfield England Stake to continue to operate even after two wards were closed. One ward in the Birmingham England Stake was closed as part of the stake realignment. Only one other ward had closed in the Birmingham England Stake within the past decade (Sheldon). In 2001, there were five wards and two branches in the Birmingham England Stake, seven wards and one branch in the Lichfield England Stake, and six wards and two branches in the Coventry England Stake. Thus, there has not been a significant decline or change in the number of congregations in the Birmingham/Coventry area during the past two decades until the closure of three wards and one stake in June 2022. It is possible that these changes may be due to preparations to free more leadership to staff the future Birmingham England Temple. However, it appears that the greatest contribution to the decision to close the stake has been essentially stagnant membership growth rates combined with probable decreases in member activity in the area during the past couple decades. Nevertheless, the number of active members in several wards within the area were representative for most of the British Isles as of the mid-2010s.

NOTE: Material presented in the current post regarding discontinued stakes and districts was taken from the June 2022 monthly newsletter for cumorah.com.

Updated Kiribati Census Figures from 2020

The Kiribati government released statistics last month from the 2020 census that provides information on self-identified religious affiliation for the population of Kiribati. These data indicate that there were 6,720 self-affiliated Latter-day Saints in 2020 which is an increase of 863 from 5,857 in 2015, or 14.7%. In contrast, the population of Kiribati increased by 9,302 between 2015 and 2020, or 8.4%. Thus, the number of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints has increased at a rate almost twice the population growth rate during this five-year period. Self-affiliated Latter-day Saints constituted 5.6% of the national population in 2020 - an increase from 5.3% in 2015. Thirty-two percent (32%) of Church-reported membership at the time identified as Latter-day Saints on the 2020 Kiribati census, whereas 34% of Church-reported membership identified as Latter-day Saints on the 2015 Kiribati census. However, there was a net increase of 4,151 members per official Church records between 2015 and 2020 which equaled a 24.7% increase in membership. Thus, as few as 20.8% of members added to Church records between 2015 and 2020 identified as Latter-day Saints in 2020. These data indicate that the member activity rate in Kiribati has appeared to slightly decrease during the past five years by approximately two percent. Unfortunately, 2020 census data do not include an island-by-island breakdown by religious affiliation unlike the 2010 and 2015 censuses. The 2020 Kiribati census data can be found here. A previous case study I wrote that analyzed 2010 census data on religious affiliation by island can be found here.

June 2022 Newsletter

Click here to access the June 2022 newsletter for cumorah.com. There were a significant number of developments during the past month, and I did my best to capture most of them.

Stake and District Updates

I have not forgotten about the many developments in the past couple months with new stakes and districts being organized and the discontinuation of many stakes and districts as well. I will be making these updates during the next week so everything will be caught up.

Australia 2021 Census Data - Number of Self-Reported Latter-day Saints by State/Territory

The 2021 Australian Census also includes a geographical breakdown of the number of self-reported Latter-day Saints by state or territory. See below for Australian states/territories listed in descending order by the percent of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints. The number after the administrative division name is the number of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints, whereas the last number of the line is the percentage of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints in the population.

• Queensland - 20,192 - 0.39%
• Tasmania - 1,340 - 0.24% 
• Northern Territory - 549 - 0.24%
  
• Western Australia - 5,951 - 0.22%
• New South Wales - 14,893 - 0.18%
• Victoria - 11,457 - 0.18%
• South Australia - 2,794 - 0.16%
• Australian Capital Territory - 696 - 0.15%

The percentage of Christians by Australian state/territory is as follows:

• New South Wales - 47.6%
  
• Queensland - 45.7%
• Western Australia - 41.1%
  
• Victoria - 40.9%
• Northern Territory - 40.5%
  
• South Australia - 40.0%
  
• Tasmania - 38.4%
• Australian Capital Territory - 38.1%

The 2021 Australian Census data can be found here.

Australia 2021 Census Data Released - Number of Self-Reported Latter-day Saints

Today, the Australian government released a breakdown of the religious affiliation of the Australian population per the 2021 census data. A total of 57,868 people self-identified as Latter-day Saints on the 2021 census constituting approximately 0.23% of the Australian population. The Church reported a total of 155,383 members in Australia as of year-end 2021. Thus, only 37.2% of Church-reported membership self-affiliated on the 2021 census. In contrast, the 2016 Australian Census reported 60,864 Latter-day Saints, or 41% of Church-reported membership at the time. There have generally been steady increases in the number of self-affiliated Latter-day Saints on the census in Australia during the past 35 years (35,500 in 1986, 45,200 in 1996, 53,100 in 2006). However, annual Church-reported membership growth rates have decreased considerably since the mid-1980s from 3-5% for most years in the 1980s to 2-3% in the 2000s and 1-2% for most years since 2015. The decrease of approximately 3,000 self-reported Latter-day Saints in Australia is probably best explained by slowing membership growth rates during the past five years compounded by member attrition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, youth who do not remain active into adulthood, children of record who are not baptized prior to age 9, adults who leave the faith, deaths of active members, and probable decreasing numbers of children of record increase.

The 2021 census numbers also provide interesting insights into the ethnicity of Australian Latter-day Saints. These data indicate Australian natives constitute 72.4% of Christians in Australia, whereas Australian natives constitute only 58.3% of Latter-day Saints in Australia. The most striking demographic finding is that only 2.73% of Australian Christians are from Oceania (outside of Australia), whereas 29.4% of Australian Latter-day Saints are from Oceania (outside of Australia). This supports data I have collected from hundreds of returned missionaries and local members in Australia that indicate Polynesians constitute a disproportionate percentage of Latter-day Saints in many Australian congregations. Furthermore, local members have reported that language-specific congregations for specific Polynesia peoples (i.e., Tongan and Samoan) often have significantly higher member activity rates compared to general English-speaking congregations in Australia. There has also been an increase in the number of language-specific units in Australia during the past five years for Samoan and Tongan speakers. Since year-end 2016, four new Samoan-speaking and two new Tongan-speaking congregations have been organized, whereas there have been one Samoan-speaking and one Tongan-speaking congregation discontinued. In contrast, there have been a total of 15 new English-speaking congregations in Australia created and 20 English-speaking congregations closed during the same time period.

The 2021 Australian Census data can be downloaded here.

Percent Latter-day Saints by Country in 2021 - Middle East and North Africa

See below for the percentage of Latter-day Saints by country in the Middle East and North Africa as of year-end 2021. You can click on the table to make it larger. Countries with an asterisk have estimated membership totals. 

 

Percent Latter-day Saints by Country in 2021 - Europe

See below for the percentage of Latter-day Saints by country in Europe as of year-end 2021. You can click on the table to make it larger. Countries with an asterisk have estimated membership totals. A local member in Svalbard reported there were eight members (six active) in this Norwegian archipelago as of May 2019.

Percent Latter-day Saints by Country in 2021 - Caribbean

See below for the percentage of Latter-day Saints by country in the Caribbean as of year-end 2021. You can click on the table to make it larger. Countries with an asterisk have estimated membership totals. 

Percent Latter-day Saints by Country in 2021 - North America

See below for the percentage of Latter-day Saints by country in North America as of year-end 2021. You can click on the table to make it larger. Countries with an asterisk have estimated membership totals. 

Percent Latter-day Saints by Country in 2021 - Oceania

See below for the percentage of Latter-day Saints by country/territory in Oceania as of year-end 2021. You can click on the table to make it larger. Church membership is estimated in the locations with an asterisk. Membership for Samoa is as of year-end 2019 because this country's statistical information has not been updated on the Church's Newsroom website.

Percent Latter-day Saints by Country in 2021 - South America

See below for the percentage of Latter-day Saints by country in South America as of year-end 2021. You can click on the table to make it larger. Membership is estimated for the Falkland Islands as the Church has not published membership data for the Falkland Islands since 2013.