The Salt Lake Tribune invited me to do a podcast on the 2022 country-by-country membership statistical figures released earlier this month. The podcast can be accessed here.
The Salt Lake Tribune invited me to do a podcast on the 2022 country-by-country membership statistical figures released earlier this month. The podcast can be accessed here.
49 comments:
Looks like HCMC, Vietnam has 6 branches now and just got a new pretty church building.
I think Vietnam may be the next country to get its first stake. Been a long time coming; I am definitely hoping for outreach expansion as well.
Evidently Senegal now has 4 branches and over 200 members. They recently had their first youth conference with 13 youth attending.
Well done, Matt!
Honestly I would be very careful with the real motives of the Salt Lake Tribune paper. Form the outset they were and are still part of the great and spacious building. They still keep using the name mormon in a derogatory way. Plus they say "Nelson" or just the last names of the leaders of the church, among many disrespectful ways of addressing the Church. For years, they have written negative articles or articles with negative connotation. They delight on negative news and negatives trends and obscure statistical facts or problems with members. They, the reporters of this newspaper, rarely show growth in every country the church is And the stories of the change of heart in members, their sacrifices to keep the gospel going, and how much good the church does all over the world. Honestly, they love to hide their satanic agenda as news and complicated words and articles. They do not care about building the kingdom of God. As I said it before, they never talk about the change and the joy that comes to people by accepting Christ and His authorized church on earth. To them it is like a sport to downgrade and put down people in the church. It is sarcastic and mean in its agenda is directly from Satan. no doubt about it. The gospel will continue to change lives. Christ was treated the same way when he was here. so I do not expect much good if any at all from this source that treats the church as a mocking tool to be used by anti's and to hurt people, divide and drive them away form peace, obedience to God and the straight and narrow path.
The first Presidents of the new Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple have been called and Church biography posted in the online version of the Church News.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2023/5/26/23729161/new-temple-presidents-pittsburg-pennsylvania-lima-peru-los-olivos
I think it is important to have diversity in media sources, and is profoundly inappropriate to call a newspaper Satanic.
I also think that there is great truth to the idea that great miracles are happening inside the church. In Africa we hear reports of people led to the church via dreams, and many of us here in the US see great miracles as we follow the prophet.
Michael, one of the biggest daily miracles we witness is the marvelous prolonging of the life of our current prophet. Every day now, he sets new records for the oldest living apostle and prophet. I hope none of us are taking that for granted.
Chris D. beat me to mentioning the two temple presidents called. I am wondering if the Jindras are currently serving in Detroit, or if they will serve as temple workers in Columbus until the Pittsburgh Temple is completed.
The fact that they were born in Akron and Canton, Ohio I find really cool. Of course as Akron residents they will probably be in the Cleveland Temple district once that temple is completed.
I wonder if the Church might shift a currently serving temple president to a new temple if a new temple is built closer to them.
I am not sure anything like that has ever happened. There are several temple presidents who served in multiple temples, possibly the most recent was when the Laie Temple president was sent to be the inaugural president of the LA Temple. The others are John D. T. McAllister, Anthon Lund and one other man in mid-20th century Utah. I am forgetting the name if the last but he was president of Manti Temple for 10 years and then several years later president of the Salt Lake Temple for 4 years.
Until the mid-1980s most temple presidents served 5 years, and I think before 1970 terms often went longer than that.
When President Hinckley announced the small temple plan in 1997 he said presidents would serve 5 years, but in most cases after 1 term they went to only 3 years.
Our temple president here in Detroit will serve 4 years. President Nixon in Manhattan and President Joseph in Port-au-Prince will also serve 4 years, as will the president of the temple in Venezuela. In Venezuela a new temple president has been announced, but Presidents Nixon and Joseph still do not have announced successors.
President Joseph also served over 4 years when he was Mission President in Haiti. He was the first Haitian mission president, the first head of seminaries and institutes in Haiti and the first full-time missionary to serve from Haiti. He was also present when Elder Monson dedicated Haiti for the preaching of the gospel.
With the Peru Los Olivos Temple president I noticed he is listed as having been mission president in Iquitos, but his wife is nit listed as having been mission presidents companion there. Is this because his first wife who served with him in Iquitos died and he remarried?
Actually, I was reading too much into the article. Sister Li, the current one, served with her husband in Iquitos from 2016-2019. Someone just forgot to include that detail in the Church News article.
I have to admit I am very excited that these two temples had their first president and matron announced.
The president and matron of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple reside in the Akron Ohio stake. That stake is assigned to the Columbus Ohio Temple, therefore, that's where they were serving before it closed for renovation. They likely transferred to a neighboring temple closest to them.
You then go ahead and read the tribune. why do you all get so offended when I expressed my opinion. In fact, I stopped reading that newspaper many years ago. That is my opinion and I am free to express it and I do not regret what I said and wrote.
I think that we can agree to disagree on sources of information and their biases, whether they are or not. I do not mind listening to different opinions. Personal attacks are not appropriate, as we have learned on this site, all respect to all involved.
By the way OhHappy, I was not opposed to you sharing any websites or sources that may or may not be negative towards the Church of Jesus Christ or other faiths, simply that I want commentary from you, and more context to know that you are not some AI robot troll, but it is actually from a sentient being.
Back to the theme of growth and the Church, there are positive and negative indicators going on. Temples are in the Lord's (my bias!) favor overall. Some activity and membership rates are not. But there is plenty of growth to celebrate as well.
It is good to receive free information that tries not to biased. The Deseret News and SL Tribune are a bit like the Fox and CNN, or MSNBC, of their camps. Understandable. Dehlin is doing his thing. I am writing a blog response to some of his doings.
The rhetoric and debates will continue. For those with faith in the Lord and His Gospel, we should be able to stand firm and weather the darts and arrows. Like Samuel the Lamanite.
You have the right and the duty to express your lack of support for the SLC trib or any other media source. After looking into the troubled history of that entity, I even agree. That being said, if we can use them to promote faith, that would be cool. But certainly don't trust them or give them much support.
Met a guy, who was one of my patients today at work, and he had worked for the Church chapel construction side for some 20 years and some other credentials, and said that new Teton River Rexburg Temple will have a MTC there. He said they just revised the plans and construction got pushed back 6 months. Not sure if that’s been confirmed public yet about the MTC, just know it was rumored.
@Craig,
I heard a new airport will be built west of Rexburg capable of commercial flights. I would like to see the highway onramp/onramps adjacent to the site reconfigured for better flow of traffic. It's kind of wonky right now, especially with a moderate volume of traffic.
I'm hoping we hear something about the Teton River Idaho Temple soon. The latest update on that temple from the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site indicates sewer and drainage equipment has been staged near the site, which indicates the Church may have the necessary approvals to move forward. I have not seen any reports on my end indicating that a new MTC is planned for the Teton River Idaho Temple site, and I'd be surprised if that were the case, given that the Church has closed several MTCs lately. Of course, the sources also don't explicitly state that an MTC won't be part of the temple project, so anything's possible.
Recently, the Church of Jesus Christ Temples site shifted the estimates and positions of some temples in the queue. Major construction has wrapped up on the Orem Utah Temple, and it looks as though that temple could have opening arrangements announced either concurrently with or slightly before the arrangements for the Red Cliffs Utah and/or Lima Peru Los Olivos Temples. Based on that, I anticipate that the Orem and Red Cliffs Utah Temples could both be dedicated in November, with Los Olivos following in November or December. The Puebla Mexico Temple might also be able to be dedicated this year in a similar window as the Los Olivos Temple. There also seems to be an equal likelihood that either or both of the temples in Salta Argentina and/or Layton Utah could be dedicated by the end of this year or at the beginning of next year.
There are also 7 other temples nearing completion below those I already mentioned by name. So it's likely the first 3 or 4 months of 2024 will be active ones for temple dedications. I see two a month at minimum. And of course, as each temple dedication is announced, that may push up the estimates for the temples below them. So the Church could potentially dedicate more temples by the end of this year and through next year than I currently estimate.
That being said, with no major temple updates on Monday of this last week, and the only update Wednesday being for the Salt Lake Temple renovation, Memorial Day in the United States is on Monday. So I anticipate this next week will be another with no temple updates announced. Then I'd anticipate a dedication announced for Orem and/or Red Cliffs on Monday June 5. My thanks once again to you all.
Early this morning, Saturday, May 27th, 2023, the Meetinghouse locator website finally updated last weekend's District to Stake changes.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/614157
The 5 branches of the Riobamba Ecuador District (614157) have been upgraded to Wards and the District was renamed the "Riobamba Ecuador Stake (614157)"
Bellavista, Guaranda, La Jolla, La Primavera and Los Alamos Wards.
So, here's a little treat for all you Brazileiros out there:
With President Nelson's announcements, there are now more States/Districts of Brazil WITH Temples than without:
Brazilian States/Districts with Temples: 15
AM|Amazonas
-Manaus
AL|Alagoas
-Maceió
BA|Bahia
-Salvador
CE|Ceará
-Fortaleza
DF|Distrito Federal
-Brasília
ES|Espírito Santo
-Vitória
MG|Minas Gerais
-Belo Horizonte
PA|Pará
-Belém
PR|Paraná
-Curitiba
PE|Pernambuco
-Recife
PI|Piauí
-Teresina
RJ|Rio de Janeiro
-Rio de Janeiro
RN|Rio Grande do Norte
-Natal
RS|Rio Grande do Sul
-Porto Alegre
SP|São Paulo
-Campinas
-São Paulo
-São Paulo East
Brazilian States without Temples: 12
AC|Acre
AP|Amapá
GO|Goiás
MA|Maranhão
MS|Mato Grosso do Sul
MT|Mato Grosso
PB|Paraíba
RO|Rondônia
RR|Roraima
SC|Santa Catarina
SE|Sergipe
TO|Tocantins
Let me know if I've missed any.
Obrigado. ; )
This may be an odd question, but I thought I'd ask it here in case anyone knows something I don't. I know I have some access to the CDOL as the current Sunday School Secretary, but I have not yet been able to determine the extent of that access. I don't know if I just don't know where to look, or if accessing some information on the CDOL is only available for leaders at a certain level. Where should I be looking to find information about unit changes? I'd like to be able to help with those reports if I have sufficient access as a result of my calling. Thanks.
I would have to agree that the sharp decline in Russia's membership is not reporting less actives. The number reported is what you'd typically expect for active attendance for that many wards/branches/stakes/districts. The country, once somewhat open, became much more restrictive towards the church starting in 2017's antiterrorism laws. This prohibited proselytizing and forced closure of all family history centers.
And increased anti-American sentiment didn't help either. The church is viewed as an American Church there according to a close Russian member I know.
Santos and Riberao Preto are in Sao Paulo state while Londrina is in Parana state.
This gives us 5 temples in Sao Paulo State, the most in any sub-national entity outside the US, and 2 in Parana state.
I keep hoping Santa Catarina state will have a temple announced.
Thanks for the heads up, JPL!
I'll add those to the list.
Speaking of which, these are the new Brazilian States for which President Nelson has announced temples during his tenure:
Brazilian States: (6)
Salvador, Bahía, Brazil
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brazil
Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
Teresina, Piauí, Brazil
Again, let me know if I missed any. :)
@JPL
I'm also hoping for one (or two) in Santa Catarina.
And while we're on the subject, this is a list I made a bit ago of possible future announcements for Brazil (city and state), based on them showing up on several people's lists here.
Let me know if there are other likely ones that I may have missed:
Brazil:
Sooners:
-João Pessoa (State of Paraíba) (Northeastern Brazil)
-Cuiabá
(State of Mato Grosso)
or Campo Grande
(State of Mato Grosso do Sul)
(Both in Central Brazil)
‐Florianópolis/São José
(Both in State of Santa Catarina - Southeastern Brazil)
Laters:
-Rio Branco (State of Acre - Far Western Brazil)
-Foz do Iguaçu
(State of Paraná)
or Ciudad del Este (1 stake, 1 district), Paraguay
-(Triple Fronteira Region (Triple Corner of Southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina))
Possibilities to Investigate:
-Sao Paulo South? (Sao Paulo State)
-Pelotas, Brazil? (Rio Grande do Sul)
-Sorocaba, Brazil? (State of São Paulo)
-Diadema, Brazil? (São Paulo state)
If anyone else would like to chime in on what would make my locations from "Possibilities to Investigate" more likely, that's also welcome.
@James
Since October 2022 the only thing in CDOL that i can do is search for an organisation or a leader. I can adjust the search for active / former or both units/leaders. Thats all i am able to do. It was very different before October 2022. My calling did not change. When i have found a stake I can see main callings in the stake (stake presidency and clerks) I can access a map of the stake. I can check related organisations such as wards branches of the stake. the mission and the temple it belongs to. Past stake leadership is also visible to me.
If you have a specific question just ask.
Joao Pessoa in Paraiba state seems a very strong candidate for a temple.
Looking at a map I also think Goisnia in Goias state may get a temple. I think that would take in about 5 stakes, leaving 6 for the Brazilia Temple, not counting the stakes way out in Matto Grosso and Matto Grosso do Sul state at all.
Service state seems a long shot slat this time. We will see.
I am convinced that metro Sao Paulo will have more temples announced. I would not be surprised if we have what happened with Mexico City happen there. Another 4-5 temples in the greater metropolitan region is easily believable.
I think we will also see the sane in Lima and Manilla. At least 2 more temples for those metro areas.
Santiago, Chile, Bogota, Colombia, Guatemala City, Guatemals and Buenos Aires, Argentina may also see more.
In Africa I could easily see Kinshasa, Abidjan and Accra having a second temple announced. I also think despite its relative closeness to Aba, I believe they are less than 50 miles apart, Port Harcourt will have a temple announced soon.
Although even more I am hoping we get some announcement for one of the three planned temples in Nigeria. I also think that Abuja is very likely to gave a temple announced ced soon.
One last thought. The Accra Temple currently serves 67 stakes. To be fair there are 4 temples in progress at some point that will take away stakes, and Abijan is all but done. However Abijan will probably not be dedicated until next year, at earliest maybe Novembeer of this year. The temple also serves 29 districts.
The Church News website just released an interesting article on the Growth in numbers in the last 192 years, from April 6th 1830 to December 31st, 2022, in graphic charts of the Membership numbers, Dedicated Temples, Wards and Stakes.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2023/5/29/23737944/charts-show-church-growth-through-192-years-members-temples-stakes-wards
If anyone is interested.
miro, I'm just not sure how much information I can access. I'd like to be able to help identify new congregations, stakes and districts, but I'm not sure where to look to find that information specifically. I'm also unsure how much access I might have to such information as a Sunday School Secretary. I'd love to be able to contribute to those updates, but I'm not sure if I have access to information about newly-established units. I'd imagine that some ward and stake leaders might have more access to information on the CDOL. So I guess my question is, how do I figure out whether I can find information on new units? And would I, as a Sunday School Secretary, have access to it through the CDOL? Thanks.
@James
I got your email from Chris D. I will answer you there.
That church news article is better than the last one that had graphs of church growth, but someone honestly needs to be set aside and talked to about that atrocity of a graph showing dedicated temples over time. The scale elongates and shortens on the same x-axis, making it completely meaningless.
Last time the church news broke these rules on data visualization on almost every graph, so I consider it an improvement, but jeez.
"First Presidency releases site of Charlotte North Carolina Temple, just 8 weeks after it was announced"
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2023/5/30/23730097/charlotte-north-carolina-temple-lds-site-announced-first-presidency
The Charlotte Temple site is just 7 minutes from my sister's house. How thrilling!
@JPL
Thanks for the additional insights into Brazil. :)
The Charlotte North Carolina Temple will be 30,000 square feet. I think this will make it bigger than the other two temples in the Carolinas combined.
I was very glad to hear this, especially since I had figured with the holiday we would not get any temple related announcements this week at all.
@James: If you log into LCR and at the top select "other" you will see in the dropdown menu an option called Access Table. When you click on that you will be brought to a screen where you are shown what you can and can not access in LCR. Hope this helps.
I’m surprised the Charlotte temple will be built so far south. Seems like more members would be closer if built more to the north. Anyone have any insight in this?
@TheOpinion: Thanks for your attempt to help, but I wasn't asking about the LCR. I am aware of what permissions I have there. What I was asking about is what information I could view in the CDOL. With an assist from Miro, I got that figured out. I appreciate your attempt to help either way.
Anonymous, as I've mentioned in the recent past, the Church seems to be adopting and acting on the idea that "if [they] build [the temples, the people] will come. A new temple built anywhere positively impacts property values, which in turn tends to attract a higher populace. It is also possible that the Church could be looking at the location of the temples named for Raleigh and Charlotte as markers for splitting the difference for an eventual third temple in North Carolina. Those are the two most logical considerations I can see at play here.
But at the end of the day, if neither of the above reasons apply, then there's always the expected standard answer that that spot is where the Lord told the prophet to build the temple in Charlotte. And the Lord may have purposes in mind for doing it that way for reasons that may be known only to Him and to those privy to the process that led to the determination that that is the spot for it. And this wouldn't be the first time or the last that the general or more specific location of a temple is surprising. I think we're in for a lot more of those types of announcements in the years ahead.
@James, a fourth possibility (one that I am familiar with from some tangential exposure to the search for a temple site elsewhere) is that they knew they needed a site in the metro area, knew certain criteria the site needed to meet, and then did some basic cost-benefit comparisons among sites to pick one. I have no special insight into whether that is what happened here, or whether it was inspiration, or some other reason, but just want to point out that it can sometimes be as simple as that.
--Felix
Watching your conversation about Brazil, some thoughts about São Paulo came to mind. I don't know if I've already made a similar comment here.
If the macro metropolis of Mexico comprises 7 temples, 2 of which are in the city itself, São Paulo could have a similar configuration. Both cities have between 40-45 stakes in their urban area, in addition to dozens of stakes in the surroundings. The division could occur as follows:
North quadrant: Campinas.
South quadrant: Santos.
Central quadrant: SP and SP East.
The novelty would be in the west and east quadrants: Sorocaba and São José dos Campos.
The seventh temple that would equal the count in this case would not be on the outskirts, but a third temple in the City, São Paulo South in Diadema. Or even a temple in the Far West of the State, in Araçatuba.
This calculation would make São Paulo pass Arizona and tie with Texas.
But all this tends to happen only after João Pessoa, Florianópolis and the interior of Rio Grande do Sul receive new temples.
Obrigado for the extra insights into the Sao Paulo Metro, Daniel. :)
Felix, I am sure a variety of criteria is considered in the lead-up to deciding on a site. But I am equally as certain that revelation is the most important consideration, and when the prophet discerns where the Lord wants each temple, that trumps any other considered factor.
But given the apparently unexpected location of the Charlotte Temple, I also wouldn't be shocked if long-term considerations, such as the possibility of one or two other temples between those named for Raleigh and Charlotte. The distance between Apex and Weddington is just over 170 miles, so I see at least one temple between the two.
I don't think any of us knows every factor under consideration in any aspects of the Church, which is why I'm grateful we can bounce ideas off of one another here.
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