New Global Standards for Creating New Wards and New Stakes and Realigning Ward and Stake Boundaries

INTRODUCTION

The Church announced via letter on November 30th, 2023, to church leaders worldwide that the minimum standards for the creation of new wards and new stakes and the realignment of wards and stake boundaries will be updated, effective January 1st, 2024. Unlike previous guidelines, the new requirements will be standard for the entire Church and not have a differentiation between the Church in the United States and Canada and the Church outside of the United States and Canada. Criteria for creating and realigning wards and stakes will also include a new "participation measure" which is to aid in the assessment of the strength of wards and stakes when new units or boundary realignments are submitted for approval to Church Headquarters. The participation measure is designed to help identify "members who participate in a meaningful way and to help evaluate the strength of a boundary proposal." Participating members are considered members on Church records who:

• Pay a full or partial tithe
• Hold a current temple recommend
• Have a calling in the Church
• A new member who attends sacrament meeting in the first year after confirmation
• Enrollment in seminary for youth

The new minimum numerical requirements to create a new stake will be as follows:

• MEMBERSHIP: 2,000 (previously was 3,000 for US/Canada and 1,900 for other countries)
• ACTIVE, FULL-TITHE-PAYING MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD HOLDERS (AFTPMPH) CAPABLE OF SERVING IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS: 150 (previously was 180 for the US/Canada and 120 for other countries)
• PARTICIPATING ADULTS: 500
• PARTICIPATING YOUTH: 100 (recommended but not required)
• NUMBER OF WARDS: 5 (unchanged requirement)

The new minimum numerical requirements to create a new ward will be as follows:

• MEMBERSHIP: 250 (previously was 300 for US/Canada and 150 for other countries)
• AFTPMPH CAPABLE OF SERVING IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS: 20 (previously was 20 for the US/Canada and 15 for other countries)
• PARTICIPATING ADULTS: 100
• PARTICIPATING YOUTH: 20 (recommended but not required)

ANALYSIS

This announcement marks the most significant update to the minimum standards for the creation of new stakes and wards in decades. Previous updates have periodically occurred, and these updates have usually required higher standards for wards, stakes, and branches to operate. These updates have focused on the creation of high-quality new wards and stakes that are more resistant to future problems with sustainability with leadership. Efforts to make these standards more stringent have appeared to have been effective, as it is now rare for a stake to be discontinued within 10 years after its organization (and this has usually occurred due to members moving away). The November 30th letter does not mention whether there will be any changes to the current requirement of a certain ratio being achieved of AFTPMPH to general membership (which has been one for every 20 members). Furthermore, these changes do not appear to change the minimum requirements to organize branches in stakes (currently 20 total members and four AFTPMPH) which has been the same for the entire Church. As for standards for branches to operate in missions or districts, there is no minimum standard, although it is advised that there are at least one AFTPMPH and four total priesthood holders (of any office). There is no minimum number of branches required to create a district, although districts usually have at least three branches. No information was provided in regard to whether these changes may affect the requirements for the organization of language-specific wards and stakes.

The following information is based upon my own observations and opinions of more than 20 years of research and study regarding the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Why Make the Requirements Universal and Why Now?

The Church outside of the United States in most countries has significantly strengthened within the past 20 years. This has been attested by the increase in the number of stakes and thousands of reports from returned missionaries and local members and church leaders. It is now common for many wards in Latin America to be the same size (in terms of active members) as wards in the United States, whereas this use to be uncommon. In most countries with the most Latter-day Saints, conditions have improved to where it is more feasible for higher standards to be implemented for new stakes and wards than it was previously. The Church has made increasing efforts to bridge the gap between the Church in the United States and Canada and the rest of the world. Some other examples include severing ties with the Boy Scouts of America and introducing a standardized program for youth and children for the entire Church, the announcement of scores of new temples in recent years outside of the United States and Canada in locations that previously would have been unlikely to have temples announced, and the implementation of worldwide post-secondary education programs to name some of the prominent examples I can think of). The decision to make the criteria the same for new stakes and wards to be organized regardless of geography will help continue to break down different standards and expectations for Church administration in the United States and Canada versus elsewhere. Also, there are many areas in both the United States and Canada where the previous minimum requirements to create new stakes and wards were too high to be met or were barely met with some creative boundary realignments and "gerrymandering" (such as in the maritime provinces of Canada, the Traverse City Michigan District, areas in New England with few members and slow growth). Finally, these changes will also result in a greater focus on ensuring congregations have a sizable number of active youth to permit greater fellowshipping with adolescents and children - a sensitive age group that requires special attention and care from local leaders.

How Will These Changes Affect Future Growth?

• These changes will undoubtedly result in fewer stakes and wards being organized outside of the United States and Canada, as it will take longer for total and active membership to grow to the point of being able to meet the minimal requirements.
• It is likely that stake, mission, and area leaders will organize more branches instead of wards due to less stringent criteria to organize branches instead of wards. 
• Fewer branches will be reorganized into wards outside of the United States and Canada, but more branches in the United States and Canada may not be able to be organized as wards.
  
• Prospects for most branches in Europe that have been approaching previous standards to become wards are now unlikely to become wards due to small memberships and slow growth that have placed the new standards outside of reach to achieve within the foreseeable future.
  
• Significant boundary realignments to create many new wards and stakes in the United States and Canada appears unlikely except for areas that experience significant membership growth usually due to new move-ins (new-build communities in the Intermountain West in particular). Oftentimes, wards created in new neighborhoods have higher activity rates than in more established/older neighborhoods, so the reduction in the minimum number of members needed to create a ward may result in creating congregations that are not too large because the total number of members on the records is insufficient to create more wards. Moreover, the Church may discontinue fewer wards in areas where membership has dwindled due to move-outs and gentrification of membership.