The first branch in the nation of Timor-Leste (East Timor), the Dili Branch, was organized in January after many years of the congregation operating as a group under the supervision of the Indonesia Jakarta Mission. The branch appears led by a local priesthood leader. It is unclear whether government recognition for the Church was obtained and played a role in the organization of an official branch in Dili. In 2015, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland dedicated Timor-Leste for missionary work, and the first senior missionary couple was assigned to perform humanitarian work. The senior missionary couple held a private sacrament meeting in their home, and the first baptism of a child of record was in 2016. In 2017, the first meetinghouse was dedicated and used primarily for English classes. However, the first convert baptism in the country did not occur until 2019. By mid-2019, there were approximately one dozen Latter-day Saints in the country, and all of them appeared to be active in attending church regularly. Updated in mid-2019, the following Future Prospects section of the country profile for Timor-Leste on cumorah.com sums up the situation with the Church in the country pretty well, which is as follows:
The reason why the Church continues to lack official government recognition remains unclear as there do not appear to be any legal obstacles that prevent registration. It is unlikely that the Church will experience significant growth until such registration is obtained and young, full-time proselytizing missionaries are assigned. In the meantime, growth will most likely consist of high-quality converts who self-refer for information about the Church or who have personal connections with senior missionary couples or local members. Distance from mission headquarters in Jakarta, a comparatively tiny population, no translations of Church materials in Tetun, and an extremely small Church membership pose long-term challenges for future proselytism efforts through traditional means.
This is exciting news! I remember running Facebook ads to Timor-Leste for Mormon.org in the mid 2010s. Certainly the highest-engagement country in terms of reactions and clicks. I vaguely remember spending less than 1 cent per landing page visit on some campaigns.
ReplyDeleteBrazil has a history of very close friendship with Timor-Leste. Ever since UN High Commissioner Sérgio Vieira de Mello served as head of the new country's stabilization forces — after Indonesian independence, and with Timor's entry into the OPLP, relations between the two countries have been constant. In addition to de facto Tetum, Timor-Leste still has many Portuguese speakers, due to its previous colonization. Therefore, I have no doubt that Brazilian missionaries, in addition to Mozambicans and Cape Verdeans, will be chosen for the island country as soon as official recognition occurs.
ReplyDeleteLikewise (I forgot to say before), materials in Portuguese generated in Brazil could feed an eventual mission in Timor, while other translations in Tetum are prepared.
DeleteAlso, sorry to hijack this post so early, but (what appears to be the first) convert baptisms in this smaller city in the Central DR Congo: https://www.facebook.com/missionkinwest/posts/pfbid02F6dX3t9hJzMAqYhio8hSy8BQNefPSct6JoAy69khHYMDi5hnzpDVuGkY9wNLdtRMl
ReplyDeleteThis development is encouraging. Hopefully thinks in Timor-Leste will move forward.
ReplyDeleteWe have this weeks new list of mission leaders. The new mission president of the Haiti Port-au-Prince mission is President Chales, a Haitian. He is 39.
The president of the Provo Utah Mission will be a President Ellis from Adelaide, Australia. He lives there and was born there. His wife was born down on the island of Tasmania.
The next two new mission leaders are from Ecudaor going to Mexico and Paraguay going to Argentina. In both cases the husband is a counselor in the mission Presidency who used to be a stake president. So the first 4 are all presiding over missions operating primarily in their native language, although only 1 of the 4 will be serving in their native country.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few Anericans this week. Also a couple from the Philippines leading a mission elsewhere in the 9hilippines. A couple from Indonesia will lead the mission there. A couple from the Netherlands will lead the Ogden mission. A couple from Uganda who currently live in the US (specifically Virginia) will lead the Calabar mission.
ReplyDeleteA Tongan born couple living in Salt Lake City will lead the Farmington New Mexico Mission.
ReplyDeleteWe round the list out with a couple from the Philippines who previously lead the Philippines Cavite Mission on an interim basis being called to serve over the Philupp8nes General Santos Mission. Apparently back around 1996 or so they both served in the Philippines Davao Mission. They are both from Luzon originally, in the broad general region of Manilla which is where they live now. Davao and General Santos are both on the island of Mindanao.
ReplyDeleteHere are the latest major temple updates:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/news-for-temples-in-wyoming--orlando--manti-and-brazil
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2024/2/12/24067021/casper-wyoming-temple-dedication-open-house-dates-announced-by-first-presidency
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2024/2/12/24067137/orlando-florida-temple-renovation-closure-july-2024-first-presidency-announces
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2024/2/12/24066866/manti-utah-temple-rededication-single-late-afternoon-session
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2024/2/12/24067366/natal-brazil-temple-teresina-brazil-temple-exterior-renderings-released
My analysis:
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2024/02/breaking-temple-news-opening.html
Also, Elder Ulisse Soares visited the Caribbean's "ABC" islands in fulfillment of a promise he made in 2019:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2024/2/12/24070645/elder-ulisses-soares-ministers-latter-day-saints-abc-caribbean-islands-church
My thanks once again to you all.
For those that may be interested about news from North Africa. While searching the Meetinghouse Locator website, I have come across in the Cairo Egypt District (475149). There were organized sometime in the recent past 2 new branches. First the Nile River Branch (2161060), which covers the rest of the country of Egypt, that is not currently under the Cairo Branch. Also this may be the Cairo Egypt District Branch renamed. I have data what happened to the Cairo Egypt District Branch.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, a new Tunis Branch (999995) appears in the Cairo Egypt District. And geographically covers the country of Tunisia in north Africa. This may have been organized long before and just become "visible" to us common folk recently. Also no personal knowledge of the Branch history.
I hope this is useful for those interested.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/999995
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/475149
This is probably old news to some here, but I was pondering about the progress of the Church in Cuba (as I taught many Cubans years ago on my mission to Kentucky), and coincidentally this article popped up:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2023/8/30/23824016/cuba-havana-caribbean-church-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints
Apparently, last year there was created the Guaramanao Branch, the fifth congregation of the Havana Cuba District of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They also dedicated the first fully Church-run worship space in Havana.
"The Havana Branch’s new rented and renovated facility is the first building in the country to be granted exclusive use for the Church, giving Latter-day Saints a place of their own for worship services and other activities."
I will make a bet on a rather peculiar possibility for the next conference: what if the First Presidency reduces the number of announcements in many areas (perhaps except Africa and the Philippines) and instead announces a massive revitalization, reform, and expansion program for the small temples of President Hinckley? This would be more or less what was done in Anchorage, but for most or all of the 40 small temples from the 2000s, which appear to be so out of touch and even inadequate compared to the current design and purpose of temples. Do you think this possibility is possible?
ReplyDeleteNo, I do not think such a slow down in New temples will occur. Cleveland Ohio Temple is planned to be smaller than Detroit Michigan and Columbus Ohio. So no, I do not see any reason to believe 1999 and 2000 built temples are not fulfilling their purposes.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time I am sick and tired of people speaking of "Africa" as if it were a country. It us not and should not be paired with other things as if it were. It consists of dozens of countries, and it makes no sense to treat The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there as an undifferentiated mass when it most clearly is not.
Lastly with the announcement of a Fairbanks Alaska Temple following So closely announcement of the Anchorage expansion I just do not see how this works.
Looked at another way, where would this actually affect. Australia, but they have had no temples announced since about 1999, so we could not slow down Temple announcing there. Canada, but President Nelson has only announced 1 Temple there. Mexico, but Poza Rica and Chihuahua City are needed regardless, and maybe Durango, it is effected by Torreon'sproximity and size, not by Hinckley era temples. A bigger Hermosillo Temple might make Ciudad Obregon less needed, but I don't see it.
I could see options of expanding Nashville Temple or building more temples in Central Tennesee, and maybe Uruguay gets a bigger Temple in Montevideo, over a 2nd Temple in that city.
Still the reality is President Nelson said the Kexico City plan was the first of many. San Jose, Vancouver, Washington and Winchester, Virginia may be other manifestations, and maybe very broadly Vina del Mar, Chile.
My sense us the First Presidency has plans to build other temples not announced because they have not specified where thry will be enough to announce.
If anything more things will follow the Orem/Provo Temple plan, announce renovations after a local Temple is there to fill in.
So we may need Ventura County and Long Beach Temples before Los Angeles can be modernized, and Chicago being due for a refresh could lead us to get both Milwaukee and somewhere in the city of Chicago itself. A Temple in the southern reaches of the Atlanta Metro area may be needed for updating the Atlanta Temple.
I just don't see this. No matter how big Colombia South Carolina Temple us made, Charleston is just not close enough for easy use. Even if the renovation of the Manhattan Temple were redirected to turn the whole building into a temple, which I find unlikely, That would still not solve the travel issues that make a temple somewhere in New Jersey and maybe even somewhere on Long Island a plus.
Lastly one advantage to bigger temples is you can have space to use for worker training. Doing so at a small desk in the recorders office as we do in the Detroit Temple is less than ideal, and other ways we squeeze in training are even less so. Creating a regional Temple where new workers can be well trained is a plus. So in some cases building a bigger Temple can be the first step to building more smaller temples.
To imagine that I don't know each of the 54 countries in Africa quite accurately just because I don't live in a country with a history of exploration and colonialism on that continent is incredibly prejudiced. I have brothers and friends who served in Mozambique and Cape Verde. I can immediately identify the difference between the flags of Mali and Guinea, I can calmly discuss the impact of the CFA Franc as a strangulation factor on the economies of West Africa. But, above all this, I must remind the unsuspecting that I belong to the largest black country on the planet, land of orishas and ancient animism sung in Banto and Yoruba by the Bahians and Candomblé, who have my respectful admiration. So as a Latin American and inhabitant of the global South, perhaps I have more space to speak when referring to any of the nations of Africa and I repudiate any tedious presumption that insinuates otherwise and that diminishes the value or precision of my analysis just because I not be from the powerful North.
Delete@Daniel, that is an interesting idea. There have been quite a few of those Hinckley-era small temples essentially rebuilt already as some design issues created problems with mold and mildew in some hot and humid climates. Still, given the focus on increasing temple access I think it will be a few more years before the number of temples announced each conference substantially decreases.
ReplyDelete@JPL, while I appreciate your many updates on here, may I request you tone things down a bit and pause for a beat to consider whether what you are about to chew someone out for really matters? Jumping down people's throats over imagined slights is unpleasant and unreasonable -- comparing the Philippines and Africa can make perfect sense in some contexts, for instance if referring to the Philippines area and the Africa West, Africa Central, and Africa South areas there is nothing wrong with condensing that into "the Philippines and Africa" as shorthand which captures what is intended just as effectively. If I see a similarity between some aspect of the church or its operations in the US and Europe, there is nothing wrong with saying so. Would you seriously expect people to list every country in Europe (or Africa) in such situations, just because the comparator (US or Philippines) is a country? I think reasonable observers would agree the answer to that is "no".
--Felix
Thank you for your kindness, Felix
DeleteI definitely can see Spokane and Reno temples getting the "Anchorage" upgrade.
ReplyDeleteBy building a brand new 30k+ sq ft temple next to the old one.
Does anyone get offended or affronted when we refer to Asia as a place, or an area designated to represent population numbers, Latter-Day Saint Church growth, or factors of economic or environmental or political measurement? Asians, on average, compared to Europeans, earn this much, or live in this much area per square mile, or on and on. Comparing one continent to another continent can be endless, meaningful, or compelling. Compare North America, say, even with the Caribbean, to South America, or Africa.
ReplyDeleteSocial sciences are full of these comparisons. These contrasts and parallels are valuable or at minimum interesting for many, many people. Africa as a continent and land mass can be compared to one country, even. So can any other continent. It may not prove significant, for example, to compare the GDP per capita of Vatican City to that of say, Australia, or South America, but it is okay to refer to bigger or smaller places in relation to each other.
To me, in the context of talking growth of the Church of Jesus Christ, it can be valid to compare Africa to the Philippines, as they both have significant numbers of members, temples, missionary, trends, etcetera. One has more than 10 times the population than the other, but we can compare Rhode Island stats to California, yes?
There are African countries with little or no members, and there are a few parts of the Filipino archipelago that are likely similar. We can compare continents and sub-regions to countries. Or, counties to districts and provinces, cities to states.
Like, my home city of Indiana with the number of members per 1,000 compared to the greater county it is located in, or neighboring counties, or southern Indiana, or all of the Mid-West. By the way, I think Bloomington, Indiana is about 1 percent LDS, on a good day, compared to much lower percentages of that stat per the rest of the above. Analyzing concentrations of any cohort is valuable and fascinating.
Anyway, comparisons are endless, and I welcome most of them.
At least 5 of my family members have served missions in Africa. Different nations. Speaking of nations, some of the countries of Africa (as well as the rest of the world) have multiple nations within them, by some definitions of the word "nation".
I'll chip in my two cents on Hinckley-era temples.
ReplyDeleteSo far, every indication is that the Church intends to treat those temples much the same as any others as far as renovations go: do them one at a time, when it's possible to close them for extended periods.
So far, of the 77 temples dedicated during President Hinckley's tenure, ten have been renovated and rededicated or are currently undergoing renovations:
Hong Kong China
Columbus Ohio
Raleigh North Carolina
Kona Hawaii
Memphis Tennessee
Montreal Quebec
Suva Fiji
Baton Rouge Louisiana
Oklahoma City Oklahoma
Asunción Paraguay
Note that I did not include Houston Texas, which underwent an extremely limited set of repairs as a result of flood damage from Hurricane Harvey. I would not call that a full-scale renovation in the same sense as what the above temples experienced. Additionally, I did not include Anchorage Alaska or Monticello Utah, both of which were dedicated, quickly found to be absurdly too small, closed almost immediately for major expansions, and rededicated. That doesn't count as a renovation for these purposes.
In addition, the Anchorage Alaska and Manhattan New York Temples are slated for upcoming renovations and will bring the total of renovated Hinckley-era temples to 12.
Closing a temple for renovation is hard in general, as surrounding temples have to pick up the increased patron load, and this problem is exacerbated for Hinckley-era temples, many of which were built in remote areas without other temples nearby. In addition, some of these temples' districts have grown enormously; Aba Nigeria, for example, contends with Manila Philippines for the status of "Most Overloaded Temple". I would expect new temples to be built in the districts of temples like Aba Nigeria, Porto Alegre Brazil, or Accra Ghana before those temples are closed for renovation.
I also expect that any closures that do gradually happen will not meaningfully take away from new construction, as that has certainly been the case thus far under President Nelson. I imagine the goal is to renovate as many of the "Hinckley" temples as possible during the next decade or so, but that's probably going to happen as gradually as the temples' condition will allow.
I would like to apologize for the way my last comment was worded. I should have found a less harsh way to say what I was trying to say. I am sorry for speaking so harshly.
ReplyDeleteAnd as disciples of Christ, our responsibility is to immediately accept this loving gesture of reparation. I am immensely grateful for this act of kindness and I emphasize that there was no resentment left.
DeleteAba Nigeria is 11,500 square feet and serves 71 stakes and 14 districts. Accra Ghana is 17,500 square feet and serves 70 stakes and 27 districts.
ReplyDeleteLima Peru Temple with 9,600 square feet has 33 stakes and 7 districts.
I did some number crunching. Accra actually is facing more demand per space than Manilla, although not all space is equally usable so the comparison may be off. Accra has 5 temples under way to help relieve the pressure it faces. Manilla has 5 as well I believe, I am thinking the others in the Phillipines will take pressure off Cebu. Accra only has 4 planned to relieve pressure.
Also with Manilla 2 of those are under construction, or done construction with a dedication date. Accra 2 of those are under construction, but we do not yet have a dedication date, Aba no construction has started, although Benin City and Lagos may soon. Lima had even lower space per stake numbers until Lima Los Olivos was dedicated last month.
Detroit Temple has had the front porch enclosed. It also had an internal restructuring that moved some ways in the office and split the non-patron waiting area and Temple worker break and changing area. The non-patron waiting area is mainly used to do initial staging for the Baptistry, but we do occasionally have visitors who come to see the temple sit there, or couples where one goes in to the temple and the other stays with a child under 12. The later group often stay in the large parking lot, the large backyard connected with the adjacent stake center or even go in the adjacent stake center if they reached out about that. We also have youth groups arrange to do things in the stake center and then come to the temple, often when they are too big to all fit in one session, either because they are large wards or because they came to the temple as a stake or district activity.
ReplyDeleteThis may be of interest to some of you: yesterday, the Newsroom and the Church News both shared a new group photograph of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the first one taken since the death of President Ballard, and the appointments of President Holland as the new Acting Quorum President and Elder Kearon as the newest apostle. We had our ward conference last Sunday, and it was awesome to sustain President Holland and Elder Kearon in their new roles. I felt a bit bad for the high councilor presenting the general, stake, and local leaders, because he initially skipped over some things when presenting those for sustaining vote, was quietly corrected by the stake president, then went back to the pulpit to present the names and positions he had skipped. A humbling reminder that we are all humans, that everyone makes mistakes, and that there was only One Man who was ever 100% perfect at all times.
ReplyDeleteI think that's something I need to keep in mind, both in relation to the people around me and, more particularly, in relation to myself. I am glad to participate in discussions like this where, even when mistakes are made or misunderstandings occur, we can share our mutual joy about the growth and expansion of the Church throughout the world. So I would like to take this opportunity to thank Matt again for all he does to create this content and maintain these threads so such discussions can continue.
With that being said, the Church has also shared several reports of significance lately regarding the ministry of our apostles. It appears that the Church is relying more on the younger/junior members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to make ministry trips more frequently. Just within the last couple of weeks, the Church has published ministry reports about Elders D. Todd Christofferson, Ronald A. Rasband, Gary E. Stevenson, Gerrit W. Gong, and Ulisses Soares.
THere have also been significant updates about the Church's welfare efforts, both through significant monetary donations and through the labor and ministry of general and local Church leaders and members. If any of you are interested in looking over any of those latest reports, I have the links to those available on my blog. Just wanted to put this comment out there for any of you who might be interested.
Some changes i observed recently on the meetinghouse locator in Europe
ReplyDeleteIn 2024
Barcelona 5th ward (Barcelona spain stake) created on 21. Jan 2024
Jaén Ward downgraded to branch. Grenada Spain stake
Dresden 1th 2nd wards combined Dresden Germany stake
De Montfort Ward and Evington Ward combined to Leicester ward Leicester England stake
A bit longer ago
Ipswich 1th and 2nd wards combined Ipswich England stake (Nov 23)
Stoke-On-Trent Ward and Newcastle-Under-Lyme Ward combined to Staffordshire North Ward (Nov 23)
Luxembourg 2nd Branch (Portuguese) upgraded to ward (Oct 23)
Horbury Ward combined with Wakefield Ward (Sept 23)
Toulouse Branch (Spanish) Toulouse France stake created (Sept 23) difficult to find on meetinghouse locator because it seems that it is not assinged to a building.
Banbury Ward dwongraded to branch (Aug 23)
I left out the branches upgraded and the ward in germany created towards the end of last year reported by Pascal and me.
All of the wards that where combined shared the same church building. Many fo them have according report now attndende of around 200. It looks like in many places in Europe it is now prefered to have one larage ward in a city instad of one with 120 and one with 80 attending.
From some strange reason all wards and branches of the Kaiserslautern Germany stake are listed twice. Once as Millitary and once as English since weeks.
I think where congregations are sharing a building it makes absolute sense to combine them and have much larger units. We have a very large ward in our stake which could split to form two units but they will not provide an additional building so the Stake President is keeping it as one unit as it will do nothing to form two if there are no improvements to travel and distance.
ReplyDeleteAs a missionary I served in the Newcastle-Under-Lyme Stake and merging the two wards makes so much sense. The wards were good and healthy but being separate offered few if any real benefits.
Where things could be improved is in starting small groups in areas where travel is burdensome. Car ownership is costly and it is only becoming more expensive. I know in our congregation travel is a major barrier for some people in a nearby town attending meetings. As a result, we hold rent a hall once a month and hold a sacrament meeting there and we can get around 20 people in attendance.
Other Matt here...
DeleteWith two separate wards, you have 2 sets of ward leadership, 2 Bishops, 2 RS Presidents, 2 EQ Presidents, etc to better reach out to local members.
I know in some areas, some wards in thr same building, combine youth and other groups together. Or they have joint ward activities together. Or they may even meet together, but keep the wards separate for better organization.
So a hybrid approach.
For any here that are interested, this was recently posted on the Newsroom website.
ReplyDelete"15 February 2024 - SALT LAKE CITY News Release
First Presidency Welcomes President of the Navajo Nation"
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/first-presidency-president-navajo-nation
I was right that Itzcoatl (I hope I did not butcher his name) Lozano is the son of AgricolmLozano. Agricol Lozano was the first ethnic Mexican to be a stake president. He was mission president in Argentina in the late 1970s. He served as president of the Mexico City Temple for 4 years in the 1990s.
ReplyDeleteThe Kongolos who will lead the Kolwezi Mission are coming from Ruashi, DR Congo. This is almost like if we were to get a Michigan Grand Rapids miss I on next year and the new mission came from Lansing. H
The new mission president in Madagascar will be a Hawaiian who lives in Washington State, served his mission in Haiti and has a Canadian wife.
The new president of the New Dallas South mission is Scott Tanner. He is a younger brother of John S. Tanner, the president of BYU-Hawai'i before John Kauwe. There are 13 children in the Tanner family. Scott Tanner served his mission in Guatemala. Knowing Spanish will be a useful skill leading the Dallas South Mission.
ReplyDeleteHave the boundaries of the Dallas South mission been published yet?
DeleteEphraim and Yolanda Zola who will lead the new Kinshasa South Mission live in Kinshasa. I have no clue if where they live will be in the Kinshasa South Mission.
ReplyDeleteBrother Zola is called an "MTC counselor" and Sister Zola an "MTC relief society Presidency counselor". Is this more indication there is an MTC of some sort in Kinshasa? I am also wondering if they meant to say "MTC Presidency counselor" or "MTC branch Presidency counselor" for President Zola.
Had they started announcing new temple presidents by this time last year, or am I remembering things incorrectly?
ReplyDeleteJohn Pack Lambert, I hope this helps answer your question about last year's temple leadership announcements.
ReplyDelete"Learn about these 7 new temple presidents who will serve from Switzerland to Bangkok
The seven temples include three which have yet to be dedicated — the Bangkok Thailand, McAllen Texas and Orem Utah temples
By Church News Staff 2 Feb 2023, 4:18 PM MST"
https://www.thechurchnews.com/2023/2/2/23574753/7-new-temple-presidents-will-serve-from-switzerland-to-bangkok
In case any of you are interested, although the dedications of the Salta Argentina and Coban Guatemala Temples have been set, the first presidents and matrons for both temples have not been featured in the Church News yet. There was also one other president and matrons listed with the others called in 2023, and they weren't featured last year in the Church News either (I believe they were the new leaders for the Helsinki Finland Temple).
DeleteAside from Salta and Coban, I've got my eyes on 14 other temples likely to have their first leaders announced this year, in addition to a total of 67 currently operating temples likely to have new leaders announced this year.
As far as why the Church started sharing biographies of new temple leaders in early February last year vs. why they haven't started sharing biographies for new temple leaders by mid-February of this year, I have a theory on that:
Mission leadership training is in late June and new temple leadership training is in August, so prioritizing the bios of mission leaders makes sense. With 144 new mission leader couples called this year, only 48 have not yet been featured in the Church News.
Also of note, with President Holland becoming the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he's made some adjustments to the area , council, and committee assignments of his fellow Quorum members. Significantly, Elder Andersen has replaced Elder Bednar as Chair of the Temple and Family History Executive Council, after Elder Bednar's 5 years in that assignment. My thanks once again to you all.
JTB, the Texas Dallas South Mission hasn't been added to this mission call app yet for 2024 period.
ReplyDeletehttps://missioncall.app/ldsMissionList.html
I'm guessing it will be updated when the new presidents take control of the Missions on or around July 1st, 2024.
Gotcha, thanks Chris!
DeleteAlso on that unofficial list, there was some confusion. The Trinidad Port of Spain mission has been moved to Guyana Georgetown and renamed recently. But on the apps 2024 list it still shows the old name Trinidad Port of Spain Mission, among other differences.
ReplyDeleteFor example, I believe the Vietnam mission includes the city Hanoi in the title. But this website only lists the mission name as the "Vietnam Mission".
Also I thought the Baltic Mission was just that. But the list has the title "Baltic States (Riga) Mission"
Elder Stevenson and Elder Ardern (who you'll remember gave a talk about humanitarian aid in October) had a media appearance in Nairobi Kenya yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3ocP7C5Lxw
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2024/2/18/24060937/us-naval-station-newport-rhode-island-interfaith-sailors-devotional-blessing-lives-worldwide
ReplyDeleteElder Soares is giving a young adult devotional today. https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2024/2/17/24074515/elder-ulisses-soares-worldwide-young-adult-devotional-mexico-city
ReplyDeleteHave all previous such events intended for a worldwide audience originated in the US or Canada? I remember in maybe March 2020 President Packer gave such an event from UVU campus (they had a different name then) and that may have been the first time one originated not from the BYU Marriott Center.
Among the new translation languages are Kekchi and "Persian". Is the later the same as Farsi?
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2024/02/17/jana-riess-how-many-us-latter-day/
ReplyDelete• Latter-day Saints • 15% attend at least once a week.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@James,
ReplyDeleteThis finding is great for comparing how attendance changes (or doesn't change) throughout the year. However, the methodology for determining percent of those attending and comparing it to self-identification stats is shaky at best.
Do we know of any stake creation/consolidation outside of Utah in 2024? My thoughts is that some units, particularly those in urban areas outside the US may want to consolidate to get comparable numbers for units inside the US. I saw the message above showing wards in Europe being consolidated, but I haven't seen any stakes.
ReplyDeleteJames - this "study," which has been out for some time, has many methodological flaws that provide very little insights into true activity rates, and I find its results to essentially be garbage. If we were to assume that only 15% of Latter-day Saints in the United States attend church weekly, then that would account for a mere 70 members per congregation. In fact, the average ward in the United States has approximately 150-200 attending church on an average Sunday, whereas the average branch widely varies (but I would say averages around 40-50). As there were 12,806 wards and 1,808 branches in the United States as of year-end 2022, this would equate to 30% of total church membership for the country if the lower range of the estimates are used. Approximately 20-25% of active members are not at church on any given Sunday due to illness, travel, etc., so the average number of active members in the United States (attending Church on more Sundays than not) holds at about 35-40%. Tracking the growth in the number of members and congregations in the United States has shown a remarkably consistent trend for decades, with both statistics growing at nearly the same rate.
ReplyDeleteDavid - congregational growth trends have shown a significant decline in new stakes and wards being created in 2024 thus far (likely due to the higher standards for outside of the United States). However, we are still seeing many new branches being created. In the United States for 2023, we appeared to have about as many new congregations being created as consolidated, so it looks like we will have a fairly flat year for 2023. If this trend holds, we may see a break in the decades long trend in consistent year over year net increases in congregations. We will get a better idea once the country-by-country statistics are released in April (usually it is this month, but last year it wasn't until May).
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, last Sunday my branch had 19 people who have not yet been baptized attending. We had maybe 75 total, maybe 80. I do not believe we had as many this week, but we still had several, plus a woman who has not been present for several months, so things are looking up.
ReplyDeleteMy point is attendance numbers do include some who are not yet baptized. I still think the 30% present at church any Sunday is closer to the truth than 15%.
Elder Vinson, who was a general authority Seventy until 2021 and his wife have been called as Area Aeverice mission advisors for the Pacific Area. Do other areas have people in this position. They give guidance to the lower level service mission leaders, who provide a connection between the mission president, stake president and service missionaries, and who are the leaders in finding service mission opportunities from the service missionaries.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of work to do in fully implementing service missionaries. There are over 1000 in Utah but I believe the published number was 5 in the Asia Area. In Michigan we have service mission leaders whose areas of supervision coincide with the 2 missions. Thry Aldo coincide with coordinating council. I am not sure how such various levels coincide elsewhere. I did get the impression a few years ago that in Mexico they only had 6 service mission leaders, with 6 assigned areas, far less than missions. On the other hand the Salt Lake Headquartees mission had 90 young service missionaries not long ago (and about 810 senior missionaries), so I am not sure how alignment will work in Salt Lake City.
To be fair the issues are different in Salt Lake City than elsewhere. With the Family Seach Library, Welfare Square and some other centralized church operations there is no lack of existing and well organized institutions ready to use service missionaries in productive ways. On the other hand I was ranking to one of my fellow temple workers who was a service missionary, he lives in Lansing. He would also volunteer at a food bank in Lansing, but he had to schedule each time he would come. There was a youth from my branch who switched from being a full time to service missionary and he ended up living with his grandparents in Wyoming. I think in part because in Detroit they seemed to have a less clear way to utilize service missionaries. I am not sure why though.
I met a service missionary in Pocatello that currently spits his time between the Catholic run food bank, the Bishop's Storehouse, the temple, and I think other places in East Idaho.
ReplyDeleteThat elder also started as a full-time missionary and for whatever reason returned home early and is serving the remainder of his mission from home.
DeleteHope y'all are well. It'll be time soon for temple predictions, but ahead of that, I'd like to share some info I've confirmed out of a couple sources. It appears the Church has acquired land for a temple in Henderson, Nevada. This temple would be built on approximately 13 acres located at the southwest corner of College Dr and Mission Dr. The only thing I'm not currently sure of is whether the 13 acres includes the land the chapel on Mission Dr currently sits on or whether it includes, in addition to the approximately 9 acres the Nelson Family Trust has released to the Church, the 4.5 acre parcel to the south that Clark County GIS information currently shows under the ownership of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Nonetheless, assembling that acreage in older Henderson is no easy task, but it will be a blessing for those of the several stakes in Henderson.
ReplyDeleteWith land acquisition getting harder in Las Vegas in general, I would not be entirely surprised to hear the Church trying to put together a location for a fourth eventual temple in the southwest of Las Vegas in the near future.
I was thinking of scalable service mission opportunities:
ReplyDelete- If a temple is nearby, a temple mission (worker or "full-time patron")
- Family History support/indexing/reviewing
- Genealogy record digitalization
- Online proselytizing/answering questions/creating content
This is in addition to any humanitarian service that is going to vary significantly based on local conditions.
Posted earlier today on the Newsroom site.
ReplyDelete"18 February 2024 - ANCHORAGE, Alaska
News Release
In Alaska, New Life for Materials from an Old Meetinghouse"
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/in-alaska--new-life-for-materials-from-an-old-meetinghouse
In a Facebook post by the Makudi 2nd Branch, Enugu Nigeria District, they baptized 63 new members just this weekend or at earliest last.
ReplyDeleteLooks like no new Temple announcements today. I wonder if because today is a holiday in the USA.
ReplyDeleteI am leaving your post. I try to be as nice as possible and you do not let my posts be seen by anyone. I will continue to help the kingdom of God from my own little corner. You have many more controversial, negative and non edifying posts here than I ever wrote. Fine. I think it is just as well. the kingdom of God will continue to grow despite all the critics and wired things that are said. My fiends will also stop seeing this as I translated this post to an audience of about 150 in South America.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteCaro Henrique, permita-me escrever-lhe em português. Não sei se você é brasileiro, como eu, ou se é falante de castelhano. Gostaria de lamentar imensamente o fato de suas postagens não estarem disponíveis para que possamos vê-las e interagir sobre suas ideias, mas não acredito que Matt tenha feito alguma coisa específica para retirá-las do fórum de discussão. Pode ser um problema com a sua conta, talvez? Como esta sua última mensagem permanece aqui, pode ser que tenha ocorrido algum outro engano que justifique o fato de elas terem sido apagadas... Por favor, mantenha-se presente, pois suas ideias serão sempre muito respeitadas e consideradas, só precisamos conseguir lê-las. Grande abraço
DeleteI'm awfully curious to see what Henry Ponnefz had to say.
ReplyDeleteChris D., I have independently confirmed that Church headquarters were closed today for President's Day, as they are for every major national holiday. So the next major temple construction announcement will be released during the 2:00 PM MST hour tomorrow. You can count on that.
ReplyDeleteHenry Ponnefz, I respect Matt's right to remove any comments he feels are not in keeping with the spirit of this blog or the reason for which he created and maintains it. That includes his removal of a few of my own comments. If there is something you would like to share, you are more than welcome to post it in the comment threads of my blog:
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/
I generally have more time on my end to actively monitor posted content on my blog than Matt might have available currently to monitor discussions here. So you're welcome to post there if you would like. In the interim, I apologize if anything I've said or done has made you feel unwelcome here.
Daniel, I hope you're okay with this: for the benefit of those who do not speak Portguese, I am providing a rough English translation of your previous comment:
ReplyDelete"Dear Henrique, allow me to write to you in Portuguese. I don't know if you are Brazilian, like me, or if you speak Castilian. I would like to deeply regret the fact that your posts are not available for us to view and interact with about your ideas, but I don't believe Matt did anything specifically to remove them from the discussion forum. Could it be a problem with his account perhaps? As your last message remains here, it may be that some other mistake has occurred that justifies the fact that they have been deleted... Please remain present, as your ideas will always be greatly respected and considered, we just need to be able to read them. Big hug."
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMy translator was activated and it seemed to me that our colleague's name was Henrique and not Henry, which indicated that he could be a compatriot of mine. So I tried to be welcoming. As this must not be a Brazilian, I'm glad you translated it. There was also a hidden intention to make them curious if I wasn't offending anyone by using a strange language...
DeleteNo problem, Daniel!
DeleteHere goes my April 2024 predictions
ReplyDeleteWhile I have some reservations when considering the backlog of temples that haven't reached groundbreaking, I don't see any indication of slowdown of announcements. Of the list I made prior to Oct 2023 Conference, 9 announced was off my top 20 list, another 7 from my "another 41" list, and 4 were from neither list (this was better than expected). However some of these predictions were somewhat vague and/or covered a broad area (such as "Another Nigeria" and "Luzon Island"). With exception of "wasatch front" where a temple could be placed anywhere, I'm more specific this time. The only broadly mentioned areas are those without temples.
I figure of the next 35 (one year of announcements at current rate), 11 will come off my "top 20" list. 12 will come off of the "Other 40" and 12 will not be on either list.
I do have a harder time predicting in urban areas with existing temples so the ratio of this is less on my list than what's typically announced.
Top 20 (Location, Church Area) listed geographically
-Bora Bora/Ra'atea French Polynesia, Pacific
-Angeles/Metro Manila, Philippines
-Kampala Uganda, Africa Central
-Maputo Mozambique, Africa South
-Port Harcourt Nigeria, Africa West
-Benin/Togo, Africa West
-Bo Sierra Leone, Africa West
-Scotland, Europe North
-Rosario Argentina, South America South
-Temuco Chile or areas south, South America South
-Neuquen Argentina or areas south, South America South
-Tacna Peru, South America Northwest
-Florianópolis/São José Brazil, Brazil
-Fortaleza Brazil West, Brazil
-Santa Ana El Salvador, Central America
-Poza Rica Mexico, Mexico
-Cincinnati Ohio, North America Northeast
-Central Iowa, North America Central
-Houston Texas Southeast, North America Southwest
-Wasatch Front (South), Utah*
*One can place a temple about anywhere here and realign districts accordingly, but I'm thinking the most likely location is in southern Salt Lake County or Utah County.
Another 40 (Location,Church Area) listed geographically
-Majuro Marshall Islands, Pacific
-Christchurch New Zealand, Pacific
-Canberra Australia, Pacific
-New Delhi India, Asia
-Kinshasa DRC East, Africa Central
-Abuja Nigeria, Africa West
-Abeokuta/Ibadan Nigeria, Africa West
-Onitsha Nigeria, Africa West
-Uyo Nigeria, Africa West
-Southern Spain, Europe Central
-Northern Italy, Europe Central
-Resistencia Argentina, South America South
-Tacuarembó Uruguay, South America South
-Piura Perú, South America Northwest
-Huánuco/Chimbote/Pucallpa Peru, South America Northwest
-Quevedo or Guayaquil Ecuador, South America Northwest
-North-central Columbia, South America Northwest
-Western Venezuela, South America Northwest
-Santa Maria Brazil, Brazil
-Araçatuba Brazil, Brazil
-Sao Paulo Brazil South, Brazil
-Cuiabá Brazil, Brazil
-Rio Branco Brazil, Brazil
-Santiago Dominican Republic, Caribbean
-Morelia Mexico, Mexico
-Chihuahua Mexico, Mexico
-La Paz Mexico, Mexico
-Florida-Alabama-Mississippi, North America Southeast
-New Jersey, North America Northeast
-Concord New Hampshire, North America Northeast
-Wisconsin, North America Central
-Nampa Idaho, North America Central
-Blackfoot Idaho, North America Central
-El Paso Texas, North America Southwest
-Flagstaff Arizona, North America Southwest
-Phoenix Arizona Southwest, North America Southwest
-Price Utah, Utah
-Evanston Wyoming, Utah
-Santa Rosa California, North America West
-Arlington Washington, North America West
@Daniel, I'm pretty sure Portuguese in no wise counts as a strange language (I mean... have you heard Dutch?). We also all know its in the top languages spoken in the church.
ReplyDeleteI was at the multi-stake conference and YA Devo here in CDMX yesterday. The Brazilian accent the Soares have when speaking in Spanish if super endearing.
Henry, creo que he visto que comentas sobre Chile mucho, eres de allí?
Igual, no creo que Matt le quita los comentarios, a veces los míos no se publican por tratar de publicarlos desde el teléfono. Tal vez es un problema del browser o la cuenta con la cual comentas?
Saludos de tu tocayo alemán,
Henry
P.S. @James I vote we don't translate everything to english as is if we don't all have access to google translate. It may give the impression that there's a preference for that language over others.
ReplyDeleteThis blog originates in English, so it seems to me that's already an indication of a preferred language. Plus, there are those of us who want to be aware of what's being said in almost all comments anyways. If that's a problem, I'm sure Matt will let me know.
DeleteOn another note, the Salt Lake Tribune ran the following articles recently:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.sltrib.com/religion/2024/02/11/gordon-monson-is-it-time-aging-lds/
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2024/02/13/gordon-monson-some-latter-day/
I took the opportunity to post my response to those articles:
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-aging-church-leadership-in-response.html?
My apologies in advance to any who may be offended/bothered/triggered by these articles. Matt, if this comment is inappropriate, please feel free to delete it.
David M
ReplyDeleteJust a quick note.
Piura in Peru already has a Temple announced.
Craig H
I know I am going to get varied feedback for this comment. I'm just curious about your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteIn comparing Year to Date statistics, between January 1st and February 20th, last year 2023. There was a total of 4 "new" Stakes organized with 2 more organized on Feb 26th. last year. So far, this year 2024, between January 1st and February 20th, there are only 2 "new" known Stakes organized that have been posted either on Matt's blog here or in the Newsroom or Church News sites.
This is a 50% decline in Year to date from 2023. Any thoughts? Between 2023 4 New Stakes, and 2 New Stakes in 2024.
I spoke too soon. This article was posted yesterday on the Newsroom. Presidents Bednar and Kearon and other Africa West Area leaders held meetings in Lagos Nigeria between February 16th and 18th. One of those meetings was a Special Stake Conference in Lagos Nigeria Ikeja and Lagos Nigeria Agege Stakes. I wonder if the Special Conference with the 2 Apostles attending was to organize a new Lagos Nigeria Stake.
ReplyDelete"On February 18, the leaders attended special stake conferences at the Lagos Nigeria Ikeja Stake and the Lagos Nigeria Agege Stake. They also held a special meeting with all the Area Seventies in Nigeria."
Also, mentioned in the article, they both visited a Muslim Mosque in the city of Abuja. I wonder if we will hear more good news from Abuja at a later date.
"In Abuja they met with the missionaries of the recently created Abuja Nigeria Mission. They were joined there by President Dennis Ocansey and Sister Rita Ocansey, mission leaders in the Abuja Mission. Following the meeting with the missionaries they visited Abuja National Mosque. They were greeted there by the Imam of the National Mosque, Prof. Ibrahim Ahmad Maqari, who provided a tour of the mosque.
Nigeria was the first country visited by Elder Bednar, Elder Kearon, and Elder Godoy, on their 10-day visit to the Africa West Area. They will also visit Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia."
https://news-gh.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/apostles-join-the-africa-west-area-presidency-in-visit-to-lagos-and-abuja--nigeria
Chris, since a new stake creation was not mentioned in that report, I don't think that was the case. The "special stake conference" could merely be because it was a multi-stake meeting (which, to my knowledge, doesn't happen very often in Africa) and because two apostles were present.
ReplyDeleteToday's temple news: Provo Utah Temple will be renamed; Teton River Idaho Temple groundbreaking set; and initial details announced for the Jacksonville Florida Temple:
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/the-provo-temple-will-reopen-as-the-provo-utah-rock-canyon-temple
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/news-for-temples-in-idaho-and-florida
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2024/2/20/24074055/provo-utah-temple-renamed-closing-for-reconstruction
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2024/2/20/24074117/teton-river-idaho-temple-first-presidency-releases-groundbreaking-date-june-1-exterior-rendering
https://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2024/2/20/24074489/jacksonville-florida-temple-site-location
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2024/02/breaking-temple-news-provo-utah-temple.html
My thanks once again to you all.
Kind of makes you wonder if a few other temples will be renamed like Provo is. Places like St. George, Mexico City, Guatemala, and others.
ReplyDeleteMy sister lives with easy walking distance to the location for the Jacksonville Temple and there had been a rumor that it was going to be there. Apparently they've been trying to get it rezoned for the past 5 years. She didn't think the rumors were true because of how bad the traffic is on Loretta in that area. Too bad they are moving within the year!
ReplyDeleteRyan, I don't think so. At least, not right away. This seems to be more about distinguishing the new Provo temple from the old one or preparing for a potential third temple in the area rather than being indicative of a new standard to which all other two-temple cities will be held. That being said, with multiple temples coming to the cities you mentioned, I wouldn't be shocked if the first temples in each of those cities were to be closed for renovation once their counterparts open.
ReplyDeleteMy first reaction on the Provo remained was "this way we can get a Provo Utah Slate Canyon Temple." I would be shocked, but not super shocked.
ReplyDeleteI think I was serving as a missionary in the mentioned area of Henderson when the mentioned chaple was first put to use. There were 2 stakes in the eastern portion of Henderson then, there are now 4. I could see a temple announced for there. Especially if the church really does have a substantial amount of land.
The Church has also bought land in the Des Moines, Iowa area that could be a temple site. To be fair the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased the land where the Detroit Temple now stands in about 1953. The temple was dedicated in 1999 and when President Hunckley included it in his probably actually over 32 sites for new temples to get us to 100 by the end of 2000 in his April 1998 closing talk at General conference I know he did not have a site picked out. He or a person assigned by him reached out to our stake president to pick a temple site that month, and he considered multiple sites before closing the eventual one. Pretty much the only way that the 32 newly announced temples got done in time was most were built on empty Church owned land where existing parking lots were big enough to met temple needs. Even that formula does not guarantee smooth building.
With the new requirements for stakes put in place at the start of this year would explain a slow down in new stake creation. The fact that some of the criteria are totally new may well mean a need to develop new ways to track them that have shown down the process. However the change from 4 to 2 is small enough there could be lots of explanations for it.
I am hopeful Abuja will have a temple announced in April. With the city having 3 stakes, and the huge numbers if baptisms in the Jos District this would be very good. Enugu getting a temple would also be good. Port Harcourt is on the other hand needed just because of the sheer number of stakes assigned to the Aba Temple considering the size of the Aba Temple. I would be shocked though if all 3 are annn9unced in April. Of course in my craziest prediction ever I predicted either that the number of temples in Metro Mexico City would be boosted from 1 to 3 or that 3 new temples would be announced for Mexico City in about February 2022. I was told I was beyond crazy to say such a thing, and basically at least meant in my first statement to say this was a crazy idea. President Nelson always manages to announce at least one temple that is beyond what I ever dreamed of.
I could see other temples having renames like Provo is, but I think they will coincide in at least some cases with new temples being announced.
A few might be cases like London, Chicago and Toronto where the temple is outside the boundaries of those geographically large cities. So for example thry might build a temple somewhere within the limits of London, and give the existing London Temple a new name.
The young adult devotional with Elder Soares was the first such event, I think meaning any event intended for a worldwide Church audience, to originate entirely in Spanish. I think that applies to any other language.
ReplyDeletePresident Nelson was the first president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to give a public address in a language other than English. At least for live public address in a language other than English while president of the Church. I am not sure if this covers pre-recorded addresses. It is easier to create a pre-recorded address thatcl comes off well, because one can redo it, splice multiple takes and the like.
Even with President Nelson he has only given live public addresses in Spanish and English as president of the Church. He gave live public addresses in a few other languages as an apostle.
Of course some past language initiates proved too hard. The non-English addresses in general conference were abandoned, probably because having changing starting languages for translation proved too hard. Of course non-English talks in general conference not only proceed Elder Wong, the first may have preceded President Nelson's birth, but if so not by much. It was in Shoshone. I believe by Yeager Timbimboo, but I might be wrong on the specific person. I know it was one of Sagawitz descendants. I think it was in the 1920s, but I could be off on that as well.
Of those alive today I believe President Nelson was the first to speak in general conference. He first gave an address in general conference some time in the 1960s when he was a stake president. So I believe President Nelson has been the earliest general conference speaker still alive since President Monson died. I believe his first talk pre-dates the first talk of President Ballard. That may even be true of President Nelson's first talk in general conference when he was head of the Sunday School.
For those interested, the unofficial site called Mission Calls, has recently added the 36 new 2024 Missions to their list and their map shows a square box around the city of the Mission name. As a temporary fix, until the official borders are marked later this year after the new Missions become officially organized on or after July 1st, 2024.
ReplyDeletehttps://missioncall.app/ldsMissionList.html
I'm guessing for those missionaries called to those areas, can get an idea where they are headed in July. Or for those just wanting to play the guessing game of where they may be called.
The Manila Temple might be a strong candidate for rename. It is actually in Quezon City, not in Manila. From 1939 until 1976 Quezon City was the capital of the Philippinnes. In 1976 Manila was made the capital again, but all metro Manila was designated the seat of government. Much of the actual government still is in Quezon City.
ReplyDeleteQuezon City has 2.8 million people to Manilla proper having 1.9 million. The situation in New York might be similar if when the capital of the US was moved out it was transferred to Broklyn, but some things stayed in New York City, and at some point we went back to calling New York the capital, but still congress met in Brooklyn, the white house was in Brooklyn, but maybe the Supreme Court met in New York City. Oh, and the 1898 change in New York was to create a state of New York, renaming the area north of the Bronx boundary Hudson-Erie land, which in turn had the oddity of including the disconnected eastern half of Long Island.
The upshot is there is a really easy way to rename the Manila Temple. I doubt thry will do it before announcing a temple for the city of Manila, and I have no sense if that would be a good place for the next temple in Metro Manila. Or as likely as not one of the next temples. Sao Paulo, Guatemala City, Lima and Manila all seem like metro areas that could get the Mexico City treatment, although Sao Paulo might already be in process. I am also not sure if all 5 of the 2022 temples announced in the greater Mexico City region are actually closer yo the city than Puebla, and of they are it is not by much.
Craig, Thank you! I forgot to pull the Piura Peru temple off my list after it was announced. I'll try to find a substitute for it in the next week or so to bring the secondary list back to 40.
ReplyDeleteJPL,
ReplyDeleteI've wondered about the same with the Manila temple ever since they announced the "Greater Manila Philippines Temple" which is now known as Alabang Philippines Temple. In recent history, there hasn't been a name change announced other than what it's dedicated/rededicated as. However, in the 1970s all temple names were changed to reflect the City State or Country naming convention that's still used today (with few exceptions).
While stake and mission names were all changed I believe in 1974 to reflect city and state or city and country (some since created stakes such as North Shore Massachusetts do not use an actual city, and some stakes in Los Angeles use a sub-unit of that city plus California) that is not when temple names changed. Also my impression is in 1974 they in all cases used the actual city where the stake center was, which is how we got Bloomfield Hills Michigan.
ReplyDeleteAnn Arbor Michigan had its stake center move to Saline Michigan but thry did not rename the stake.
For temples that change was in 1998. As of 1997 the official names were New Zealand Temple, Arizona Temple, Alberta Temple and Swiss Temple. On the other hand they were Toronto Temple, Sao Paulo Temple, Salt Lake Temple, Provo Temple and Portland Temple.
Even in the 1998 rename I do believe any Temple is renamed to a different city than it was first designated with.
Provo Utah to Provo Utah Rock Canyon is as far as I know the only more recent rename of an existing Temple either.
We have seen Prosper Texas to McKinney, Texas; Eugene Oregon to Willemette Valley, Metro Manila to Alabang Philippines, Yuba City to Feather River and Rexburg Idaho North to Teton River. With the possible exemption of Prosper Texas all these seem not connected with a change in planned location. Tooele Valley to Deseret Peak is, but it puts the Temple inside Tooelle's city limits. There was also Washingtin County to St. George Utah Red Cliffs. I am not sure how clear the First Presidency was on the location when first announced, so that might count.
Renaming stakes and missions is more common than temples not just because there are more of them, but because temples are specific fixed buildings, while stakes are geographic units that have boundaries that change, as well as you can move the stake center, which some also lack.
ReplyDeleteMissions while not much more numerous than temples now, not only have to consider members served, especially where there are no stakes, and potential outreach, but also available missionaries.
The 1974 changes followed closely on less universal 1970 changes.
For stakes there was a move from the form in direction stakes Mesa West to West Mesa. A few were changed and then changed back quickly because it was decided that thry referred to a city, like South Salt Lake or North Ogden, that was so named. Of course I believe West Jordan was actually named that because the stake there was named West Jordan.
The missions in 1970 switched in a few cases like Swiss and Hawaiian to Switzerland and Hawaii.
More recently there have been several missions in Europe that lack city designations, a few of which even lack country designations. There was a West Indian Mission and for a short time in the early 1980s a West African mission. On the other hand the mission was Kinshasa Zaire and then Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo, at one point covering noy only all that physically large country, but at least 5 other countries, including Cameroon which does not even border the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Kenya Nairobi Mission likewise covered at one point 5 countries.
I still believe that the name of the São Paulo Leste Temple tends to be maintained, with the renaming of the previous temple to São Paulo Oeste, because the division of the city into zones based on its cardinal points has always been very natural for the entire population. And it makes more sense than naming the western temple as Cidade Universitária, Morumbi, Caxingui, Raposo Tavares and the eastern temple as Carrão, Tatuapé, Aricanduva, Vila Formosa, or any other neighborhood name that limits the scope of the temple to an area small or whose name is difficult to understand internationally, as they are mainly indigenous names (tamoyos, tupinambás, etc.).
ReplyDeleteDaniel, I am not as certain on my end that the Church will keep the directional designation in the names of the Sao Paulo East Brazil and Santiago West Chile Temples. I can see your point about the Church potentially opting to honor the zone division in Sao Paulo proper, but my theory is that the Church will instead honor the region in which the Sao Paulo East Brazil Temple. That temple is going to be built in the Vila Carrão neighborhood. So my personal theory is that the temple will be named for that neighborhood, which would give us either the Sao Paulo Brazil Vila Carrão Temple, the Sao Paulo Vila Carrão Brazil Temple, or perhaps simply the Vila Carrão Brazil Temple. I got the distinct impression when the location was announced that this temple would have one of those 3 names. The final decision, of course, rests with the Brethren, and I have no authority or spiritual prerogative to say that any of those three names will be used. But it's a thought that came to my mind when I heard about the location of that temple. Just wanted to share that, for whatever it may be worth.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matt.
ReplyDeleteAny opinions on the accuracy of the Widow's Mite estimate of growth?
1. Church total wealth estimated at $265 B, with $182 B in reserves.
2. Estimate of 5 countries of tithe-participating households: 22.1% (was 25.1% in 2016) - see page 11.
3. Elder (male-specific) rate of going on missions 36% lower than in 1999.
https://widowsmitereport.wordpress.com/2023update/
@Pascal Friedmann
DeleteI agree about the missionary change in 2004. It happened right when I was on my mission and was referred to then as the "Raising of the Bar."
When I arrived in the field in 2002, there were/had been a lot of elders who were on the mission purely because of cultural pressures, without a testimony or gospel knowledge (or work ethic) of their own.
After the bar was raised, there was a noticeable change in attitude from the new missionaries who came out (and that I've noticed with the younger missionaries I've interacted with in my various wards and branches since). I'm grateful that the change happened.
Matt, Great news from Europe.
ReplyDeleteI was just informed about this last sunday, February 18th, 2024.
Sofia Bulgaria District (609315) - February 18, 2024
- Blagoevgrad Branch (412457)
- Bourgas Branch (348635)
- Plovdiv Branch (326763)
- Ruse Branch (367346)
- Sofia Branch (326984)
- Stara Zagora Branch (358347)
- Varna Branch (348643)
Assigned to the Kyiv Ukraine Temple District.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/326984
https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/kyiv-ukraine-temple/district/
Because I accidently left an already announced temple on my "other 40" list (Piura Peru), I figure I needed a replacement to keep my secondary list at 40.
ReplyDeleteI'm adding Shreveport Louisiana to complete my "other 40" list (list is shown earlier in this conversation). This would be the closest temple for six stakes (Longview TX, Gilmer TX, Tyler TX, Shreveport LA, Monroe LA, Alexandria LA). The Baton Rouge Temple would still be left with seven stakes and Dallas with even more. However, the Texas stakes mentioned are more clustered, giving close access to more members if located there. This area also includes Kelsey and Enoch, 2 Latter-day Saint communities that flourished in the early 1900's. It doesn't make my "top 20" but I do think it would be a good candidate for a temple as with others I've listed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelsey,_Texas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enoch,_Texas
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square just announced a September tour to Florida and Georgia, which will include 2 performances in arenas with 19,000 and 16,000 seats and a performance at Morehouse College, the historically African-American college that gave President Nelson a newly created award last year. It just clicked in my mind that that performance at Morehouse will be on President Nelson's 100th birthday. There is a greater than 50% change he will be alive then. Probably much greater, he was present for the meeting with President and First Lady of the Navajo Nation back on Feb. 15. I probably have speculated too much.
ReplyDeletePresident Leavitt and his counselors and other choir leaders have done great changes
They shifted from a tour every 2 years, basically always to the US or Europe to 2 a year, and have so far done or announce Mexico (1st time sine the 1970s for the choir), the Philippines (1st time ever), and the US in Florida and Georgia.
They have shifted from concerts in top rated art halls where they charge for tickets, to arenas, where the concerts have free tickets and thry broadcast one. While arenas tend to be basketball and or hockey stadiums, thry are also normally the location of various concerts of various musical generas. The tours hit fewer cities but the events they do do are on the scale of the Christmas concerts, with highly acclaimed guests artists and narrators. Thry chose people with connections at least to the local culture for these roles.
In the Philippines the narrators will be a married Filipino husband and wife couple who are top broadcast personalities in the voluntary. The singers will be Lea Salonga, a Filipina who has performed on Broadway and also was the singing voice of Mulan in the Disney film, who performed in the 2022 Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert, and another singer whose name I forgot, who is a Latter-day Saint Filipina who now lives in Utah.
On a related note if I understood right there will be 44 international singers in the choir at general conference from 13 countries. However that number might not be the final count, it may just be those fully approved as if a week ago with other maybe still being reviewed. This is a major expansion from the 10 we had a year ago and last fall.
I also noticed that one if the directors of one of the musical groups that performed last fall at least appeared to be either African-American or otherwise of African descent.
JPL, where did you get the idea there will be 44 international singers with the Choir in April? The articles about the current and upcoming tours don't say anything about that.
DeleteJust found it:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/podcast/2023/12/12/23998528/episode-166-tabernacle-choir-michael-leavitt-karmel-newell-global-priorities-christmas-music
The relevant quote is from Karmel Newell, wife of Lloyd Newell, who helps organize the Choir. Regarding the global participant initiative of the Choir, she said "Right now, we have 44 global participants from 25 countries."
That means the initiative includes that many singers from 25 nations, not that all 44 will be participating with the Choir in April.
I guess that depends on what "right now" means. I read it as "we have 44 global participants right now for April, who come from 44 countries, but we may add more before April." The other reading may be that 44 people from 25 countries have been accepted into the global participants program since it started, of whom a subset will sing in April conference. I am not sure what was said was clear enough to determine which is the intended meaning.
ReplyDeleteMy assumption was that all current, thus "right now" participants would sing at general conference. I could of course be wrong though, and they may think about global participants in a more wholistic way. I believe the two from Mexico sand when it went on tour there, and there may be plans to involve any to date from the Philippines during that tour.
On a largely unrelated note, have thry indicated who will lead music and the spoken would when the Newells go to Los Angeles to lead that mission? I would ask the same about who will take over Sister Newell's job in I think they call it choir member support, but since it is not even clear when she started that and if someone else did it before I do not know who, while Lloyd Newell is in arguably the most publicly visible hob with the choir, and for sure the most stable. He is the 3rd voice of music and the spoken word since it began in 1929. Maybe technically 4th, but it is normally counted as truly beginning with Richard L. Evans. The fact that Richard L. Evans retained that job even after he became an apostle makes it unique. To be fair apostle held lots of other titles until the early 1970s. Other apostles were also until about 1970 not only filling the executive director roles now filled by general authorities, but essentially the managing director roles now filled by professional staff.
I believe there have been at least 6 choir directors and at least as many choir presidents during the time there have been only 3 voices of music and the spoken word. Mack Wilberg has been director almost 16 years, but before that he was associate director for 9, so he will have been one of the directors for 25 years in May.
She didn't say "for April" though. Just that the initiative includes 44 singers. Best not to read something that wasn't said as if it was said. Of course, if a later source comes out that explicitly says all 44 will participate in April, I'll happily concede that point.
DeleteAs far as who's taking over for Lloyd Newell, they haven't said. But they wouldn't have called him to lead a mission unless he or the Choir presidency has someone in mind. It'll likely take a bit to find the right person. Also, Mack Wilberg and one or two of the current organists are nearing 70, so the Choir may see other changes in the near term as well.
DeleteAs I posted above yesterday. The Sofia Bulgaria District has been reinstated this last Sunday February 18th.
ReplyDeletehttps://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/609315
Also, just posted the 1st group of 8 New Temple Presidents today.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/callings/2024/2/22/24079221/8-new-temple-presidents-and-matrons-salta-argentina-tallahassee-florida
Chris D, with the reinstatement of the Sofia Bulgaria District, what is the current count of districts and stakes worldwide, understanding that some districts are in sensitive locations and thus not included in the total. Thanks very much.
ReplyDeleteRay, according to both my excel spreadsheet list and Rick's Temples statistics site, not including ant non reported sensitive units, my total is 481 Districts known with the new Sifis Bulgaria District reinstated. It was discontinued last time in 2011.
ReplyDeletehttps://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/statistics/
Chris D, thanks very much.
ReplyDeleteTallahassee Florida Temple and Salta Argentina Temple have had their first president and matro called. At least 6 of the Temple leaders come from the current Temple district boadaries. I am assuming Tifto, Georgia will be assigned to Talahasee Florida Temple. The new Boise president and matron are in a Meridian stake, so they might be in Meridian Temple district, but I am not sure. The president and matron for Salta are coming from Cordoba where they are in Temple leadership. I believe that is the only case in this batch of Temple calls to be in current Temple leadership. Although another was previously counselor in a Presidency.
ReplyDeleteJoao Pessoa where the new Recife Temple president and matron reside will eventually be a separate Temple district, hopefully before thry end their term, but currently thry are in Recife temple district.
@ Pascal,
ReplyDeleteGood point about the reduction in young men going on missions (by percentage) being by design to some extent.
As for the assets thing, I will have to disagree pretty strongly on that one. The Widows Mite project team is apparently run by the same people who WOULD try to get an estimate of enterprise value for WalMart or Amazon (investment professionals). They also split between income-producing and non-income-producing assets, separately evaluate BYU/temples/chapels, have scoured over 10,000 real estate properties globally, etc. I guess I don't see how you could say that they OVERestimated the church's wealth when they used public data to estimate its value. What would you say the monetary wealth of the church is? Its US equities portion is worth more than $50 B alone...that's 27% of the estimated reserves the church has. Do you expect the church is under-diversified and actually has more than a third of its reserves in the stock market? That would be not too prudent.
When the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square has arrived in the Philippines. Their arrival was used as an occasion to do a very large scale bance and singing production by a large group of Filipino Latter-day Saint youth. Elder Choi, 1st counselor in the Philippines Area Presidency also gave a lot if remarks.
ReplyDeleteThis article https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2024/02/22/tabernacle-choir-orchestra-temple-square-philippines-hope-tour-arrive-youth-performances/ I think capture the essence of the whole event, especially with the massive amount of pictures. It also goes into explaining the very Filipino costumes the Tabernacle Choir members will wear.
This is something that did not come up over the last 30 years or so when the Tabernacle Choir only toured in the US and western Europe. The few earlier tours to Mexico, I believe South-west Asia, I believe Japan and some surrounding countries, and I think once in about 1990 or so to what was then the Soviet Union were approached more as we bring our cultural traditions and present it here.
I am not sure how much thry wore local costumes in Mexico, but I believe the choir approached the concert more on the level of a cultural exchange instead of just a one sided dispensing of the culture.
The choir may have more listeners in the Philippines than anywhere else besides the US. This is not surprising. The cultural links between the US and the Philippines run long and deep.
@JPL
DeleteHere's something I thought you might appreciate:
https://www.deseret.com/1992/12/25/19023327/tabernacle-choir-to-embark-on-first-tour-of-israel
I thought I remembered seeing a blurb on BYUTV once about the Tabernacle Choir performing in Jerusalem. They may have gone again since then (I don't know), but that article talks about their first Israel trip back in 1992. :)
Wealth is hard to gauge for any large organization. How about the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of England? Interesting findings with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when banned by the government in Ghana in the 1980s. The Ghanaians investigated and realized the Church was being very generous, while their traditional faiths were much more opaque, therefore they allowed the Church to be reinstated because their own big churches could not account for their wealth as we did. ("We", me being a lifetime tithe payer in my 50s.)
ReplyDeleteTithing means a lot, to us individually and collectively, to the pauper and the magnate, and the rest of us in between. The Church of the Lord watches its money and funds carefully, and helps others as it can. Generously. Temples and family history are part of the big works and expenses, as well as subsidizing missionaries and humanitarian efforts, and the chapels, materials virtual and physical, etcetera.
Activity in the faith and tithes and offerings are all added up in the equations of the faith of our souls, hearts, and minds. Where much is given, much is required.
We know the adage, that we can only be perfect in tithing as far as obedience. Strive for it. Some pay of gross income, others on net. The debate is interesting.
Pray for the missionaries, do your part to shine the light of the Gospel towards others.
Thanks all, for the thoughts and assessments. May we be blessed.
I would estimate the Church's total assets to be somewhere in the ballpark of $150 billion or slightly higher, most of that not revenue-producing and tied up in real estate of various sorts. Stocks are likely the second big chunk. Cash reserves are likely under $10 billion and those reserves not tied up in a specific-purpose fund (e.g., humanitarian, missionary, fast offering, etc.) are most likely used to cover variable and fixed costs within a year or so. Meaning, if I pay a dollar in tithing today, the Church will probably spend it within a year.
ReplyDeleteThe main reason I am quite sure that this is accurate is that (a) it follows asset management behavior also commonly used in the corporate world and (b) it is consistent with the notion that the majority of assets the Church holds are the result of relatively conservative investment behavior rather than tithing, which I know to be true from people familiar with the issue.
Then again, I think Church finances are somewhat of a moot point to discuss here. Even with great data, it's hard to fully appreciate the Church's expenses in relation to its (high-liquidity) assets at full scale.
OK, so if most of the assets of the church are non-revenue-producing and the church's total assets are $150 B, that means we have the following breakdown:
ReplyDelete$75 B or more = chapels, BYU buildings, temples, etc.
$50 B = stocks (13f filings confirm, so this isn't really objectionable)
~$10 B = cash
That leaves only $15 Billion in things like City Creek, the Hawaii hotel, all the revenue-producing real estate the church owns (it is the 2nd largest land owner in the US), international for-profit investments, for-profit entities such as Deseret Book/Bonneville International/Ag Reserves/DMBA/etc.
I guess I don't see how you can fit $15 B into all of that. To be fair, I think you are close on church (non-revenue-producing) assets: Widows Mite estimates $83 B.
I would not call Deseret Book a for-profit investment. While the Chirch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may turn a profit on it, it exists primarily as a way for the Church to sell books and related products. This is more about spreading a message than making money.
ReplyDeleteThe Hawaii Resetves of the Church are an outgrowth of Lai'e being a gathering place. The only way the Church was able to fund building the first temple built outside the incorporated territory of the US in 1919 was because of the wise administration of the agricultural production at Laine that turned a profit.
I personally think that discussion of the value of The holdings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often miss the point.
For one thing they often compare the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to unlike organizations. They also often miss the reasons why the Church comes off as so large.
The things the Church gets compared to tend to be the Harvard Endowment, and Bill Gates philanthropic fund. In the case of the Harvard Endowment the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has far less reserves per person served. However since what is done is different, the numbers are not comparable. In the case of the Bill Gates fund, it exists to donate money. Spending down to nothing is acceptable in theory, there is no ongoing obligation.
In the case of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there is a need to plan long term growth. This includes growth in areas where there is low income. Now to be fair, income level do change over time.
This means that the Church nit only needs to build temples, but have in place a way to operate them forever. The same applies for the other things it creates.
True, the cost of building new structured is often a big part of their cost. However it is not the only cost.
On the last point, a comparison of the financial holdings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Catholic Church is just not doable. To begin with not enough about either is publicly known.
However that is only the first problem.
The bigger problem in comparing the wealth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to that of the Catholic Church is that the Catholic Church is not finally a unified body. Basically wvery local Parish is a distict fiscal entity, as is every diocese, every religious order, and many other things as well. There are pluses and minuses to each way things are organized. They are however so different that compatriot them does not work at all.
ReplyDelete@JPL, I agree with you regarding the long-term growth and operations; you make an important point with regards to what it means for the church's future that the many highest growth areas right now are very poor places. I suspect that is at the top of the minds of the Presiding Bishopric and Council on the Disposition of Tithes more generally. The church is clearly aware of this, and making significant efforts that will both benefit the lives of impoverished members and, in so doing, the sustainability of the kingdom in the long run, for instance PEF and Pathway.
ReplyDeleteI did get a laugh at the notion that Deseret Book's primary purpose is not profits -- have you seen the prices they charge? Seagull Book can undercut them by 10%-20% or more. Deseret Book is definitely a for-profit entity (which is fine, I have no problem with that per se, but the idea that it is not about profits is demonstrably false given there is a competing for-profit business that charges *less*).
--Felix
Question: Does anyone know why all 3 of the stakes in Mapleton, Utah got so large without them being split? One has 11 wards, one has 12 wards and one has an incredible 14 wards. It seems as if 3 more stakes could easily be created here.
ReplyDeleteTo have writing and related arts thrive you have to pay reasonable amounts to develop writers and others involved in such endeavors. Bargain basement discount product selling doesn't achieve this goal.
ReplyDeleteThis week there were 3 non-US mission leader couples called. 1 from India to the other part of India, 1 from Brazil to Brazil and 1 from Nigeria to Nigeria. In the Nigeria case they luve in the Aba North Stake and were called to serve in the Port Harcourt North Mission. I think this would be similar to a couple living in Lehi, Utah called to lead the Salt Lake West Mission.
ReplyDeleteMy first guess on Mapleton is reserve strength building for a not yet announced planned temple, but there may be other factors as well.
ReplyDeleteI went to a baptism in my branch today. The person will not be confirmed until next Sunday because we have stake conference this weekend.
ReplyDeleteAt the baptism a missionary told of how his father attended church regularly for 17 years before baptism. That missionary is from Cheyanne, Wyoming. Early from home I learned that Cheyanne Wyoming is fairly close to Fort Collins Colorado Temple.
Matt, I noticed you have updated your Potential Temples Locations map about a week ago, in preparation for April 2024 Conference in a few weeks. But i didn't really see any changes to the city list. Possibly you just made minor changes such as a recount of possible Stakes/Districts that could be assigned to all or some of those possible cities/locations.
ReplyDeleteI, personally, am excited to see any new additions/withdrawals from your more likely / less likely sites this go around. Maybe you are waiting a few more weeks to post your newest predictions here.
Any case, I will wait patiently for your updates. So I can add them to my ongoing list of about 250 locations from your map, and James Stokes list and others who have posted their thoughts here.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1W60CDwd4qDDMA3tW74z8g-2WxNw&ll=-3.81666561775622e-14%2C0&z=1
I had noticed that Elder Andersen happened to be in the Philippines when the Tabernacle Choir arrived. It turns out there was more too it than that.
ReplyDeleteThere was a not pre-publucized concert today.https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2024/02/24/tabernacle-choir-orchestra-manila-philippines-hope-tour-first-concert-elder-andersen/ Elder Anderson was there. So we're all the Philippine mission leaders. Beyond that it seems to have been a range of prominent figures in Philippine business and society. Elder Bangerter the area president was also there.
With the new standards, I would expect more clustered stakes outside the US & Canada, particularly in urban Latin America and Europe where the church is developed, to consolidate to create larger active congregations, and those in new, suburban neighborhoods in the US and Canada to split. I have not seen any of that as of yet. For one, I think it takes a while to go from need recognition, to local decision, to application, to approval, to implementation. How long would you say that process take?
ReplyDeleteI noticed the number of stake creations and consolidations have slowed. I think the amount of time to go through the process stated above is why. I personally think we may start seeing a noticeable difference caused by implementation maybe the latter half of this year or next. I'm also assuming the church is allowing existing stakes to be "grandfathered in" so they don't have to meet the same requirements to still exist. So I'm not expecting much change in geographically isolated stakes outside the US and Canada unless it's in an active, high growth area.
@Ohhappydane33
ReplyDeleteThe most common reason for stakes with a large number of wards not dividing is lacking the requirement of total members in the stake. Till recently this was 3000 in the US but has changed at the beginning of this year to 2000. Mapelton has 11300 residents acording wikipedia (year 2020) So very likly there where, till recnently not enough members in this 3 Maelton stakes to create another one. I think it likly 1-2 stakes will be created there this or next year.
@David McFadden
If one stake is involved then I think the process will take about a year, otherwise 2-3 years. En example of that was the realligning of stakes and ward in the London England area last year.
The plan seems to be to only use the new rules when considering new stakes, wards etc. They clearly said existing units would not be required to meet the new rules to continue.
ReplyDeleteIn my stake conference this weekend there was a very strong push for senior missionaries. Our coordinating council senior service missionary leaders spoke. Also a couple who just returned from a 2-year mission in Cape Verde. Their assignment was with seminaries and institutes, but they were also temple workers (the wife was a temple worker at the Detroit Temple for 14 years, the husband probably 7-9 total), worked in the mission office and on various assignments for the mission.
The real whopper was thrown in by our stake president right at noon, at the very end of what ended up being a not long talk. He spoke much of covenants and the temple. Then of temple attendance. Then he threw in something I have never heard before. He said the goal is to have every member endowed as soon as reasonable after he or she has turned 18 and graduated from high school. This is a huge change from when I was that age. One could not get endowed before 21 or maybe even 22 unless one had a mission call or was about to get married in the temple. They might have allowed a few rare exceptions, but they were exceptionally rare.
This new approach will greatly benefit things. It may be key to why Rexburg needs a new 130,000 square foot temple, and it may mean that Provo having a 3rd temple is no as crazy an idea as it sounds.
The Lord is hastening his work. I expect us to have at least 17 temples announced in April and a total of at least 36 announced this year. Of course I am often very wrong on such things.
JPL, 35 temples were announced per year for the last 2 years, so I think 35 will be announced again this year, likely to be a 16/19 or 19/16 split. But in the last two years, a smaller number were announced in April, with a larger number announced in October. So I think it will be a 16/19 split this year.
DeleteOther Matt here...
ReplyDeleteIn Mapleton Utah's case, ward growth is mainly due to new housing developments. I wonder if they are waiting for new meetinghouses to be built before doing a massive reorganization where they create 2 or perhaps 3 new stakes all at once.
I just received confirmation from my parents that during their stake conference today, their stake presidency announced that their stake in Mapleton will be split and a new stake will be created. The new stake will be called the Mapleton East Stake.
ReplyDeleteOne new report has been shared by the Church News about the Tabernacle Choir's tour in the Philippines:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2024/02/25/tabernacle-choir-orchestra-philippines-tour-filipino-member-returned-missionaries-global-participants/
The article explicitly stated that the Church has 10 global participants at each General Conference, so the 90 in the previous report refers to the total they have available, not the total who will perform with the Choir in April.
That makes sense because there are 360 choir members, and if all 90 global participants sang with the Choir, 1/4 of the Choir would have to sit out.
Also, President Holland and Elder Renlund are ministering in Washington DC and Elders Bednar and Kearon are ministering in West Africa:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2024/02/25/president-holland-washington-dc-leadership-training-elder-renlund/
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-bednar-elder-kearon-meet-new-liberia-president
My thanks once again to you all.
I believe we will see at least one groundbreaking announced tomorrow, in addition to at least one more exterior rendering and 1 more site announcement. Count on such an announcement tomorrow during the 2:00 PM MST hour.
DeleteJames, looks as though you were (mostly) right - no groundbreaking: https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/renderings-released-temples-england-nevada-texas-washington
Delete2 out of 3 isn't bad at all. I'll take it as a win. The Church seems to be alternating between site announcements, renderings, and groundbreakings, so I think more groundbreakings could be announced next week, either with or without site announcements and exterior renderings.
DeleteOther Matt here...
ReplyDeleteLooks like the Lone Mountain Temple is similar layout to the Orem and Deseret Peak Utah Temples, only bigger. McKinney Texas Temple is patterned after the Burley Idaho Temple, and Vancouver Washington Temple at 44k sq ft, will be similar in size (and perhaps layout) to McKinney and Burley.
Birmingham England Temple looks similar in layout to the new smaller 10k sq ft temples, (Elko, Helena, Casper, Oslo, etc ) but with English detailing.
As was reported here yesterday by Blogger Dutch Missionary, I have since learned :
ReplyDeleteMapleton Utah East Stake - February 25, 2024
- Mapleton 2nd Ward (13935)
- Mapleton 6th Ward (150231)
- Mapleton 7th Ward (167894)
- Mapleton 15th Ward (371009)
- Mapleton 23rd Ward (1985752)
- Mapleton 29th Ward (2161338)
- Mapleton 31st Ward (2208806)
Another baptism in my ward on Sunday of an elderly man (and he was baptized by a man who is still a relatively new member).
ReplyDeleteAlso, a member of the BYU Women's basketball team was just baptized:
https://espn960sports.com/featured/homepage-feature-1/byu-womens-basketball-guard-ari-mackey-williams-gets-baptized-as-member-of-lds-church/
Harlingen Texas Stake in the Rio Grande Valley, not far from McAllen, just got a new Presidency. The stale president and the 2nd counselor appear to be Hispanic based on their names.
ReplyDeleteThe 1st counselor has the last name of Goodman. However his wife's maiden name was Garza.
Being 87,000 sq ft and the Las Vegas being over 80,000 sq ft, what's the chances of the Lone Mountain Temple having two baptistries? Never in the history of the church has the youth been so engaged in temple and family history work, and baptistries seem to be the limiting factor in areas with 80,000+ sq ft temples.
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/new-prison-branch-forms-in-cape-verde
ReplyDeleteJohn Pack Lambert actally it use to be more like 25 to 30 before you could go to the temple if not for marriage or mission
ReplyDeleteElder Christofferson recently had a Ministry to Austria, Denmark, Croatia, Germany, Hungary and Spain. All of those countries have a temple built or varying stages of construction, except CROATIA.
ReplyDeleteI know a long shot for an announcement for a future Zagreb temple. I believe Zagreb Croatia is on some of our possible lists including mine.
https://news-europe.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-d-todd-christofferson-invites-members-in-spain-to-increase-faith-in-jesus-christ
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe new president of the Lai'e Hawai'i Temple is a white guy from Texas. However he lives in Laine now and the new matron is if not Hawaiian a polynesian born in Hawaii. I suspect she is Hawaiian though. The outgoing president and matron are Tomgans, b7t thry had lived in Laine for decades.
ReplyDeleteMy search indicates President Casey was formerly building and construction manager of BYU-Hawai'i. He seems to have largely grown up in Hawai'i from what I can find. He was born in Lubbock, but I am not sure how long he lived there or where his parents were from.
ReplyDeleteI found this quote about Sister Cassey, the incoming Lai'e Temple mateon's experience with the temple "And like so many other Oʻahu Saints, Solomon and Lillian Kaonohi made regular temple attendance part of their lives. Every Wednesday, Solomon would close his medical practice in Honolulu at noon in order to pick up extended family along the way to his home in Waimānalo, where his wife would join them as they continued the considerable drive to the temple. Their daughter Kanani recalled: “I remember watching my mom ironing long white pieces of material and folding it ever so gently and placing it in a bamboo suitcase. Then she would prepare a delicious meal, usually shoyu chicken and rice which was our favorite, and leave it on the stove for us children to have for dinner. My dad would arrive home early in the afternoon with my kupuna [grandparents] and aunties to pick up my mom and off they would go to the temple. . . . They would come home ever so late in the evening because they would repeat that long drive back to Kapahulu to drop off my kupuna and aunties before coming home to Waimanalo.”
ReplyDeleteOne more comment. Two new temples getting presidents. The Coban Guatala Temple already has a dedication date. The new president, President Rosales, comes from the Coban stake and was born in Coban. His apellido Segundo is Choc, which looks Mayan to me. The new president and matron of the Mendoza temple come from a city just outside Mendoza. So far this year 4 new temples have had presidents and matron announced.
ReplyDeleteThis week we got three new mission leader couples if African descent. We have a couple from the Accra area in Ghana leading the Kumasi mission. We have a couple resident in Trinidad leading the Jamaica mission, bit thry were born in Jamaica. Then we have the Angela and Terry Trusty from York, Pennsylvania leading the Florida Tallahasee Mission. I am pretty sure these are the parents of Angela Teusty who at least used to be an advice columnists for the Deseret News. I would love it if I was wrong, because that would mean there are more African-American Latter-day Saints named Teusty than I initially thought, but I think I am right.
ReplyDeleteI was watching the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square concert in the Philippines. The Filipino couple who were narrating the broadcast mentioned that this was the first time the choir has ever worn traditional garb of the host country in a concert.
ReplyDeletePresident Leavit and those who serve with him have clearly lead the choir in many new and exciting directions of international outreach. To be fair some of this outreach is built on the work and efforts of others. Performing at Morehouse this fall is almost certainly built on the work with the NAACP that has been on going for several years. There are other factors, but wise interaction in the old Jackson Mississippi Mission with the local NAACP chapter, with active encouragement from Elder Holland paid huge dividends when the head of that chapter became the nationsl head of the NAACP. Also Elder Girard was able to use many of his connections from his API days to build good links. Some things I have read suggest that Ahmad Corbitt, back when he worked with the missionary department, also was a key figure in building and nurturing these links.
This reminds me, do we know who succeeded Elder Girard as the general authority over public relations?
Later on in the concert they stated that members of the choir come from 14 different countries. To be fair this 14 probably includes Tonga. Brother Kinikini may be the only Tongan in the choir. He was born in Tonga to Tongan parents but was largely raised in the US. His mother was a daughter of Tonga Tounai Paletu'a. Brother Paletu'a is the Tongan teacher who gave an object lesson with makefekes that President Monson mentioned actually in 2 different general conference talks, once in the 1960s not long after it happened and also in about 2010. Brother Palet'a was a counselor in the 1st stake Presidency in Tonga, he was later the 1st Tongan to serve as a patriarch, stake president, mission president and regional representative in that order. Brother Paletu'a was the 1st president of the Nakualofa Tonga Temple. Most temples dedicated ourmtside the US in the 1980s had an American as the first president, but not the temple in Tonga.
ReplyDeleteOne other note on Brother Paletu'a. He is portrayed in The Other Side of Heaven 2. However they took mind-numbing large amounts of artistic license. In the film he is portrayed as a recently baptized man in his 20s serving as a missionary. The realy Brother Paletu'a was a counselor to John H. Grocery in the mission Presidency, and older than John H. Groberg. The antagonism towards his baptism complete with a physical attack on him by family members as shown in the film is based on real events, although even there artistic license was taken.
One more note. The 3rd president of the Tonga Temple was the 1st that did not have Tonga in his name. President Paletu'a's successor had the name Tonga as his last name.
The Manhattan Temple is closing tonight! I can't wait for the renovation to complete in three years.
ReplyDeleteIn the concert in the Philippines it was stated that by the end of 2024 45 people from 27 nations will have sung with the choir in general conference. Since there was at least one repeat last year, we are at no more than 19. So if that stemement is correct there will be more than 10 international singers this coming conference. They will need at least 13 to make those numbers.
ReplyDelete(Anchorage, Alaska)
ReplyDeleteCouple things of note: It was recently reported that demolition of the Brayton chapel has begun. It was also announced that there will be limited parking for the temple. There will only be one Friday evening session (don't know how many there were), the Saturday morning session will be pushed to noon, and capacity of the endowment will go from 40 seats to 30 (a lot of times they've had to bring chairs into the room because of how many people show up).
I saw on Rick's Temples site that a distribution center building would be constructed, which is the first time I've heard about it. Firstly, I feel that would make it too busy for the property. I heard from someone that the temple president doesn't want a replacement chapel on the lot to make the entire property dedicated for temple use, but that likely isn't going to happen because there's not a whole lot of space left in the city to build things. Finding another property for a chapel would be rather difficult. That entire part of town is primarily residential. Secondly, a distribution center was opened I think just last year, not too far from where the temple is. Unless they are planning on moving the center from there, I just don't see how that can all fit on the lot. Perhaps a basement floor of the chapel for the distribution center?
I know there was a plan years ago for members buy the residential properties between the temple and Legacy Drive and sell/donate it to the Church, but I kind of doubt that went anywhere. It was intended to increase visibility for the temple and possibly make a larger outside area for people to walk around. I don't think many people know we have that, but it's a rather tiny area - just a couple of benches, and I don't think it's used at all in the winter. Plus, if people chat like regular in this area, I was told it could disrupt the baptistry. I just figured the announcement of reconstructing the temple was a result of being unable to acquire these properties.
Religlang, the Church Temples site now notes by every temple under construction and undergoing renovation that "the open house and dedication generally take place several months after completion". To the best of my knowledge, the Church hasn't explicitly spelled out everything that will be done during the Manhattan renovation. Depending on what's planned there, there is a possibility (however remote) that while the renovation may be completed in 2027, the rededication and reopening could be pushed back into 2028. Right now, the Manhattan Temple is listed ahead of the Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temple in terms of when it might be completed. But that could change. I will hope with you that the rededication of that temple and its' reopening will be on track for 2027.
ReplyDeleteLooking ahead to tomorrow (with the next anticipated major temple construction announcement likely to be made during this hour), I don't believe we will see any other new temple openings announced until after the April 2024 General Conference. So that limits the likely specifics of tomorrow's announcement or announcements as either groundbreakings, exterior renderings and/or site announcements. For those interested in my thoughts about what we might see, I have some theories:
I was not anticipating the San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple to have a groundbreaking as soon as it will (March 9), so that in turn suggests that some other temples could have groundbreakings sooner than I currently anticipate or estimate. I was advised we could see groundbreakings set soon for Tampa Florida and Cleveland Ohio. A news report on the Austin Texas Temple indicated that temple's groundbreaking was anticipated to occur in June, so that's another one I'm watching. It was just recently reported by the Church Temples site that project managers for the Bakersfield California Temple were seeking a height variance for the spire, so that is another temple for which we could see action soon.
Site clearing is underway at the Charlotte North Carolina, Vitoria Brazil, and Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple sites, so it's possible we could see renderings/groundbreakings for any of those as well. And all structures have been cleared from the site of the Tarawa Kiribati Temple, so that is another one to watch. Asidde from Tarawa, the temples in Cali Colombia and Cape Town South Africa have had the longest current wait for a groundbreaking, so we could hear something on those temples as well. As I stated earlier, the fact that we got news on the San Luis Potosi Mexico Temple sooner than I expected means we could also potentially see groundbreakings set for any of the other 11 temples that have had sites confirmed and renderings released, or that both exterior renderings and groundbreakings could be set for any of the 27 other temples for which sites have been confirmed between October 2022 and now.
ReplyDeleteIt also seems likely that the Church could confirm a location, release a rendering and/or schedule groundbreakings for any of the 8 other US temples announced between April 2022 and October 2023. Based on information gleaned from the Church Temples site and my own research, we might also soon hear more information for the Dubai UAE, Beira Mozambique, Tacloban City Philippines, and Pachuca Mexico Temples, or about any of the remaining 31 temples for which no official information has been confirmed yet.
So there are plenty of options for the announcement(s) tomorrow. If I am correct that the next temple dedications won't be announced until after the April 2024 General Conference, the earliest those dedications could follow would be in August or September. Anyways, these are just my thoughts and observations based on the information I currently have. I look forward to tomorrow's announcement, whatever it might be, and will be sure to cover it on my blog tomorrow. If any of you have any questions about what I've tried to lay out in this comment, please feel free to ask about anything either here or on my blog.
Matt, looking forward to your list of potential new temples for April whenever you have the time and capability to provide that analysis for us. Thanks for all you do to maintain this space for us to talk about such subjects here. Your ongoing efforts are greatly appreciated!
Temple Predictions (I haven't seen a new post on that yet so I'll add mine)
ReplyDeleteHouston TX II (Sugar Land)
Spanish Fork / Mapleton UT
Tempe AZ
Atlanta South GA
Jackson MS
Poza Rica MX
Los Cabos MX
Mexico City Ermita MX
Santa Ana ES
Florinaopolis BR
Fin del Mundo CL/AR (Punta Arenas OR Ushuaia)
Abuja NG
Lome TG/Cotonou BN
Edinburgh UK
Dark Horse Pick:
Far West MO
I think a temple in Croatia wont be happening anytime soon. Back in 2009 when Elder Christofferson dedicated the chapel in Zagreb, he almost blessed the country for "the day when stakes are in this land, wards in city, and a temple he- (he paused then continued) is built somewhere near here. (The implication to the members who heard this was that the temple would not be in Zagreb anytime even remotely soon.
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, I love my balkan brothers and sisters. There is nothing that would bring me more joy than seeing a temple there, but we recognize that if a ward was established in Zagreb it would be considered an unbelievable miracle for members of the "Adriatic North" nations, let alone a stake for those countries.
I hope for that day that there is a temple near there. Elder Eyring suggested in his April 2012 talk We are One that the day may come when a temple is proposed for the city of Tuzla, Bosnia in 90 years or so (most of the talk is about Tuzla, Bosnia). Whether there will be a temple in those countries before Tuzla or not, I dont know, but it does appear to be the only city in those countries that have been given the promise of one even if it is 100 years in the future or so.
Thank you, Matt, for updating your Potential Locations map for us this morning, I just updated my copy and lists with the new additions you made.
ReplyDeleteThis go-around for April 2024 Conference, I am just going to add to my list a dark horse (very less likely) choice for a potential site. Partially due to the recent ministry visit by Elder Christoffersen.
Zagreb Croatia :
Which could include the newly organized Adriatic North District, the new Sofia Bulgaria District, the 2 mission branches in Greece, the Tirana Albania Stake and Elbasan Albania District, and mission branch in North Macedonia, and the European Central Area District, and possibly also the Brasov Romania District (if it doesn't go to the Budapest Hungary Temple District).