Yesterday, the Church announced that an official missionary training center (MTC) will open in August 2024 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) to train missionaries in French destined to serve in this region of Africa. Although the Church has previously operated an unofficial MTC in Kinshasa for a couple of years, the new MTC will be housed in a new building with capacity of up to 200 missionaries at a time. This MTC marks the third MTC in Africa following MTCs in Accra, Ghana and Johannesburg, South Africa.
The announcement of the new MTC comes at a time when the Church has experienced a significant consolidation of MTCs worldwide from many smaller MTCs into larger regional ones. There will be 11 MTCs worldwide once the new center opens in Kinshasa. Other MTCs currently in operation are located in Brazil, England, Ghana, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand (opened in 2023), and Utah. At one point, there were 19 MTCs throughout the world in the late 1990s, although centers closed in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Japan, Samoa, South Korea, Spain, and Tonga to help conserve resources and provide higher quality training experiences for new missionaries. The Church has also operated an unofficial MTC in India for some time. The new MTC being located in the DR Congo instead of the Africa Central Area Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya is also unusual, as MTCs are usually located in the same city as the area offices.
The new MTC in Kinshasa has been greatly needed for many years. The DR Congo has supplied large numbers of young adults serving full-time missionaries for many years, and the training of these missionaries has been a challenge due to difficulties with securing visas and transportation to other countries. The Church in the DR Congo experiences some of the most rapid growth in the world, and many of these growth developments have been highlighted in this blog. In a couple weeks, the Church will organize two new missions in the DR Congo, bringing the total number of missions in the country to seven. The Church may have as many as half a million Latter-day Saints in the DR Congo by 2040 given historical growth trends. Growth in the DR Congo has come after decades of careful planning and high standards for convert baptism which has resulted in some of the highest member activity rates in the world (usually over 80%).
89 comments:
I believe the Church currently has 10 MTCs, including the one in Bangkok, Thailand. This DR Congo MTC will be the 11th. https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/topic/missionary-training-centers
Thank you David Smith for this correction. This MTC is not listed on the Church's website for MTCs. I made the correction. I had totally forgotten about this development!
Considering there is not yet a temple in Nairobi and is one in Kinshasa, putting an MTcC is Nairobi would also be highly unusual.
Yes, in the early days of the Language Training Mission, it was in Provo before there was a temple there. However in those days there was also the Mission Home in Salt Lake. The MTC replaced the Mission Home and the LTM and was built right next to the Provo Temple.
I believe the New Zealand MTC is the filurthest from a temple, but Aukland has a temple on the way, and Hamilton is far closer to Aukland that Kinshasa is to Nairobi.
The other thing is this will be the first MTC fully devoted to instruction in French. As I mentioned yesterday I hope the day comes when Lingala, Swahili, Tshiluba and other languages are used in the MTC.
Also, considering supply factors, you have 24 stakes or so in DR Congo, and 4 in the Republic of Congo. You have 3 each in Uganda and Kenya. There are about twice as many stakes just in Kinshasa as in Uganda and Kenya combined.
The bigger question is why is the Area Office in Nairobi and not in Kinshasa?
Another question in my mind is will missionaries from Ivory Coast go to Kinshasa or still go to Accra. My guess is. If they are Ivorians serving in Ivory Coast thry will still go to Accra. Although someone with the same mission call as Elder Mutombo, so to be the Africa Central Area President, will probably go to Kinshasa MTC. He was a DR Congo resident called to serve in Ivory Coast. It will reduce needed visas and travel.
This is my guess, but I think initially it will take missionaries from DR Congo, Congo, Cameron and Gabon serving in missions where they will speak French, and anyone going to missions in any of those countries. Maybe also people from Rwanda/Burundi.
Craig Shuler says about Davis County:
About a week after the Utah Salt Lake City East Mission is created next Monday (from the Utah Salt Lake City South and Utah Salt Lake City Missions), 18 stakes will be transferred to the Utah Salt Lake City Mission from the Utah Layton Mission:
12 Bountiful Utah stakes
3 North Salt Lake Utah stakes
2 Woods Cross Utah stakes
1 West Bountiful Utah Stake
I thought it was interesting that the following 9 stakes will stay in the Utah Layton Mission (to the north) but stay in the Bountiful Utah Temple district (to the south).
3 Centerville Utah stakes
6 Farmington Utah stakes
Layton Utah Temple was deticated last Sunday.
Craig, thanks for that update. According to my records, that would bring the Layton Mission to a total of 59 Stakes and the SLC mission to 54 Stakes total. A more equitable balance.
The new Bacabal Brazil District was finally updated on the map.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2267489
Also an oddity I found on the map, It looks like the Itapecuru Mirim Branch is going to remain under the Mission and not the new District. But it also has currently 2 Meetinghouses in the Branch jurisdiction.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/2246074
The Church has once again been granted Legal Status in South Sudan.
"New branch opens in South Sudan after Church regains legal status"
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2024/06/20/church-legal-status-south-sudan-branch-baptism/
What ate the chances of a Farmington Utah Temple? 9 stakes would seem a bit low for a temple in Utah. I have familial connections yo Farmington and would live to see it, but I am not expecting it super soon.
I am thinking a Spanish Fork Utah Temple is the most likely to be announced in October.
Craig, do you know which Stakes will be assigned also to the new Saratoga Springs and Spanish Fork Missions this week, since they are both fairly close to the Provo MTC center where the Leadership Seminar is going on this week?
I am wondering if the planned size of the Kinshasa MTC is an indication of things to come for the Church in the DRC. 200 is quite large for an MTC. Especially if you factor in that the Church in the DRC operates as sort of a microcosmos, with very few missionaries from there serving abroad and very few foreign missionaries coming in - and presumably attending the MTC there.
You can train 5,000 missionaries a year at a Kinshasa MTC, realistically, as most will be from the country and going back to the DRC. The average time spent there will probably be two weeks as most people in the DRC have a working command of French even if they don't speak it natively. Now there will be exceptions to this, especially once the Church expands into more remote areas, but for now those are probably not significant.
With 5,000 new missionaries trainable annually in the DRC and mission length between 18 and 24 months, you end up with somewhere around 8,000 to 9,000 missionaries from the DRC who will potentially be serving at the same time, overwhelmingly in their own native country. This is a lot. I would not be surprised to see the DRC have between 20 and 30 missions by 2030 to accommodate all those missionaries. National outreach expansion will accelerate in an immense way. It's also worth noting that there are enough young converts and enough youth in the country to staff all these missions, at least prospectively. Take for example FSY attendance, which is a good indicator of the participation rate of older youth who will likely serve missions in the next few years. There were 1,200 youth who attended FSY in Lubumbashi last year, and that is just for one relatively small portion of DRC membership in an area with relatively modest congregational growth: https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2023/7/29/23811366/1200-youth-attend-fsy-in-democratic-republic-of-the-congo/
That's from seven stakes and one district. I doubt that all active youth in the area attended, either.
With that, I might add that half a million members by 2040 is extremely conservative. The Church is just very barely buying into the immense potential that exists in the DRC, and I believe we will almost naturally see a much more significant increase in growth as outreach expansion accelerates. The new MTC is, to me, a clear indication that the Church is now making this buyin and will shift significantly more resources into central Africa.
Thanks for those thoughts, Pascal. The DR Congo is a very exciting place to see the Gospel grow, indeed. As far as the logistics and the demographics, that is very interesting to note.
I find the irony of Church of Jesus Christ detractors who accuse the Church of being racist and exclusive through much of its early history, until the Second Declaration in 1978 allowed the Priesthoods to be adopted by all worthy males, but now some generations later these places in the African continent, other places of African heritage in Latin America and North America, Europe, Asia, the South Pacific and Australia, are growing and in many cases thriving dynamically. There are many mysteries in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but in the end it means Good News, and the Good News is spreading and growing.
Israel is being gathered, and areas of strength continue to expand and deepen.
Excited to see the newer missionaries and all this growth.
What exactly do you find ironic, Eduardo? The church is experiencing what looks to be some great growth in African nations, indeed, but that doesn't mean it isn't lagging behind in a major way compared to what it would look like today had its racist policies of the past not existed.
All one has to do is look at the success the Jehovas Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists have had in the continent. Take news like the mass baptism of 10,000 in one event in Nigeria for the SDAs, and 196,000 baptized over the course of two weeks across the African continent in October last year: https://adventist.news/news/196-000-people-baptized-across-africa-continent-as-a-result-of-total-member-involvement
The church lags tremendously behind churches that didn't have racist policies holding it back (and the shadow of which likely still hold it back). Your comment seems to insinuate that these policies were part of some mysterious plan by God.
https://www.facebook.com/100070043858522/posts/pfbid0AKrsRzo4ehY2SvCH3w8TbSMBTex8q4vod5itkBWLXvZWoJYk6CwMeuDgjHKr9Y7Nl/?app=fbl
Tanna Vanuatu Stake created this weekend
This is not the right venue to debate or speculate on Church doctrine and all the history, as well as the belief that I and others have that the policies that were run by each prophet may or may not have been wrong or hateful. For example, I have heard more than one person claim that polygamy has retarded the Church of Jesus Christ and that it would be so much more palatable to the masses today had the prophets not lived it, and taught it. Even that this principle or doctrine should be rescinded or apologized for today. Or, that same sex marriage should be accepted, or the Priesthood given to women. Or, perhaps remove the Book of Mormon and other scriptures as cannon. Many things could have gone differently, per doctrine and prophetic leadership.
Well, I have other thoughts and understandings. While the Priesthood ban was exclusionary, I believe that God and Brother Brigham and his successors had a reason or so for the ban (I do not have the answers, but the faith in the system). And more importantly, that all will be Restored as at first and it will be okay with all God's children, according to Heavenly Father's will.
Good points about the growth of Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses and their impressive growth in the continent and worldwide. I happen to think that all those faithful and righteous people will eventually have the Priesthood of God and we will all be good. As well as Anglicans, Catholics, Orthodox, and those Christians that accept and love Jesus Christ. Probably many Muslims, Jews, and Hindus and others, too.
All that said, irony can be very big in this world, and mysteries abound, but all the words of Christ are true and His Prophets commit errors, yes, but His Church and He personally will overcome and do as they are supposed to.
The Church of Jesus Christ will be the Kingdom of God on Earth, and all the ironies and paradoxes of history will be as they are. Like the life of the Savior itself, a bit mysterious and at times hard to understand, but worth accepting. Or embracing.
Good blogging.
Africa, again, is an amazing place for the growth of the faithful.
Apparently, the Santiago Chile West Temple will remain under that name, reflecting its cardinal position in relation to the urban center. It increases the chance that the São Paulo Brasil East Temple will also maintain this nomenclature.
I think a Farmington Temple is possible. The district would probably include parts of Kaysville and/or Centerville. A Farmington Temple could serve about 15 stakes leaving Bountiful with 15 stakes.
I definitely think a Spanish Fork Temple will be announced very soon.
I'd make sense that the Santiago Chile West Temple will be named Maipú Chile Temple or Santiago Chile Maipú Temple. I think the issue is the Santuario Nacional de Maipú (National Shrine of Maipú) aka Templo Votivo de Maipú (Maipú Votive Temple) or just Templo de Maipú, which is one of the most important Catholic churches in the country. A second Templo de Maipú in town will be confusing. I don't know what's the reason but this one maybe. An alternative name could be Cerrillos Chile Temple or Santiago Chile Cerrillos Temple.
It appears that at least in MX, the modular design that is being applied to some temples will now be applied to the chapels.
The Instagram page @iglesiadejesucristomexico has pictures of such an edifice in Valle de Mezquital near Tula Hgo.
Looking at this article, I noticed that the announced temples for each South American country line up pretty well with the missions for each country (including potential temples that have been predicted here).
There are some exceptions, of course, but it will be interesting to see if perhaps they will keep announcing temples that line up with the rest of the missions in these countries that currently lack temples.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2024/06/16/church-in-south-america-prophecy-dedication-1925-melvin-j-ballard-acorn-oak/
Sorry, weird grammar. I meant:
"...it will be interesting to see if perhaps they will keep announcing temples in these countries that line up with the rest of the missions that currently lack temples."
I've just been informed from a reliable source, that the 3 new Utah Missions (Salt Lake City East, Saratoga Springs and Spanish Fork) have been updated on the CDOL list. If anyone interested. I won't post the full lists unless requested.
Utah Salt Lake City East Mission (2246384)
Utah Saratoga Springs Mission (2245833)
Utah Spanish Fork Mission (2245841)
There were just 4 Stakes in the new East mission that I had not calculated from Craigs earlier posts. 1 was a Draper Utah Suncrest Stake that I had listed from the Orem Mission. and the 2 Cottonwood Heights Utah Brighton and Wasatch Stakes I had forgotten to add from his comments. and the Salt Lake Valley View Stake I had not included previously transferred to the East mission.
I'm assuming the Wendover Utah District will remain with the Utah Salt Lake City West Mission. And the 3 Correctional Facilities Districts, I'm not sure if they are assigned to any of the remaining teaching missions.
Currently I have a total of
Utah Layton Mission - 77 Stakes (before changes)
Utah Ogden Mission - 92 Stakes
Utah Orem Mission - 69 Stakes
Utah Provo Mission - 59 Stakes
Utah Salt Lake City Mission - 33 Stakes (before changes)
Utah Salt Lake City East Mission - 61 Stakes
Utah Salt Lake City South Mission - 42 Stakes
Utah Salt Lake City West Mission - 57 Stakes
Utah Saratoga Springs Mission - 60 Stakes
Utah Spanish Fork Mission - 51 Stakes
Utah St. George Mission - 49 Stakes
A couple of districts remain in Vanuatu, namely Malekula (9 branches) and Luganville (14 branches, making it the world's largest district by unit count if I'm not much mistaken). I would assume that both of these districts are very close to becoming stakes as well.
Several sizable islands, such as Pentecost and Ambrym, still remain unreached. I wonder if creating these stakes in the near future will free up mission resources to change that soon.
A site was announced for the Springfield Missouri Temple. It will be 29,000 Square feet. The sire is I believe 38 acres, but the wording suggests the temple will only take part of it. The way it is worded the Church might at some point even sell part of the site, although I might be reading too much into the statement.
I am wondering if we will get more temple announcements next Monday or if we are unlikely to hear anything again until August.
Does anyone know when this new Stake was organized?
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/2227894
I found it by chance while reviewing mission realignment assignment in the rest of the 650 Stakes of the Utah Area. Now 651.
James the church doesnt like mass batism they had this before and president oaks put an end to it
I have heard a rumor that the work being done on the Toronto Ontario Temple right now involves in some way expanding the Baptistry. I do not know how accurate this is.
This has caused me to wonder what has been done with the space that used to be temple cafeterias.
On the subject I believe that Salt Lake, Lindon, Syracuse and Smithfield Temples have plans for 2 baptistries. Are there any others?
While reviewing the rest of the now 651 known Stakes in the Utah Area. In addition to the already reassigned Stakes to the 3 new 2024 Utah Missions (Salt Lake City East, Saratoga Springs and Spanish Fork). I have found these 33 Stakes that have been reassigned form my 2023 list. Including the 18 that Craig had posted above moving from Layton Mission to Salt Lake City Mission.
UTAH OREM · Lehi Utah 3rd Stake (Tongan) (2227894)
UTAH OREM · Provo Utah YSA 18th Stake (507636)
UTAH PROVO · Kamas Utah Stake (501123)
UTAH PROVO · Park City Utah Stake (517445)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Bountiful Utah Central Stake (505935)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Bountiful Utah East Stake (504203)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Bountiful Utah Heights Stake (506028)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Bountiful Utah Mueller Park Stake (513148)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Bountiful Utah North Canyon Stake (513946)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Bountiful Utah North Stake (502863)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Bountiful Utah Orchard Stake (500720)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Bountiful Utah South Stake (502898)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Bountiful Utah Stake (502081)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Bountiful Utah Stone Creek Stake (514551)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Bountiful Utah Val Verda Stake (505528)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Bountiful Utah YSA Stake (1629379)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · North Salt Lake Utah Legacy Stake (1121979)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · North Salt Lake Utah Parkway Stake (515280)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · North Salt Lake Utah Stake (511684)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · West Bountiful Utah Stake (506354)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Woods Cross Utah North Stake (382140)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY · Woods Cross Utah Stake (505471)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH · Bluffdale Utah Independence Stake (2113279)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH · Bluffdale Utah South Stake (2026155)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH · Bluffdale Utah Stake (517348)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH · Riverton Utah Central Stake (364967)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH · Riverton Utah South Stake (526231)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH · Riverton Utah Stake (503339)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH · Salt Lake Utah South Stake (Tongan) (378399)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH · West Jordan Utah Heritage Stake (510289)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH · West Jordan Utah Westbrook Stake (517283)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY SOUTH · West Jordan Utah YSA Stake (1593374)
UTAH SALT LAKE CITY WEST · Salt Lake Utah West Stake (Tongan) (2132877)
Chris D,
This Facebook page (Orem Tongan stake), mentions a special stake conference on June 9th, and later mentions boundaries for a new stake. Another page mentions an announcement being made on the Orem Tongan stake Facebook page since the Lehi 3rd stake doesn't have a page yet.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/606722363145279/
Thanks, Anonymous, for that update from the Facebook posts.
Or maybe a future meetinghouse or mission office/temple or mission president home could be built on site. Or sell and develop homes in the neighborhood.
So, after those 33 realignments i found, these are the new total stakes for each of the 11 teaching missions in Utah Area.
Layton - 59
Ogden - 92
Orem - 65
Provo - 60
Salt Lake City - 48
Salt Lake City East - 61
Salt Lake City South - 52
Salt Lake City West - 54
Saratoga Springs - 60
Spanish Fork - 51
St. George - 49
A source from Malawi just confirmed that the Blantyre Malawi Stake will be created this coming Sunday, June 30
Thanks Nigel - I saw the announcements on social media as well.
Thanks everyone for tracking down these new stakes. Please let me know if I missed any. I updated the 2024 list on the sidebar.
Also, the Argao Philippines District was created on June 9th.
There is not currently a Missouri Sprimgfoeld Mission right? I could see creation of that mission and locating the mission office at the site of the temple.
The Argentina Cordoba Mission has the mission home/office on the temple site. I suspect there might be other examples.
Also, recently organized the Ji-Paraná Brazil District (2271109) assigned to the new Brazil Manaus South Mission. Unknown date of organization. And not updated in Map yet.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/281859
I'm told the Ji-Paraná Brazil District (2271109) was organized this sunday, June 23rd.
Craig Shuler says,
New Utah County missions have some boundaries I didn't expect:
The new Utah Saratoga Springs MIssion, with 60 stakes total, was created mostly with 43 stakes form the Utah Orem Mission:
18 Lehi Utah stakes
11 Saratoga Springs Utah stakes
11 Eagle Mountain Utah stakes
3 Highland Utah stakes
What surprised me was the 17 stakes southwest of Spanish Fork that are in the new Saratoga Springs Mission. that are in the Payson Utah Temple District:
5 Payson Utah stakes
3 Salem Utah stakes
3 Santaquin Utah stakes
2 Nephi Utah stakes
2 Delta Utah stakes
1 Goshen Utah Stake
1 Elk Ridge Utah Stake
The new Utah Spanish Fork Utah Mission, with 51 stakes total, includes 23 stakes in the fast growing suburbs around Spanish Fork that I would have expected:
10 Spanish Fork Utah stakes
8 Springville Utah stakes
5 Mapleton Utha stakes
I would guess that the next temple to be announced in Utah County to be Mapleton.
It also didn't surprise me that the Spanish Fork mission includes 7 stakes aournd Price, which is where I expect the next temple in rural Utah to be announced:
3 Price Utah stakes
1 Castle Dale Utah Stake
1 Ferron Utah Stake
1 Gunnison Utah Stake
1 Moab Utah Stake
1 Wellington Utah Stake
Or the 8 stakes around Sanpete and Sevier Counties transferred from the Utah St. George Mission:
3 Ephraim Utah stakes
2 Mount Pleasant Utah stakes
2 Richfield Utah stakes
1 Central Valley Utah Stake
What surprised me was all the stakes around Payaon that were not in the Utah Spanish Fork Mission and 5 rural stakes, 1 per town, far to the south, that were transferred from the Utah St. George Mission:
Beaver Utah Stake
Escalante Utah Stake
Loa Utah Stake
Minersville Utah Stake
Panguitch Utah Stake
Craig Shuler says about the Utah Orem and Utah Provo missions:
The Utah Orem Mission keeps the following 65 stakes not going to the Utah Saratoga Springs Mission:
26 Orem Utah stakes
10 Pleasant Grove Utah stakes
8 American Fork Utah stakes
5 Lehi Utah stakes
4 Alpine Utah stakes
4 Vineyard Utah stakes
3 Lindon Utah stakes
2 Cedar Hills Utah stakes
2 Highland Utah stakes
1 Provo Utah YSA stake
The Utah Provo Mission keeps the following 60 stakes in Provo, Heber Valley, and the Uintah Basin:
42 Provo Utah stakes (including 20 Provo Utah YSA stakes, 3 Provo Utah Married Student stakes, and the Provo Utah 1st Stake (Tongan)
4 Heber City Utah stakes
2 Midway Utah stakes
1 Kamas Utah Stake
1 Park City Utah Stake
5 Vernal Utah stakes
3 Roosevelt Utah stakes
1 Altamont Utah Stake
1 Duchesne Utah Stake
Craig Shuler says:
The Utah St. George Mission keeps 49 stakes:
33 stakes in Washington County, Utah:
20 St. George Utah stakes
5 Washington Utah stakes
3 Hurricane Utah stakes
2 Santa Clara Utah stakes
1 Ivins Utah Stake
1 LaVerkin Utah Stake
1 Enterprise Utah Stake
13 stakes in Iron County, Utah:
10 Cedar City Utah stakes
2 Enoch Utah stakes
1 Parowan Utah Stake
1 Kanab Utah Stake in Kane County, Utah
2 Mesquite Nevada stakes
This probably means there were some new branches created in the vicinity of Ji-Parana. On the maps website, it appears there is only one branch in Ji-Parana with a marker with no branches in Cacoal. Ariquemes could possibly go in either direction, currently assigned to Porto Velho. There are also 2 branches in Vilhena, but that seems a bit far away from Ji-Parana. Unless they created a district with only 2 branches, I would imagine additional branches were also created.
Ryan, this from my sources.
"It certainly is. :)
Ji-Paraná Brazil District (2271109)
- Ariquemes Branch (346195)
- Cacoal Branch (2271095)
- Ji-Paraná Branch (281859)
- Vilhena Branch (281328)
Created: 23 June 2024
Mission: Brazil Manaus South Mission
Temple: Manaus Brazil Temple"
Meaning, as you and i have reflected from the map. Looks like the Cacoal meetinghouse (unoccupied on map) has become a new Cacoal Branch (2271095)
and the Ariquemes and Ji-Paraná branches are included as the 2nd and 3rd of the District. and finally the Vilhena 1st branch (281328) and the nearby Vilhena 3rd Branch (267252), have combined together to become just the Vilhena Branch (281328) keeping the unit number of the 1st branch.
Making a grand total of 4 branches in the new District organized sunday 23rd.
As Craig was posting and commenting the 3 new Utah Missions updated yesterday.
Here are some of the rest of the new 2024 Missions updated today. Enjoy.
"Here are some more:
Kenya Nairobi East Mission (2245752)
· Nairobi Kenya East Stake (365807)
· Nairobi Kenya South Stake (2221500)
Japan Sendai Mission (2016745)
· Aomori Japan District (611018)
· Koriyama Japan District (610526)
· Morioka Japan District (607355)
· Sendai Japan Stake (513628)
Brazil Manaus South Mission (2246058)
· Manaus Brazil Ponta Negra Stake (539171)
· Manaus Brazil Rio Amazonas Stake (528242)
· Manaus Brazil Stake (519383)
· Porto Velho Brazil Stake (526401)
· Rio Branco Brazil Stake (524611)
· Ji-Paraná Brazil District (2271109)
· Borba Branch (2222914)
· Brazil Manaus South Mission Branch (2246066)
· Coari Branch (1999044)
· Cruzeiro do Sul Branch (346365)
· Remanso Branch (1990187)
· Tabatinga Branch (2059703)
· Tefé Branch (337897)
Dominican Republic Santo Domingo North Mission (2246104)
· Los Alcarrizos Dominican Republic Stake (467391)
· San Francisco de Macoris Dominican Republic Stake (520594)
· Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Duarte Stake (2141019)
· Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Los Restauradores Stake (568236)
· Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Villa Mella Stake (525189)
Germany Hamburg Mission (2017709)
· Dortmund Germany Stake (508470)
· Düsseldorf Germany Stake (506370)
· Hamburg Germany Stake (503770)
· Hannover Germany Stake (509396)
México Mexicali Mission (2246457)
· Mexicali México Los Pinos Stake (518573)
· Mexicali México Stake (509132)
· San Luis Rio Colorado México Stake (1085972)
· Tijuana México Florido Stake (464368)
· Tijuana México Insurgentes Stake (525596)
· Caborca México District (606235)
· Puerto Peñasco México District (1564196)
· San Felipe Branch (321206)
México Puebla East Mission (2246465)
· Córdoba México Stake (1990098)
· Orizaba México Stake (508985)
· Puebla México Amalucan Stake (525537)
· Puebla México Fuertes Stake (515000)
· Puebla México La Paz Stake (507520)
· Ignacio Mejía México District (609706)
· Puebla México Citlaltépetl District (2090511)
· Tehuacán México Stake (271659) Estaca Tehuacán México
South Carolina Charleston Mission (2245760)
· Charleston South Carolina Stake (506443)
· Hilton Head South Carolina Stake (2134195)
· Morehead City North Carolina Stake (2181525)
· Myrtle Beach South Carolina Stake (504998)
· Savannah Georgia Stake (510432)
· Wilmington North Carolina Stake (506338)
Texas Dallas South Mission (2245868)
· Dallas Texas East Stake (509124)
· Dallas Texas Stake (502286)
· Longview Texas Stake (505455)
· Shreveport Louisiana Stake (502804)
· Tyler Texas Stake (468282)
Texas El Paso Mission (2245876)
· El Paso Texas Chamizal Stake (2063603)
· El Paso Texas Mount Franklin Stake (515507)
· El Paso Texas Stake (502103)
· Las Cruces New Mexico Stake (507210)
· Silver City New Mexico Stake (516139)
California Modesto Mission (2040174)
· Lodi California Stake (509183)
· Manteca California Stake (514411)
· Modesto California North Stake (508039)
· Modesto California Stake (504378)
· Stockton California Stake (501867)
· Turlock California Stake (518212)
Chile La Serena Mission (2246929)
· Copiapó Chile Stake (522163)
· Coquimbo Chile Stake (423211)
· La Serena Chile Stake (519375)
· Illapel Chile District (610887)
· Ovalle Chile District (418579)
· Vallenar Chile District (609137)
· Chañaral Branch (288462)
· El Salvador Branch (122696)
I have updated these in my excel spreadsheet also today for the Stakes and Districts assigned.
And have found a few other "realignments" in the process form existing Missions. For example, the Stuttgart Germany Stake went from the Alpine German-Speaking Mission to be assigned now to the Germany Frankfurt Mission.
Another example, from the new California Modesto Mission, it affected both the Sacramento and Roseville missions. I found a couple stakes in the Roseville Mission that were reassigned to the California Sacramento Mission.
Of the above list, I found initially these 23 Missions that were split in the process.
ARIZONA TUCSON
BRAZIL MANAUS (now North)
CALIFORNIA FRESNO
CALIFORNIA SACRAMENTO
CHILE ANTOFAGASTA
CHILE VIÑA DEL MAR
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SANTIAGO
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SANTO DOMINGO EAST
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SANTO DOMINGO WEST
GERMANY BERLIN
GERMANY FRANKFURT
JAPAN TOKYO NORTH
JAPAN TOKYO SOUTH
KENYA NAIROBI (now West)
MEXICO PUEBLA NORTH
MEXICO PUEBLA SOUTH
MEXICO TIJUANA
MEXICO VERACRUZ
NEW MEXICO ALBUQUERQUE
NORTH CAROLINA RALEIGH
SOUTH CAROLINA COLUMBIA
TEXAS DALLAS EAST
TEXAS DALLAS WEST
So here is what i was told was these remaining realigned split missions units.
"ARIZONA TUCSON
Duncan Arizona Stake (511021)
Marana Arizona Stake (2059290)
Pima Arizona Stake (521019)
Safford Arizona Stake (501298)
Sahuarita Arizona Stake (1056069)
Sierra Vista Arizona Stake (515493)
St David Arizona Stake (501492)
Thatcher Arizona Stake (500224)
Tucson Arizona East Stake (510017)
Tucson Arizona North Stake (505250)
Tucson Arizona Rincon Stake (517356)
Tucson Arizona South Stake (2059622)
Tucson Arizona Stake (502626)
Tucson Arizona West Stake (525642)
BRAZIL MANAUS NORTH*
Boa Vista Brazil Stake (616931)
Manaus Brazil Cidade Nova Stake (524417)
Manaus Brazil Guarany Stake (1950630)
Manaus Brazil Mindu Stake (487066)
Manaus Brazil Rio Negro Stake (522317)
Manaus Brazil Samaúma Stake (474479)
Manaus Brazil Solimões Stake (526665)
Itacoatiara Brazil District (616419)
Brazil Manaus North Mission Branch (331287)
Maués Branch (353221)
Parintins Branch (353027)
CALIFORNIA FRESNO
Fresno California East Stake (504173)
Fresno California North Stake (516767)
Fresno California Stake (502014)
Fresno California West Stake (516759)
Hanford California Stake (510904)
Merced California Stake (507237)
Porterville California Stake (525308)
Visalia California Stake (505412)
CALIFORNIA SACRAMENTO
Antelope California Stake (519006)
Carmichael California Stake (517178)
Citrus Heights California Stake (513229)
El Dorado California Stake (511188)
Elk Grove California Stake (505366)
Folsom California Stake (504696)
Sacramento California Cordova Stake (513245)
Sacramento California East Stake (503193)
Sacramento California North Stake (502383)
Sacramento California Stake (501158)
CHILE ANTOFAGASTA
Antofagasta Chile La Portada Stake (522392)
Antofagasta Chile Stake (513377)
Arica Chile Costanera Stake (512494)
Arica Chile Los Olivos Stake (523445)
Calama Chile Stake (517291)
Iquique Chile Stake (518514)
Alto Hospicio Chile District (477257)
Chile Antofagasta Mission Branch (1254375)
CHILE VIÑA DEL MAR
El Belloto Chile Stake (522139) Estaca de El Belloto Chile
Quillota Chile Stake (514330) Estaca de Quillota Chile
Quilpué Chile Stake (508519) Estaca de Quilpué Chile
Valparaíso Chile Stake (510181) Estaca de Valparaíso Chile
Valparaíso Chile West Stake (412392) Estaca de Valparaíso Chile Oeste
Villa Alemana Chile Stake (511986) Estaca de Villa Alemana Chile
Villa Alemana Chile West Stake (525405) Estaca de Villa Alemana Chile Oeste
Viña del Mar Chile Achupallas Stake (517208) Estaca de Viña del Mar Chile Achupallas
Viña del Mar Chile Stake (507407) Estaca de Viña del Mar Chile
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SANTIAGO
La Vega Dominican Republic Stake (528315)
Navarrete Dominican Republic Stake (610801)
Puerto Plata Dominican Republic Stake (461393)
Santiago Dominican Republic East Stake (489956)
Santiago Dominican Republic North Stake (522821)
Santiago Dominican Republic South Stake (520489)
Monte Cristi Dominican Republic District (616591)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SANTO DOMINGO EAST
La Romana Dominican Republic Stake (464295)
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic El Almirante Stake (559679)
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Las Americas Stake (559660)
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Oriental Stake (519855)
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Ozama Stake (521183)
Havana Cuba District (2102072)
Monte Plata Dominican Republic District (2235544)
San Pedro Dominican Republic District (610070)
Sabana de la Mar Branch (289701)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SANTO DOMINGO WEST
San Cristóbal Dominican Republic Stake (526940)
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Central Stake (521868)
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Independencia Stake (2024535)
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Las Caobas Stake (434477)
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic San Gerónimo Stake (519448)
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Stake (518166)
Azua Dominican Republic District (610062)
Bani Dominican Republic District (614971)
Barahona Dominican Republic District (613266)
San Juan Dominican Republic District (613835)
GERMANY BERLIN
Berlin Germany Stake (503673)
Dresden Germany Stake (515442)
Leipzig Germany Stake (516902)
GERMANY FRANKFURT
Frankfurt Germany Stake (508535)
Friedrichsdorf Germany Stake (2023458)
Heidelberg Germany Stake (515159)
Kaiserslautern Germany Stake (English) (505137)
Nürnberg Germany Stake (518867)
Stuttgart Germany Stake (503754)
JAPAN TOKYO NORTH
Chiba Japan Stake (513016)
Kiryu Japan Stake (513555)
Matsudo Japan Stake (521671)
Niigata Japan District (605298)
JAPAN TOKYO SOUTH
Kanagawa Japan Stake (507288)
Tokyo Japan South Stake (English) (429740)
Tokyo Japan Stake (505560)
Tokyo Japan West Stake (513067)
KENYA NAIROBI WEST*
Nairobi Kenya West Stake (2067188)
Eldoret Kenya District (1624180)
Kisumu Kenya District (2138301)
Kitale Kenya District (2140209)
Bomet Branch (2220733)
Kenya Nairobi West Mission Branch (78352)
Naivasha Branch (1973266)
Nakuru Branch (2222310)
MEXICO PUEBLA NORTH
Nealtican México North Stake (1850776)
Nealtican México South Stake (2199920)
Nealtican México Stake (520187)
Puebla México Ometoxtla Stake (2140950)
Tlaxcala México North Stake (433241)
Tlaxcala México Stake (524778)
Chignahuapan Branch (374407)
Tetela Branch (374393)
Zacatlán Branch (374385)
MEXICO PUEBLA SOUTH
Atlixco México Stake (522643)
Puebla México Angelópolis Stake (279722)
Puebla México Arboledas Stake (2090201)
Puebla México Cholula Stake (510327)
Puebla México La Libertad Stake (527661)
Puebla México Valsequillo Stake (507539)
Izúcar de Matamoros México District (456004)
MEXICO TIJUANA
Ensenada México Stake (520152)
Tijuana México La Gloria Stake (371394)
Tijuana México La Mesa Stake (518131)
Tijuana México Otay Stake (371408)
Tijuana México Stake (508446)
Guerrero Negro Branch (302570)
MEXICO VERACRUZ
Los Tuxtla México Stake (609633)
Tierra Blanca México Stake (413895)
Tuxtepec México Stake (522201)
Veracruz México Mocambo Stake (520063)
Veracruz México Puerto Stake (2143976)
Veracruz México Reforma Stake (508926)
Veracruz México Stake (507725)
Veracruz México Villa Rica Stake (524409)
NEW MEXICO ALBUQUERQUE
Albuquerque New Mexico East Stake (504629)
Albuquerque New Mexico North Stake (2059517)
Albuquerque New Mexico Stake (502758)
Albuquerque New Mexico West Stake (279064)
Los Lunas New Mexico Stake (515469)
Rio Rancho New Mexico Stake (538566)
Santa Fe New Mexico Stake (514071)
NORTH CAROLINA RALEIGH
Apex North Carolina Stake (432865)
Durham North Carolina Stake (518778)
Fayetteville North Carolina Stake (507709)
Fayetteville North Carolina West Stake (460230)
Goldsboro North Carolina Stake (515426)
Greenville North Carolina Stake (503657)
Raleigh North Carolina South Stake (2049619)
Raleigh North Carolina Stake (503991)
Wake Forest North Carolina Stake (2217201)
SOUTH CAROLINA COLUMBIA
Aiken South Carolina Stake (2134411)
Augusta Georgia Stake (510378)
Columbia South Carolina Stake (501840)
Greenville South Carolina East Stake (437379)
Greenville South Carolina Stake (504025)
Hartsville South Carolina Stake (2236915)
West Columbia South Carolina Stake (383562)
TEXAS DALLAS EAST
Allen Texas Stake (540005)
Gilmer Texas Stake (515922)
Heath Texas Stake (1903853)
McKinney Texas Stake (522864)
Plano Texas Stake (506826)
Richardson Texas Stake (516066)
Sherman Texas Stake (2066386)
TEXAS DALLAS WEST
Carrollton Texas Stake (378364)
Denton Texas Stake (521272)
Frisco Texas Stake (562777)
Irving Texas Stake (2056623)
Lewisville Texas Stake (514616)
Little Elm Texas Stake (2140764)
Prosper Texas Stake (2024144)
And from these, there were other alignments from neighboring Missions.
For example, the Denton Texas Stake was transferred from the Texas Fort Worth Mission to the Texas Dallas West Mission, as an example.
there are others and too many to name here without highjacking Matt's blog with my tidbits of history.
There were in the process 2 districts form the Mexico Hermosillo Mission that were transferred to the new Mexicali Mission, that i had not realized and now waiting to hear back about the remaining units in the Hermosillo Mission.
And there are 4 Districts (2 in Kenya, and 2 in Dominican Republic), that have disappeared from all the above lists. That i can't find in any of these missions. But they still exist. The only thing i can think of is maybe cross international borders assignments. For example the 2 Kenyan Districts may have been reassigned to the neighboring Uganda mission? And the 2 Dominican Republic Districts may have been reassigned to the neighboring Haiti Port-au-Prince mission?
That is my best guess.
So far i have reviewed about 854 Stakes of the Total 3588 known stakes for new mission assignments. Still waiting for the rest of the new missions to be updated in the CDOL to inform you all. if you are interested.
Craig Shuler's comments on new and realigned Utah Salt Lake City Missions:
The new Utah Salt Lake City East Mission has 61 stakes rather then 64 projected when the list of included stakes was prepared last December because the Midvale Utah East, Midvale Utah North, and Sandy Utah YSA stakes were discontinued.
The realigned Utah Salt Lake City Mission has 46 stakes rather than 48 projected last December because the Bountiful Utah South and Salt Lake City Married Students stakes were discontinued.
Bountiful Utah South and Salt Lake City Married Students stakes need to be added to Matt's list of discontinued stakes.
Curious why those 2 stakes were discontinued. I just looked them up on the maps, and it says the Bountiful Utah South Stake has 8 wards and 1 branch, while the Salt Lake Married Student Stake has 6 wards and 2 branches.
Looking at neighboring stakes, each one has a sufficient amount of wards in each (none were fewer than 6 wards each), so unless there was a lot of wards discontinued at the same time, I don't understand why they were.
Stakes I looked at:
Bountiful Utah Central Stake
Bountiful Utah East Stake
Bountiful Utah Stake
Salt Lake Bonneville Stake (only one I looked at)
Woods Cross Utah Stake
Great job ! Tks a lot Chris D.
Ryan, to answer your question, about Bountiful Utah South and Salt Lake Married Student Stakes.
Here is the answer i got back from Rick today. And i quote :
"The Bountiful Utah South Stake and Salt Lake Married Student Stake are still active in CDOL. The stake presidency of the Bountiful Utah Stake was sustained 10 months ago, and the stake presidency of the Salt Lake Married Student Stake was sustained just 3 months ago."
The Salt Lake Married Student Stake might be more a decision on how best to organize such students. Although since I believe this was basically students living in on campus housing it might be due to changes in what happens with that housing.
I know in Ann Arbor Michigan there used to be a married student ward. It started out as a geographical ward for those living in University of Michigan married student housing. Then the university decided it could make more money by opening that housing to single students and raiding the rent.
This lead to most married students living elsewhere. There was an attempt to make it open to all married students regardless if location. Hiwever those who did not live in the housing often had different needs. Beyond this they felt out of place since you still had a core group in the housing area.
So the ward was eventually discontinued.
However it appears that the Salt Lake Married Student Stake still exists. I think some of its wards are language wards not technically limited to married students. There used to be married student stakes that overlapped with areas of the avenues so you had the option of going to a married student ward or a local ward. People would sometimes stay in the married student ward past graduation. A little over 20 years ago that Stake was discontinued.
So, I was able to confirm that the "missing" 4 districts in Dominican Republic and Kenya, went 2 each to the new Santo Domingo North and Nairobi East Missions.
I also think that the Church will release an official name for the Santiago West Chile Temple at some point before the groundbreaking or that it will be revealed on the same day. With that groundbreaking set, we have 3 scheduled for the same date. We are approaching July, which usually marks the annual recess month for the general Church leadership. We have, however, seen at least one or two temple construction announcements in July, and we have a lot coming up that could be announced.
The Tallahassee Florida Temple has made significant progress in its construction, with major work completed. This paves the way for the announcement of its opening arrangements. Similarly, the Antofagasta Chile, Grand Junction Colorado, Farmington New Mexico, and Abidjan Ivory Coast Temples are all nearing completion, suggesting that some of these temples may soon follow suit in having their opening arrangements set.
The Singapore Temple property has been turned over to the Special Projects Division, and a general contractor has been selected, so a groundbreaking could soon occur for that temple. I was also advised to watch for a similar announcement for the Cali Colombia Temple soon. Likewise, the Grand Rapids Michigan and Tarawa Kiribati Temples may soon have groundbreakings announced, based on information I have received.
Based on what we saw with the Santiago West Chile Temple (a rendering released in conjunction with the groundbreaking announcement) and that two Brazilian temples had a groundbreaking take place and another groundbreaking was announced, other temples might soon have groundbreakings set for other temples. I currently have 21 temples for which a groundbreaking may take place in the next year or so, 6 others awaiting an exterior rendering and groundbreaking announcement, and 28 more with sites announced, many of which might also have groundbreakings set in the near term.
So, we will most likely see at least a few announcements related to temple construction during the July recess month. I look forward to seeing what happens there. Hopefully, this information is helpful to all who read it. My thanks once again to you all.
I am hoping we get more groundbreaking announcements soon. Also more site annoucements.
Here is another Church News article on the Coban https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2024/06/26/coban-guatemala-temple-dedication-stories-of-faith-lds-church/
It is quite encoraging to see the amount of learning of Q’eqchi’ going on. I also looking over things realized that the predecessor to the current mission president in Coban was from Coban. I believe he and his wife also oversaw the temple open house. The current mission president is from Mexico City, although born in Oaxaxca. His wife was born in Mexico City. They both served their missions in Tijuana.
In this article one of the people they cover is Carmen McPeek. She was raised in Guatemala, from a young age had a desire to become a translator, joined the Church at 19, later served her mission in Coban, and while there had a dream or vision there would one day be a temple there. She went to BYU, and worked doing interpretation at the MTC and then in the Conference Center. She is now a global interpretation manager for the Church. She was interpreting in general conference when President Nelson announced the Coban Guatemala Temple. I have to admit I came away from reading the article wishing it said more.
I did dig up this podcast with Sister McPeek. She evidently has the full name of Carmen Amanda Barrios McPeek (although she may have an even fuller name than that). https://scripturecentral.org/archive/media/audio/book-episode-11-i-am-daughter-god-amanda-barrios-mcpeek From it I learned she grew up in Parras, which is in Chimaltenango, to the west of Guatemala City. She first met missionaries in Antigua. Her village suffered a lot from the violence of the Guatemalan Civil War.
I meant to include this with my last comment. The Wikipedia article on the Coban Guatemala Temple says that the temple "is being built". That is in need of being updated to reflect that the temple is completed in operating.
For all interested, here are 8 more of the new 2024 Missions. Recently organized.
Philippines Dumaguete Mission (2246341)
· Dumaguete Philippines Stake (609277)
· Escalante Philippines Stake (616249)
· Sagay Philippines Stake (1071238)
· San Carlos Philippines District (612235)
· Sipalay Philippines District (363820)
· Tanjay Philippines District (613002)
Philippines General Santos Mission (2246570)
· Digos Philippines Stake (521299)
· General Santos Philippines Stake (524042)
· Cotabato Philippines District (616559)
· Kidapawan Philippines District (616567)
· Marbel Philippines District (606006)
Philippines Tuguegarao Mission (2246376)
· Ilagan Philippines Stake (371351)
· Tuguegarao Philippines North Stake (519677)
· Tuguegarao Philippines South Stake (1684590)
· Aparri Philippines District (611875)
· Gonzaga Philippines District (481521)
Bolivia Cochabamba South Mission (2246473)
· Cochabamba Bolivia Aeropuerto Stake (2105276)
· Cochabamba Bolivia Alalay Stake (524476)
· Potosí Bolivia Stake (523658)
· Sucre Bolivia Stake (525146)
· Tupiza Bolivia District (610569)
Ecuador Quito West Mission (2246511)
· Esmeraldas Ecuador Stake (524301)
· Quito Ecuador Chillogallo Stake (523615)
· Quito Ecuador La Ofelia Stake (527963)
· Quito Ecuador Stake (512028)
· Santo Domingo Ecuador Stake (524131)
Perú Lima Northeast Mission (2246902)
· Lima Perú Begonias Stake (2134187)
· Lima Perú Campoy Stake (527025)
· Lima Perú Canto Grande Stake (519952)
· Lima Perú Las Flores Stake (519170)
· Lima Perú Magnolias Stake (1089145)
· Lima Perú Rímac Stake (525138)
· Lima Perú Wiesse Stake (522090)
Portugal Porto Mission (2011085)
· Coimbra Portugal Stake (385891) Estaca Coimbra Portugal
· Porto Portugal North Stake (519723) Estaca Porto Norte Portugal
· Porto Portugal Stake (518476) Estaca Porto Portugal
Montana Missoula Mission (2245701)
· Butte Montana Stake (502251)
· Great Falls Montana East Stake (511080)
· Great Falls Montana Stake (502685)
· Helena Montana Stake (505099)
· Kalispell Montana Stake (505927)
· Missoula Montana Stake (502677)
· Ronan Montana Stake (2089181)
· Stevensville Montana Stake (512362)
@Chris D.
Thanks for listing out the stakes for the new Missoula Mission.
Here's some positive publicity for the new Springfield Temple. (at least the part of the article I could read without signing up for their newsletter) ;)
https://sgfcitizen.org/springfield-culture/church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-temple-in-south-springfield-mo/
On June 16, 2024, the Beira Mozambique Inhamízua Stake (2267462) was created with the following:
Cerâmica Ward (2205521) Ala de Cerâmica
Dondo Ward (2124211)
Inhamízua Ward (418978)
Rocha Ward (2244152) Ala de Rocha
Zona Verde Ward (2243210) Ala de Zona Verde
Mafarinha Branch (2192594) Ramo de Mafarinha
Aside from the "Big 3" of the Russia, Shanghai, and Dubai temples, the Beira Mozambique Temple is the only one in the current catalog of announced temples that has gone further than 4 years with no site announcement. Really hope with this new stake, we might be able to see some progress with the temple. I'm glad that Brussels got a site announced, as that was also announced in the same conference as Beira.
I came across this article on the Springfield Missouri Temple site being chosen. https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/location-of-next-lds-temple-picked-whats-next/
It shows me we still have a huge upward battle to get to a point where people refer to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints correctly.
However on the whole it is a good article, even if I think thry could have been more clear about some things. I suspected Don Jervis was the stake president, not because the way they referred to him would not be used for a bishop, stake president's counselor or more, but because I know the Church handbook makes it clear the stake president is the lead local level spokesperson to the media.
On hunting I found he was called about a year ago. He owns the Jervis Family Eye Care Center. His first counselor is of Japanese descent, at least in part. The counselor has a very English first name so my first guess is he was raised in Hawaii, but it might not be his first name from birth.
Back to President Jervis. He is said to have been a member "40 years". He is 48. So is he just counting from his actual baptism,rounding, or did his parents join the Church in about 1984, when he was about 8? Although I have to real evidence for it, I strongly suspect that the 3rd is actually true. It might have been a few years earlier, or a few later. I just don't see excluding his whole young childhood if his parents were members from his birth, and rounding 48 down to 50 instead of up to 50 also seems odd. So I am guessing the Jervis family joined the Ch6rch in the early 1980s.
I am glad they let him explain the roles of a temple and a chaple. I suspect that the Springfield Missuori Temple will be very similar to the Bentonville Arkansas Temple, although not as similar as the Detroit MichiganTemlle was to the Birmingham Alabama Temple when built.
The placement of the temple close to the Osteopathic Hospital also seems a very good decision. Although I am not sure how close is close. Hospitals are another use that seems to fit the sane general use profile as religious buildings and schools.
Ryan, my understanding is that a prospective site has been identified for the Beira Mozambique Temple. I wouldn't be shocked if the site in question is officially confirmed as such in the near term.
In fact, based on what I've heard on my end, I anticipate action may be taken on several African temples to move them towards or into the construction queue in the near term.
I also anticipate at least a couple new African temples will be announced in October. I see one for the Africa West Area, and maybe one or two others elsewhere in Africa.
Just some of my own thoughts, FWIW.
For those interested in the new missions organized. Here are another 6 new missions
Nigeria Port Harcourt North Mission (2245817)
· Port Harcourt Nigeria Choba Stake (2120143)
· Port Harcourt Nigeria East Stake (1793578)
· Port Harcourt Nigeria North Stake (2077833)
· Port Harcourt Nigeria West Stake (428558)
· Yenagoa Nigeria Stake (2013916)
· Nigeria Port Harcourt North Mission Branch (2246996)
Sierra Leone Bo Mission (2245825)
· Bo Sierra Leone East Stake (2029103)
· Bo Sierra Leone North Stake (2077892)
· Bo Sierra Leone West Stake (613665)
· Kenema Sierra Leone Stake (1979051)
· Moriba Town Sierra Leone District (2205548)
· Kapeteh Branch (2144557)
· Koidu Branch (2104369)
· Moyamba Branch (2104377)
· Sierra Leone Bo Mission Branch (2247003)
Cambodia Phnom Penh East Mission (2246082)
· Kampong Cham Cambodia District (471569)
· Phnom Penh Cambodia East District (1858971)
· Siem Reap Cambodia District (2045486)
· Cambodia Phnom Penh East Mission Branch (2246090)
Thailand Bangkok East Mission (2246112)
· Bangkok Thailand Stake (523720)
· Ubon Thailand Stake (613762)
· Udorn Thailand District (616923)
· Thailand Bangkok East Mission Branch (2246503)
Florida Tallahassee Mission (2011034)
· Dothan Alabama Stake (518182)
· Fort Walton Beach Florida Stake (524271)
· Panama City Florida Stake (507954)
· Pensacola Florida Stake (505358)
· Tallahassee Florida Stake (506540)
· Tifton Georgia Stake (507903)
Argentina Tucumán Mission (2246910)
· La Rioja Argentina Stake (464546)
· Santiago del Estero Argentina Stake (522341)
· Tucumán Argentina Stake (512532)
· Tucumán Argentina West Stake (523046)
· Concepción Argentina District (612553)
· Chilecito Branch (350656)
Here is an article about a newly formed branch in N'Ziaouan, Ivory Coast. https://news-africa.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/new-branch-of-the-church-of-jesus-christ-created-in-n-rsquo-zianouan--cote-d-rsquo-ivoire
This is about 70 km from Abijan is the Abijan West Mission. Missionaries only arrived last year and over 100 people were at the branch organization meeting.
I wonder if this marker should be taken down from the Meetinghouse Locator site for "sensitive" location. Or if it was recently added as an English speaking group, in the Kingdom.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/meetinghouses/5811783-01-01
I don't think it's intentional, since it says "Not to be displayed."
There are two locations in Saudi Arabia now posted that wasn't before. The other does not have the words "Not to be displayed". I don't know if these are now allowed to be posted and left the old note on one of the locations. I don't think there's only two meetinghouses/rented spaces in Saudi Arabia as it has more congregations than these.
Also, I'm assuming almost all members (if not all) in Saudi Arabia are foreign to the country, as there's no proselyting/converting (even if they want to join the church). However, unless their laws have changed, unintentionally displaying the location could jeopardize the lives of members meeting there.
Congregations in other Middle-eastern Arab countries where the church is recognized are still almost fully foreigners that are there primarily for work.
The situation in south-west Asia and North Africa is a little more complex.
Here in Detroit our current missionaries have not received any instruction on teaching Muslims, Arabs or really any other group that discourages teaching.
We have actually gone the other way. We have missionaries with assignments to teach in Arabic. We have an Arabic-speaking group in the Bloomfield Hills Stake anc the Westland Stake also has started Arabic-languagr outreach heavily in Dearborn.
In my parents ward one of theor missionaries was born in Sudan. I am not sure if that was in what is still Sudan or what is now South Sudan.
However since most Arabs in metro-Detroit are settled Immigrants, many born here and those not largely planning to stay, this might not have much short term impact on Southwest Aaia or North Africa.
However as far as I can tell, and this takes some hatmrd digging I think the following is true.
There are Church members in Palestine who are nationals of Palestine. Thry may be the majority there. The same is true of Israel, but thry are far outnumbered by those connected with the BYU Jerusalem Center.
Egypt has a number of Nigerian members, who at least are very different socio-economically than US and other people there.
The rest of North Africa, the gulf states, and Saudi Arabia are basically all expat members, in UAE the majority are Filipino. Elder Costa, an Argentine member now a general authority seventy, was an expat and I believe branch president in Oman. He was also an expat in the US, Czechia, and Peru.
However Iraq and Lebanon appear to have mainly nationals as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The numbers are small. Syria and Jordan I am not sure on. Iran has virtually none.
Turkey does have some expat members in Istanbul. However possibly the largest share are Iranian immigrants. These people do not appear to have any realistic plans to go back to Iran, so thry are very much expats.
James (June 24, 2024 at 8:48 AM):
I think comparing our faith to other faiths in Africa, while potentially useful, is only part of the story. I would add to the story:
(1) the dreams and other miracles that individuals have experienced, pre-1978 and after 1978, indeed continuing into this decade, that led them to learn about the church
(2) Rigorous standards for membership that is producing high membership activity rates in some areas (per Matt, 80% in DRC),
(3) The emergence of BYU Pathway Worldwide as a credible replacement for some portion of the welfare needs through education,
(4) The emergence of Nigeria as a top 7 country, near as I can tell, in terms of sacrament attendance, passing up Chile and below Argentina/Peru.
(5) Africa more generally becoming competitive with or passing Europe and Asia in terms of membership, growth, and announced temples.
(6) The reliance on African missionaries, rather than American, for much of the growth.
There's a ton positive about Africa in the context of our previous missionary efforts, and certain structural changes like Pathway and emphasis on retention may make African growth more sustainable
To follow up on the above comment. West Africa saw a significant slowing down of growth recently, but there is still growth, and some things indicate that we will see more growth in the future.
The huge initiative by the eneral Relief Society with 8 international organizations to provide relief for women and children is mainly focused on African countries. In the Church News podcast they prise stakes in I believe Ghana and Nigeria for making huge impacts in terms of turning around nutritional less fir children. I am thinking that this is also going to be a growing program with bigget impacts.
Yes, there were no temples announced on the African continent in April. However there were 4 announced last October, including in Angola that then only had one stake.
The new Kinshasa MTC is also a huge development. There are 2mfumctionally 3 MTCs in Asia, 1 in Europe, 2 in South America, 2 in North America, 1 in the Pacific and 2 in Africa.
In eastern Africa The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has just barely began to really make stides of growth. Mozambique just hit 8 stakes,and that is the most of any eastern African country.
When Joseph W. Sitati became stake president in Nairobi Kenya in about 2000 he was the only stake president in eastern Africa.
Things are looking up in Africa. The Church of Jesus Christ is working to make a major impact.
In a month there will be 2 Congolese Area Presidents, and a Zimbabwean member of the Presidency of the 70.
The next big initiative I hope for is the Tabernacle Choir at temple Square going to Nigeria or Congo. I believe they have never been to any African country. They have mainly toured in the US, Canada and Europe until the last 2 years. Mexico they had been to before but not since the 1970s, and the Phillipines was a first.
This fall they are going to Florida, but with the guests from the Mexico tour. One I believe gives music and the spoken word in Spanish, the other Adassa is an Afro-Latino native of I think Colombia most known for singing "We don't talk about Bruno". I think she has lived and worked in Florida. They are there trying to connect with the Latino population in Florida. The other stop in Atlanta is going to involve performing wirth the Spellman and Morehouse glee clubs, and is a continued part of African-American outreach.
I am hopeful that Spring 2025 will see a tour to a country in Africa. I hope either Congo or Nigeria, but it might be Ghana.
Chris D.,
Thank you for your input on stakes within each new mission! I no longer have access to CDOL, and I'm trying to get this updated on Wikipedia. This helps.
There's a listing of stakes for each state and country which includes what mission and temple district its in (if multiple). I've got a busy work/church/family schedule, but updating this as time allows.
Example page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints_in_Texas#Stakes_and_Districts
I was looking through those Wikipedia pages. The one on Ohio lists the Kirtland Ohio Stake as dating from 1834. It should actually list the date the current Kirtland Ohio Stake was formed, which was sometime I believe in the late 1970s.
JPL, you're probably right. I'm not the only editor and one probably wanted to make note that a stake exited there in 1834. The only dates I used was via CDOL when that was available.
This is not a policy issue, but policy effect what content can be published, which was a big issue when I first started creating and editing pages. Consequently, it's not a place where I refer my friends to see church content, but I do try to make it as accurate and updated as possible.
JPL,
Correction: I looked at the page history and I was the one that dated that stake's organization, which means that was what CDOL was dating its organization.
The church Almanac on the other hand states October 16, 1983, but then further down, it states that it was a reinstatement of the original stake which was created in 1834.
So being a reinstatement, 1834 is the creation date and 1983 is the reinstatement date.
Pendant toute ma vie, j'ai aimé enseigner aux gens l'Évangile et tout ce qui peut les aider à surmonter les difficultés de la vie.
j'ai besoin d'être l'un de vos candidats
Post a Comment