New Stakes Created in the DR Congo, Nigeria, and Utah; New District Created in Gabon; Two Districts Discontinued in French Polynesia

DR Congo

Today, a new stake was created in the DR Congo. The Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo UPN Stake was created from the Kinshasa DR Congo Mont Ngafula Stake (organized in 2006) which had 11 wards and one branch prior to the creation of the new stake. No information is available yet on which congregations were assigned to the new stake or whether congregations from additional stakes were taken to create the new stake. The new stake is the Church's 12th stake in Kinshasa and the first new stake to be organized in the city since 2019. Several additional stakes appear likely to be organized in Kinshasa in the near future, as most stakes in the city have enough congregations to divide. 

There are now 29 stakes and three districts in the DR Congo.

Nigeria

A new stake was created in Nigeria on August 18th. The Calabar Nigeria Etta Agbor Stake was created from the Calabar Nigeria Stake (created in 2002 and renamed the Calabar Nigeria Tinapa Stake) and the Calabar Nigeria South Stake (created in 2015). The new stake includes the following six wards and one branch: the Atimbo, Etta Agbor, Mayne Avenue, Nyanghasang, Uwanse, and Yellow Duke Wards and the Akpabuyo Branch. The new stake is the Church's fourth stake in the city of Calabar where a temple was announced in October of 2023.

There are now 73 stakes and 13 districts in Nigeria.

Utah

A new stake was created in Utah on August 11th. The Provo Utah East Bay (Spanish) Stake was created from area stakes and includes the following nine wards: the Bonneville 7th (Spanish), East Bay 2nd (Spanish), Franklin Park (Spanish), Freedom 3rd (Spanish), Lakeside 5th (Spanish), Parkway 6th (Spanish), Slate Canyon 1st (Spanish), Slate Canyon 14th (Spanish), and the Sunset 2nd (Spanish) Wards. The new stake is the Church's second Spanish-speaking stake in Utah following the West Jordan Utah Wasatch Meadows (Spanish) Stake which was created in May of 2024.

There are now 641 stakes and four districts in Utah.

Gabon

The Church organized its first district in the Central African nation of Gabon on August 4th. The Libreville Gabon District was created with four branches that previously were administered directly by the Cameroon Yaounde Mission, namely the Libreville 1st, the Libreville 2nd, the PK12, and the Université Branches. The Church organized its first branch in Gabon in Libreville in 2012 followed by additional branches in 2016 (Libreville 2nd), 2022 ( Université), and 2024 (PK12). The Port-Gentil Branch is the only branch in Gabon outside of Libreville, and the branch remains under the direct supervision of the Cameroon Yaounde Mission.

French Polynesia 

The Church's last two districts in French Polynesia were recently discontinued, and the branches that were assigned to the districts have been reassigned to stakes based on Tahiti. The two branches in the Taiohae Marquesas Islands District (organized in 2012) were reassigned to the Papeete Tahiti Stake. In the former Makemo Tuamotu District, the Makemo and Taenga Branches were reassigned to the Punaauia Tahiti Stake, the Fakarava Branch was reassigned to the Faaa Tahiti Tuamotu Stake, the Hikueru and Marokau Branches were reassigned to the Taravao Tahiti Stake, and the Hao Branch was reassigned to the Paea Tahiti Stake. The Makemo Tuamotu District Branch was the only branch that was discontinued. These changes were similar to the discontinuation of the Tubuai Australes District in 2016 and permits some of the larger branches in former districts to become wards and also reduce the administrative burden on the mission president to serve members living in districts. Moreover, this decision was also likely made because there were no feasible prospects for the districts to become stakes within the foreseeable future due to remote distance and small populations spread over large geographical areas. 

There are now 11 stakes and zero districts in French Polynesia.

New Temple Predictions - September 2024 Edition

I have updated my temple prediction map in preparation for General Conference in October. The size of the Church in a specific geographical area (i.e. number of stakes and districts, the number of wards and branches), the age of the oldest stake in a specific geographical area, church growth trends, the distance to the nearest temple, traffic/transportation, the square-footage of the nearest temple, the historical number of weekly endowment sessions scheduled at the nearest temple, and member and missionary reports regarding member activity, temple attendance, and convert retention are variables used to identify prospective sites for future temple announcements. Altogether, there are 208 potential temples on the map (which is 5 potential temple sites less than the total number of potential sites identified in March 2024). The following nine locations have been added to the temples prediction map with this current update - all of which are less likely temples:

• Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
• Kigali, Rwanda
  
• Lilongwe, Malawi
• Macon, Georgia
  
• Mwene-Ditu, Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple
• Saleilua, Samoa
  
• Takoradi, Ghana
  
• Tema, Ghana
  
• Yaoundé, Cameroon
  

Also, there were five locations that were moved from the less likely to be announced list to the more likely to be announced list. Provided with a reasoning for the transfer from the less likely temples to be announced list to the more likely temples to be announced list, these locations included:

• Abuja, Nigeria (remote distance, three stakes in the metropolitan area, creation of the Nigeria Abuja Mission in 2024, significant recent growth in Jos, Nigeria that appears likely to become a stake in the immediate future)
• Cottonwood Heights/Holladay/Sandy Utah Temple (temple in this area could serve 20-30 stakes, this area of the Salt Lake metropolitan area is the most unreached by current temples).
  
• Lomé, Togo (significant recent growth in the Benin Cotonou Mission where there are now five stakes and one district)
  
• Port Harcourt, Nigeria (metropolitan area on the Afro-Eurasian landmass with the most stakes [7] without a temple, multiple new stakes likely to be created in the immediate future, two missions now headquartered in city [second mission created in 2024], significant steady growth in the number of stakes. Although the Aba Nigeria Temple is nearby, the Aba Nigeria Temple is on the opposite side of the city from where Port Harcourt is located. There has also been significant growth in Aba as well that can better support the current temple. There are now five stakes in Aba alone)
• Rigby, Idaho (significant recent growth in the number of congregations and stakes in the Idaho Falls, Idaho area, additional new stakes likely to be organized in the near future, Idaho Falls Idaho Temple now has 31 stakes assigned)
  

In my opinion, the following 10 locations appear most likely to have temples announced this coming General Conference. As always, your prediction lists are welcome and encouraged.

1. Spanish Fork, Utah
2. Angeles or Olongapo, Philippines 
3. Kampala, Uganda
4. Santiago, Dominican Republic
5. Osorno, Chile OR Puerto Montt, Chile
6. El Paso, Texas
7. Price, Utah
8. Bo, Sierra Leone
9. Port Harcourt, Nigeria
10. Rigby, Idaho
    

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