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Member participation in missionary efforts
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Missionaries were reassigned to the South Pacific island country of Tuvalu this week after a 6 year absence according to @hxp.islandsoftuvalu on Instagram. My daughter is on a humanitarian trip there currently.
ReplyDeleteCouple of fun facts about Tuvalu that I find interesting. First is that each country was given a two letter internet designation (such as United States: .us, Germany: .de, United Kingdom: .uk, etc.). Tuvalu's designation is .tv and leases that to websites, which generates a decent amount of money for the country.
DeleteSecond, there was a couple in my ward that I ministered to (he's in the stake presidency, though they recently moved their records into one of the Samoan wards) with the last name Aliki, and he served his mission in Tuvalu many years ago. Tuvalu has local leaders referred to as Alikis, so in order to respect the locals, he was asked to be referred to as Elder [first name], instead of Elder Aliki, even on his nametag.
A perspective into the decline of some protestant churches in America:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.deseret.com/faith/2025/07/12/ryan-burge-church-closing-anniversary-nones-religion/
And an article on reaching out to those who are religiously non-affiliated:
ReplyDelete"Understanding the ‘nones’"
https://www.deseret.com/magazine/2025/04/06/andrew-teal-understanding-the-nones/
I should do this thing. I may have to approximate some guesses, but hopefully stay in the ball park. How is the new Turkey/Azerbaijan Mission doing? Any reports?
ReplyDeleteAs an interesting note, major construction just wrapped up on the Davao Philippines Temple. This means that there are now 5 temples with major construction completed and which are awaiting the announcement of their opening arrangements. To the best of my knowledge, that is the most temples we have had in that status at the same time. So I'm hopeful that some temple dedications will be announced this upcoming Monday or the Monday following. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteAre there any rumors for new Stakes or Districts this weekend?
ReplyDeleteI think we are still in recess. My expectation is that things won't start up until next week, more likely the week after.
DeleteFrom my patriarchal blessing given when I was 14 years old (1970)…. “…You will witness many things transpire upon the earth. You will realize that the Lord is at the helm and that events turn according to His understanding…”. Truly, it is AMAZING and HUMBLING to watch the speed with which the Lord and all of us, his servants, are now able to build up His kingdom ALL OVER THE WORLD! Blessed be the Father, the Savior, and the Holy Ghost..z
ReplyDeleteIn the last 10 years (year-end 2014-2024), 477,297 or 22.5% of total church growth was in the US/Canada. The remaining growth, of course, was outside the US/Canada.
ReplyDeleteOf the last 100 temples announced:
39% were in the US/Canada
61% were outside the US/Canada
While more temples are being announced outside the US than before, the areas where the church is growing is not getting its fair share of announcements. Also, I've noticed that while it's not as significant as in the past, wealthier nations (including those outside US/Canada) get announcements easier (ie. apparent lower stake/members threshold to getting one) than less developed nations.
Why I used US/Canada was because up to a couple of years ago, there use to be a split in criteria for developing wards, stakes, etc than outside the US/Canada.
Wealthier nations, even outside the US/Canada tend to do better with religious freedom which could explain some of it. It especially explains why temples get to construction easier in these nations, and that easier laws can encourage more temples being announced in these areas. But this still doesn't seem to be the full story.
The Church News just shared this infographic showing Church growth in South America during the 100 years the Church has been established there. My thanks once again to you all.
ReplyDeleteThe Rossendale Valley Ward in the Chorley England Stake was made a branch this weekend
ReplyDeleteAngola is not at all wealthy, and it got a temple announced while only having just one stake.
ReplyDeleteThe process involved in such things is complex.
What I did notice is that Ecuador has 44 stakes, Colombia has 31, yet Ecuador has only 2 total temples, while Colombia has 4. Ecuador seems to be a very strong candidate to have another temple announced (it is the only country with multiple temples without a temple announced by President Nelson). Ecuador has bigger temples than some other countries though, so temple size may be a factor in not having more temples announced. The other thing is that outside of the two cities where there are temples, there are not very many concentrated stakes.
I think a much better way to gauge where we would expect new temples is actually the growth in the number of stakes, not just raw church growth numbers.
There is also the fact that there may be lots of planned temples that are not yet announced because they want to reach a certain point of being on the path to getting a temple before announcing it. I am not sure exactly what point that is. It is not always having the land. The Grand Rapids Temple the purchase of the land was not completed until after it was announced, although that purchase was mainly in process. I believe the Des Moines Temple the land was purchased before it was announced.
Back in 2010 while on my mission I had just attended the Cebu City dedication broadcast. That was the 2nd temple completed in the Philippines with no others announced at that point in time. My companion told me his dad was the CEO of an engineering company that was often contracted with temple designs/integrity, and that he sat on the temple building committee. His father told him that there were already funds set aside for over 20 temples in the Philippines. It seemed so farfetched I didn't believe him. Went home and found his dad on Linkedin, sure enough that was indeed his job.
Delete15 Years later there are a total of 14 temples announced, meaning there are still many more that already have the funds set aside to get moving. Bet that 20 number has also increased a good bit.
JPL,
DeleteA lot of the reasoning has to do with distance. Areas with overnight travel to its nearest temple is going to get a temple much easier than those less than that.
Luanda is known for having the highest cost of living in the world. The stake that it had had was close to splitting when announced and is now two with other districts in the country. The church was flying the members to South Africa due to visa restrictions to DRC.
Ecuador is not nearly as spread out as Columbia. One of my top 10 potential temple locations is Quevedo for that reason.
as of early 2023
Western Europe had 128 stakes and 21 temples or 6.1 stakes/temple
Africa had 205 stakes and 20 temples or 10.3 stakes/temple.
South America had 679 stakes and 47 temples or 14.4 stakes/temple
Temple stats include those announced and under construction at that time.
The temple news of the day is that the Burley Idaho Temple will be dedicated on January 11, 2026 following a public open house that runs from November 5th to November 22nd, 2025. Very exciting news, especially for me as I have lots of family in that area.
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/open-house-and-dedication-dates-announced-for-burley-idaho-temple
Thanks for posting that here. I hope your family is blessed by that temple. For any who would like additional analysis and perspective on this announcement, the Church News has also covered it, as have I on my blog:
Deletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2025/07/21/burley-idaho-temple-dedication-open-house-dates-announced/
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2025/06/breaking-temple-news-next-major-temple_045755969.html
Oddly enough, this newest dedication is much further out than I thought it would be.
It's also slightly odd to me that a presiding apostle hasn't been announced for that dedication. Ordinarily that means that the prophet might be there for it, but with the distance between Burley and Salt Lake, and in view of President Nelson's advancing age and health challenges, I wouldn't think he'd be up to driving or flying that distance.
DeleteBurley is only a 2.5 to 3 hour drive from Salt Lake but there aren't any major airports nearby to make a flight worth it and at his age, I agree it's unlikely he makes the drive. Are there any apostles with connections to the area?
DeleteHenry B. Eyring and David A. Bednar have connections to the Rexburg area, but that's a ways away. Neil L. Andersen was raised in Pocatello, which is only 79.1 miles from Burley. So he's the most likely of the three.
DeleteI was thinking about making the case that Burley is barely further than Manti, so President Nelson might dedicate it, but I agree his continued aging makes that quite unlikely.
DeleteI hear there may be one or two new stakes next month in the Pocatello Idaho area. Not announced yet as such. But a "historic" stake conference.
ReplyDeleteThe Highland Stake has 14 Wards, so it is very likely to split next month.
DeleteMost of the stakes in Highland are quite large. My uncle & aunt live there currently, and he's served in a bishopric and on the stake high council. He's mentioned in the past that he's expected his stake to split. I don't know if it has split recently or not, but it wouldn't shock me if a few or even several new stakes are created in that city in the back half of this year.
DeleteI have a strong feeling that there will be dozens of new stake created in August-September, in the US particularly. After recently meeting with my Stake President in Independence, MO, I am positive one of those Stakes will be in this area Special 1-day conferences also lead me to believe that additional stakes will be created in Pahrump, NV and Southern Houston. I also think it is within realm of possibility that a Wichita Falls Stake could be created, given that the Lawton Oklahoma and Dwnton Texas Stakes are meeting for conference on the same day. There are plenty of Stakes all over the country, but it seems most new Stakes have at least 6-8 units, rather than the minimum of 5 Wards.
DeleteAre you referring to Highland, Utah or the Pocatello Idaho Highland Stake?
DeleteThe Pocatello Idaho Highland Stake.
DeleteThe 2 Stakes in Shelley, ID are also meeting on the same day in August, with 24 Wards combined, we could possibly see a split into 1 or even 2 new Stakes.
Sorry. I didn't know you were talking about Pocatello. I retract my comment.
DeleteI have a question: does anyone have any thoughts about the likelihood that, given the advancing age and health challenges that most of the First Presidency is dealing with, what are the odds that an additional counselor might be called into the First Presidency? I know there's precedent for such action, but I also know that the members of the Quorum of the Twelve have recently been tasked with duties that have customarily been the purview and prerogative of the First Presidency, so they all in a way have been helping to shoulder the First Presidency's load..
ReplyDeleteSo I'm honestly not sure what to think about that. If there is an additional counselor called in October, who might that be? I see a few prospects: President Holland, whose improving health, age, and apostolic seniority would indicate he will likely outlive Presidents Nelson and Oaks, who are the only ones senior to him; Elder Uchtdorf, who has been there before; Elder Bednar, whose younger age and seniority would also make him a likely future prophetic successor, and Elder Stevenson, for whom the younger age and apostolic seniority would also be a likely First Presidency prospect, either now or down the line.
Anyways, that's just my thinking on this. I'd welcome thoughts from anyone who wants to comment. I know it may veer into speculative territory, but it's something I've been wondering out and thought might be a good discussion to have here.
At this point I think it's a 50/50 chance that a 3rd Counselor will be sustained in October. My best guess would be Elder Bednar. If that is the case, he could also be given the assignment to dedicate the Burley Idaho Temple as the 3rd Counselor in the First Presidency, rather than a member of the 12 - which could be why they held off on making that announcement. I do not think either member of the First Presidency today will end up dedicating that temple.
DeleteJames,
DeleteThanks for asking. I think there are three main reasons a third counselor hasn't been called and probably won't ever be called during President Nelson's administration:
1) God hasn't told President Nelson to call a Third Counselor.
2) The Twelve has been able to help the Presidency more.
3) The simpler path forward is to wait for the passing of a First Presidency member and add one or two new counselors at the subsequent reorganization.
Point 3 deserves elaboration. President Kimball served for four full years after he called President Hinckley to be a counselor. For much of those years, Pres. Kimball's role was very limited.
At this point, I don't expect President Nelson or President Eyring to live 4 more years. Pres. Nelson hasn't been able to deliver a live address since he fell in Fall 2023 and his eyesight and the frequency of his public appearances seems to be consistently declining. Plus... he's nearly 101, at the point where age is an inherent risk of death at any time for most people. Rushing to call a Third Counselor is less urgent if the best logic we have available says he could well die in 1-2 years or sooner. He needs our prayers.
Likewise, President Eyring seems to rely a lot on a wheelchair and not have many public appearances or videos outside of General Conference and a pre-recorded video for the Mission President's seminar. He could pass in 1-2 years or sooner as well-- he's 92. He needs our prayers.
President Oaks certainly is mentally sharp, and to some degree physically healthy for his age, but-- whether because of age or some medical condition-- he seems to be consistently needing more assistance with standing and walking. His hands shake sometimes when he's sitting or standing. He needs our prayers.
(Yes, as President Holland's story demonstrates, any of these men could rally, but as numerous other apostolic stories demonstrate, that's not a given at this stage.)
So my instinct is the presidency will be inclined to stay the course (absent God's intervention), rely on the Twelve, and recognize their own mortality as they continue to evaluate the choice to call a Third Counselor.
My other thought is I was happy to see President Holland and Elder Uchtdorf great the IOC leaders last summer/fall. While it may seem impossible (for good, logical health reasons), I would be tickled pink if they both were around for the 2034 Olympics. By that time, President Holland would be President of the Church and Elder Uchtdorf President of the Twelve. (Again, I get President Holland's health is particularly questionable on this point.)
Noah, given that Presidents Oaks and Eyring are in their 90s and President Nelson is approaching 101, I'd think it would more likely be 70/30 or so, especially since they set new records for the oldest living First Presidency every day. I know that President Eyring and Elder Bednar both have ties to Idaho in general, and your theory of Elder Bednar potentially being called as a Third Counselor and dedicating the Burley temple in that capacity makes a lot of sense. That being said, Elder Bednar has closest ties to the Rexburg area, so he's more likely to definitively be the choice to dedicate the Teton River Idaho Temple.
DeleteMichael, obviously the Lord hasn't instructed President Nelson to call a Third Counselor yet, but if He did so, I'm convinced He could also enable President Nelson to follow that directive. We've seen him act promptly with matters like the announcement of the Ephraim Utah Temple, the setting apart of President Holland before President Ballard was laid to rest, and the appointment and setting apart of Elder Kearon outside the normal window. Even at his worst health-wise, President Nelson at 100 with a back injury is reportedly in considerably better shape physically and mentally than President Kimball was in 1981 when the Lord strengthened him briefly enough to call, ordain, and set apart President Hinckley, Elder Maxwell, and Elder Durham in their new assignments, only for President Kimball to decline again afterwards. So President Nelson could more easily rally to call a Third Counselor and another new apostle if the Lord moved him in that direction.
DeleteIn fact, President Nelson reportedly participates virtually even when he can't do so in person, and he's reportedly in better health than President Eyring, so I think President Eyring may be the next to go. I've been wrong before, but that's my thinking on that.
I think when President Nelson does pass, President Oaks will call President Holland as his First Counselor for the same reason President Oaks was called by President Nelson. The Second Counselor position is less certain. On the one hand, I could see President Oaks retaining President Eyring as Second Counselor. On the other hand, I could see him calling Elder Uchtdorf as his Second Counselor and moving President Eyring back to the Twelve (to serve as Acting President, perhaps with some kind of assistant role for Elder Bednar).
But that's assuming that President Nelson precedes President Eyring in death, which, as I've noted, is not a given. In any case, for the reasons I've outlined, just because President Nelson hasn't called a Third Counselor doesn't mean he couldn't.
Either way, Noah and Michael, I appreciate the perspective you both brought to this question. Thanks for your thoughts. You've given me some things to mull over.
James,
DeleteGreat thoughts. I agree President Eyring could pass first.
James, I think Elder Uchtdorf and Bednar are most likely to be called into the first presidency next. My reasoning is that the most important things are continuity within the first presidency and therefore that those most likely to become president of the church have experience in the first presidency beforehand. Given seniority, ages, and health, I think it's clear that Elder Uchdorf or Bednar will be the next president of the church after President Oaks. Regardless of whether Elder Uchdorf is called to the first presidency, Elder Bednar will most likely be in the first presidency by the time both President Nelson and Eyring are no longer with us. I think Elder Holland is very unlikely to outlive President Oaks and having Holland as a member of the first presidency wouldn't add very much for very long in terms of vigor.
DeleteJust my thoughts.
I wouldn't personally count out President Holland. He's sounding more and more like his old self now, is making international and US ministry trips regularly (something only President Oaks from the current First Presidency is able to do), making regular social media videos from his office on an almost weekly basis, and was prominently featured as the Church representative in today's "Days of '47" KSL Parade. By these metrics, he's more publicly visible now than Presidents Nelson & Eyring. And he is the youngest of our three apostles with a 1940 birthdate.
DeleteI think any discussion of future First Presidency members that excludes President Holland or overlooks any or all of these facts and factors may be short-sighted and missing the mark, and I think you'll be surprised by how much longer he lasts, but that's just my opinion.
I mean no offense and I hope none is taken.
James,
DeleteI'm looking for the report on Pres. Holland's participation in today's parade. Do you have a link?
It has not yet been shared via any official Newsroom release or Church News update. I only know that it occurred as a result of having seen the parade live.
DeleteHere is that report:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-holland-pioneer-day-parade
I thought I should clarify something I omitted in my response about President Holland's viability as a potential future First Presidency member or even the future President of the Church: The original comment to which I was replying mentioned that Elders Uchtdorf and Bednar may be the next members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles more likely to be called as either additional counselors to the current First Presidency or as counselors to President Oaks. For the record, I have nothing against either Elders Uchtdorf or Bednar, and their seniority and age in relation to their apostolic seniority also makes them very viable and likely candidates for a future First Presidency role. That is why I mentioned all three of these Apostles, in addition to Elder Stevenson, with reference to one or more additional counselors.
DeleteTruth be told, I would be thrilled if any of our current Apostles serve in the current or any future First Presidency. I am grateful that, under the inspiration of President Nelson, the Twelve have been handling some tasks that have historically been traditionally under the First Presidency's purview. And with that in mind, President Holland, Elder Bednar, and Elder Kearon are the only three members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who have not yet conducted a session of General Conference. It may be trickier for President Holland to do, given that he has still been seated while delivering remarks in General Conference, in videos from his office, and in his ministry trips, but I'm sure the Church could opt to have him conduct a General Conference session from his seat, the same way President Eyring has done so.
Just some additional thoughts from me, for whatever they may be worth to the context of this conversation.
President Hinckley was called as a 3rd counselor in the 1st Presidency in 1981. At that point President Kimball had just turned 86, President Tanner had just turned 83 and President Romney was about to turn 84.
ReplyDeleteRight now President Nelson is 100, President Oaks is 92 almost 93, and I believe President Eyring is 92. However heath and age are not the sane thing.
On the other hand the way the Church runs us different now than in 1981. Dedications of temples are now regularly done by members of the 12. There are other changes, but nothing else that clearly says the 1st Presidency has less duties.
If 1981 was a clear precedent we would probably have gotten a 3rd counselor in the 1st Presidency by now. So it is not really possible yo predict when that will happen again.
And President Kimball literally rose from his sickbed to call, ordain, and set apart President Hinckley, Elder Maxwell, and Elder Durham (to the Presidency of the Seventy). President Nelson in 2025 is much better health-wise than President Kimball was in 1981. In 1981, the prophet was barely functioning, except for the appointments in question. By all reports from general Church leaders, President Nelson is still participating in person as much as he can, and virtually when he can't be physically present. That's different from 1981, when none of the First Presidency was fully functional.
DeleteLooking at the 1981 precedent in 2025 may not be the best comparison. But I do think that whether or not a third counselor is called, if the Lord wants President Nelson to act on something, he will be able to do so. We've seen it before. And we'll see it again, I'm sure. Just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean it won't.
The other thing that's very different now as opposed to 1981 is that despite their age, both Presidents Oaks and Eyring (though more so President Oaks) appear to still be able to fulfill their core responsibilities. In 1981, President Romney was already showing signs of dementia and President Tanner was terminally ill, and President Kimball himself was barely lucid for long stretches. There literally wasn't a single member of the First Presidency capable of doing much of anything. We're not to that point--not even close to it. And as has been mentioned, the Quorum of the Twelve has been authorized to do a whole lot more than it was in 1981 in terms of supporting the First Presidency. I would be shocked if the need for a Third Counselor arose before President Eyring or President Nelson dies.
DeleteJonathon F., that is a fair point. President Oaks is still fully functioning. Not quite so for President Eyring. There have been a number of times when the "First Presidency" reportedly greeted dignitary visitors to Church HQ and President Oaks was the only one present for those. I'm told that President Nelson is present virtually when he cannot be physically, but I haven't heard that to be the case with President Eyring.
DeleteBut you are right that this First Presidency involves the Quorum of the Twelve more frequently in things. When President Oaks has been the only First Presidency member there to greet dignitary visitors, one or two members of the Twelve have also been there. And we have ample reports of the Twelve also being tasked with "traditional" First Presidency duties. So in that respect, it's as if the First Presidency has twelve "additional counselors" they can use as needed.
But to your point about 1981, at the time of President Hinckley's call to the First Presidency, President Romney was still somewhat functional for a few months or a year. It wasn't until the following year (during the latter of which President Tanner died and the First Presidency was restructured) that President Romney began to decline, at which point President Hinckley was the sole functioning member of the First Presidency, and was given key support by President Benson as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Yes, now the Twelve are authorized to do more, but President Oaks is still the only member of the First Presidency who appears to be fully functioning and engaged in the day-to-day duties, being supported by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as needed.
But to me, that doesn't necessarily rule out President Nelson rallying enough to call an additional First Presidency Counselor if the nerf arises for that. Despite his age and back injury, he still acted promptly on the matters of a temple in Ephraim, setting apart President Holland before President Ballard was laid to rest, and calling and ordaining Elder Kearon outside the typical window. So I could see a 1981 situation rising again if only because President Oaks is the only fully-functioning First Presidency member and because our current First Presidency is the oldest ever.
So you are probably right in theory, but there's a lot at play here,and we are in an almost-analogous situation to 1981, and the difference is that our First Presidency is the oldest ever, so if they need more help that may require First Presidency-level priesthood authority, another member or two of the First Presidency isn't that far-fetched, at least to me.
Thanks for weighing in on this. I appreciate your thoughts and will keep them in mind.
I meant "need" above, nor "nerf". Stupid autocorrect.
DeletePresident Holland doing the rededication of the St. George Temple was also not announced far in advance.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand President Oaks dedicating Richmond and Elder Rasband dedicating Mendoza were both last minute adjustments, the first prompted by Elder Holland being hospitalized, the second it still remains unclear why Elder Stevenson's assignment was changed.
I would avoid reading too much into not announcing who will do a dedication almost 6 months before it happens, even if there are cases like Elder Gong being initially announced to dedicate Winnipeg 18 months or so before the even happened.
Elder Rasband was called to substitute for Elder Stevenson for the same reason Elder Kearon and Elder Stevenson switched dates speaking at BYU: Elder Stevenson underwent an unexpected medical procedure. Elder Stevenson explained that at the BYU devotional:
Deletehttps://speeches.byu.edu/talks/gary-e-stevenson/banners-for-discipleship/
"As an oak grows slowly from an acorn’: 100 years of growth in South America
ReplyDeleteGraphic shows Church’s totals of members, stakes, missions and temples — after 100 years in South America"
https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2025/07/20/south-america-church-100-years-map-graphic-stakes-missions-temples/
Spoke with a leader recently. He was in the car as an apostle visited Northwest Arkansas and drove around with the stake presidents. It was brought up how many additional buildings should be built, and the apostle told them they were thinking too small. He told them to bring them 12 and they would make it happen. The church has 3 lots in the area purchased currently.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has decided to move forward with more new buildings in Northwest Arkansas. I hope this is a sign that we will see more new buildings more broadly. The Church needs at least one new building in the city of Detroit, and realistically an additional building in Macomb County would be justified. It would lead to two adjacent wards each having their own building, but I think it would make way more sense because of the distances involved.
ReplyDeleteKolwezi DR Congo stake (12 wards, 2 branches) has a special stake conference this weekend, per their facebook page. I expect a stake split.
ReplyDeleteBeing a stake of that size where much of the population travels by foot, a split would help the stake leaders. Maybe it will also allow the stake(s) to expand into unreached portions of the city.
DeleteOne little talked about aspect of Church growth is the longevity of members of the Church. For example, if I try to live a long, healthy life I can do more good here on earth. I don't recall much talk about whether there's more to do in mortality vs on the other side. I do think a nice approach would be to encourage people to try to have as many children as they spiritually desire to have. I am not talking about having more than one can handle or having more kids just because you think you "should". I'm talking about people who can and want to have more children, but hesitate for one reason or another.
ReplyDeleteThe Amistad Texas Stake has had its units updated on Meetinghouse Locator with 4 wards and 3 branches. https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/617652
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHeber valley temple approved!!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.kpcw.org/wasatch-county/2025-07-23/judges-ruling-clears-way-for-heber-valley-temple
DeleteMatt, To get a conversation going here. Are these still your predictions of possible new missions for next year 2026 worldwide?
ReplyDeleteAFRICA (14 missions)
Cote d'Ivoire Daloa (3-4 stakes, 2-3 districts)
Gabon Libreville (1 district, 1 mission branch)
Ghana Kumasi (second mission) (3 stakes, 2-3 districts)
Liberia Monrovia (second mission) (3 stakes)
Malawi Lilongwe (2 stakes)
Mauritius and Reunion (2 districts)
Nigeria Benin City (second mission) (4-5 stakes)
Nigeria Eket (6-8 stakes)
Nigeria Lagos (second mission) (4 stakes)
Nigeria Makurdi (3 districts)
Nigeria Warri (3 stakes, 3 districts)
Senegal Dakar (1 district, several mission branches in neighboring countries)
Sierra Leone Freetown (second mission) (3 stakes)
Togo Lome (3 stakes)
ASIA (8 missions)
Georgia Tbilisi (2 mission branches)
Korea Daejeon (4 stakes)
Middle East/African North Service Mission (2 stakes, 3 districts)
Philippines Ormoc (3 stakes, 4 districts)
Philippines Palawan/Mindoro (1 stake, 4 districts)
Sri Lanka Colombo (1 district)
Thailand Ubon (1 stake, 1 district)
Timor-Leste Dili (1 mission branch)
EUROPE (9 missions)
Austria Vienna (2 stakes)
Belgium Brussels (2 stakes)
France Paris (second mission) (3 stakes)
France Toulouse (2 stakes)
Germany Düsseldorf (2 stakes)
Iceland Reykjavik (1 district)
Ireland Dublin (2 stakes)
Italy Palermo (1 stake)
Spain Granada (5 stakes)
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (28 missions)
Argentina Buenos Aires (fifth mission) (5-6 stakes)
Argentina Posadas (2 stakes, 5 districts)
Belize Belmopan (2 districts)
Bolivia Riberalta (3 districts)
Bolivia Tarija (4 stakes, 2 districts)
Brazil Juazeiro do Norte (1 stake, 2 districts, 2 mission branches)
Brazil Joinville (5 stakes)
Brazil Novo Hamburgo (6 stakes, 1 district)
Brazil Porto Velho (2 stakes)
Brazil São Luís (2 stakes, 1 district)
Brazil São Paulo (sixth mission) (4-5 million, ~7 stakes)
Brazil Sorocaba (5 stakes, 2 districts)
Colombia Bucaramanga (4 stakes)
Cuba Havana (1 district)
Ecuador Machala (4 stakes, 1 district)
Mexico Acapulco (3 stakes, 1 district)
Mexico Ciudad Obregón (3 stakes, 3 districts)
Mexico Coatzacoalcos (3 stakes, 3 districts)
Mexico Juchitán (3 stakes, 4 districts)
Mexico Morelia (4 stakes, 1 district)
Mexico Reynosa (5 stakes, 1 district)
Mexico San Luis Potosí (3 stakes)
Mexico Toluca (3 stakes)
Panama Panama City (second mission) - (3-4 stakes, 1-3 districts)
Peru Pisco (4 stakes, 2 districts)
Peru Pucallpa (2 stakes)
Peru Puno (3 stakes)
Peru Tacna (5 stakes)
NORTH AMERICA (14 missions)
Arizona Scottsdale (~10 stakes)
Canada Toronto (second mission) (4 stakes)
Colorado Grand Junction (5 stakes)
Connecticut Hartford (5 stakes)
Florida Orland (second mission) (5 stakes)
Georgia Macon (5 stakes)
Idaho Nampa (~20 stakes)
Illinois Peoria (4 stakes)
Missouri Springfield (5 stakes)
North Carolina Raleigh (second mission) (6-7 stakes)
Ohio Cleveland (5 stakes)
Oklahoma Tulsa (5 stakes)
Pennsylvania Harrisburg (6 stakes)
Wyoming Casper (5 stakes)
OCEANIA (7 missions)
Australia Brisbane (second mission) (~6 stakes)
Australia Sydney (second mission) (~6 stakes)
French Polynesia (second mission) (~5 stakes)
Kiribati Tarawa (2 stakes, 3 districts)
Papua New Guinea Daru (1 stake, 3 districts)
Samoa (second mission) (~12 stakes)
Solomon Islands Honiara (1 district)
Hey, Chris! I'm not Matt, but on the one hand, I could see the Church staying the course and creating no new missions again in 2026, but on the other hand, missionary numbers have continued to increase, as has reportedly the number of people wanting to know more about the Church, so with that in mind, I could see the Church creating another large number of new missions next year. I would think, if anything, the record growth the Church is reporting would warrant several dozen new missions in 2026. I wouldn't be shocked if Matt's list for 2026 actually expands.
DeleteAnd if the Church continues to grow the way it reportedly has, I could also see the need for several dozen more temples in the relatively near term (though, as I've previously noted, I think we will be getting 18 during the October 2025 General Conference). Hope these observations, such as they are, are helpful.
Kolwezi DR Congo stake with 12 wards and 2 branches does seem to have a good chance to split. If that happens I think there is a good chance to Kolwezi could have a temple announced soon. If it the only city in DR Congo that is a mission headquarters but does not have a temple in progress.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I don't understand is why they don't split the Canada Winnipeg Mission. Numbers of membership should be detrimental to a decision, SK has over a million people living there as does MB and now that Thunderbay, ON is in the mission its even more driving. Both provinces have a temple each and 2 stakes each, I don't know they don't split it.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, in another thread, someone mentioned wondering to which Quorum of the Seventy the Canada Area would pertain. I took the opportunity to ask that question via the Church website, and the answer that I got was that for more information, I should go through my local leaders. It's a sound suggestion in most cases, but I don't see how this would resolve that in this case.
ReplyDeleteWhizzbang, you are our native Canadian on this blog. Do you have any information on this question? Either way, I assume that when the area seventies page is updated after August 1, that information will then be available in that section.
That is a good question! I honestly don't know! I haven't heard anything, ill poke around and see if I can come up with something
DeleteIt is weird that the information hasn't been announced in Canada, seeing that the Canada Area will be effective in just a few days (if it is not operational already). Thanks for poking around. Let me know here if you find out anything.
DeleteJames G. Stokes-I found out from one of the Area Presidency that the Area Seventies are in the 10th Quorum of the Seventy
DeleteThat is what I thought was the case. Thanks for that confirmation.
DeleteA few of these I find interesting:
ReplyDeleteMalawi and Togo will probably get their own missions. I also want to add Senegal to the list but I am not 100% sure they are quite there yet.
Sri Lanka sounds very interesting. I've met a couple of members who are native Sri Lankans. I also know that there were some instances of fairly rapid growth in at least some of their branches, but I don't know how much this has been sustained.
I like a mission for Mauritius and Reunion. The same mission could also take in Seychelles (still unreached) and Mayotte (traditionally Muslim, but with integration into France, opportunities probably exist for some outreach).
I believe Zurich is closer to getting its own mission than Vienna. Vienna is very well integrated with southern Germany and makes sense in the Alpine Mission (which would also be left with three stakes). Switzerland is much more culturally distinct and getting visas has been a challenge for the Church, so it would make sense to not necessarily transfer missionaries out all the time.
Düsseldorf is overdue for a mission and I am surprised Hamburg was reinstated first. There are somewhere in the range of 17 million people living in the two western German stakes. There is probably no other place in western Europe that is as ripe for some aggressive Church planting, as there are as many as a couple hundred (!) decent-sized cities that could eventually grow a Church presence. My favorite example of this are the eastern suburbs of Bonn, with a population of about half a million, but practically no missionary presence ever.
Peoria and Springfield make a lot of sense. I've also advocated for a mission in Casper and a mission in Grand Junction for a while, also to take pressure off the Utah and Colorado missions so they can concentrate more resources in their main metro areas.
I expect population growth to eventually spill over from NE Arkansas into what would be included in an Oklahoma Tulsa Mission, so to me, establishing it makes a lot of sense. Especially if the stake growth in NE Arkansas continues as we've read here on this blog many times.
Finally, the Solomon Islands appear very much ripe for more missionary resources.
Some things I would like to add: creating multiple missions in the DR Congo (Kisangani, Goma, Matadi, Kikwit/Bandundu, Luputa/Mwene-Ditu, Kananga, Likasi/Kolwezi, plus one more each in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi) seems inevitable in the next couple of years. So does a second mission in Uganda, where there has been a lot of outreach expansion just in the last year.
If I'm not mistaken, the problem with Switzerland is that non-Swiss missionaries are only allowed proselyting visas for 6 months, ever. So, in the missions that cover Switzerland (Alpine-German Speaking, France Lyon, and maybe Italy Milan??) basically all the missionaries take their 6 month stint in Switzerland, and spend the rest of the time in the other parts of their mission. I think this would prohibit the establishment of a mission in switzerland, because I doubt there are enough Swiss missionaries to fully staff that mission.
DeleteSwitzerland does not issue any visas for proselyting. Missionaries from outside the Schengen area can only stay less than 3 months, if they are from a country that does not need a tourist visa to enter. Then they have to leave for more than 3 months before they can reenter. There are no Swiss missionaries seving in Switzerland. The main reason is obligatory millitary service. Even this does not apply to sisters, there are none that serve there mission in their own country. The visa issue is the reason i think a Swiss mission is unlikly, mainly because it would limit the mission president to be european.
DeleteThe Lugano Ward (Switzerland's only Italian-speaking congregation) is part of the Milan Italy West Stake.
DeleteAs for expanding into new countries, the church recently created the Turkish/Persian speaking mission that was previously administered by an area. While I wouldn't rule out new countries, almost all new missions over the last few years were created in countries that already had a mission.
DeleteFor a number of reasons, I don't think Switzerland will have its own mission - even if it had enough missionaries, which is also unlikely. While time is limited, it's still easy to cross the border allowing other missionaries in. Switzerland is a unique but diverse country that speak various languages depending on what part of the country you're in; so splitting it up by language makes more sense.
If they bring back the Zurich Mission, it would be to even out the stakes between the german speaking missions. It would propably serve the Bern, Stutgart, St. Gallen and Zurich stake. Nurenberg stake would join the Munich mission, wich would have 4 stakes as well. Frankfurt and Hamburg also would have 4 and Berlin 3 stakes.
DeleteKolwezi already has a mission. So I am not sure why it would be on the above list. Kisangani and Matadi (or Boma) seem the most likely 2 next missions. Goma would mainly split the Kigali mission, but I am not sure they are ready.
ReplyDeleteI also have to admit that is the Manitoba mission has about 2 million residents, splitting it seems very pre-mature. There are missions with fewer residents, but they have far, far more members.
The New York City mission has over 10 million residents. Thailand averages about 30 million people per mission. Ethiopia has over 100 million in q mission.
Even from a Canadian perspective, the fact that Obtario has 1 mission or that one mission covers Quebec and the Maritimes seem far bigger issues than that Manitoba and Sascachewan are in one mission.
I've noticed Ukraine and Moldova are part of the Europe North Area, and not "unassigned" as it use to be.
ReplyDeleteDavid, that's fantastic. Do you have a source to verify that?
DeleteEurope North Area
Deletehttps://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/area/790176
Ukraine Kyiv/Moldova Mission
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/missions/2012235
Under the "Associated Locations" of the Europe North Area, you'll find the 2 Kharkiv and Kyiv Ukraine Stakes.
And under the Ukraine Kyiv/Mission "Associated Locations", you'll find the Chisinau 1st and 2nd mission branches. And as a favorite fictional character would say on screen would say, "Logic dictates therefore" that if the Stakes are under the Europe North Area, the 2 Ukraine Missions (Ukraine Kyiv/Moldova and Ukraine Dnipro), would also be under the Area Leadership.
Sidenote, on the Meetinghouse site, i also see now a 2nd meetinghouse in Moldova in Orhei, north of Chisinau. But no assigned mission branch, maybe a affiliated Member Group meets there? or preparing to reopen a branch?
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/meetinghouses/5871030-01-01
While the map site may be (and likely is) accurate, unfortunately, Wikipedia will not accept a self-published map or unit list on the Church website (which appears to require an LDS account to access it) as verifiable proof. I haven't seen the Church, either on the main Newsroom or on any of the country-specific Newsrooms, acknowledge this information as accurate. Can anyone point to a source like that that specifically states those nations have rejoined the Europe North Area? Make no mistake: I'm convinced personally, but as a Wikipedia editor, I need more than the maps links to serve Wikipedia purposes. It's a maddening tightrope to tread, but I haven't found any good or successful ways around it. Sorry.
DeleteJames S, I feel your frustration. As you remember 8 years ago, I worked hundreds of hours as a Wikipedia editor of this one and only Wikipedia article. I was vigorously updating with names and dates from the Deseret News 2013 Church Almanac and more recent Church News weekly New Stake Presidents posts.
DeleteHere is the last copy that was saved on the wayback machine before the arbitration of Wikipedia unilaterally decided it was not relevant to the general public outside of the church.
https://web.archive.org/web/20181228072529/http://en.wikipedia.org:80/wiki/List_of_stakes_of_The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints
I'm sure you remember when they took it down end of 2018 or beginning of 2019. this was saved last time on 12/28/2018.
So a lack of outside sources, I undertand is very important to you to have verifiable outside sources to edit church articles on Wikipedia online encyclopedia.
Any of you can copy that list from the Wayback machine if you want for your own research and records.
Source: The Kyiv/Moldova Mission is getting new mission presidents and is listed in the Europe North Area.
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2025-mission-leadership-assignments
Correction: got a new mission president. New mission presidents assignments started about 4 weeks ago.
DeleteDavid, thank you for reminding me of that source. I had, of course, thoroughly read the mission leadership article when it was released, but I had somehow forgotten that the Ukraine Kyiv/Moldova Mission was on it. We had proof positive of this change for months. I can't believe I overlooked that. Thanks again for pointing this out. My concerns are satisfied. Hopefully that News release will be sufficient verification of this as far as Wikipedia is concerned.
Delete"People needed to help translate for ‘Hymns — For Home and Church’
ReplyDeletePaid and volunteer roles needed to help translate in 17 languages"
https://www.thechurchnews.com/members/2025/07/25/new-hymnbook-translators-singers-volunteers-needed-17-languages/
With the inclusion of Ukraine/Moldova and Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. The Europe North Area remains the most disjoined area of the church as it spreads across 3 of the 4 quadrants of the earth (NE, NW, and SW hemispheres). At least back when I had access to CDOL, it included the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands near Antarctica. This makes it both the most northern and most southern area of the church.
ReplyDeleteThe Ukraine/Moldova mission leaders (President and Spouse) is my former Stake President and his wife, Aaron Shepherd. He served his mission in Russia Siberia Mission. They are amazing people. There is also a great Church News article about their son who is headed to serve in Argentina. The Shephards met his mission leaders in the Mission Leader Training.
DeleteDavid, I believe the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands are an interesting case of administration to me. I believe it still on the map falls under the Europe North Area (at least as part of the United Kingdom). But administratively is under the jurisdiction of the Chile Puerto Montt Mission, in the South America South Area. Last I heard the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands didn't have a permanent settlement on the islands. Maybe just research centers.
DeleteHere is the link to the Chile Puerto Montt "Associated Locations", including the "Falkland Islands Branch (Administrative)".
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/missions/2011182
Falkland Islands Branch (Adminstrative):
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/320773
So, I'm not really sure which Area it falls under.
I work for the Church in the Europe North Area as an Area Manager and it is an interesting geography to try and administer!
DeleteKind of makes me wonder if it would make sense at some point to split or realign that area and others.
DeleteInterestingly enough, the Europe North Area website leadership now reflects the area presidency changes that are effective August 1, but still lost Elder Kyrylo Pokhylko as an assistant to the area presidency. And it appears as though the unusual area boundaries factored into the assignment of one American, one Brazilian, and one European GA Seventy as the area presidency.
DeleteAre the Europe North Area boundaries larger than the Asia Area boundaries? Either way, both seem ripe for a split at some point.
"lists" Elder Pokhylko, not "lost".
Deletehttps://uk.churchofjesuschrist.org/europe-area-leadership
Did we here anything about the Kolwezi DR Congo stake conference? my search skills are failing me.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/people/Pieu-de-Sion-de-Kolwezi/61561937694213/
Deletehttps://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122155919300397923&set=pb.61561937694213.-2207520000
DeleteThe post above translates as:
Delete"Dear Brothers and Sisters, We are pleased to invite you to the Kolwezi Stake Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which will take place on Sunday, July 27, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Inspired leaders will share teachings to guide us in our personal, family, and spiritual lives. Welcome to all!"
The post and the comments are from 3 days ago, so nothing on the page currently indicates any changes, will just have to check back periodically for news.
Ryan, I would agree. I think one of us posted a few days ago there may be a stake split. Because they saw the photo of the invitation in french, inviting to a "Conference Speciale" on 07/27. Inferring that it may be more than just a regular "Conference de Pieu".
Deletehttps://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122155919300397923&set=pb.61561937694213.-2207520000
Although as you remarked, nothing saying a stake spit or merger planned for today.
We'll see with time other member posts, or the CDOL/Meetinghouse sites updated, if it is indeed changed.
The Panabo Philippines Stake will be created next Sunday
ReplyDeleteWith now 3 Mission Branches in Bangui (1st, 2nd and 3rd) and a 4th branch covering the rest of the Central African Republic from Kribi, Cameroon, the Kribi Branch (2274868). I wonder how likely the 4 Branches could become the 1st District in the CAR (Central African Republic).
ReplyDeletehttps://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/2274868
Even with Kribi, Cameroon located on the Atlantic coast of Cameroon. The Branch boundaries on the Meetinghouse include the rest of the CAR, far away.
The groundbreaking date set for the Brazzaville Republic of the Congo temple announced.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/temples/2025/07/28/groundbreaking-date-set-for-brazzaville-republic-of-the-congo-temple/
This news was first reported on the Newsroom website just after 2:00 PM MDT here in Utah:
Deletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/groundbreaking-site-rendering-for-brazzaville-republic-of-the-congo-temple
For anyone interested in my analysis on this development, you can find it in the following blog post:
https://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.com/2025/07/breaking-temple-news-first-presidency_01950984330.html
With this announcement, the total number of temple groundbreakings set to occur this year now rises to 16 (and counting). A side-by side comparison of temple groundbreakings for this year vs. last year can be found in this document, with this one showing the temples for which no official information has been confirmed yet.
My thanks once again to you all.
That puts Brazzaville and Kinshasa as the 3rd closest pair of temples, being only 3.25 miles apart.
DeleteBoth Provo temples are the closest, being only 2.35 miles apart, followed by both of South Jordan's temples, being 3.1 miles apart. Brazzaville and Kinshasa are closer together than both of St. George's (3.5 miles) and Rexburg's (3.4 miles) temples.
Is the distance between the Brazzalvile and Kinsasha temples measured by the way the bird flies or by road difference (Plus the ferry across the river as there is no bridge). Also how open is the border between the two nations? Or how much time does it take to go through customs if required?
DeleteAs the bird flies (strictly geographical). If I were to base it on travel times, I would say quickest instead of closest. Based on directions provided by Google Maps, it would take 55 minutes to get from the Brazzaville site to the Kinshasa Temple, which is roughly the same amount of time to travel between the Salt Lake and Brigham City Temples. Salt Lake to Payson is slightly longer at about an hour.
DeleteFor Brazzaville Temple did they announced the location, issue the rendering and announce the groundbreaking all at once? If that is so I hope we see more of that.
ReplyDelete16 ground breaking in a year is good. However since 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 all saw over 30 temples announced, it would be nice to see a point where 16 temples have ground breaking by July 1st of a year.
Even with this we are still over 3 years from when Brazaville was announced.
JPL, yes they did. The first paragraph of the Newsroom release states:
Delete"The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the groundbreaking date for the Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Temple. The site location and an artistic rendering for the temple have also been released."
I think we will have otther times this year when all three are announced at the same time again. I could also see site locations confirmed and exterior renderings released at the same time, or renderings released and groundbreakings set at the same time.
16 groundbreakings by the end of September is very good. And with the rest of September to fill, and the final three months of the year as well, I could easily see at least another dozen groundbreakings set to occur before the end of the year, though I personally think I'm lowballing that.
And this means that 3 groundbreakings will be held on one calanedar day IAugust 23). I also expect that August will bring quite a few dedications announced, groundbreakings scheduled, renderings released, and sites confirmed. How many? Stay tuned.
It like to see many more. Since most groundbreakings have occurred on Saturdays, We have 22 Saturdays left in the year. I not would not usually expect groundbreakings to held on certain holiday weekends like Thanksgiving or labor day weekend. But those two specific holidays are U.S. holidays only. So I can see it feasible on America's Thanksgiving weekend that a groundbreaking could be held in other parts of the world presided by local general authority 70s from that part of the world.
DeleteFYI, This week's Unit Changes :
ReplyDeleteNAME CHANGES
- Brazzaville Republic of Congo Stake > Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Stake
- Diata Republic of Congo Stake > Diata Republic of the Congo Stake
- Makelekele Republic of Congo Stake > Makelekele Republic of the Congo Stake
- Republic of Congo Brazzaville Mission > Republic of the Congo Brazzaville Mission
NEW STAKE
Kolwezi Democratic Republic of the Congo Joli Site Stake (2299895) - organized 27 July 2025
- Diur Ward (1979973)
- Golf Ward (2218941)
- Lupundu Ward (2227045)
- Manika Ward (320714)
- Musompo 1st Ward (2170620)
- Musompo 2nd Ward (2226987)
- Lualaba Branch (2218968)
Assigned Mission: Democratic Republic of the Congo Kolwezi Mission (2245744)
Assigned Temple: Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple (1795171)
This just in a few minutes ago: the resident's group has appealed the approval of the Heber Valley Utah Temple to the Utah Supreme Court. The saga continues. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how the Utah Supreme Court's rules differ from SCOTUS as far as mandatory jurisdiction, but it seems likely that they will just deny review and allow the lower court decision to stand if they can. If they absolutely must rule, you'd expect that to go in the Church's favor fairly easily.
DeleteJonathon F., I hope you're right about that.
DeleteI had an interesting conversation the other day with a friend who is well-connected in the North America West area offices and mentioned that a lot of the organized opposition to temples in the States (i.e. Heber Valley, Lone Mountain, Fairview) is spearheaded by a single group that sends representatives to temple locations to stir up opposition and lay the legal groundwork for challenges. They've got it down to a science at this point, and the Church puts a ton of effort into preempting them, not always successfully.
ReplyDeleteSomehow that doesn't shock me at all. Thank goodness for the promise that "no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing", because several "unhallowed hands" are attempting to do just that, and it seems to be happening more frequently of late. I've often remarked that because no unhallowed hand can stop the work, no unhallowed hand can help it to move forward either. So I hope in the face of all such efforts, we can ensure we are doing our part on that.
DeleteJonathon, I've seen this group in action online. In April, just days after the most recent temple announcements in conference, there was a post on one of the Reddit pages for one of the cities that had a temple announced encouraging people to already start voicing their opposition to the city, even though the temple was just announced and there was no details as to where and what size it will be. The post contained an infographic and was very much put together with all the bullet point reasons (similarly seen at other cities) why it should be opposed. It was sad to see the post with such inflammatory language and fear-driven misinformation. Unfortunately, this type of activity also damages those who do voice valid concerns and questions who should be heard during the process of getting the temples built in these communities.
DeleteI would be interested to learn just to what degree or extent this group is to blame for the current fiasco with the Heber Valley Utah Temple. The reports on this latest effort to halt the temple state that it's primarily a handful citizens of Heber City that are objecting to the temple, which is on property owned by Wasatch County, and that they refuse to take "no" for an answer.
DeleteHere in Northern Arizona we have seen a similar movement against the Flagstaff Temple. A website giving email addresses to Flagstaff City Council members was published abd encouragement to express opposition. All this before location and size have been decided. One of the main reasons for opposition was "light pollution " the future temple will cause.
DeleteI am now very hopeful that we will see a Kolwezi Temple announced this year. I do continue to have hope for a Kinshasa Temple number 2 and a Luputa DR Congo Temple. While I hope Makurdi (I hope I spelled it right), and Kisangani will get temples, I think both are not likely to be announced yet. Once Kisangani gets a stake it may have a temple announced soon after, and a temple in the far west of DR Congo will be quite likely once Boma gets a stake.
ReplyDeleteIn general these various suits against temples are not going well. Which is quite encouraging to me. Both for temples and for the broader issues if needed development.
In Las Vegas and Cody the courts have ruled in favor of the temples. Cody was always the tightest case, since it involved city officials trying to change the rules after approval and the courts siding with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and against the temple.
With both Heber City and Lone Mountain involving unanimous council approval the issues are different.
The claim the Heber Valley Temple is too large for the existing Latter-day Saint population mentioned in the article tells me a lot about the mindset of those who brought the suit. Most clearly that thry are poor in legal arguments.
First off, that only would be vaguely relevant if thry were in court protecting the right of Wasatch County to deny the temple as the Church wanted it. Since the county approved thd temple plans, the courts cannot rule against the size per se. If you can get County approval you can build your building large. Even in the other case, you have a religious building to build according to your religious mandate, not how someone else interprets it.
Beyond this it is based on four questionable assumptions. 1. The scope of the area covered by the Heber Valley Temple. This is not clear, so not easily comparable to other temples. 2. Ignoring future growth. In an area being built up you build the temple based on future projections not just current demand. 3. The actual relevant figure is regular temple goers, also influenced by point 3. That s a figure that is not stable across Latter-day Saint population. 4. You build the temple to use, not local population. Most places these are nearly the sane. Our outside visitors to the Detroit Temple probably balance out or are exceeded by our temple district residents going to temples elsewhere.
Las Vehas, Los Angeles, Manhattan, DC, Palmyra, Nauvoo and a few others may have high numbers of visitors. As a not having a car college student at BYU I made more visits to temples outside my assigned one than at other times in my life. That was when there was only one temple in walking distance of BYU. Once Provo Rock Canyon is done there will be either 3 or 4, depending if you consider Lindon walking distance. Spanish Fork if you really want to push it, but I have only walked to Springville.
However there is another factor that is unique to Heber Valley. Although it might play in a little with Montpelier, Idaho and is a potential factor in Cody Wyoming.
This is vacation visitors. The number of families who have vacation homes in the Heber Valley is high. That President Nelson was abd maybe still is part of such a family is telling. So that has to factor in as well.
JPL, in my opinion, the most likely DR Congo cities to get a temple in the near term are: Likashi, Ruashi, Mwene-Ditu and Kinshasa (Second). Other cities are less imminent in my view because they lack sufficient Church presence to warrant a temple in the near term. I could be wrong, but my research points to that conclusion.
DeleteAlso, for the record, the Heber Valley Temple issue is not due to vacation visitors. It is a group of Heber City residents (perhaps spurred on by the aforementioned group opposing temples elsewhere) who are not taking "no" for an answer.
JPL's reference to vacation visitors wasn't in regards to outside influences on what is happening in Heber Valley, but an acknowledgement that the area has a lot of vacation homes present. That means that during the proper season, there may be people staying there from all over the US and even from outside the country.
DeleteCraig H
Thank you for that clarification, Craig H. I should perhaps have read his comment more clearly before venturing my response to it. I will do so going forward. Thanks again.
DeleteThe Moriba Town Sierra Leone District had 105 baptisms in just 3 of the 5 branches there this past Saturday. Per the official mission page, the mission leaders expect a stake to be organized there in about a year, and for those 3 branches to become 5 wards and 3 branches (plus there are already 2 other branches in the district).
ReplyDeleteThe Church in Africa is growing well. And that's true for all 4 areas that bear the Africa name. If the growth in the current Africa West Area boundaries continues the way it has lately (and it seems on track to do just that), then I think a likely split of the Africa West Area will be more needed and thus more imminent. I recall Matt saying that he anticipated one of the next area changes to be Nigeria becoming its' own area, and I fully believe that will happen in the very near term if the current growth trends in the Africa West Area continue.
DeleteSpeaking of Growth in the African continent. I just found the Dar es Salaam Tanzania Stake has two (2) Stake Conferences planned a week apart in August. Possible realignments?
Delete"Conference Dates
Aug 16 – 17, 2025
Aug 23 – 24, 2025 "
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/stakes/481475
Oddly enough none of the three Mission Districts are planned District Conferences in August, if they were to become Stakes either of those 2 weekends.
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ReplyDeleteChris, it's working just fine for me. My suggestion would be to check your internet connection and clear your web browser's cache and cookies.
DeleteMaybe noteworthy given the earlier discussions on the health of various senior Apostles, but President Eyring was well enough to attend and be the keynote speaker at yet another UofU ceremony, which I believe is the second event he's attended there this year.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/2025/07/30/university-of-utah-science-building-president-henry-b-eyring/
I read that article earlier today. Where exactly does it say he was the keynote speaker? I only read that he was present and spoke.
DeleteI guess it never explicitly says "keynote", just that he gave remarks, but I would assume he was the most prominent speaker even if he didn't speak the longest.
DeleteDepends on your definition of "prominent". President Eyring has no direct oversight of the University of Utah to the same degree he does for Church-owned schools as a vice chairman thereof, and the U of U is obviously not a Church-owned school. So it could be argued that, as a secular event, the most prominent attendee and speaker was Utah Governor Spencer Cox. Not trying to be disagreeable here, just pragmatic.
DeleteMatt, if this comment is off-topic or inappropriate, please delete it. In order to expand the reach of the content I share on my blog, I have created a YouTube channel. If any of you would like to do so, please check it out. So far, I have covered the news about the Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Temple and the delays for the Heber Valley Utah Temple.
ReplyDeleteI will continue to prioritize updating my blog first for the time being, but eventually, I want to be able to provide livestream analysis of breaking temple news and other subjects covered on my blog.
My thanks once again to you all.
I’ve enjoyed watching your YouTube videos James. Thank you for creating such thoughtful, informative content.
DeleteScooter, thank you. I appreciate that. The next video is coming sometime Monday and will cover whatever the next temple construction announcement is after that news is shared during the 2:00 PM MDT hour here in Utah. Glad to hear you found the content informative and thoughtful.
DeleteI do not think people understood my mention to vacationers in Heber Valley at all.
ReplyDeleteMy theory is large numbers of people vacation in Heber Valley and areas where the Heber Valley is closest. These people may decide to go to the temple. Thus increasing the demand to a higher level than what one would expect based on the existing population alone.
This is one of the reasons why the size is reasonable. Although growth and the level of temple attendance by members are also factors.
The newly organized Canada Area (2288435) has been updated on the Meetinghouse site today.
ReplyDeletehttps://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/area/2288435
Canada Area (2288435)
Canada Calgary Mission (2019809)
Canada Edmonton Mission (2010674)
Canada Montreal Mission (2018306)
Canada Toronto Mission (2015102)
Canada Vancouver Mission (2014106)
Canada Winnipeg Mission (2012502)
Abbotsford British Columbia Stake (522783)
Barrie Ontario Stake (1776797)
Brampton Ontario Stake (514047)
Calgary Alberta Bow River Stake (2056836)
Calgary Alberta Confederation Park Stake (521906)
Calgary Alberta Fish Creek Stake (512737)
Calgary Alberta North Stake (504556)
Calgary Alberta Stake (502308)
Calgary Alberta West Stake (511846)
Calgary Alberta YSA Stake (2132907)
Cardston Alberta Stake (500348)
Cardston Alberta West Stake (516651)
Cranbrook British Columbia Stake (511552)
Dartmouth Nova Scotia Stake (517364)
Edmonton Alberta Bonnie Doon Stake (507342)
Edmonton Alberta Gateway Stake (516457)
Edmonton Alberta North Stake (378089)
Edmonton Alberta Riverbend Stake (503444)
Edmonton Alberta YSA Stake (2154331)
Fort Macleod Alberta Stake (517798)
Grande Prairie Alberta Stake (527408)
Hamilton Ontario Stake (505765)
Kitchener Ontario Stake (518328)
Lethbridge Alberta Henderson Lake Stake (2293757)
Lethbridge Alberta North Stake (527564)
Lethbridge Alberta South Stake (507431)
Lethbridge Alberta West Stake (500860)
Lethbridge Alberta YSA Stake (2101858)
London Ontario Stake (508357)
Longueuil Québec Stake (475963)
Magrath Alberta Stake (513997)
Medicine Hat Alberta Stake (522961)
Montréal Québec Mount Royal Stake (513490)
Montréal Québec Stake (510882)
Nanaimo British Columbia Stake (527386)
Okotoks Alberta Stake (274240)
Oshawa Ontario Stake (508403)
Ottawa Ontario Stake (508845)
Prince George British Columbia Stake (521809)
Raymond Alberta Stake (500518)
Red Deer Alberta Stake (515477)
Regina Saskatchewan Stake (378488)
Saint John New Brunswick Stake (519391)
Saskatoon Saskatchewan Stake (511447)
Sherwood Park Alberta Stake (2092956)
Sudbury Ontario Stake (524808)
Surrey British Columbia Stake (511811)
Taber Alberta Stake (503320)
Toronto Ontario Stake (503304)
Vancouver British Columbia Stake (503479)
Vernon British Columbia Stake (507911)
Victoria British Columbia Stake (507512)
Winnipeg Manitoba East Stake (511439)
Winnipeg Manitoba West Stake (2182157)
And the North America Central Area renamed United States Central Area
Deletehttps://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/area/790206
The North America Northeast Area renamed United States Northeast Area
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/area/790168
The North America Southeast Area renamed United States Southeast Area
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/area/790087
The North America Southwest Area renamed United States Southwest Area
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/area/790052
The North America West Area renamed United States West Area
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/area/790036
What of Mexico, what is that area now called
Deletehttps://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/area/790079
DeleteAnd the Maps site is down.
DeleteMine is functioning fine. Try clearing your cache and cookies or try using an alternate browser.
DeleteThanks for that reminder.
DeleteI'm not sure if this was commented on a previous post here, but I just discovered also on the Meetinghouse site, in the Armenia/Georgia Mission, there is now a Batumi Branch (2296004), on the west coast of the Republic of Georgia. On the Black Sea. It would appear to be a relatively new Branch of the Church.
ReplyDeletehttps://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/wards/2296004
That's cool! Thanks for sharing that.
DeleteFirst mention of it was on March 24th. At the time, it was listed as an Armenian-speaking branch, which has since changed to Georgian.
Deletehttps://www.blogger.com/comment/fullpage/post/2786908254617003646/3300115674387389117
I was recently called as a ward mission leader. I am still getting acquainted with the Cumorah site - are there any resources you recommend for me to implement best practices in my ward? I am in a small ward on the east coast.
ReplyDeleteScooter, if you are signed up for a Church account, you can also opt-in to sign up for a series of emails entitled "My Calling". That would be a good place to start. I'd also suggest reading the sections in the Church Handbook that relate to your calling, and to make Preach My Gospel and Teaching: No Greater Call part of your personal study as regularly as you feel you can do so. I'd also recommend involving the Lord in your efforts. Your participation in ward council and in stewardship meetings with the bishop will likewise be helpful. As someone who has never been a ward mission leader (at least not yet), I learned by observing my dad in that assignment. So I hope these suggestions are helpful to you.
DeleteWith the creation of the new Canada area, were there any other geographical changes to the unites states areas other than the separation of Canada?
ReplyDeleteRocky, the Church didn't announce any, so I would assume not.
DeleteRocky, after i posted the new list for the Missions (including the 3 Mission Districts) and 54 Stakes assigned to the new Canada Area on the 1st of August this year. I also posted the links to all 5 of the United States Areas on the Meetinghouse Site that show all the "Associated Locations" these being the Stakes of Zion and Area Districts of each.
DeleteWhile comparing the lists of all 5 United States Areas (minus the Utah Area not posted), there were no other Stakes realigned to other neighboring Areas within the United States boundaries.
Here is the link to the 6th and final Utah Area list on the site. That in theory matches the one published on the official CDOL church lists.
https://maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/area/425303
Rocky, a couple of other changes has happened. When announcing Mission Presidents, it was stated the Kiev/Moldova Mission was in the Europe North Area. Prior to this and after Russia's invasion, they were listed as "Unassigned". Guinea Bissau has a branch - created earlier this year and is part of a mission based in Cape Verde. This also puts it into the Europe North Area.
DeleteBut for Friday, the only change I know was the creation of the Canada Area which includes Most of Canada. The Whitehouse Branch which covers the entirety of Yukon is part of the Juneau Alaska Stake and is the only unit that meets across the border from its stake. A couple of very small portions (parts of congregations) cross the border.
David, unless I am mistaken, Rocky was specifically asking about US areas with the Canada area becoming operational. But the information about the Europe North Area is still great news. To expand on Rocky's question, were any other changes than those already noted occur in any other areas worldwide?
DeleteJames, I don't know of any, but there could be others. The other changes I noted existed before August 1st. It was a lot easier to determine boundaries when I had access to CDOL as I was able to pull up a current map of each area at any time. On the other changes, there was no direct announcement from Salt Lake but indirect inclusion from other topics (ie branch creation in Guinea Bissau being part of a stake/district in Cape Verde which is part of Europe North, or Ukraine/Moldova Mission being announced under Europe North).
DeleteThank you for that response, David. If anyone notes any other changes in area boundaries, please let me know, as that is one thing I'm curious about.
DeleteSomething interesting is happening in Chile. The latest census shows fewer followers declaring themselves members of the Church in Chile, but the Church has grown again.
ReplyDeleteWe must evaluate how much of this is due to a specific impulse or a change of course in the country with the highest ratio of members per unit in the world.
https://www.faroalasnaciones.com/censo-2024-de-chile-que-significa-identificarse-como-santo-de-los-ultimos-dias-en-chile/
To me, this sounds like the converts from the high growth era in the 1980s and early 1990s (who might have been inactive but possibly still self-identifying) dying off, probably in many cases without the Church knowing. Could be wrong though. I would love to see an Apostle to be assigned there for a couple of years to supervise leadership development and also efforts for record cleaning.
Delete