tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post3218072952224521883..comments2024-03-28T14:28:25.157-06:00Comments on Growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church): July 2016 Monthly NewsletterMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16030323360917985701noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-46574885881951737632016-08-12T08:20:10.475-06:002016-08-12T08:20:10.475-06:00In my ward 4 of our last 7 convets (all 7 of whom ...In my ward 4 of our last 7 convets (all 7 of whom were there last Sunday) were African-American. 3 of those were 12-year-old twin brothers (now 13) and their 10 year old sister. Their now 8-year-old brother was also in Church on Sunday, and will probably get baptized soon. The 10-year-old has been bringing an African-American friend of hers to church as well.<br /><br />At the 2010 census the area of our ward was well under 10% African-American. It has probably gone up since then.<br /><br />Probably the most over-represented group in our ward is Hispanics. Our ward boundaries are at most probably 2% Hispanic. Our ward is much higher. However it is mainly people of partial Hispanic ancestry, and I can not be sure that all would mark themselves as Hispanic on the census. For example back in November of 2013 a sister named Leslie Smith was baptized. I just learned a few weeks ago that her mother was born in Mexico. Among the youth in the ward there are 6 who have Cuban ancestry and at least 3 with Mexican ancestry. The population of our ward area is over 5% Asian, yet we have no youth in the ward who would show up in that demographic. Although 3 are half Asian and would be part of the 2.2% who identify with more than one race. Their Korea born, USA raised mom was the relief society president for many year.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-32216760015445204182016-08-11T20:06:38.357-06:002016-08-11T20:06:38.357-06:00Sorry, I get irritated when people talk about thei...Sorry, I get irritated when people talk about their units and don't tell where: Loudoun County, Virginia, where it is so diverse we have Bollywood or other Indian films at the local movie theatre.<br />My kids are surrounded by Latinos at their elementary school.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-51673294737375864702016-08-11T19:43:31.000-06:002016-08-11T19:43:31.000-06:00African-Americans have many hurdles to overcome, a...African-Americans have many hurdles to overcome, as have LDS of all hues. In my ward in the last 4 years we have had 3 black converts and an Afghan. Another white convert is married to a Pakistani, while another boy convert is half Asian ( I think Filipino, maybe another East Asian). Come to think of it, the biggest number of our converts have been minorities. Although noted, we have not baptized in general as much as we had hoped. But some good folks, we love them.<br />Love finds a way to speak to all people of the Lord, the heart will have its way with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Us followers need to continue to follow His voice.<br />I wonder if more German speakers respond more to President Uchtdorf?Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-48779594530420486862016-08-10T21:11:28.737-06:002016-08-10T21:11:28.737-06:00My ward's chapel was a Pokemon Go hotspot, but...My ward's chapel was a Pokemon Go hotspot, but evidently some of the Pokemon people who showed up were engaged in smoking pot, some of whom managed to sneak into the building because it was not locked, so our bishop had it removed.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-7924987623097154702016-08-10T20:28:49.061-06:002016-08-10T20:28:49.061-06:00On the other hand in Ohio President Hinckley state...On the other hand in Ohio President Hinckley stated that when the Columbus Temple got too busy the Church would build an additional temple to relieve demand. <br /><br />On another note, an incoming BYU freshman basketball player named Yoeli "Yo" Childs was just baptized a member of the Church. Here http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865659685/BYU-freshman-basketball-player-Yoeli-Childs-joins-LDS-Church.html?s_cid=Email-4 is the Deseret News article on it. In the picture they have the 3 sister missionaries, one who looks Tongan or Samoan, are all drawfed by Childs and a fellow BYU basketball player. <br /><br />Childs appears to be African-American, especially if you look at his profile picture on ESPN. He grew up in South Jordan, Utah raised by a single mother. <br /><br />BYU is starting to see several outstanding athletes, with good academic records, who are African-American LDS converts. Another is Shaqueille Walker, a track star who came close to making the US olympic team. Walker joined the LDS Church as a teenager in Georgia, after he comitted to go to BYU, and has served a mission. <br /><br />I am hoping that these men can both be leaders in LDS outreach to African-Americans and help form a more positive image of African-Americans among Church members, which will in turn make LDS outreach more effective.<br /><br />Too often our missionaries are not good at speaking the word of God in a way that African-Americans hear it. This often involves tricky situations like not offending people when explaining to them that they cannot be baptized until they finish their probation for drug dealing, even though they had white fellow students in their high school who got much shorter sentances for the same crime and who could be baptized today. <br />John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-6077657558932527592016-08-10T16:02:42.076-06:002016-08-10T16:02:42.076-06:00President Hinckley did say that the smaller temple...President Hinckley did say that the smaller temples announced in 1997-99 would be built with potential future expansion in mind.<br /><br />One was redone soon after, Monticello, but that was to make it possible to run sessions more frequently than the original floor plan had it possible to do, and simply involved splitting the ordinance room in two for that purpose.<br /><br />But others I could see being redone, adding particularly on the far side away from the front. So far we haven't seen it happen, we have had two renovated with no new capacity added though in the last couple years.<br /> James Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12831340842937216806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-50747641005907188942016-08-10T15:12:18.509-06:002016-08-10T15:12:18.509-06:00A friend from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia t...A friend from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia talked of a counter Mormon resistance in that major urban area. So far, so good.<br />A temple towards the Roanoke Appalachians woyld be cool. Let's build two!Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-21499850771244282052016-08-10T13:10:29.339-06:002016-08-10T13:10:29.339-06:00One other possibility would be a temple in Loganda...One other possibility would be a temple in Logandale or Mesquite Nevada. The Logandale stake is almost big enough to split. However I still don't see this temple taking in more than 4 stakes, and Logandale is just over an hour from the Las Vegas Temple. I could see Hurricane, Utah getting a temple before one getting built in Logandale.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-40336462018845076432016-08-10T13:07:31.188-06:002016-08-10T13:07:31.188-06:00I looked into how areas to the west and north of L...I looked into how areas to the west and north of Las Vegas might be helped by a temple on the west side. A temple built on the north-west side of Las Vegas would only cut the travel time for people in Pahrump by about 10 minutes. Even a temple by the stake center of the stake Pahrump is in would just cut the time from an hour and 23 minutes to 53 minutes. Going beyound there, there is just very little. Tonopah Ward would be helped a little by a temple in the far north-west of Las Vegas, but the 3 Fallon Nevada wards in the Fallon Nevada south stake would still be clearly closer to Reno Temple. The remaining ward and 3 branches are a bit of a toss up, but would still be looking at journeys over 2 and a half hours any way. Ridgecrest California still seems to be closer to LA Temple than to any location no matter how far west in metro-Las Vegas. Bishop California is a bit more of a toss up, but would still be looking at the one ward having a 4 hour drive to the temple. Barstow Ward might find a temple in far south-west Las Vegas closer than the Los Angeles Temple. However it is just about at the even point, depending on traffic and things. The two branches in Barstow Stake west of the Barstow Ward seem likely to be clear candidates for benefitting from a temple on the west side of Las Vegas. However for example the Newberry Springs Branch takes in an area bigger than metro-Las Angeles and still has its chapel in the western fithed of the branch. This branch goes to the Nevada border, but there is a huge desert out there. <br /><br />Anyway one looks at it the 27 stakes in the Las Vegas Temple district are about all there will be, and none would be helped all that much by a new temple. I could see a temple built somewhere on the western side of Las Vegas, but not any time super soon.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-50451662716461630072016-08-10T12:53:07.811-06:002016-08-10T12:53:07.811-06:00I put the distance from various stake centers to t...I put the distance from various stake centers to the temple in the distance calculator. From the stake centers of the two stake centers of the two most recently organized stakes in Henderson to the Las Vegas Temple is 29 minutes in both cases. The Las Vegas Nevada Skye Canyon Stake Center to the Las Vegas Nevada Temple is 37 minutes drive. It looks like no where in the Las Vegas Metro area is more than 45 minutes drive from the Las Vegas Temple. <br /><br />The two most outlying stakes in the Las Vegas Temple district are the Kingman Arizona and Lake Havasu City Arizona stakes. So I looked to see if a temple in Yuma or Flagstaff would help with either of these. A temple in Flagstaff would still be further from Kingman than the Las Vegas Temple, and the Kingman stake stretches into the far southern part of Nevada, even closer to Las Vegas and futher from Flagstaff. Yuma is further from Lake Havasu City than Las Vegas. So no plus there. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-34399296235739098212016-08-10T12:36:20.258-06:002016-08-10T12:36:20.258-06:00Would a temple size expansion be more likely in so...Would a temple size expansion be more likely in some areas rather than another temple?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-57375049494223318792016-08-10T12:14:41.600-06:002016-08-10T12:14:41.600-06:00On a new southern-Nevada temple, I very much think...On a new southern-Nevada temple, I very much think somewhere in the western part of Las Vegas would get it. Henderson is not all that far from the Las Vegas Temple on the north-east side. Both the stake that includes the temple and the stake that covers the area immediately south across the street from the temple have had wards discontinued this year. So even though the Church continues to grow in Henderson, it just is not enough to justify a new temple. The distance from the far north-west parts of the Las Vegas area to the temple is greater and more likely to justify a temple. With Las Vegas being split into the Las Vegas Mission and the Las Vegas West Mission, I could see a temple being built somewhere in the West Mission boundaries. The Las Vegas West Mission has not had a temple in its boundaries since the Reno Mission was formed. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-48066391197086483852016-08-10T12:04:45.330-06:002016-08-10T12:04:45.330-06:00Actually I think the next Nevada Temple will be in...Actually I think the next Nevada Temple will be in either Elko or in the western part of the Las Vegas area. Elko is not likely unless they manage to start seeing some growth, either from baptisms with retention, reactivation, or most likely a combination of both. If they can get another stake in Elko, it might be a candidate for a temple, although Elko's 3 hours 18 minutes to the Salt Lake Temple is about the same as the 3 hours from Buena Vista to the Washington DC Temple. With 2 stakes in Buena Vista and another in Roanoke, Roanoke might be a good target for a temple. It could take in all 6 stakes in the Charleston West Virginia Mission plus the Waynsburg Virginia Stake and maybe draw in the Danville Ward in the Greensboro, North Carolina Stake as well. <br /><br />Looking at the map though the place that stuck out to me as a good candidate for a temple in that area is Beckley, West Virginia. However temples are rarely built in a place that does not have a stake. <br /><br />Also, Pittsburgh is a good candidate for a temple, and that would probably take in some of West Virginia as well. However Greensboro and Winston-Salem are still closer to Raleigh than Roanoke, so a temple in Roanoke would possibly only take in 5 stakes if Pittsburgh got a temple as well. That is not an unheard of low. <br /><br />John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-1234562102733160992016-08-10T10:09:23.155-06:002016-08-10T10:09:23.155-06:00Where do you think the next Nevada temple be? Hend...Where do you think the next Nevada temple be? Henderson? OAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-21039768183964243162016-08-10T10:07:42.934-06:002016-08-10T10:07:42.934-06:00From reading Reed Haslam's book ''The ...From reading Reed Haslam's book ''The Light Breaks Forth: The LDS Church in the Ancient Kingdoms of Asia'' about the Church in South-east Asia, it appears, at least based on what was learned on a trip to the area by a mission president in 2004, that the Church could easily baptize over 1,000 people in Chin State of Myanmar if missionaries could be sent there. Some people there were baptized by the mission president in 1988, well they were baptized near Mandalay where they had traveled to meet with him. 87 in all. One brother had actually been baptized by President Gordon B. Hinckley on a trip to Burma in 1987.<br /><br />For a time the Church actually had a branch in Chin State, but due to inability to provide any oversight it was suspended. <br /><br />Some of the Church members in Yangon have relatives in Chin State. While some of the converts there have been former Budhists, many have been formed Christians. <br /><br />The book in question was published in 2012, so I can not say much of how events in the last 4 years have effected the Church in Myanmar.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-73538013796703372612016-08-10T09:32:01.766-06:002016-08-10T09:32:01.766-06:00Richmond Virginia seems to be a popular suggestion...Richmond Virginia seems to be a popular suggestion for a temple. However, when the Philadelphia Temple is dedicated, the Washington, D.C. with lose a quarter of the temple district. I have only seen one full session in the Washington, D.C. temple in the time that I have lived in the metro area. If a temple in Richmond is built, the Washington, D.C. temple district will be cut in half from its present size. For that to be effective, the number of sessions will need to be reduced, which could be tricky because traffic situations can change quickly.Nathanialhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10860660549964725512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-80259229646389811562016-08-10T05:26:26.485-06:002016-08-10T05:26:26.485-06:00Any reports on numbers in Vietnam? What is up with...Any reports on numbers in Vietnam? What is up with Laos?Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-21834766112802836052016-08-10T02:14:45.152-06:002016-08-10T02:14:45.152-06:00Any word on progress for missionary work in Myanma...Any word on progress for missionary work in Myanmar? I wonder if a mission is formed in Myanmar if it will also include areas in the north-east of India. Some groups, such as the Naga live on both sides of the border. Several of the peoples in North-east India speak Tibeto-Burman languages. Linguistically the north-east of India is closer to Myanmar than to most of the rest of Burma. <br /><br />The Naga number about 4 million people, live in both Myanmar and India, and are about 95% Christian. In Myanmar there are over 3 million Christians. The country is officially Buddhist, and over 85% of the population adheres to that religion. Christianity is most prevalent among ethnic minority groups, and the Budhists control the government and have made missionary presence hard.<br /><br />While I can see logistical advantages to a mission covering both Myanmar and north-east India I doubt it will happen. In part because it is so logical. The Kingdom of Burma controlled parts of what is now north-east India in the early 19th-century before the British took them. Thus the Indian control in some of those areas is not as deep as they would like it, so India, which already has fairly high restrictions on activities by the LDS Church, would not be pleased if the LDS Church put parts of India under an eccesiastical organization based in Myanmar. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-85356045736860348512016-08-10T02:01:19.631-06:002016-08-10T02:01:19.631-06:00Some temples such as LA and Salt Lake have large a...Some temples such as LA and Salt Lake have large assembly rooms that are not used for ordinance work, so the size of the temple does not directly tell us ordinance capacity. <br /><br />John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-43273286080913817562016-08-09T22:10:03.541-06:002016-08-09T22:10:03.541-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-61148666234625093032016-08-09T19:43:43.477-06:002016-08-09T19:43:43.477-06:00MEXICO
GDLJARA 0.363
MNTEREY 0.414
MERIDA 0.556
...MEXICO<br /><br />GDLJARA 0.363<br />MNTEREY 0.414<br />MERIDA 0.556<br />TAMPICO 0.594<br />CD JURZ 0.598<br />HMOSILO 0.600<br />VERCRUZ 0.605<br />VILAHSA 0.690<br />TUXTLA. 0.733<br />MEXCITY 0.861<br />OAXACA 0.930<br />COLJURZ 2.061<br />TIJUANA 2.127<br /><br />Looking at the coefficients several candidates pop out for distance and coefficients.<br /><br />Queretaro will probably be next as the district it would cover puts it between the two temples with the lowest coefficiencies in Mexico. Draw a triangle with Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey as the vertices, and Queretaro is right in the middle. There has been consistent growth there.<br /><br />Puebla is number two. Though it is fairly near Mexico City there are 12 stakes within an hour's drive of Puebla. Two hours away from there are three more stakes in Cuautla, one in Teziutlan, and one in Tehuacan. There has been growth primarily in the South mission.<br /><br />Torreon and Culiacan are three and four as they are far from their temples with a reasonable number of stakes (though growth needs to pick up).<br /><br />Surprise pick would be Cancun as it is pretty far away from Merida which has a low coefficient and there has been growth there. Cuba and Jamaica could probably go there.Bryan Dormanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12260239058235089111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-50282915751993233782016-08-09T19:29:52.896-06:002016-08-09T19:29:52.896-06:00NA NORTHEAST
*LAST NA AREA
COLMBUS 0.413
DETROIT ...NA NORTHEAST<br />*LAST NA AREA<br /><br />COLMBUS 0.413<br />DETROIT 0.823<br />NEWYORK 0.928<br />PALMYRA 1.028<br />MNTREAL 1.318<br />PHILLY 2.465<br />HALIFAX 2.816<br />WSHNTON 2.941<br />BOSTON. 4.023<br />HARTFRD 4.537<br /><br />Another OH temple is definitely possible. Maybe we can get Kirtland back?<br /><br />Michigan's coefficient is low but current membership would favor an enlargening of the existing temple first.<br />New York has a similar issue, unless White Plains becomes an option.<br /><br />A Virginia temple is tricky as Washington DC has a very high coefficient. Richmond isn't very far away. Buena Vista has SVU and not too much more. Then there is Norfolk, fairly distant from both Washington and Raleigh. My bet is that the first VA temple goes to Norfolk.Bryan Dormanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12260239058235089111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-15294667652698483742016-08-09T19:21:34.648-06:002016-08-09T19:21:34.648-06:00NA SOUTHEAST
COLMBIA 0.418
RALEIGH 0.527
NSHVILE ...NA SOUTHEAST<br /><br />COLMBIA 0.418<br />RALEIGH 0.527<br />NSHVILE 0.673<br />LUIVILE 0.770<br />BTN RGE 0.791<br />BRMGHAM 0.947<br />MEMPHIS 1.092<br />ATLANTA 1.386<br />ORLANDO 2.174<br />FTLDRDL 2.652<br /><br />A temple looks probable in the Piedmont region (perhaps Charlotte) for the low coefficients in the two Carolina temples. Knoxville is a small though tempting possibility (distance 3 hours to Nashville and 4 to Atlanta). Jacksonville is tempting but more members are needed there.Bryan Dormanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12260239058235089111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-86963717019398627562016-08-09T19:15:41.636-06:002016-08-09T19:15:41.636-06:00NA NORTHWEST
SPOKANE 0.435
COL RVR 0.624
ANCORGE ...NA NORTHWEST<br /><br />SPOKANE 0.435<br />COL RVR 0.624<br />ANCORGE 0.788<br />MEDFORD 0.849<br />PORTLND 1.566<br />VNCOUVR 2.104<br />SEATTLE 2.161<br /><br />A fourth temple for Washington looks like a possibility, perhaps in the central part of the state. A temple looks probable for Missoula if growth continues there (would ease up Spokane). An eastern Oregon temple might be in the offing medium to long term depending on growth.Bryan Dormanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12260239058235089111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-29009066532009208102016-08-09T19:08:06.765-06:002016-08-09T19:08:06.765-06:00Winnemuca to Reno is three hours tops. Not terrib...Winnemuca to Reno is three hours tops. Not terribly far but not too close either.<br /><br />Here in Puebla on a GOOD day we are two hours from the Mex City Temple. But with a new law prohibiting transport from outside the city two days a week plus two Saturdays in a month, there will be a better chance of some temples on the outer areas of the district. Queretaro and Puebla are two likely sites as church growth has happened there. Followed by Cuernavaca and Toluca (Cuernavaca has the stakes but zero growth, Toluca has growth but they need more stakes)Bryan Dormanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12260239058235089111noreply@blogger.com