tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post4746339220429811995..comments2024-03-28T07:31:41.105-06:00Comments on Growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church): 85 New Stakes in 2016 and CountingMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16030323360917985701noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-15635403170378484492016-11-21T04:09:40.383-07:002016-11-21T04:09:40.383-07:00The single adult stakes appears to be set to be cr...The single adult stakes appears to be set to be created in a couple of weeks. I learned that at the temple on Saturday and that was confirmed subsequently.<br /><br />I do think a new stake created yesterday must have come from Centreville and Oakton with one or more wards from Annandale and perhaps the Tall Cedars ward. Just waiting to see. Mike Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10025612146815804945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-78379831409269789092016-11-20T15:26:46.487-07:002016-11-20T15:26:46.487-07:00Yes, the Ashburn Stake covers Leesburg and the res...Yes, the Ashburn Stake covers Leesburg and the rest of western Loudoun County. So now Oakton Stake covers parts near Fairfax County on the eastside.<br />Ashburn Stake should still have Hamilton and Catoctin wards near Purcellville, Potomac Crossing, Leesburg, and Goose Creek in Leesburg, and Ashburn, Brambleton, and Belmont Ridge wards in Ashburn. Not sure about Tall Cedars in South Riding. So at least 8 remain for most of the county.<br />And the Shenandoah Ward (YSA) MAY be in a new YSA/SA Stake, that is only speculation for now until confirmed.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-13651880429207078992016-11-20T14:53:59.921-07:002016-11-20T14:53:59.921-07:00Thank you Eduardo. Would that be a Leesburg Stake...Thank you Eduardo. Would that be a Leesburg Stake covering the western half of the county? I remember when there was a Leesburg Ward and a Hamilton Branch. Now there are three wards in the Leesburg building and 2 in the Hamilton building. 5 wards, yes, but what about the other criteria. Mike Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10025612146815804945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-50127299411352915672016-11-20T14:28:05.713-07:002016-11-20T14:28:05.713-07:00I heard that the submissions for current stake bou...I heard that the submissions for current stake boundary changes were approved since last January (2016). I guess it took this long to finally implement.<br />There is now at least 2 stakes covering Loudoun County. I wonder how fast it will take for the maps to reflect the changes.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-38983180952286777042016-11-20T04:48:18.248-07:002016-11-20T04:48:18.248-07:00I am excited to learn about what happens today in ...I am excited to learn about what happens today in Northern Virginia. Several well placed sources gave me details many of which conflicted. The perspectives from inside different stakes about what they are expecting is interesting. There clearly is in northern Virginia the potential to create multiple stakes if multiple stakes work together. My guess is that whatever happens today was approved in Salt Lake months ago.Mike Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10025612146815804945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-24410180044859554152016-11-19T18:12:58.597-07:002016-11-19T18:12:58.597-07:00Roger that! Thanks for the heads up. My recent lan...Roger that! Thanks for the heads up. My recent language against the lack of stake development in DC South made me think of Captain Moroni railing against Pahoran. We all are pulling for the same objectives, just from different angles.<br />Sounds good.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-8639895292768552032016-11-19T17:27:49.577-07:002016-11-19T17:27:49.577-07:00The same very reliable and probably knowledgeable ...The same very reliable and probably knowledgeable source who told me that two stakes were being created also stated that the McLean Stake is not involved. Mike Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10025612146815804945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-23751067121289379862016-11-19T17:24:14.977-07:002016-11-19T17:24:14.977-07:00Mount Vernon, Annandale, and Oakton stakes, at lea...Mount Vernon, Annandale, and Oakton stakes, at least, are involved. Mike Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10025612146815804945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-78466388428125488132016-11-19T13:37:21.201-07:002016-11-19T13:37:21.201-07:00Looks like several northern Virginia stakes in the...Looks like several northern Virginia stakes in the Washington DC South Mission will see ward and stake boundary adjustments tomorrow 20 Nov. I heard 2 stakes are being created although 1 might be in a couple of weeks when a singles stake may be created.Mike Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10025612146815804945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-23134805363204296522016-11-19T03:31:03.090-07:002016-11-19T03:31:03.090-07:00I have just barely done a couple of blog posts tha...I have just barely done a couple of blog posts that may be of interest to you all. In the first, I analyze temple progress and discuss the prospect of the Church potentially having as many as 200 temples by or before the 200th anniversary of the restoration of the gospel. In the second, I announce some personal news, share details about one of my many health conditions, and delve into how I acquired my unshakable testimony of the gospel in general and the life and mission of the Savior in particular. If any of you, through whatever means it may be, have at any time read any of my posts, the two I added might be of interest to you. Feel free to visit, and leave any comment you might have.<br /><br />http://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.comJames G. Stokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13331619300918542708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-45346360259328535952016-11-18T23:39:44.065-07:002016-11-18T23:39:44.065-07:00This document is undated, so I'm not sure how ...This document is undated, so I'm not sure how indicative it is of an imminent groundbreaking ceremony, but it appears the church is looking for construction missionaries for the Rio de Janeiro Temple: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cUo5QRrZFYUFNucm1oNGstRVk/view Andy Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00536120106159970307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-36070296448929647122016-11-18T23:38:30.655-07:002016-11-18T23:38:30.655-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Andy Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00536120106159970307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-84368474642875528622016-11-18T22:25:54.816-07:002016-11-18T22:25:54.816-07:00I have only had a stake calling once, but I feel l...I have only had a stake calling once, but I feel like we under-utilize our stake leaders too often, our imaginations and efforts are limited with them, and we ought to be more enthused and inspired to make our stakes of Zion more powerful.<br /><br />Exercise even more of our priesthood authority, the power that we preach about. I feel like we can be pretty moribund when it comes to advancing the Kingdom. I'm not saying that it is easy, but we could use our minds and hearts more effectively to grow in ways that we are too often limited and tunnel visioned. Maybe we don't create more stakes more aggressively because we are not convinced our stake leaders and callings are effective enough? I find this backward thinking.<br /><br />Then again, I saw how in Chile hyper-creation of stakes ended up backfiring, so I am not advocating that. But northern Virginia should have more stakes, and we should be more active in growing. Vertically and horizontally.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-54154087173537530402016-11-18T21:58:40.472-07:002016-11-18T21:58:40.472-07:00Mike J: I can see stakes that are smaller than 10 ...Mike J: I can see stakes that are smaller than 10 by 10 miles to have larger than standard criteria numbers, but once the distances are beyond 15, 20, 30 miles, I think it is a disservice to many members to have to travel farther lengths for their stake duties and obligations, and smaller stakes make a lot for sense for strength, growth, efficiency. I think we could hasten the work administratively a lot better in so many cases, starting in northern Virginia.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-48168160340989775362016-11-18T20:57:32.789-07:002016-11-18T20:57:32.789-07:00Per TempkeRicks site, there was a problem with the...Per TempkeRicks site, there was a problem with the original site that was selected. It was a former rice field and too wet or muddy to build on. I think they are having trouble looking for a new site.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-18589469972591883222016-11-18T20:02:15.324-07:002016-11-18T20:02:15.324-07:00JPL, there is a better title for "the mission...JPL, there is a better title for "the mission president's wife", at least as far as I've heard. That title is "mission mother" because that's often her role. But I wouldn't know that for sure. I never served a proselyting mission. I was excused from full-time service because of issues with my health. I did serve part time with Welfare Services and also at the temple, even extending my temple service beyond my original calling of six months that extended to two years and re-extended until I once again had health issues and had to quit. But temples will always be special to me because the fact of my serving there beyond my originally envisioned two-year assignment is how I met my wife. We were married in the same temple in which we met. My point in mentioning all this is that while my service was atypical, serving where I did meant I had a rotation of these "mission mothers."<br /><br />I think it is awesome news about the groundbreaking in Winnipeg. I blogged about it as soon as I learned about it, although admittedly, loving Church history as much as I do, and with how religiously (pun intended) I follow the Church websites, I should have picked up on the groundbreaking when it was originally announced. It took me a day or two before I knew of it, but, to my credit, the same night I found out about it I mentioned it on my blog.<br /><br />Speaking of my blog, I have done a number of temple-related posts lately. I ensured that I blogged about the Winnipeg groundbreaking. It was interesting because, in a comment on my post about the groundbreaking, Kenny mentioned that he had heard Elder Ballard or Elder Holland might have family in the area and that whichever of them did, they were most likely to be the one to preside. I did my detective work and found out which one it was. I'm not going to spill those beans here. You will have to go to my blog for the answer. Any and all comments are welcome, but, as always, I would prefer if comments about my blog posts were posted on the posts themselves. You can visit my blog anytime at the address below. Thanks.<br /><br />http://stokessoundsoff.blogspot.comJames G. Stokeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13331619300918542708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-69554049439799206122016-11-18T19:14:07.085-07:002016-11-18T19:14:07.085-07:00While people move in and out of the greater DC are...While people move in and out of the greater DC area, there are several stalwart families who have been in my ward for decades. There are a lot of senior people in the federal government who are LDS and that seems to be true regardless of administration.<br /><br />The problem with large numbers of stakes being involved with reorganization is that the data on membership and activity resides at the stake level. Each stake has the personnel and the data to work with potential changes to wards and stakes. But, the area seventy presiding over the area coordinating council doesn't have that data. Two stakes coming together to create a third is common, with one stake taking the lead on the creation and another supporting. Redoing 7 stakes--like in the DC South Mission--while theoretically possible, would undoubtedly be a nightmare to get it to work out. While I believe there could be 10-11 stakes theoretically possible in the current mix, I don't think it would be practical to pool the information and figure it out. Besides, I prefer stakes that are a bit larger than the minimum criteria stakes.Mike Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10025612146815804945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-69907827218917044212016-11-18T18:59:13.786-07:002016-11-18T18:59:13.786-07:00Both Manila and Cebu City had ground breakings abo...Both Manila and Cebu City had ground breakings about a year and a half after announcement and dedications 3 to 3.5 years after the announcement. I doubt President Duterte had anything to do with delays for the Urdaneta Temple. He was deputy mayor and then mayor of Davao in the south from 2010 to 2016 before becoming president. Urdaneta, as mentioned, is in the north.<br /><br />I don't think unrest has anything to do with the delay.<br /><br />A month before the announcement, ground was broken for a new mission office and a new stake center in Urdaneta. My guess is that a temple is part of the long term plans for the site and the first presidency approved those plans and shortly thereafter the temple was announced.Mike Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10025612146815804945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-49127930703905794592016-11-18T12:22:40.226-07:002016-11-18T12:22:40.226-07:00That is good news about the Winnipeg Temple. Has a...That is good news about the Winnipeg Temple. Has anyone heard any recent news on the Urdaneta Philippines temple? It has been over 6 years since it was announced, but I have not heard anything about it since then. I know the Kyiv Ukraine temple took 9 years after its announcement and Guayaquil Ecuador took 14 years, but usually the church is able to select a location and get building approval in less time than this. With two temples already existing in the Philippines and nearly 100 stakes, you would think the church would have some reputability if government obstacles were an issue. Most of the unrest that I am aware of is in the southern Philippines rather than the north. I know President Duterte is not the friendliest towards United States' interests, but it seems improbable that this would pose an obstacle to building a temple. Any ideas?BYULAWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04198559151818993348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-69909419138397951902016-11-17T19:13:14.679-07:002016-11-17T19:13:14.679-07:00For many years in the Bloomington Stake the confer...For many years in the Bloomington Stake the conference would have a meeting in Bloomington in the morning and then Terre Haute in the afternoon, no closed circuit TV. They are about an hour apart.Eduardohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05019747288076783700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-29321522873831376392016-11-17T17:57:04.381-07:002016-11-17T17:57:04.381-07:00I am excited to hear about the Winnipeg Temple gro...I am excited to hear about the Winnipeg Temple groundbreaking. To be quite honest, until a few months ago, I had some doubts whether this temple would actually be built. Definitely great to see that we are moving forward. Certainly also another indication for more temples to be announced in April. The "pipeline" is finally emptying. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06263568434057394615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-91917539555113998532016-11-17T14:48:11.146-07:002016-11-17T14:48:11.146-07:00My stake broadcasts stake conference to 5 location...My stake broadcasts stake conference to 5 locations. We used to have everyone come to the stake center. The building was bursting at the seems, but everyone who came had a chair. However now that we broadcast attendance is up. It helps that some people accidentally come to stake conference, since they show up at their regular building at the regular time. <br /><br />Ann Arbor Stake when I was there either did 2 sessions or did a broadcast. I think of the two the later is much better. <br /><br />John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-73472290044003081052016-11-17T14:44:36.937-07:002016-11-17T14:44:36.937-07:00Here in Michigan the Ann Arbor Stake existed for a...Here in Michigan the Ann Arbor Stake existed for about 25 years before it got a stake center. Both stake conference and stake athletic events would regularly occur in space rented from Eastern Michigan University while the stake offices were located in the institute building ajacent to the University of Michigan.<br /><br />On the other hand when I was on my mission in Las Vegas there was a stake that had both its stake center and a chapel that had been a stake center for another stake it got half of in a boundary adjustment. <br /><br />The Bloomfield Hills Michigan Stake that I am a member of has I think 3 buildings that could work as a stake center. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-32344400698122118322016-11-17T14:37:42.228-07:002016-11-17T14:37:42.228-07:00I know there is a lot of turn over of membership i...I know there is a lot of turn over of membership in the DC area, with a lot of the members moving from elsewhere for government or government related jobs. However having studied the issue a lot there has also been a good number of converts in the area over the years, and I am not sure that membership in metro-DC is any more in flux than in some other metro areas.<br /><br />Most government jobs by count are not affected by a change in who is in power. However there are a good number of jobs that change with who controls the government. Is there a noticeable up or down in the number of members in the DC area with changes in the Presidency. I know there were clearly more top level apointees in the G. W. Bish administration who were Mormons than in the Obama administration, especially after Larry Echo Hawk became a general authority, partly because Mike Leavitt had multiple Mormons in discretionary staff positions at HHS, however my guess is there are way more members who work in various federal government employment capacities in positions that stay the same between administrations. John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2786908254617003646.post-74264256201475052712016-11-17T14:30:26.712-07:002016-11-17T14:30:26.712-07:00Mike in theory the Church could just redistribute ...Mike in theory the Church could just redistribute all the stakes in the Washington DC South Mission at once to create a few new stakes. I am guessing agressively doing this would create at least 2 new stakes. However even though the LDS Church is much more agressive in changing congregation and congregation boundaries on a regular basis than other religions, especially Catholicism, there is still a hesitancy to be too agressive in doing so. Doing so can at times disrupt people growing spirtually. So totally realigning stake boundaries in cases where more than 3 stakes are involved is very rare. However it might be time such was done in some areas.<br /><br />On another note on Sunday the mission president and his wife were at my ward. The mission president's wife (we need a better title for this postion) said that the mission office would be relocated to that building. I have never been to the Detroit Mission office, but just reading how it is listed I have the impression it is a part of an office building, probably a small one like where you have doctor's offices, etc. That is the type of building my mission had its office in when I was a missionary in Las Vegas.John Pack Lamberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05086707132348039415noreply@blogger.com