New Stakes Created in Ghana and Utah, Districts Reinstated in Bulgaria and Iceland, Two Stakes Discontinued in Utah

Ghana

A new stake was created in Ghana on March 3rd. The Sofokrom Ghana Stake was organized on March 3rd from the Mpintsin Ghana Stake (organized in 2016) and includes the following six wards and one branch: the Daboase, Essipon, Inchaban, Shama, Sofokrom 1st, and Sofokrom 2nd Wards and the Beposo Branch. There are now three stakes in the Takoradi/Sekondi metropolitan area where the Church will organize a new mission this summer from a division of the Ghana Cape Coast Mission. 

There are now 30 stakes and 11 districts in Ghana.

Utah

A new stake was created in Mapleton, Utah on February 25th. The Mapleton Utah East Stake was organized from a division of the Mapleton Utah North Stake (organized in 1997) which had 14 wards prior to the splitting of the stake. The new stake includes the following seven wards: the Mapleton 2nd, Mapleton 6th, Mapleton 7th, Mapleton 15th, Mapleton 23rd, Mapleton 29th, and the Mapleton 31st Wards. There are now four stakes in Mapleton. The two other stakes in Mapleton were organized in 1975 and 2016, and both of these stakes (Mapleton and Mapleton West) appear likely to divide within the near future as they have 12 wards and 11 wards and one branch, respectively.

Two stakes were also discontinued in Utah. The Midvale Utah East Stake (organized in 1968) and the Midvale Utah North Stake (organized in 1985) were discontinued after many wards have been discontinued in the Midvale area during the past couple of years. Retained wards in the Midvale Utah North Stake were reassigned to the Midvale Utah Stake, whereas retained wards in the Midvale Utah East Stake were reassigned to the Midvale Utah Union Fort Stake and the Midvale Utah Union Park Stake.

There are now 635 stakes and 2 districts in Utah.

Bulgaria

The Sofia Bulgaria District was reinstated on February 18th. The district used to operate from the early 1990s until 2011 when all branches in Bulgaria were reassigned to the Bulgaria Sofia Mission. All seven branches in Bulgaria were assigned to the district, including the Blagoevgrad, the Bourgas, the Plovdiv, the Ruse, the Sofia, the Stara Zagora, and the Varna Branches. The Church in Bulgaria has reported essentially stagnant membership growth for the past decade, and the number of branches in the country has remained unchanged since 2018. Prior to the reinstatement of the Sofia Bulgaria District, Bulgaria was the country with the most members (2,398) without a stake or a district.

Iceland 

The Reykjavik Iceland District was reinstated on February 25th. The district includes all four branches in Iceland, including the Akureyri, the Reykjavik 1st, the Reykjavik 2nd (Spanish), and Selfoss Branches. The district was first organized in the 1980s and discontinued in 2006 when the number of branches in Iceland decreased to one after the closure of the military branch. The Church in Iceland has made a significant turnaround in the past 15 years, with three new branches being organized. However, the district presidency is minimally staffed given few members in the country. There were 382 Latter-day Saints in Iceland as of year-end 2022. Membership has increased by approximately 100 within the past five years. Iceland pertains to the Denmark Copenhagen Mission.

Updated Country Profile - Bulgaria

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Bulgaria. Perhaps the Church in no other country in the world has experienced as severe problems and decline as the Church in Bulgaria. The number of active members in Bulgaria has declined by 80% during the past 18 years primarily due to the emigration of active members. Today there appear to be no more than 200-250 active members nationwide, or a mere 10% of church membership. See below for the Future Prospects sections of the Bulgaria country profile:

A shrinking full-time missionary force, the closure of two-thirds of the Church’s branches in the past decade, and the loss of active members to emigration continue to challenge the scope and vision of Latter-day Saint missionary operations in Bulgaria. At this point, it would take considerable resources, vision, and manpower for the Church resume its previous level of outreach extended at its zenith of missionary operations in the mid- to late 2000s. Increasing materialism, negative views of the Church, and persecution have lessened the receptivity of many and will continue to present challenges despite good improvements in convert retention reported in the past few years. Long-term growth consisting of expanding national outreach, improving self-sufficiency of local membership and leadership, and increasing missionary service and active membership will require wise placement of limited mission resources as well as policies and practices directed toward these ends. The Church may reestablish a district in the foreseeable future as long as active membership stabilizes and there are sufficient numbers of church leaders to warrant the operation of a district again in the country.

Unprecedented Consolidation of Missions in Eastern Europe/Southeastern Europe

The Church announced last week that the following missions will be discontinued in Eastern Europe and Southeastern Europe this July:

• Bulgaria Sofia
• Greece Athens
• Romania/Moldova
• Russia Samara
• Ukraine L'viv

After these missions are merged with surrounding missions in the region, the number of missions in Eastern Europe/Southeastern Europe will decrease from 20 to 15. The remaining 15 missions in the mission will include:

• Adriatic North
• Adriatic South
• Armenia/Georgia
• Baltic
• Central Eurasian
• Czeck/Slovak
• Hungary Budapest
• Poland Warsaw
• Russia Moscow
• Russia Novosibirsk
• Russia Rostov-na-Donu
• Russia St Petersburg
• Russia Yekaterinburg
• Ukraine Dnepropetrovsk
• Ukraine Kyiv

Information on which countries will pertained to realigned missions remains unavailable. However, it appears likely that the Central Eurasian Mission will include Turkey, Bulgaria, and Greece. Missionaries report that the Ukraine L'viv Mission will be consolidated with the Ukraine Kyiv Mission. Missionary activity will continue in all of the countries where mission consolidations are scheduled to occur. However, there may be fewer missionaries assigned to these countries after these changes go into effect.

As I mentioned in my post last week that announced changes to LDS missions this July, the Church in Eastern Europe and Southeastern Europe has experienced some of the slowest growth in the worldwide Church during the past decade. To put things in perspective, there is a total of approximately 65,000 Latter-day Saints on church records for Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and Central Asia combined after approximately 25-30 years of consistent proselytism in most countries within this region. Member activity rates for the region as a whole appear to be approximately 20-25%. Most countries in the region report annual membership growth rates of 2.0% or less. Of the 27 countries in this region that currently have at least one official ward or branch, the Church reports more than 10,000 members in only two of these countries: Russia and Ukraine. Sixteen of the 27 countries in the region report official LDS memberships of less than 1,000. In countries where the least growth has occurred such as Greece and Serbia, the number of full-time missionaries that have ever served in these countries since they opened to proselytism has exceeded the number of converts ever baptized in these countries. In areas of the world that report rapid LDS growth such as in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Church generally maintains approximately one mission per every 15,000 to 20,000 members. Areas of the world that experience slower growth report larger numbers of members per mission. For example, in 2016 the Church in South America reported an average of 42,231 members per mission, whereas the Church in the United States reported an average of 52,738 members per mission. In contrast, the Church in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and Central Asia maintained approximately one mission per every 3,250 members in 2016. If the ratio of members per mission most recently reported in South America were applied to Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and Central Asia, there would need to be only two missions for the entire region.

The Church's efforts to begin proselytism in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and Central Asia during the late 1980s and the 1990s numbers among the most proactive and methodical observed within the worldwide Church during the last century. The Austria Vienna East Mission (organized in 1987) and the Finland Helsinki East Mission (organized in 1990) began proselytism efforts in the region until these missions could later be relocated to Ukraine and Russia in 1992. The number of missions headquartered in the region increased from zero in 1986 to six by 1992 and 16 in 1997. Many of the countries in the region reported moderate to rapid growth in the 1990s, especially in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Hungary, and the Baltics. For the most part, moderate or rapid growth has never occurred for the Church in several countries such as Poland, Serbia, Greece, and Moldova. Furthermore, the longer the Church has maintained a missionary presence in most Eastern European and Central Asian countries, the slower growth rates have become.

The decision to close approximately one-quarter of the missions in Eastern Europe/Southeastern Europe and Central Asia has appeared warranted for many years due to low productivity. Effective strategies for missionary work require allocation of the greatest amounts of resources to target the largest populations that exhibit the highest receptivity to the LDS Gospel message, meanwhile continuing to target less receptive populations with fewer resources. The closure of five missions in the region this summer does not indicate a "throwing in the towel" type of mentality that the Church is taking for this region after frustratingly few results, but rather a wiser appropriation of resources to the region particularly in regards to mission administration. The Church in Eastern Europe and Central Asia will likely continue to maintain a disproportionately large full-time missionary force in comparison to the number of cities with an LDS presence, number of congregations, number of converts baptized, and number of members due to the large size of target populations for proselytism, long distances between cities with an LDS presence, low activity rates, and need for outside assistance with basic church administration needs in many locations. Moreover, more mission resources are also needed to effectively proselyte individual countries in local languages and in order to avoid overwhelming logistical challenges in regards to the assignment of full-time missionaries.

The closure of additional missions in Eastern Europe appears likely within the foreseeable future, particularly in Russia. It seems likely that the Russia Moscow and Russia St Petersburg Missions may combine one day, as well as the Russia Yekaterinburg and Russia Novosibirsk Missions into one mission. However, it will be imperative that the Church continue to maintain consistent proselytism programs in local languages in order to prevent even further deceleration in growth, and in case conditions improve one day and population become more receptive to LDS proselytism efforts. Moreover, it is also possible that the Church may reestablish some of the missions discontinued in the coming years and decades if local populations become more receptive or there are large increases in the number of members serving full-time missions. Bulgaria and Romania appear the most likely countries to have a mission reestablished one day given their large populations and comparatively larger LDS memberships compared to surrounding nations.

Mission Consolidations/Creations - 46 Missions to be Affected

I have received a report that 46 missions will be affected by mission consolidations and the creation of new missions this July.

At most recent report, the following missions will be discontinued this July:

• Australia Sydney (two missions to be consolidated into one)
• Bulgaria Sofia (to be combined with the Central Eurasian Mission)
• Mississippi Jackson (to be combined with Louisiana Baton Rouge and Texas Dallas)
• New York New York (two missions to be consolidated into one)
• Ohio Cleveland (to be combined with three surrounding missions)
• Russia Samara (to be combined with Russia Rostov-Na-Donu)
• Ukraine L'viv (to be combined with Ukraine Kyiv)
• Washington Federal Way (to be combined with surrounding missions)

The consolidation of these missions has appeared needed for many years due to historically low numbers of convert baptisms, and often few missionaries assigned to these missions and other nearby missions. For example, missions in Bulgaria and L'viv have had few missionaries assigned for many years and report extremely few convert baptisms. Also, it appears that many of the missions created to accommodate "the surge" of missionaries serving in the mid-2010s due to the lowering of the age of full-time missionary service may be consolidated - especially in the United States. These missions primarily created in 2013 represented a quick-fix to accommodate tens of thousands of more missionaries serving, most of which were from the United States, within a short period of time. As the Church in the United States has the greatest infrastructure to accommodate such a rapid and temporary increase in the number of full-time missionaries, it is unsurprising that these mission consolidations have occurred now that the double-cohort of missionaries has passed. Moreover, the decision to close these missions will likely indicate a shift in resource allocation from less productive areas of the world (e.g. North America, Europe, industrialized nations in Asia and Oceania) to more productive ones (e.g. Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, industrializing nations in Asia).

At most recent report, I have received reports of the following missions to be created this July:

• Philippines Cabanatuan
• Utah Layton
• Zimbabwe Harare

If you have any information about new mission creations or mission consolidations, please comment.

Both Districts in Bulgaria Discontinued

Both the Sofia Bulgaria and Plovdiv Bulgaria Districts were recently discontinued resulting in all remaining 11 LDS branches in the country reporting directly to the mission president.  The Bulgaria Sofia Mission is now the third LDS mission worldwide without a stake or district along with the Ukraine Dnepropetrovsk and Russia Vladivostok Missions.  The dissolution of both districts is a concerning development which has validated missionary reports of low member activity rates, very few convert baptisms, and an inadequate number of active priesthood holders to staff leadership for districts and branches.  The decision to close both districts was likely initiated by mission interests to help strengthen individual branches in Bulgaria with minimal assistance from full-time missionaries in administrative affairs. 

Bulgaria is now the country with the most Latter-day Saints without a stake or district.

The Church in Eastern Europe

I wanted to take some time and write about the Church and Eastern Europe. The majority of the countries considered to be in Eastern Europe were opened for missionary work most recently in the early 1990s. Since that time, the Church's presence and spread into most of the largest cities, but with relatively few members. For instance, the country in Eastern Europe with the highest membership is Ukraine with around 10,200 members (out of 46 million people). However, the countries in Eastern Europe with the lowest Church membership (among countries with a Church presence) are Serbia with fewer than 300 members in three branches and Moldova with around the same number of members in two branches. There is a strong potential for future growth of the Church in Eastern Europe, especially because unlike many other places in the world, there are branches organized through these countries. If conditions change and people become more interested in religion, the Church is mobilized to need such a demand.

Below is a map of Bulgaria; a country which provides the best example of this phenomenon. Click on the map in order to see it more clearly. Each green square is a branch.

Notice how the largest city, Sofia, has several branches organized in it and that branches are scattered fairly evenly throughout the country.

Romania is another good example, and here's a map below.

Here are some exciting recent developments of the Church in Eastern Europe.

New Branches in the Baltic States, Eastern Europe and Georgia

Branches have recently (last 12 months or so) been estabished in the following cities.

• Jelgava, Latvia
• Parnu, Estonia
• Shkoder, Albania (see earlier post)
• Kosice, Slovakia
• Tbilisi, Georgia (second branch in city, the Avlabari Branch)
• Alexandria, Romania (last June)
• Pula, Croatia
• Subotica, Serbia
• Kremenchuk, Ukraine
  

Church Launches New Latvian Website

In the past week or so, the Church has launched a country website for Latvia. It is in Russian and Latvian, and is found at http://www.jezuskristusbaznica.lv/ .

Lastly, I wanted to conclude that the activity rate in these nations are actually not as low as you might think. The LDS Church News stated in the Church Almanac that there are over 1,000 temple recommend holders in Ukraine and the temple has been under construction in Kyiv for the past six months. Furthermore, there are two stakes in Eastern Europe: One in Ukraine and the other in Hungary. The Church is close to organizing stakes in St. Petersburg, Russia ; Kharkiv, Ukraine ; and Donetsk, Ukraine. As for Future missions, Serbia, Romania and Ukraine seem most likely. It will be interesting how soon missionaries will be placed in newly independent Kosovo. I imagine that Kosovo will be included with the mission in Albania, since the majority of the population is Albanian.