Eight New Temples - Analysis

See below for an analysis of the eight new temples announced today by President Russell M. Nelson. This marks the third most temples ever announced on a single day after October 7th, 2018 (12 temples) and April 1st, 1981 (nine temples). This group of locations probably constitutes the most unusual cohort of temples ever announced by the Church to date given the small size of Church membership in these locations, historically slow growth in most of these locations, and geographical distribution. Also, I believe this marks the first time when I did not accurately predict any of temples actually announced in General Conference per my top ten list I publish within the month before General Conference (five of the eight temples were on the map of 55 likely and 38 less likely locations for future temples).

The location and number of temple announcements within the past year suggests a significant shift to build temples in areas where there have historically been long-term membership in the Church regardless of the number of stakes or current/recent growth rates. For example, half of the new temples announced today have not had a new stake organized within the probable future temple district during the past decade. Also, most of the temples announced would service small Latter-day Saint populations. For example, of the eight new temples announced only three temples appear likely to service more than five stakes (Tooele Valley, Utah; Antofagasta, Chile; San Pedro Sula, Honduras). This suggests a shift to reinstituting small temples like during President Gordon B. Hinckley's presidency of the Church. Also, there remain many locations where steady growth has occurred in the past 1-2 decades, but no temples have been announced, such as Rogers, Arkansas; Benin City, Nigeria; and Santa Cruz, Bolivia to name a few. I believe we may see 5-15 new temples announced per General Conference going forward given this recent shift in temple construction.

Pago Pago Samoa Temple
The Pago Pago Samoa Temple will be the Church's first temple in the United States territory of American Samoa and second temple in the Samoan Islands. With a mere population of 51,000 according to the CIA World Factbook estimate, American Samoa is now the country/territory with the smallest population with a temple dedicated, under construction, or announced. The Church has reported steady growth in American Samoa for many years. The Church initially announced a temple in Samoa for American Samoa in 1977, but moved the location from Pago Pago to Apia, Samoa in 1980 to better meet the needs of Samoan members who were most heavily concentrated on Upolu. The population of American Samoa in 2018 was the same as it was in the early 1990s, yet Church membership increased from 12,000 to 16,390. Between 2000 and 2018, the number of stakes increased from four to five, the number of wards increased from 29 to 38, the number of branches remained unchanged (5), and the percentage of members in the population increased from 22.2% to approximately 32%. Based upon year-end 2017 membership data, American Samoa was previously the country/territory with the fourth most members without a temple. It is anticipated that the new temple will services five stakes - all of which are located in American Samoa.

Okinawa City Okinawa Temple
The Okinawa City Okinawa Temple will be the Church's fourth temple in the sovereign nation of Japan. The new temple will likely serve only one stake and one district - both of which are headquartered on Okinawa. The Church previously had two stakes in Okinawa, but closed one of the stakes (Ginowan Japan Stake - created in 1999) in 2014 and combined many of the Japanese-speaking congregations on the island. Today, the Okinawa Japan Stake (organized in 1980) has five wards and three branches. The Okinawa Japan Military District (organized in 1979) has four branches, three of which are located on Okinawa. The Church also briefly operated a mission in Okinawa between 1990 and 1996. Okinawa has a population of 1.4 million people. The announcement of the Okinawa City Okinawa Temple came as a complete surprise to me given the small size of the Church in Okinawa and the lack of growth on the island in recent years. This development suggests that the Church may announce temples in many additional, remote locations around the world where only one or two stakes operate, such as Fairbanks, Alaska; Puerto Arenas, Chile; and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Neiafu Tonga Temple
The Neiafu Tonga Temple will be the second temple to be built in Tonga after the Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple was dedicated in 1983. The new temple is located on Vava'u and will likely service five stakes and two districts in central and northern islands of the country. The Church organized its first stake in Vava'u in 1975. Three additional stakes were organized in Vava'u in 1980, 1995, and 2017. 18.7% of the population of Vava'u identified as Latter-day Saint on the 2016 census. Church-reported membership for Tonga constitutes 60% of the population although individuals who self-identified as Latter-day Saint on the 2016 constituted only 19% of the population. Nevertheless, Latter-day Saints number among the fastest growing major churches in Tonga based on census data.

Tooele Valley Utah Temple
The Church announced its 21st temple in Utah in the Tooele Valley. The new temple will likely service the 10 stakes and one district in Tooele County, as well as the two stakes in Elko, Nevada for a total of 12 stakes and one district. The first stake in Tooele was organized in 1877. The number of stakes in the Tooele Valley has increased from six to 10 since 2000.

Moses Lake Washington Temple
The Moses Lake Washington Temple will be the Church's fourth temple in Washington. Temples have previously been dedicated in Seattle (1980), Spokane (1999), and Columbia River [located in Richland] (2001). The new temple appears likely to service only four stakes although a fifth stake may be organized in the foreseeable future from the Moses Lake Washington Stake (11 wards, 1 branch at present). Slow growth has occurred for the Church in the Moses Lake area of Washington, with the most recently organized stake in the probable future temple district being created in Ephrata in 1980. The first stake in the area likely to be serviced by the temple was organized in Moses Lake in 1954.

San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple
The San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple will be the Church's second temple in Honduras. The Church dedicated its first temple in Honduras, the Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple, in 2013. Rapid growth has occurred in northern Honduras within the past decade as evidenced by the number of stakes increasing from nine in 2010 to 15 at present. The new temple will likely service 15 stakes and one district in northern Honduras.

Antofagasta Chile Temple
The Antofagasta Chile Temple will be the Church's third temple in Chile and first temple in northern Chile. The Church has previously dedicated temples in Santiago (1983) and Concepcion (2018). The new temple will likely service seven stakes and two districts in northern Chile. Prior to the announcement, Chile was the country with the most members with only two temples dedicated, under construction, or announced.

Budapest Hungary Temple
The Budapest Hungary Temple will be the Church's first temple in Hungary and third temple in Eastern Europe (excluding former East Germany) after the Kyiv Ukraine Temple (dedicated in 2010) and the Russia Temple (announced in 2018, city yet to be announced). The new temple will likely service three stakes (one in Hungary, two in Austria) and as many as eight districts in Hungary (2), Romania (2), Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The Church in Hungary has historically experienced some of the greatest growth for the Church in former communist Central Europe and Eastern Europe. However, the Church in Hungary nevertheless has only 5,250 members, of whom only about 1,000 regularly attend church. The new temple has good potential to help discourage Hungarian members from emigrating and strengthen the Church's sense of community.

Eight New Temples Announced

This afternoon President Russell M. Nelson announced eight new temples in the following locations:

• Pago Pago, American Samoa
• Okinawa City, Okinawa
• Neiafu, Tonga
• Tooele Valley, Utah
• Moses Lake, Washington
• San Pedro Sula, Honduras
• Antofagasta, Chile
• Budapest, Hungary

With these new temple announcements, there are now 209 temples that are dedicated, under construction, or announced.

Updated Country Profile - Hungary

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Hungary. I believe this profile is among the best we have written to date due to many high-quality sources. Here is the Future Prospects section of this profile:

Hungary will continue to be an important nation for the Church’s establishment in Central and Eastern Europe due to the number and strength of active members and its geographical location. A future small temple in Budapest may be likely within the foreseeable future. Increasing secularism and disinterest in religion threaten membership and congregational growth. A limited number of converts scattered throughout the country challenge future ambitions for the creation of additional congregations. Cities that seem most likely to open to missionary work include Nagykanizsa, Salgotarjan, Szekszard, and Zalaegerszeg, as these cities are the most populous without a congregation or are in counties without a congregation. Additional districts in the southern part of the country in Pecs and Szeged will become more likely once additional branches are established. A branch may be reopened in Vac and additional, small branches created to reduce travel time and increase outreach in suburban areas of Budapest. Additional groups may be organized in cities with missionaries who travel to nearby cities with congregations for Sunday meetings such as Hodmezovasarhely, Kolmo, and Oroshaza. A lack of converts has contributed to no additional congregations and may continue to challenge ambitions for opening and establishing a permanent Church presence. Furthermore, current growth trends suggest little or no interest by mission and area leadership in outreach expansion given declining receptivity and fewer mission resources allocated to the region. Moreover, the Hungary/Romania Mission now services approximately 31 million people in the two countries and as a result resources have become more limited for the Church to expand outreach in Hungary. Success with the establishment of the Church in additional locations will require initiative and vision from local church leadership.

Update on Church Growth

Taiwan Reaches 50,000 Church Members

The Church News reported in a recently published article about the Church's 50th anniversary in Taiwan that Church membership in the country has reached 50,000. Today there are 102 congregations throughout the country, 10 stakes and two districts. Membership grows at a rate of around 4% a year and has increased by 20,000 in the past eight years. If membership growth rates remain constant Taiwan will have a projected 81,000 members in the year 2020.

11 New Stakes Created In June and Counting

It has been over a decade since we have had so many new stakes organized in so short a time frame. So far 11 stakes have been organized in the month of June, six of which were created from member districts. So far 25 new stakes have been organized this year.

The Church in Bosnia and Macedonia

The Church News provided interesting information about the Church in these two countries where the Church still has no official presence. It appears that both countries have groups established for members to meet in, but no branches. Macedonia only has one known family who are native Macedonians and Church members. Bosnia on the other hand had no reported Bosnian Church members and Church meetings consist of foreigners meeting throughout the country. Elder D. Todd Christofferson reminded members in Bosnia that they are laying the foundation for the Church in the future.

Recently Created Branches and Groups In Eastern Europe

A little over a year ago I reported on how the Church was aggressively opening new cities to the preaching of the Gospel in Eastern Europe. Only Mission branches or groups recently created are listed below. Meetinghouse locations and times are only available for both branches and groups on the country websites for Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

Branches

Kaposvár, Hungary
Khmel'nyts'kyy, Ukraine
Kremenchung, Ukraine
Pärnu, Estonia
Szczecin, Poland
Zhytomyr, Ukraine

Groups/Dependent Branches

Shkoder, Albania
Pula, Croatia
Békéscsaba, Hungary
Szolnok, Hungary
Tatabánya, Hungary
Jelgava, Latvia
Gorlitz, Poland
Kielce, Poland
Torun, Poland
Zamosc, Poland
Craiova, Romania
Novo Mesto, Slovenia
Banská Bystrica, Slovakia
Pavlohrad, Ukraine

New Districts In Hungary

Two new districts of the Church were created in Hungary. The Miskolc Hungary District consists of four branches in eastern Hungary. The Szombathely Hungary District consists of three branches in western Hungary. Before the first stake was organized in Budapest in 2006, there used to be two districts in the country, one in Budapest and the other in Györ. These two districts were combined in order for the stake to be created. Some of these branches in the new districts are very small, with less than 20 people attending Church each Sunday. Other branches are larger, which is where leadership was most likely taken from. Earlier this year we saw two districts of the Church created in Eastern Europe in Moldova and Romania.

Out of the Eastern European countries which were not a part of the Soviet Union, Hungary has seen the strongest Church growth. Many cities have opened to the preaching of the Gospel in the past two years and there remain several branches, dependent branches, or groups which report directly to the mission or are far from the stake in Budapest. These Church units are concentrated in southern Hungary cities such as Pécs, Kaposvár, Szeged, and Békéscsaba.

Dependent Branches and Groups

Something I have neglected to write about in this blog are the existence of what are called dependent branches. In the Church we are familiar with the terms wards and branches. Wards typically have around 100-400 people attend each Sunday and must be a part of a stake (which usually have 5-12 wards or branches). To be a ward, there needs to be a certain number of active members and active Melchizedek Priesthood holders. Branches can be a part of a stake, district, or under the direction of the mission president in the area and usually have fewer than 100 people attend Church meetings on Sundays.

Dependent branches function like groups. They are attached to another branch or ward to which they report to. These dependent branches' locations are not provided on Church websites and are often very dynamic to fit the needs of members in the area which they live. Dependent branches can be found all over the world, even in the United States. For example, I live in the Denver area and before the Monte Vista (Spanish) Ward was created earlier this year in the Denver Colorado North Stake, it meet as a dependent branch to a ward in the stake. As for how dependent branches and groups differ, I do not completely know except groups tend to be smaller and can report directly to a mission or area presidency instead of a branch or ward which the group may be attached to. Dependent branches also have a branch president with two counselors, whereas groups just have a group leader.

Sometimes dependent branches and groups are jokingly referred to as "twigs" by those in the Church since they are very small. I believe all the new branches organized in Hungary in the past year are actually dependent branches since I cannot find any information about them from Church websites. These new Hungarian branches were in cities such as Békéscsaba and Kaposvár and had around 30-40 people attending each Sunday. I recently found out about a dependent branch organized in Butterworth, Malaysia and groups organized in Kosi Bay, South Africa and the western half of the city Douala in Cameroon. Since I am on the topic of Cameroon, a third branch will be created soon in Youande, Cameroon as well.

Lastly, I just wanted to emphasize that dependent branches and groups are very important for the Church's establishment in areas in has not yet existed.

City Opens for Missionary Work in Hungary

Another city has been opened for the preaching of the Gospel in Hungary. Located near the capital of Budapest, Tatabanya will be opened by a set of missionaries for missionary work along with a unit of the Church. Around half a dozen cities have opened for missionary work in the past year, many of which received branches that have around 30-40 people attend each Sunday. As for conversions and baptisms, it does not seem they are happening at as fast of a rate as new cities being opened. However, they are happening and in places they have not occurred before.

More Updates on Temples and New Cities Opening For Missionary Work

Dedication dates

The First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has announced the dedication dates for the Curitiba Brazil, Panama City Panama and Twin Falls Idaho Temples. The Curitiba Brazil Temple will be dedicated on June 1st, the Panama City Panama Temple will be dedicated on the August 10th, and Twin Falls Idaho Temple will be dedicated on August 24th.

New cities opening for missionary work

Hungary - Two more cities have been or are about to open for missionary work in Hungary. Bekescsaba opened for missionary work in January of 2007, but a branch wasn't created until recently. The Bekescsaba Branch has already outgrown its rented facilities for Sunday meetings. Oroshaza, a city located near Bekescsaba in the southeast of the country, has just opened for missionary work.

Uganda - Located in the northern portion of Uganda, the city of Gulu has had a group meeting for sacrament on Sunday, but has not been organized into a branch. The Uganda Kampala Mission is waiting for approval to organize the new branch.

Ethiopia - A missionary in the Uganda Kampala mission reported that there has been a request to open a branch in the city of Awasa. This would be the fourth branch in the country if organized, and the first to be located more than 100 miles away from the capital Addis Ababa.

A country that might be opening soon to missionary work

A missionary in the Mozambique Maputo Mission stated that Angola might open for missionary work sometime later this year. There have been several missionaries from Angola who have or are serving in Mozambique and there is a branch established in the capital of Luanda.