Updated Country Profile - Yemen

Click here to access the updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Yemen. Civil war has resulted in a serious humanitarian crisis in Yemen as four-fifths of the population is in need of immediate assistance. Latter-day Saints have lived in Yemen since as early as the 1970s.  Yemen is assigned to the Manama Bahrain Stake although it is unclear whether any members currently live in the country. The following paragraph is from the country profile and describes the current religious freedom conditions and Yemen, and prospects for an LDS establishment one day:

The government does permit meetings for non-Muslim religious groups, which likely indicates that any LDS gatherings would likely not be met with government interference. However, non-Muslims have been the focus of increased violence and persecution in recent years. Meetings would likely have to be done in private in order to avoid any potential threats. The Church is barred from the proselytism of Muslims, rendering all but a few thousand inhabitants legally unreachable by potential missionary efforts. There are no legal procedures for religious groups to obtain government recognition, which may discourage an LDS establishment one day if conditions improve and no formal process for the registration of religious groups is established. Rebel-controlled regions experience less religious freedom and will be likely unsuitable for any LDS activity among foreigners until government control is restored.

Updated Country Profile - Libya

Click here to access our updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Libya. It is unclear whether there have been any Libyan Latter-day Saint converts although it is possible that a few Libyans may have joined the Church in Italy. There has been no known LDS presence in Libya since the early 1970s when the remainder of United States military personnel were withdrawn following the rise of Qadhafi to power.

See below for the Future Prospects section of the country profile entry in regards to the outlook for an LDS establishment one day:

Improving political relations with Western Europe and the United States, prospects for more foreign investment by Westerners, and greater tolerance for Christians to worship than during the Qadhafi era create an optimistic outlook for a permanent future LDS presence among nonnatives once the civil war ends. However, ongoing political instability, significant degradation of the economy and the country’s infrastructure, and religious violence pose significant barriers for a Church presence at present. Furthermore, uncertainty with the outcome of the civil war indicates that religious freedom conditions may deteriorate once political stability is achieved. Libyans living abroad present the greatest opportunities for the Church to gain native converts although it is unlikely many of these individuals would ever return to Libya one day given societal restrictions on religious freedom and emphasis on conservative Islam.

Percent LDS by US State

See below for the percentage of church-reported membership as of year-end 2017 by state and the District of Columbia. Population figures were obtained from www.citypopulation.de. These population figures are census estimates as of July 2017.

1. Utah 67.39% 
2. Idaho 26.23% 
3. Wyoming 11.61% 
4. Nevada 6.13% 
5. Arizona 6.10% 
6. Hawaii 5.20% 
7. Montana 4.80% 
8. Alaska 4.53% 
9. Washington 3.90% 
10. Oregon 3.72% 
11. New Mexico 3.33% 
12. Colorado 2.70% 
13. California 1.94% 
14. North Dakota 1.49% 
15. Nebraska 1.30% 
16. Kansas 1.30% 
17. Texas 1.25% 
18. South Dakota 1.22% 
19. Oklahoma 1.22% 
20. Missouri 1.16% 
21. Virginia 1.13% 
22. Arkansas 1.04% 
23. West Virginia 0.93% 
24. Iowa 0.90% 
25. North Carolina 0.84% 
26. Maine 0.82% 
27. Georgia 0.82% 
28. South Carolina 0.81% 
29. Kentucky 0.79% 
30. Alabama 0.77% 
31. Tennessee 0.76% 
32. Florida 0.75% 
33. Vermont 0.74% 
34. Mississippi 0.73% 
35. Maryland 0.72% 
36. Indiana 0.67% 
37. New Hampshire 0.65% 
38. Louisiana 0.64% 
39. Minnesota 0.59% 
40. Delaware 0.57% 
41. Ohio 0.53% 
42. Wisconsin 0.46% 
43. Michigan 0.45% 
44. Illinois 0.45% 
45. Connecticut 0.44% 
46. New York 0.41% 
47. District of Columbia 0.41% 
48. Pennsylvania 0.40% 
49. Massachusetts 0.40% 
50. Rhode Island 0.39% 
51. New Jersey 0.37%

Updated Country Profile - Saudi Arabia

Click here to access our updated country profile for Saudi Arabia. The Church has operated a stake in Saudi Arabia for approximately three decades which originally serviced the entire Arabian Peninsula until 2011. Today the Manama Bahrain Stake services LDS congregations in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Yemen. The Church may have as many as 1,500 members in Saudi Arabia that assemble in approximately 10 congregations. All LDS activities are conducted in private due to religious freedom restrictions. Most Latter-day Saints in Saudi Arabia are Westerners or Filipinos.

LDS Membership by US State in 2017, Percent LDS Membership Growth by US State in 2017

I have received recent inquires about the number of Latter-day Saints in each state in the United States. See below for a list of all states in the United States (plus the District of Columbia) ranked by church-reported membership for year-end 2017. Locations listed in bold do not have an LDS temple announced or in operation.

1. Utah - 2,090,401 
2. California - 767,252 
3. Idaho - 450,347 
4. Arizona -  428,069 
5. Texas - 353,317 
6. Washington - 288,515 
7. Nevada - 183,638 
8. Florida - 156,724 
9. Oregon - 153,955 
10. Colorado - 151,433 
11. Virginia - 95,379 
12. North Carolina -  86,132 
13. Georgia -  85,363 
14. New York - 82,361 
15. Hawaii -  74,278 
16. Missouri - 71,212 
17. New Mexico -  69,627 
18. Wyoming - 67,275 
19. Ohio - 61,966 
20. Illinois - 57,111 
21. Pennsylvania - 51,765 
22. Tennessee - 51,050 
23. Montana - 50,420 
24. Oklahoma - 47,852 
25. Indiana - 44,876 
26. Michigan - 44,849 
27. Maryland - 43,721 
28. South Carolina - 40,608 
29. Kansas - 37,780 
30. Alabama - 37,487 
31. Kentucky - 35,125 
32. New Jersey - 33,726 
33. Alaska - 33,492 
34. Minnesota - 33,012 
35. Arkansas - 31,254 
36. Louisiana - 29,787 
37. Iowa - 28,160 
38. Massachusetts -  27,576 
39. Wisconsin -  26,753 
40. Nebraska - 24,945 
41. Mississippi - 21,725 
42. West Virginia - 16,933 
43. Connecticut - 15,870 
44. North Dakota - 11,244 
45. Maine - 10,947 
46. South Dakota - 10,626 
47. New Hampshire - 8,771 
48. Delaware - 5,527 
49. Vermont -  4,625 
50. Rhode Island - 4,177 
51. District of Columbia - 2,848 

See below for a list of states and the District of Columbia ranked in order by membership growth rate for the year 2017. The 10 states with the most members in this list are indicated in italics:

1.  District of Columbia +3.26% 
2. Rhode Island +2.63% 
3. Delaware +2.35% 
4. Tennessee +2.04% 
5. Arkansas +1.82% 
6. Vermont +1.69% 
7. South Dakota +1.68% 
8. Texas +1.49% 
9. North Carolina +1.45% 
10. Wisconsin +1.37% 
11. Massachusetts +1.37% 
12. Idaho +1.29% 
13. Utah +1.19% 
14. New Hampshire +1.19% 
15. Arizona +1.18% 
16. Missouri +1.17% 
17. Florida +1.16% 
18. Georgia +1.12% 
19. Oklahoma +1.06% 
20. South Carolina +0.97% 
21. Minnesota +0.90% 
22. Ohio +0.77% 
23. New York +0.76% 
24. New Jersey +0.74% 
25. Nebraska +0.73% 
26. Alabama +0.67% 
27. Nevada +0.56% 
28. Montana +0.55% 
29. Kentucky +0.49% 
30. Hawaii +0.47% 
31. Indiana +0.46% 
32. Maryland +0.43% 
33. Michigan +0.42% 
34. Kansas +0.39% 
35. Washington +0.38% 
36. Connecticut +0.23% 
37. Pennsylvania +0.19% 
38. Virginia +0.19% 
39. New Mexico +0.01% 
40. Oregon +0.01% 
41. Iowa +0.01%
42.  Illinois +0.00% 
43. North Dakota -0.11% 
44. Maine -0.28% 
45. West Virginia -0.28% 
46. Colorado -0.30% 
47. Wyoming -0.34% 
48. Louisiana -0.49% 
49. California -0.55% 
50. Mississippi -0.57% 
51. Alaska -0.94%

LDS Church Growth Reddit

Today I created a subreddit to stimulate discussion and conversation about the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in a format more friendly to reader posts and discussion (https://www.reddit.com/r/ldschurchgrowth/). Please comment and share links pertinent to the study of LDS Church growth. I am still getting the page set up. Your feedback and suggestions would be appreciated! Of course I will continue to make posts on this blog going forward, but I figured this would be helpful for more frequent news and information submitted by interested readers.

New Stakes Created in the Philippines (2), Ghana, South Carolina, and Spain; District Reinstated in Argentina

Philippines
Two new stakes have been recently created in the Philippines.

The San Antonio Philippines Stake was organized from the San Antonio Philippines District on August 5th. The new stake includes the following four wards and two branches: the Cabangan, Castillejos, San Felipe, and San Marcelino Wards, and the San Antonio and San Narciso Zambales Branches. It is likely that the San Antonio and San Narciso Zambales Branches have also advanced into wards but that the official directory has not yet been updated this information. All six congregations in the new stakes are designated as Ilokano speaking. The original San Antonio Philippines District was organized as a district in 1993. There are now three stakes in the Philippines Olongapo Mission located in Balanga (organized in 1991), Olongapo (organized in 2017), and San Antonio (organized in 2018). Furthermore, local members indicate that the Dinalupihan Philippines District may become a stake in the near future.

The Tolosa Philippines Stake was organized from the Tolosa Philippines District on August 12th. Information on which branches have advanced into wards is currently unavailable. There were 10 branches in the district prior to its organization as a stake.

There are now 104 stakes and 71 districts in the Philippines.

Ghana
A new stake was organized on August 12th.

The Swedru Ghana Stake was organized from a division of the Winneba Ghana Stake. The new stake includes the following four wards and six branches: the Oboden 1st, Swedru 1st, Swedru 2nd, and Swedru 3rd Wards, and the Aboso, Asikuma, Breman Brakwa, Odoben 2nd, Swedru 4th, and Swedru 5th branches. It is likely that one or more of the branches in the new stake were upgraded to wards or will be upgraded into wards within the immediate future since there are only four wards in the new stake. Furthermore, the Winneba Ghana Stake currently has only four wards and one branch. It is likely that the Winneba Ghana Stake had the Ansaful 2nd Branch advanced into a ward, or that additional wards have been or will soon be organized.

There are now 24 stakes and 10 districts in Ghana.

South Carolina
A new stake was organized on August 19th. The Fort Mill South Carolina Stake was organized from stakes in the Charlotte metropolitan area. Information on which wards have been assigned to the new stake remains unavailable, but members report that the stake was organized from a division of the Charlotte North Carolina South Stake and the Gastonia North Carolina Stake. This marks the first time in 15 years since a new stake was organized in South Carolina when the Greenville South Carolina East Stake was organized.

There are now seven stakes in South Carolina.

Spain
A new stake was organized on August 12th.

The A Coruña Spain Stake was organized from the Santiago Spain District and the León Spain District. The new stake includes the following congregations: the El Ferrol, Gijón, La Coruña, Oviedo, Vigo 1st, and Vigo 2nd Wards, and the León, Lugo, Orense, Ponferrada, and Santiago de Compostela Branches. The new stake is the Church's first stake to ever be organized in Gacilia - an autonomous region in northwestern Spain that traditionally speaks the Galician language. Two branches were discontinued in the process of the new stake being organized - namely the Avilés and Benavente Branches in the former León Spain District.

There are now 15 stakes and 2 districts in Spain.

Argentina
A district was reinstated in Argentina on July 15th.

The Reconquista Argentina District was organized from a division of the Rio Parana Argentina District (renamed the Goya Argentina District). The reinstated district includes the following three branches: Reconquista 1st, Reconquista 2nd, and Vera Branches. The district was likely re-divided to reinstate the Reconquista Argentina District because there are no foreseeable prospects for the area to become a stake within the foreseeable future.

There are now 76 stakes and 29 districts in Argentina.

Updated Country Profile - Mauritania

Click here to access our updated country profile for Mauritania. Although the first known Mauritanian to join the Church was baptized in Turkey in 2014, there has never been an LDS presence in the country. The Future Prospects section of the country profile succinctly describes the outlook for a future LDS presence in the country:

Mauritania may be among the last nations to have an official LDS presence due to current laws forbidding proselytism, ethnic conflicts, the many restrictions placed upon non-Muslim groups, the strong influence of Islam on society, lack of native Christians, and perhaps only a few Mauritanian LDS converts worldwide. Establishing a humanitarian presence and engaging in clean water projects, literacy programs, and development projects in conjunction with other Christian groups or government agencies appears the most appropriate course of action for the future.

Updated Country Profile - Western Sahara

Click here to access our updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Western Sahara. Occupied by Morocco for more than 40 years, Western Sahara is the Maghreb's least populated country with approximately 600,000 inhabitants. There have never appeared to have been any Sahrawi Latter-day Saint converts. There are no known Latter-day Saints residing in the country. With a homogeneously Sunni Muslim population and religious freedom restrictions imposed by the Moroccan government, Western Sahara appears likely to number among the last countries in the world to have an LDS presence established one day. 

Updated Country Profile - Tunisia

Click here to access our updated Reaching the Nations country profile for Tunisia. The Church used to operate a branch in Tunis for foreign members. However, the branch appeared to close sometime in the late 2000s. Today, a member group may continue to operate in Tunis. There are no legal prohibitions for Muslims to convert to another religion. However, the government restricts Christian activities to approved houses of worship. Tunisians living in France present good opportunities for LDS outreach although few of these prospective converts would likely return to live in Tunisia if they convert given societal pressures to adhere to Islam. Tunisia also has the highest percentage of internet users in the population among North African countries, indicating opportunities for online Arabic-language teaching and proselytism efforts.