LDS Church Growth

First LDS Stake Created in Armenia

2013-06-17T18:00:00.000-06:00

Last Sunday, the Church organized its first stake in the small Christian country of Armenia. Located in the Caucasus Mountains and surrounded by Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, and the Republic of Georgia, Armenia is the world's oldest Christian country where the majority of the population adheres to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The LDS Church began missionary activity in Armenia during the early 1990s and the Church organized the first member district in 1994. In 1999, the Church organized the Armenia Yerevan Mission from the Russia Rostov Mission. Steady membership growth occurred during the late 1990s and the 2000s and several additional branches were organized in Yerevan and additional cities. In 2008, the Church organized a second member district in Yerevan with the goal to eventually organize two stakes in Yerevan within the medium term. In 2011, the two districts in Yerevan were consolidated into a single district and four branches were closed in preparation to create ward-sized units. During the past decade, the Church has struggled with inactivity problems incurred by quick-baptism tactics employed during many years in the 2000s and the emigration of active membership.

Information on which branches in the district became wards in the new stake is not currently available and I will post this information once it becomes available. As of year-end 2012, Armenia ranked as the country with the thirteenth most members without a stake with 3,024 members, 11 branches, and one district. The new Yerevan Armenia Stake becomes one of the Church's most isolated stakes in the world as the nearest stakes to Yerevan are located in Kyiv, Ukraine (approximately 1,000 miles away) and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (over 1,200 miles away). Due to visa restrictions, only 57 missionaries serve in the entire Armenia Yerevan Mission which includes Armenia and the Republic of Georgia.

For more information on LDS Church growth in Armenia, refer to our statistical profile, country profile, and LDS International Atlas on cumorah.com.

100th Stake to be Organized in Peru

2013-06-14T06:49:00.004-06:00

Members in Peru report that in two weekends the Church will organized its 100th stake in the country through a division of the Lima Peru La Molina Stake. Currently only three countries have more than 100 stakes: The United States (1,503), Brazil (247), and Mexico (226). One country (Chile) once had more than 100 stakes currently has 74 stakes as a result of the consolidation of over 40 stakes a decade ago due to inactivity and leadership problems. Once the stake is organized there will be 42 stakes in the Lima metropolitan area - the second highest for any metropolitan area outside the United States after Mexico City.

For more information on this development, visit a Facebook page by clicking here.

New Stake in Zimbabwe; New District in French Polynesia

2013-06-07T23:00:00.004-06:00

Zimbabwe
A new stake as created last Sunday in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The Nkulumane Zimbabwe Stake was organized from the Bulawayo Zimbabwe Stake and includes the following four wards and four branches: The Nketa 1st, Nkulumane 1st, Nkulumane 2nd, and Tshabalala Wards and the Emganwini, Mzilikazi, Nketa 2nd, and Nkulumane 3rd Branches. There are now five stakes and two districts in Zimbabwe.

French Polynesia
Last Sunday a new district was organized in French Polynesia. The Taiohae Marquesas Islands District was organized from two former mission branches in the Marquesas Islands (Hiva Oa and Taiohae). Additional branches may be organized within the boundaries of the new district considering there are only two branches in the new district. There are now eight stakes and four districts in French Polynesia.

New Stake Created in Peru; District Discontinued in Peru

2013-06-04T06:30:00.002-06:00

New Stake
Last Sunday, a new stake was created in Lima, Peru. The Lima Perú Pachacamac Stake was organized from the Lima Peru Villa Salvador Stake and includes the following six wards: The Floresta, José Gálvez, Las Lomas, Lurin, Pachacamac, and Villa Alejandro Wards. There are now 41 stakes in the Lima metropolitan area.

District Discontinued
The Church recently discontinued the Marcona Peru District. With originally only two branches, the former district had one of its two branches closed and was consolidated with the nearby Nazca Peru District (which had one of its three branches closed). The Nazca Peru District now has three branches within its boundaries.

There are now 99 stakes and 22 districts in Peru.

May 2013 Newsletter

2013-05-31T20:31:00.001-06:00

Our monthly newsletter from cumorah.com providing church growth news and a summary of recently added resources to the website is now available. Click here to access the newsletter.

Updated Missionary Numbers

2013-05-30T09:57:00.002-06:00

In an article in the Deseret News, the Church reported 68,700 full-time missionaries serving as of May 29th, 2013. Currently 22,500 members have received their mission calls but have not yet entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC) and an additional 6,200 members are in the process of completing their missionary applications. Church officials project that the number of full-time missionaries will reach 85,000 this fall; a 47% increase from the approximately 58,000 missionaries serving in October 2012.

For more information about the recent increase in the full-time missionary force for the LDS Church, please refer to the following resources:

New Stake in Australia

2013-05-25T22:49:00.002-06:00

A new stake was created in Australia.

The Sydney Australia Fairfield Stake was created from the Liverpool Australia and Sydney Australia Baulkham Hills Stakes and includes the following seven wards: The Fairfield (Tongan), Oatlands, Parramatta, Prairiewood 1st, Prairiewood 2nd (Spanish), Villawood 1st, and Villawood 2nd Ward (Samoan) Wards. This new stake creation is of particular interest as a couple of the wards in the new stake were previously assigned to the Sydney Parramatta Stake - the first and only stake of the Church to be discontinued in Oceania. The Sydney Parramatta Stake was discontinued in 2011 and combined with neighboring stakes in the Sydney area, namely the present-day Sydney Australia Baulkham Hills Stake. The creation of the new Sydney Australia Fairfield Stake does not appear to be attributed to any upswing in member activity or convert retention improvements in the area but rather due to steady growth in the Liverpool Australia Stake over the past decade. Considering the Church created two new stakes each in Brisbane in late 2012 and Melbourne in early 2013, a second new stake in Sydney or New South Wales may be forthcoming. The creation of the new stake may also coincide with the ongoing growth of the Church in Australia among Pacific Islanders as evidenced by one of the wards in the new stake now being designated as a Tongan-speaking unit whereas it appeared to be assigned only as an English-speaking unit.

There are now 37 stakes and nine districts in Australia.

Updated List of the Countries with the Most Members without a Stake

2013-05-17T07:41:00.004-06:00

Below is an updated list of the countries with the most Latter-day Saints without a stake. Membership totals are as of 2012 and congregational and district totals are current. Membership totals for mainland China and Pakistan are estimates as no official statistics are available. The number of branches and districts in mainland China is not provided due to the sensitive nature of the Church in that country. Previous lists of the most countries without a stake can be found here.

Cambodia - 11,469 members - 28 branches - 6 districts
China - 10,500 members?
Malaysia - 8,967 members - 33 branches - 8 districts
Liberia - 6,709 members - 20 branches - 2 districts
Mozambique - 6,029 members - 21 branches - 2 districts
Jamaica - 5,580 members - 19 branches - 2 districts
Vanuatu - 5,491 members - 31 branches - 3 districts
Guyana - 5,415 members - 13 branches - 1 district
Federated States of Micronesia - 4,565 members - 4 districts
Belize - 4,240 members - 11 branches - 2 districts
Pakistan - 3,500 members - 13 branches? - 3 districts
Zambia - 3,044 members - 12 branches - 2 districts
Armenia - 3,024 members - 11 branches - 1 district
Romania - 3,002 members - 18 branches - 2 districts
Czech Republic - 2,369 members - 13 branches - 2 districts
Albania - 2,299 members - 11 branches - 1 district
Bulgaria - 2,296 members - 9 branches - 0 districts
Cook Islands - 1,862 members - 5 branches - 1 district
Togo - 1,861 members - 11 branches - 1 district
Poland - 1,780 members - 14 branches - 2 districts

Prospects appear most favorable for the formation of stakes within the next few years in Cambodia, Malaysia, Liberia, Mozambique, Vanuatu, the Federated States of Micronesia, Belize, Zambia, Armenia, Albania, and Togo as all of these countries has at least one district that is close to reaching the minimum qualifications for a stake to operate. Low member activity rates, an insufficient number of branches in individual member districts, and few full-tithe paying Melchizedek Priesthood holders will likely continue to delay the organization of stakes in other countries for several more years to come.

Country Statistical Profiles on Cumorah.com

2013-05-11T21:08:00.001-06:00

At cumorah.com, we have recently begun posting our country statistical profiles that provide the most exhaustive LDS statistics available on the internet. In over a year in development, these profiles are part of a total revamp on the website that can currently be accessed through our development website. Click here to access our statistical profile for Albania and access other profiles that we have posted thus far through the drop down on the top of the webpage. We have yet to work on our homepage and the webpage layouts so if you notice any errors please overlook these for now. We hope to have the revamped website and all our resources up within the next month or so. I have hesitated sharing the link to these before we officially launch the website, but I felt that the public would benefit from having access to these statistical profiles to obtain accurate and detailed church growth data.

New Stake in Guatemala

2013-05-09T21:22:00.001-06:00

Last Sunday a new stake was created in Guatemala. The Antigua Guatemala Stake was organized from the the Chimaltenango Guatemala Stake and includes the following six wards and one branch: The Antigua, Ciudad Vieja, Jocotenango, Parramos, San Lucas 1st, and San Lucas 2nd Wards and the San Pedro Las Huertas Branch. Unlike most stakes in the country, the Chimaltenango Guatemala Stake has experienced steady congregational growth within the past decade which has necessitated the creation of a new stake.

There are now 41 stakes and 19 districts in Guatemala.

Congregational Growth by Country: 2012

2013-05-08T07:23:00.003-06:00

Below is a list of the countries where the Church reported a net increase of four or more units for the year 2012. The annual percentage increase for the number of wards and branches is also provided:

United States +114 (0.8% increase)
Nigeria +35 (11.1% increase)
Ghana +19 (14.7% increase)
Philippines +16 (1.4% increase)
Cote d'Ivoire +11 (26.2% increase)
Zimbabwe +10 (20.0% increase)
Democratic Republic of the Congo +9 (8.4% increase)
Australia +5 (1.8% increase)
Cape Verde +5 (27.8% increase)
Haiti +5 (13.5% increase)
Togo +5 (83.3% increase)
India +4 (11.1% increase)
Madagascar +4 (12.1% increase)

The net increase in the number of wards and branches in these 13 countries totals 242; a larger number than the net increase in the number of wards and branches for the entire Church for the year 2012. Five countries experienced a net decrease of four or more units during 2012 including:

Mexico -15 (0.8% decrease)
Russia -10 (9.2% decrease)
South Korea -8 (5.9% decrease)
Argentina -8 (1.0% decrease)
Canada -5 (1.0% decrease)

Decreasing numbers of congregations in Mexico and Argentina are particularly concerning as the Church has experienced a net decrease in congregations in these two countries for several years now notwithstanding church membership increasing by tens of thousands.

April 2013 Cumorah Newsletter

2013-04-30T06:23:00.003-06:00

We have posted our April newsletter for the Cumorah Foundation detailing recent church growth news and additional resources posted to our website. Click here to view newsletter.

New Stakes Created in Arizona and Mexico

2013-04-30T06:04:00.004-06:00

Last Sunday new stakes were organized in Arizona and Mexico.

In Arizona, the Church created the Gilbert Arizona Williams Field Stake from the Gilbert Arizona Higley and Gilbert Arizona San Tan Stakes. The new stake consists of the following six wards: The Chaparral, Fairview, Gateway, Pecos Park, Maplewood, and Stratland Wards. There are now 95 stakes in Arizona.

In Mexico, the Church created the Mexico City Alamedas Stake from the Mexico City Valle Dorado Stake. The new stake has the following five wards and one branch: The Alamedas, Lomas Lindas, Campestre, Colmena, and Nicolas Romero Wards and the Villa del Carbon Branch. The Mexico City Valle Dorado Stake now has six wards. The last new stake to be organized in the Mexico City area was in 2008. For more information on the Church in Mexico City, refer to my case study here. There are now 44 stakes in the Mexico City area and 227 stakes and 36 districts in Mexico.

New Stake in Mexico

2013-04-27T12:53:00.002-06:00

A new stake was created in Mexico last Sunday. The Córdoba México Stake was created from the Orizaba México Stake and includes the Córdoba, Escamela, Huilango, Nuevo Córdoba, and Ojo de Agua Wards and the Huatusco Branch. The Church in Mexico has experienced stagnant congregational growth for the past several years but has had at least a couple new stakes organized each year during this period. This suggests that member activity and convert retention rates remain problematic but there may be some progress in leadership development.

There are now 226 stakes and 36 districts in Mexico.

Membership by Country Statistics Released for 2012

2013-04-22T12:56:00.001-06:00

Membership and congregation totals for nations with a reported LDS presence are now available on the Church's official website and can be found at http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-statistics. Data is available under the country profiles on the right side of the site.

The 20 countries with the highest annual membership growth rates in 2012 are listed below. Lists for nations with the most rapid membership growth rates are also available for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The percentage next to the country name is the annual growth rate percentage which is followed by the country's LDS membership at year-end 2012. Countries in bold experienced a membership increase greater than 200.

Benin - 59.9% - 1,081
Rwanda - 34.4% - 121
Solomon Islands - 31.5% - 509
Botswana - 27.1% - 2,152
Malawi - 22.9% - 1,421
Angola - 20.9% - 1,257
Togo - 19.7% - 1,861
Jersey - 16.7% - 349
Cape Verde - 16.2% - 9,326
Ethiopia - 15.7% - 1,678
Sierra Leone - 15.7% - 11,664
Tuvalu - 14.9% - 200
Madagascar - 14.6% - 9,190
Cote d'Ivoire - 14.5% - 18,602
Liberia - 14.4% - 6,709
Democratic Republic of the Congo - 13.5% - 34,547
Namibia - 13.2% - 763
Malaysia - 13.1% - 8,967
Vanuatu - 12.9% - 5,491
Cameroon - 12.4% - 12.4%

Below is a list of the top ten countries by numerical increase in membership for the year 2012. Each country is provided with the national increase in membership and the percentage of this increase out of total Church membership increase. Lists are also available for 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. 72.6% of 2012 LDS membership increase can be attributed to the following 10 nations.

United States - 92,183 - 27.0%
Mexico - 44,501 - 13.0%
Brazil - 36,441 - 10.7%
Peru - 18,947 - 5.6%
Philippines - 13,568 - 4.0%
Argentina - 12,655 - 3.7%
Ecuador - 8,230 - 2.4%
Guatemala - 7,958 - 2.3%
Chile - 6,883 - 2.0%
Honduras - 6,249 - 1.8%

I will provide additional analysis of these country-by-country statistics in the coming couple days. Some interesting developments with these 2012 statistics include a significant increase in church membership for Guatemala and Ecuador that has not been experienced since the 1990s, church membership in the Central African Republic declining by 50% likely due to updating membership records, and church membership continuing to experience small gains in Norway that first began in 2009 after two decades of stagnant membership growth.

Two Districts Discontinued in Russia

2013-04-22T05:43:00.004-06:00

The Church has recently discontinued two districts in Russia. The Rostov Russia and Volgograd Russia Districts have been discontinued and branches that previously pertained to these districts now directly report to the Russia Rostov Mission. The Rostov Russia District previously included six branches whereas the Volgograd Russia District previously included four branches. No branches were closed as part of dissolution of either district.

The Church discontinuing both of these districts suggests that there are no prospects within the foreseeable future for either of these districts to become stakes and that district leadership was siphoning limited priesthood manpower that was in greater need for allocation to individual branches. I was surprised with the close of both of these districts as both had at least four branches and appeared to have enough leadership manpower for both branch and district callings. This decision is reminiscent of the Church discontinuing the Canje Guyana District in 2011 as both this district also had a sizable number of branches. In the Guyana example, leadership development problems was the primary reason for the district closure. In Russia, low member activity rates, few convert baptisms, and leadership development problems have been responsible for ongoing congregational consolidations and district closures.

There are now two stakes and five districts in Russia.

Recently Completed Case Study Essays (October 2012 - April 2013)

2013-04-18T07:25:00.001-06:00

It's been a while since I have provided an update on recently completed case study essays. See below for some interesting topics that I have researched and written about within the past six months. We will be categorizing these on cumorah.com to make navigation easier as we have now posted over 100 case studies.

Unreached Countries

2013-04-08T07:14:00.001-06:00

Church leaders frequently noted the importance of taking the gospel to "all the earth" and "to all nations" during General Conference this past weekend. In response to online discussion on which countries are unreached by the Church, I have provided our encyclopedia entry on "unreached countries" from cumorah.com. Our encyclopedia on missionary work and church growth (missiology) will be posted on cumorah.com in the near future once website upgrades and complete. This encyclopedia entry will be posted on my blog until we get this resource up and running on cumorah.com.

Unreached Countries

Unreached countries include nations that neither have a ward, branch, or group functioning nor a known official or unofficial LDS presence. The Church does not extend any official missionary activity in unreached nations and many of these nations do not pertain to a mission. These countries remain a priority to outreach to fulfill the divine commission of Christ to take the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people as approximately 390 million people reside in unreached countries, or six percent of the world's population. Christians do not comprise the majority in most unreached countries; Christian-majority nations rank among the least populated unreached nations by the Church. In 2012, there was only one predominantly Christian country with over one million people that was unreached (East Timor or Timor-Leste) with only 1.2 million inhabitants.

In mid-2012, there were 33 sovereign countries without an LDS presence; 16 in Sub-Saharan Africa (Burkina Faso, Chad, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, and Sudan), six in the Middle East and North Africa (Algeria, Iran, Libya, Palestinian Territories, Syria, and Yemen), four in Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), four in East Asia (Bhutan, Maldives, North Korea, and Timor-Leste [East Timor]), and three in Europe (Liechtenstein, Monaco, and San Marino). Provided with 2012 population estimates from the CIA World Factbook and world population ranking, the three most populous unreached countries are Iran (78.9 million people; 18th most populous), Algeria (35.4 million people; 35th most populous), and Sudan (34.2 million people; 37th most populous) whereas the three least populous unreached countries are Monaco (30,510 people; 216th most populous), San Marino (32,140 people; 213th most populous), and Liechtenstein (36,713 people; 212th most populous). 25 of the 35 unreached countries have at least one million inhabitants. In August 2012, nine of the 35 unreached countries were assigned to a full-time mission (Bhutan - India New Delhi Mission, Equatorial Guinea - Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa Mission, Liechtenstein - Alpine German-Speaking Mission, Maldives - India Bangalore Mission, Monaco - France Lyon Mission, San Marino - Italy Milan Mission, Sao Tome and Principe - Mozambique Maputo Mission, Sudan - Uganda Kampala Mission, and Timor Leste - Indonesia Jakarta Mission).

The Church does not have a presence in unreached countries for a variety of reasons. Most unreached countries experience low levels of religious freedom. Muslims constitute a strong majority in 23 of the 35 unreached countries and Islam strongly influences government and legislation in most these nations. Consequently there is little, if any, tolerance for Christian proselytism and the conversion of Muslims to non-Islamic religions. Several unreached countries exhibit good conditions for LDS missionary activity but possess relatively tiny populations that are not within close proximity of countries with a strong LDS presence. It is unclear why some other countries remain unreached by the Church as proximity, small population, political instability, and government restrictions do not prevent a church establishment. A lack of mission resources and vision from area and mission leaders appears responsible for no LDS presence in these locations.

Conditions to establish an LDS presence were once more favorable in several nations but the Church missed its opportunity to gain a foothold before political and religious freedom conditions deteriorated. For example, there were few restrictions to proselyte and send missionaries to several Central Asian countries (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) in the 1990s but the Church failed to initiate missionary activity in all three of these nations. At present there are no realistic prospects for the Church to establish a presence in any currently unreached Central Asian nations due to the decline in religious freedom and the increasing influence of Islam on government. If the Church fails to establish a presence in other unreached countries without insurmountable religious freedom restrictions, the Church may miss its window of opportunity. For example, the Church may not be able to establish a presence in Mongolia today if the Church did not act in the early 1990s when political conditions were more favorable as religious freedom conditions deteriorated during the 2000s and early 2010s. Other proselytizing Christian faiths such as Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses have more aggressively established a presence worldwide when opportunities to enter new nations arose. Consequently Adventists and Witnesses report a presence in all but approximately a dozen countries notwithstanding both these denominations based in the United States and being founded decades after the LDS Church.

Opportunities to establish an LDS presence appear most promising in countries where government and society permit nontraditional Christians to proselyte the indigenous population. In 2012, these countries included all six Christian-majority unreached countries (Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Liechtenstein, San Marino, and Monaco), six tolerant Muslim-majority unreached countries (Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Senegal, Guinea, the Gambia), and two countries where there is no religious majority (Chad and Guinea-Bissau). Missionaries stationed in nearby countries visit Liechtenstein, San Marino, and Monaco periodically to meet with isolated members or teach investigators. These three city-state countries experience religious freedom but their tiny populations make the assignment of full-time missionaries infeasible due to few mission resources and low receptivity in the region. However, holding cottage meetings and organizing groups for church services may be warranted to improve outreach and spur growth.

In addition to unreached countries there are also unreached territories or dependencies. Territories and dependencies pertain to a sovereign country but receive some aspects of self-rule and autonomy. In mid-2012, there were 17 territories, dependencies, or overseas collectivities with populations over 1,000 without an LDS presence; seven in North and South America (Anguilla, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Sint Eustatius), four Oceania (Christmas Island [Australia], Norfolk Island, Tokelau, Wallis and Futuna), four in Europe (Aland Islands, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, and Svalbard), and two in Sub-Saharan Africa (Mayotte and Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha). Nearly all of these locations experience widespread religious freedom and have predominantly Christian populations, but tiny populations that are not within close proximity to current mission outreach centers deter outreach.

2012 Annual Statistical Report

2013-04-06T14:47:00.006-06:00

The Church released its statistical report for 2012 in General Conference today. Below is a summary of church statistics reported in comparison with the statistical report for 2011:

Membership: 14,782,473 (increase of 341,127 from 2011; a 2.36% annual increase)
Congregations: 29,014 (increase of 230 from 2011; a 0.43% annual increase)
Stakes: 3,005 (increase of 59 from 2011; a 2.00% annual increase)
Districts: 591 (a decrease of 17 from 2011; a 2.80% annual decrease)
Convert Baptisms: 272,330 (decrease of 8,982 from 2011; a 3.19% annual decrease)
Increase of Children on Record: 122,273 (increase of 2,356 from 2011; a 1.96% annual increase)
Full-time missionaries: 58,990 (increase of 3,580 from 2011; a 6.46% annual increase)
Church service missionaries: 22,961 (increase of 662 from 2011; a 2.97% annual increase)

Notable progress in these statistics for 2012 include the perpetuation of six percent annual growth in the number of missionaries serving that began in 2011, the largest increase in church membership since 1999, and the largest increase in the number of stakes since 1998. Concerning numbers include congregational growth occurring at less than one-fifth the rate of membership growth, a decline in convert baptisms notwithstanding an increase of 3,580 missionaries serving, and a 2.80% decline in the number of districts.

Full-time Missionary Force Continues to Swell

2013-04-06T10:21:00.001-06:00

This morning, President Monson announced that there were 65,634 full-time missionaries serving as of April 4th. Currently there are 20,000 missionaries who have received their mission calls and an additional 6,000 individuals who are in the interview process. For more information about the influence of reducing the mission age on future church growth trends in the LDS Church, please refer to my case study on cumorah.com that can be found here.

Two New Temples Announced

2013-04-06T10:12:00.001-06:00

This morning, President Monson announced two new temples for Cedar City, Utah and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This will bring the total number of temples worldwide to 170.

Updated Potential Temples Map

2013-04-03T11:14:00.000-06:00

In preparation for General Conference this weekend, I have updated my map identifying likely locations for future temple announcements. Likely stakes and districts serviced by potential temples in these locations are provided. Additional locations identified for possible temple announcements in this most recent update include Auckland, New Zealand; Benin City, Nigeria; and Bangkok, Thailand.

View Potential New Temples in a larger map

March 2013 Newsletter

2013-03-30T21:26:00.004-06:00

Click here to view our March 2013 newsletter for the Cumorah Foundation. Our monthly newsletters lists recently created stakes and districts, cities opened and closed to missionary work, and significant church growth developments. A synopsis of new resources added to our website cumorah.com is also provided in the newsletter.

Official Missionary Statistics Released - Currently over 64,000 Missionaries Serving Worldwide

2013-03-27T23:13:00.004-06:00

In a news release, the Church provided the following statistics on the recent surge in the full-time missionary force:

There are 64,373 missionaries currently serving (previous high was 61,638 in 2002)
An average of 1,400 missionary applications have been received a week since January 1st, 2013 (immediately following the announcement of reduced minimum ages for missionary service in October 2012 as many as 4,000 applications were received a week).
Since January 1st, 57% of mission calls are for elders, 36% are for sisters, and 7% are for senior couples.
Facilities nearby the Provo MTC are going to be utilized for accommodating the influx in missionaries within the coming months.

Click here for a link to the news release.

The Church may call as many as 70,000 missionaries in 2013 if it continues to perpetuate the average of 1,400 missionary applications per week for the entire year. This may result in the Church surpassing 100,000 missionaries serving by late 2013 or early 2014 and necessitate the organization of dozens of additional missions for 2014.

District Discontinued in Paraguay

2013-03-27T22:26:00.003-06:00

The Church recently discontinued a district in Paraguay. Originally organized in 1988, the Caaguazú Paraguay District was consolidated with the neighboring Coronel Oviedo Paraguay District. Two branches were closed as part of the consolidation of the two districts, namely the Coronel Oviedo 3rd and Coronel Oviedo 4th Branches. Missionaries currently serving in effected branches report that this consolidation was motivated by mission leaders preparing for a stake in the near future. The realigned Coronel Oviedo Paraguay District now contains eight branches.

The discontinuation of the Caaguazú Paraguay District marks the first district closure for 2013. The Church has experienced highly concerning convert retention and member activity problems within the past few years as church membership has increased by 10,000 but the number of wards and branches has remained unchanged.

There are now 10 stakes and 10 districts in Paraguay.