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According to the June monthly newsletter from Cumorah.com, the last couple of months have seen quite a bit change in several countries:


Japan

Three stakes and two districts were discontinued in Japan in two separate events on Hokkaido and in the Osaka metropolitan area.
There are now 22 stakes and 11 districts in Japan. In contrast, the Church in Japan reached an all-time high of 31 stakes and 19 districts in 2000.


California

During the month of June, two stakes in the East Bay area closed. The Concord California Stake was originally organized in 1963, whereas the Hayward California Stake was organized in 1956. The decision to discontinue these stakes came as no surprise given they had the minimum number of congregations to function as stakes and that there has been a steady decline in the number of members in the area for decades which has resulted in steady consolidations of wards. There are now 145 stakes in California—down from an all-time high of 162 stakes in 1995.


Australia

The Church in Australia discontinued the Gosford Australia Stake in June, marking only the second time a stake has been discontinued in Australia. The only other time the Church has discontinued a stake in Australia was in 2011 when the Sydney Australia Parramatta Stake was discontinued. Also, the Australian government recently released the 2021 census data which indicated the number of self-identified Latter-day Saints decreased between 2016 and 2021 from 60,864 to 57,868. In contrast, official membership totals for Australia increased from 148,862 to 155,383. Thus, these data suggest that the number of active Latter-day Saints may have decreased during this period, albeit it is also possible that fewer less-active or inactive members on Church records self-affiliated as Latter-day Saints in 2021 versus 2016.


United Kingdom

The Church in the United Kingdom discontinued a stake for the first time in Church history. The Lichfield England Stake was originally organized in 1977 and was discontinued in June. The stake had eight wards prior to its discontinuation. It is possible that these changes may be due to preparations to free more leadership to staff the future Birmingham England Temple. However, it appears that the greatest contribution to the decision to close the stake has been essentially stagnant membership growth rates combined with probable decreases in member activity in the area during the past couple decades.


Africa/Utah

Never fear, Utah and Nigeria are still adding stakes.

https://www.cumorah.com/

Everybody Wang Chung wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 16, 2022 11:25 pm

United Kingdom

The Church in the United Kingdom discontinued a stake for the first time in Church history. The Lichfield England Stake was originally organized in 1977 and was discontinued in June. The stake had eight wards prior to its discontinuation. It is possible that these changes may be due to preparations to free more leadership to staff the future Birmingham England Temple. However, it appears that the greatest contribution to the decision to close the stake has been essentially stagnant membership growth rates combined with probable decreases in member activity in the area during the past couple decades.
https://www.cumorah.com/

If I recall correctly, when I lived in Britain, several decades ago, Lichfield was one of the strongest areas of the church in England - it's where the Presiding Bishop's office was.

Reaching the Nations International Church Growth Almanac

Volume 1: The Americas, Oceania and Europe PDF
Volume 2: Asia and Africa PDF

Both links lead to "Error 404: Growth not found"

Everybody Wang Chung wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 16, 2022 11:25 pm

Australia

The Church in Australia discontinued the Gosford Australia Stake in June, marking only the second time a stake has been discontinued in Australia. The only other time the Church has discontinued a stake in Australia was in 2011 when the Sydney Australia Parramatta Stake was discontinued. Also, the Australian government recently released the 2021 census data which indicated the number of self-identified Latter-day Saints decreased between 2016 and 2021 from 60,864 to 57,868. In contrast, official membership totals for Australia increased from 148,862 to 155,383. Thus, these data suggest that the number of active Latter-day Saints may have decreased during this period, albeit it is also possible that fewer less-active or inactive members on Church records self-affiliated as Latter-day Saints in 2021 versus 2016.

It's important to keep in mind that there are effectively two LDS Churches in Australia. One is your typical Australian LDS Church which is overwhelmingly populated by members of European ancestry. The other is a Pasifika LDS Church formed by the arrival of large numbers of immigrants from the Pacific islands. For many Pasifika members, being a member of the LDS Church resembles allegiance to a tribal group. Tribal leadership outside of the church can often Trump LDS leadership.

About 40% of active Mormons in Australia are of Pasifika ancestry and their membership has been growing steadily over the last 20 years due to immigration and high birth rates. The vast majority live along the east coast in Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

So the small decline (6%) in people self identifying as LDS is the sum of two stories. The Pasifika membership is growing rapidly and the European membership is shrinking dramatically. The Gosford Stake is located in an affluent area with a low Polynesian population. I would estimate that "European ancestry" attendance has declined by close to 20% over the last 10 years. This sort of collapse is occurring in places like California.

Fascinating information, Simon. Thanks for sharing that!

Everybody Wang Chung wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 16, 2022 11:25 pm

According to the June monthly newsletter from Cumorah.com, the last couple of months have seen quite a bit change in several countries:
United Kingdom

The Church in the United Kingdom discontinued a stake for the first time in Church history. The Lichfield England Stake was originally organized in 1977 and was discontinued in June. The stake had eight wards prior to its discontinuation. It is possible that these changes may be due to preparations to free more leadership to staff the future Birmingham England Temple. However, it appears that the greatest contribution to the decision to close the stake has been essentially stagnant membership growth rates combined with probable decreases in member activity in the area during the past couple decades.

This is interesting in light of Nelson’s recent announcement that the Church is to build a temple in Birmingham - where numbers are dwindling, and have been dwindling for decades. Total Church membership in the UK hasn’t flickered for a long time. The temple that was built in Chorley didn’t cause an upsurge in membership, it simply prompted active members to relocate to that area - the knock-on effect was that the areas they moved from became weaker.

There are circa 30-40,000 active members in the UK. That’s been static for decades. Total membership in the UK actually declined in 2020 to 186,734 (2019 - 188,187). It’s pretty much the same story across Europe. The Church in the UK is set to have 3 seriously under utilised temples in the future, rather than the 2 very under utilised ones at present. The Europe Area Presidency as stated 3 aims for members, which I think paints the picture of where the issues are:
- Follow the Prophet
- Invite a friend to sacrament meeting
- Take an ancestor to the temple

No sign of “help the poor and needy”

Tithing income dropped £2.5 million in 2020 (from £31.7m in 2019) and interestingly, the church paid £408,000 (total) to two senior personnel upon their termination in 2020. Are they now paying hush money to leavers?