Area_(LDS_Church)

Area (LDS Church)

Area (LDS Church)

Administrative unit of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), an area is an administrative unit that typically is composed of multiple stakes and missions. These areas are the primary church administrative unit between individual stakes or missions and the church as a whole.

Areas of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints outside US and Canada.

Areas of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in US and
Canada.

History

The areas as they now exist were formed in January 1984.[1] Prior to that time, general authorities served as "area supervisors" and at times resided outside of Salt Lake City.[2] In 1984, 13 initial areas were created; by 1992 there were 22, and by early 2007 there were 31. As of April 2022, there are 23 areas.[3][4][5]

Administration

Until 2003, each area had a president and two counselors, all of whom were typically general authorities (area seventies sometimes served as counselors). This three-man body was known as the area presidency. In that year, the church eliminated these presidencies for areas located in the United States and Canada, which were all then placed under the direct supervision of a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, thus freeing more general authorities from specific area assignments. Since these areas were previously administered by area presidencies located at church headquarters in Salt Lake City, the administrative change was not as drastic as it might seem.

In April 2018, the church announced that, effective August 1 of that year, areas in the United States and Canada would once again be supervised by a three-man presidency. This enabled the Presidency of the Seventy to more fully assist the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in their duties, and to fill other assignments as needed.[6]

The areas outside the United States and Canada continue to be governed by area presidencies that are typically composed of general authorities and area seventies. These presidency members usually reside in a headquarters city located in the geographic boundaries of the area. Area seventies who serve in these presidencies reside in their own homes, which may or may not be in the area headquarters city.

In 2019, church leaders stated that the 10 North American areas would be merged into six (the Idaho Area merged into the North America Central Area; the North America Northwest Area merged into the North America West Area; and the Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City, and Utah South areas merged into a single Utah Area.[7]

Also in 2019, a structural change occurred in the administration of the Middle East/Africa North Area. In prior years, two general authorities based at church headquarters were assigned oversight for the area. However, beginning in August 2019, a three-man area presidency was established to oversee the area. Two of them were general authorities at church headquarters, while the second counselor was an area seventy living in the area.

In 2019, church leaders also announced the division of the Africa Southeast Area, into the Africa Central and Africa South areas, effective August 1, 2020.[8] Two months later, W. Christopher Waddell, second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, announced in Johannesburg that the new Africa Central Area would be headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.[9]

Then in 2022, additional structural changes affected Europe. The Europe and Europe East areas were split into 3 areas and renamed the Europe Central, Europe East, and Europe North areas. The presidency of the Europe Area became the presidency of the Europe Central Area, with the presidency of the Europe East Area becoming three area seventies. The president and first counselor in the Europe East Area were reassigned to fill the same roles in the Europe North Area, with the second counselor being an area seventy. The area seventy who had been serving as the second counselor in the Europe East Area was designated an assistant to the Europe North Area presidency, specifically overseeing Ukraine and Moldova, which will be separate from a specific area at the current time.[10]

As of April 2022, the church has 17 areas outside North America and six areas inside North America, for a total of 23. With the changes in Europe, the church now has five area seventies serving in area presidencies. Area assignments are generally announced sometime after April's general conference and are effective August 1.[11]

Summary statistics

More information Members, Stakes ...

Temples
O=Operating Temples (includes temporary closures)
U=Temples Under Construction
A=Temples publicly announced to be constructed
T=Total Temples (announced and under construction)

  1. Estimates or latest available data were used for countries without released membership and congregational statistics. A significant number of countries in the Middle East/North Africa and Asia Areas don't have official church membership and congregational data and therefore, more reliant on these estimates.
  2. Boundaries for areas follow mission boundaries and not necessarily state/province boundaries. Calculations were done according to state/provincial boundaries. When state/province is split among multiple areas, the area with most predominance in state/province received that state's/provincial membership and congregational statistics for calculation.
    For example, the Utah Area uses membership statistics for the state of Utah, even though parts of the state is outside the Utah Area and area includes portions of other states.

Area details

The following details are current as of August 1, 2019, and are taken from the LDS Church Growth Blog, statistical profiles on cumorah.com, and the Facts and Statistics page of the church's official website (www.churchofjesuschrist.org). Ward and branch totals and membership numbers were last updated in 2015.

More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...
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More information Missions:, Temples: ...
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More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Unassigned As of April 2022, Ukraine and Moldova are not assigned to any of the church's areas. Kyrylo Pokhylko, a Ukrainian area seventy and assistant to the presidency of the Europe North Area has responsibility for the work of the church in those nations. 10,799 Members, 2 Stakes, 3 Districts, 48 Congregations, 2 Missions, 1 Temples, Missions: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...
More information Missions:, Temples: ...

See also


References

  1. Mehr, Kahlile (Spring 2001). "Area Supervision: Administration of the Worldwide Church, 1960-2002". Journal of Mormon History. 27 (1): 192–214.
  2. Africa Southeast Area to be Divided into Two Areas, South African Newsroom, 28 June 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  3. Africa Central Area Office to be in Nairobi Kenya, South African Newsroom, 19 August 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. First Presidency Announces 2022 Area Leadership Assignments, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  5. First Presidency Announces 2018 Area Leadership Assignments, Mormon Newsroom, 5 April 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  6. First Presidency Announces 2019 Area Leadership Assignments, churchofjesuschrist.org, 26 April 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  7. Africa Southeast Area to be Divided into Two Areas, South Africa Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 28 June 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  8. Nairobi, Kenya, to be Church Africa Central Area Office, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 20 August 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  9. First Presidency announces 2022-2023 area leadership assignments, Church News, 7 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  10. Historically, the assignments were effective on August 15, but August 1 has been the effective date since 2007.
  11. Based on official and unofficial membership and congregational found on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics data is 2022 or latest available. This is combined numbers for all countries within area.
  12. First Presidency Announces 2023 Area Leadership Assignments, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 14 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  13. First Presidency Announces 2022 Area Leadership Assignments, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 7 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  14. Swenson, Madison (Nov 23, 2022), "Church Opening Six New Missions in 2023", KSL TV 5, retrieved January 13, 2023
  15. As noted here, current as of March 21, 2023.
  16. First Presidency Announces 2020 Area Leadership Assignments, ‘’News and Events’’ page, churchofjesuschrist.org, 16 April 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  17. The developing Church in Mongolia now belongs to the North Asia region, Newsroom: Mongolia, 24 July 2019, retrieved 22 March 2022.
  18. Current as of December 31, 2022. See this page for verification.
  19. , Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 19 April 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2023
  20. The name for this area was changed in late 2023, as verified here.
  21. "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Mexico", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 29 May 2023
  22. Because much of the Middle East/Africa North Area covers countries that doesn't recognize the church, third party estimates are used for a significant portion of this count.
  23. Area boundaries many times deviate from state/provincial boundaries. Used statistics for states and provinces where this area is most predominant.
  24. Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "Mormon missionaries find work, meaning in community service", The Washington Post, 4 February 2014. Retrieved on 7 March 2020.
  25. As verified here.

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