Area (LDS Church)

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In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), an area is an administrative unit which 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.

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 August 2020 there are 22 areas.[3][4]

Administration[]

Until 2003, each area had a president and two counselors, all of whom were typically general authorities (area seventies were sometimes asked to be counselors). This three-man body was known as the area presidency. In that year, the church eliminated area 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 enables 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.[5]

In 2019, church leaders clarified that the 10 North American areas would be merged into six (with the Idaho Area merging into the North America Central Area; the North America Northwest Area merging into the North America West Area; and the Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City, and Utah South areas merging into a single Utah Area.[6]

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. While the president and first counselor are currently general authorities who serve from church headquarters, the second counselor is an area seventy who lives and works within the area's boundaries.

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. Rather than living in Salt Lake City, the area presidency members in these areas usually reside in a headquarters city that is located within the geographic boundaries of the area. Area seventies who serve in the area presidencies reside in their own homes, which may or may not be in the area headquarters city.

As of August 2020, the church has 16 areas outside North America and six areas inside North America, for a total of 22, with area presidencies generally consisting of general authorities.[7] Area assignments are typically announced in the spring each year, with changes effective on August 1 of that year.[8]

List[]

The following is an alphabetical list of the areas of the church and related leadership assignments as of 1 August 2021 for each of the church's 22 areas.[9][10]

Area name Area headquarters Area
president 		First
counselor 		Second
counselor 		Geographic coverage
(Areas where the LDS Church has no official presence in italics) 		Notes
Africa Central Nairobi, Kenya Joseph W. Sitati Matthew L. Carpenter Thierry K. Mutombo Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Republic of the Congo; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Kenya; Rwanda; Seychelles; Somalia; South Sudan; Tanzania; Uganda Official Website
Africa South Johannesburg, South Africa Edward Dube Ciro Schmiel Angola; Botswana; Comoros; Eswatini; Lesotho; Madagascar; Malawi; Mauritius; Mayotte (FRA); Mozambique; Namibia; Réunion (FRA); Rwanda; Sao Tome and Principe; South Africa; Zambia; Zimbabwe Official Website
Africa West Accra, Ghana Hugo E. Martinez Larry S. Kacher Jörg Klebingat Benin; Burkina Faso; Chad; Côte d'Ivoire; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Liberia; Mali; Mauritania; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Togo; Western Sahara Official Website
Asia Hong Kong, China David P. Homer Peter F. Meurs Benjamin M. Z. Tai Bangladesh; Bhutan; Brunei; Cambodia; China; East Timor; India; Indonesia; Kyrgyzstan; Laos; Malaysia; Maldives; Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Tajikistan; Taiwan; Thailand; Vietnam
Asia North Tokyo, Japan Takashi Wada James R. Rasband[11] John A. McCune[11] Japan; Micronesia; Mongolia;[12] North Korea; Northern Mariana Islands, Palau; South Korea; Guam (US)
Brazil São Paulo, Brazil Adilson de Paula Parrella Joni L. Koch Juan A. Uceda Brazil Official website (Portuguese)
Caribbean Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Eduardo Gavarret Jorge M. Alvarado Moises Villanueva Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas; Barbados; Cuba; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Grenada; Guyana; Haiti; Jamaica; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Suriname; Trinidad and Tobago; Anguilla (UK); Aruba (NED); Cayman Islands (UK); French Guiana (FRA); Guadeloupe (FRA); Martinique (FRA); Montserrat (FRA); Netherlands Antilles (NED); Puerto Rico (US); Saint Barthelemy (FRA); Saint Martin (FRA); Turks and Caicos Islands (UK); Virgin Islands (UK); Virgin Islands (US)
Central America Guatemala City, Guatemala Brian K. Taylor Taylor G. Godoy Alan R. Walker Belize; Costa Rica; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Nicaragua; Panama
Europe Frankfurt, Germany Massimo De Feo Erich W. Kopischke Ruben V. Alliaud Albania; Andorra; Austria; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Cape Verde; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Iceland; Republic of Ireland; Italy; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Malta; Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Netherlands; North Macedonia; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (UK); San Marino; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; United Kingdom; Vatican City; Azores (POR); Canary Islands (ESP); Falkland Islands (UK); Gibraltar (UK); Greenland (DEN); Madeira (POR)
Europe East Moscow, Russia Hans T. Boom Scott D. Whiting Kyrylo Pokhylko (Area Seventy) Armenia; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Bulgaria; Estonia; Georgia; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Latvia; Lithuania; Russia; Tajikistan; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; Uzbekistan
Mexico Mexico City, Mexico Rafael E. Pino Hugo Montoya Adrian Ochoa Mexico
Middle East/ Africa North Salt Lake City, Utah Anthony D. Perkins Randy D. Funk Jeffrey H. Singer (Area Seventy) Afghanistan; Algeria; Bahrain; Egypt; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Libya; Morocco; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sudan Syria; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen; Gaza Strip; West Bank
North America Central Salt Lake City, Utah S. Gifford Nielsen Chi Hong (Sam) Wong Arnulfo Valenzuela Alberta; Colorado; Idaho; Illinois; Iowa; Kansas; Manitoba; Michigan (Upper Peninsula); Minnesota; Missouri; Montana; Nebraska; Northwest Territories; North Dakota; Nunavut; Saskatchewan; South Dakota; Wisconsin; Wyoming; British Columbia (small eastern sections); Montana (small portion); Ontario (western half).
North America Northeast Salt Lake City, Utah Randall K. Bennett W. Mark Bassett Kelly R. Johnson[11][13] Connecticut; Delaware; Indiana; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; New Brunswick; Newfoundland; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; Nova Scotia; Ohio; Ontario; Pennsylvania; Prince Edward Island; Quebec; Rhode Island; Vermont; Virginia (most of the state); Washington, D.C.; West Virginia; Bermuda (UK); Saint Pierre and Miquelon (FRA) Official Website
North America Southeast Salt Lake City, Utah Vern P. Stanfill Marcos A. Aidukaitis Matthew S. Holland Alabama; Arkansas; Florida; Georgia; Kentucky (most of the state); Louisiana; Mississippi; North Carolina; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas (small portion); Virginia (small portions)
North America Southwest Salt Lake City, Utah Paul B. Pieper Kyle S. McKay Jose L. Alonso Arizona; Nevada; New Mexico; Oklahoma; Texas; Arkansas (northwest quarter); California (small portions); Colorado (southwest portion); Kansas (small portion); Louisiana (small portion); Missouri (southwest third); Utah (small portions)
North America West Salt Lake City, Utah Mark A. Bragg John C. Pingree Jr. Valeri V. Cordón Alaska; British Columbia; California; Hawaii; Oregon; Washington; Yukon; Arizona (small portions)
Pacific Auckland, New Zealand Ian S. Ardern K. Brett Nattress Kazuhiko Yamashita Australia; Fiji; Kiribati; Marshall Islands; Nauru; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Tonga; Tuvalu; Vanuatu; American Samoa (US); Cook Islands (NZ); French Polynesia, including Tahiti (FRA); New Caledonia (FRA); Niue (NZ); Pitcairn Islands (UK); Tokelau (NZ); Wallis and Futuna (FRA) Official website
Philippines Manila, Philippines Taniela B. Wakolo Steven R. Bangerter Yoon Hwan Choi Philippines
South America Northwest Lima, Peru Jorge F. Zeballos Mathias Held Jorge T. Becerra Bolivia; Colombia; Ecuador; Peru; Venezuela Official Website (Spanish)
South America South Buenos Aires, Argentina Craig C. Christensen Allen D. Haynie Joaquin E. Costa Argentina; Chile; Paraguay; Uruguay Official Website (Spanish)
Utah Salt Lake City, Utah Kevin W. Pearson Evan A. Schmutz[14] Walter F. Gonzalez Utah; Arizona small portion; Idaho (small portion); Nevada (small portion); Wyoming (southwest corner) Official Website

Area details[]

The following statistics 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.

Area Membership Missions Stakes/Districts Congregations (Wards/Branches) Temples
Africa Central TBD 10 TBD TBD 4 temples:

Kananga Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple (announced)  • Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple  • Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple (announced) • Nairobi Kenya Temple (under construction)

Africa South TBD TBD TBD TBD 6 temples:

Antananarivo Madagascar Temple (announced) • Beira Mozambique Temple (announced) • Cape Town South Africa Temple  • Durban South Africa Temple  • Harare Zimbabwe Temple (under construction) • Johannesburg South Africa Temple

Africa West 248,350 17 109 stakes
52 districts 		810 congregations 7 temples:

Aba Nigeria Temple  • Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple (under construction) • Accra Ghana Temple  • Benin City Nigeria Temple (announced) • Freetown Sierra Leone Temple  • Kumasi Ghana Temple (announced) • Lagos Nigeria Temple (announced) • Monrovia Liberia Temple (announced)

Asia 164,741 11 35 stakes
26 districts 		368 congregations 8 temples:

Bangkok Thailand Temple (under construction) • Bengaluru India Temple (under construction) • Hong Kong China Temple  • Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple (announced) • Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple (under construction) • Shanghai People's Republic of China Temple (announced) • Singapore Republic of Singapore Temple (announced) • Taipei Taiwan Temple

Asia North 223,508 10 44 stakes
19 districts 		420 congregations 6 temples:

Fukuoka Japan Temple  • Okinawa Japan Temple (under construction)  • Sapporo Japan Temple  • Seoul Korea Temple  • Tokyo Japan Temple  • Yigo Guam Temple (dedication scheduled)

Brazil 1,289,376 35 274 stakes
39 districts 		1,996 congregations 14 temples:

Belém Brazil Temple (under construction)  • Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple  • Brasília Brazil Temple (under construction)  • Campinas Brazil Temple  • Curitiba Brazil Temple  • Fortaleza Brazil Temple  • Manaus Brazil Temple  • Porto Alegre Brazil Temple  • Recife Brazil Temple  • Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple (dedication scheduled)  • Salvador Brazil Temple (under construction)  • São Paulo Brazil Temple  • São Paulo East Brazil Temple (announced)  • Vitória Brazil Temple (announced)

Caribbean 194,221 8 33 stakes
23 districts 		367 congregations 3 temples:

Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple  • San Juan Puerto Rico Temple (under construction)  • Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple

Central America 729,791 19 132 stakes
129 districts 		1,071 congregations 10 temples:

Cobán Guatemala Temple (under construction)  • Guatemala City Guatemala Temple  • Greater Guatemala City Guatemala Temple  • Managua Nicaragua Temple (announced)  • Panama City Panama Temple  • Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple  • San José Costa Rica Temple  • San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple (under construction)  • San Salvador El Salvador Temple  • Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple

Europe 455,088 26 129 stakes
24 districts 		1,261 congregations 18 temples:

Bern Switzerland Temple  • Brussels Belgium Temple (announced)  • Budapest Hungary Temple (announced)  • Copenhagen Denmark Temple  • Frankfurt Germany Temple  • Freiberg Germany Temple  • Helsinki Finland Temple  • Lisbon Portugal Temple  • London England Temple  • Madrid Spain Temple  • Oslo Norway Temple (announced)  • Paris France Temple  • Praia Cabo Verde Temple (under construction)  • Preston England Temple  • Rome Italy Temple  • Stockholm Sweden Temple  • The Hague Netherlands Temple  • Vienna Austria Temple (announced)

Europe East 44,313 10 4 stakes
20 districts 		209 congregations 2 temples:

Kyiv Ukraine Temple  • Russia Temple (announced)

Mexico 1,344,298 32 221 stakes
47 districts 		1,981 congregations 17 temples:

Ciudad Juárez Mexico Temple  • Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple  • Culiacán Mexico Temple (announced)  • Guadalajara Mexico Temple  • Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple  • Mérida Mexico Temple  • Mexico City Mexico Temple  • Monterrey Mexico Temple  • Oaxaca Mexico Temple  • Puebla Mexico Temple (under construction)  • Querétaro Mexico Temple  • Tampico Mexico Temple  • Tijuana Mexico Temple  • Torreón Mexico Temple  • Tuxtla Gutiérrez Mexico Temple  • Veracruz Mexico Temple  • Villahermosa Mexico Temple

Middle East/Africa North[15] 11,714 0 2 stakes
2 districts 		85 congregations 1 temple:

Dubai United Arab Emirates Temple (announced)

North America Central 1,069,925 22 276 stakes
1 district 		2,606 congregations 26 temples:

Billings Montana Temple  • Bismarck North Dakota Temple  • Boise Idaho Temple  • Burley Idaho Temple  • Calgary Alberta Temple  • Cardston Alberta Temple  • Casper Wyoming Temple (under construction)  • Chicago Illinois Temple  • Cody Wyoming Temple (announced)  • Denver Colorado Temple  • Edmonton Alberta Temple  • Fort Collins Colorado Temple  • Grand Junction Colorado Temple  • Helena Montana Temple (under construction)  • Idaho Falls Idaho Temple  • Kansas City Missouri Temple  • Meridian Idaho Temple  • Nauvoo Illinois Temple  • Pocatello Idaho Temple  • Regina Saskatchewan Temple  • Rexburg Idaho Temple  • Rexburg North Idaho Temple (announced)  • St. Louis Missouri Temple  • St. Paul Minnesota Temple  • Twin Falls Idaho Temple  • Winnipeg Manitoba Temple  • Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple

North America Northeast[15] 407,514 19 134 stakes
4 districts 		839 congregations 14 temples:

Boston Massachusetts Temple  • Columbus Ohio Temple  • Detroit Michigan Temple  • Halifax Nova Scotia Temple  • Hartford Connecticut Temple  • Indianapolis Indiana Temple  • Manhattan New York Temple  • Montreal Quebec Temple  • Palmyra New York Temple  • Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple  • Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple (under construction)  • Richmond Virginia Temple (under construction)  • Toronto Ontario Temple  • Washington D.C. Temple

North America Southeast 526,385 15 115 stakes
0 districts 		1,030 congregations 12 temples:

Atlanta Georgia Temple  • Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple  • Bentonville Arkansas Temple (under construction)  • Birmingham Alabama Temple  • Columbia South Carolina Temple  • Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple  • Louisville Kentucky Temple  • Memphis Tennessee Temple  • Nashville Tennessee Temple  • Orlando Florida Temple  • Raleigh North Carolina Temple  • Tallahassee Florida Temple (under construction)

North America Southwest 1,032,246 21 269 stakes
2 districts 		2,011 congregations 18 temples:

Albuquerque New Mexico Temple  • Dallas Texas Temple  • Elko Nevada Temple  • Farmington New Mexico Temple  • Fort Worth Texas Temple (announced)  • Gila Valley Arizona Temple  • Gilbert Arizona Temple  • Houston Texas Temple  • Las Vegas Nevada Temple  • Lubbock Texas Temple  • McAllen Texas Temple (under construction)  • Mesa Arizona Temple  • Monticello Utah Temple  • Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple  • Phoenix Arizona Temple  • Reno Nevada Temple  • San Antonio Texas Temple  • Snowflake Arizona Temple  • Tucson Arizona Temple

North America West 1,347,961 28 missions 282 stakes
1 district 		2,792 congregations 20 temples:

Anchorage Alaska Temple  • Columbia River Washington Temple  • Feather River California Temple (under construction)  • Fresno California Temple  • Kona Hawaii Temple  • Laie Hawaii Temple  • Los Angeles California Temple  • Medford Oregon Temple  • Moses Lake Washington Temple (under construction)  • Newport Beach California Temple  • Oakland California Temple  • Portland Oregon Temple  •

Redlands California Temple  • Sacramento California Temple  • San Diego California Temple  • Seattle Washington Temple  • Spokane Washington Temple  • Vancouver British Columbia Temple  • Willamette Valley Oregon Temple  • Yorba Linda California Temple

Pacific 499,509 17 139 stakes
39 districts 		1,145 congregations 16 temples:

Adelaide Australia Temple  • Apia Samoa Temple  • Auckland New Zealand Temple (under construction)  • Brisbane Australia Temple  • Hamilton New Zealand Temple  • Melbourne Australia Temple  • Neiafu Tonga Temple (under construction)  • Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple  • Pago Pago American Samoa Temple (under construction)  • Papeete Tahiti Temple  • Perth Australia Temple  • Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple ((*}} Port Vila Vanuatu Temple  • Suva Fiji Temple  • Sydney Australia Temple  • Tarawa Kiribati Temple

Philippines[15] 688,852 23 113 stakes
64 districts 		1,149 congregations 8 temples:

Alabang Philippines Temple (under construction)  • Bacolod Philippines Temple (under construction)  • Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple (announced)  • Cebu City Philippines Temple  • Davao Philippines Temple (under construction)  • Manila Philippines Temple  • Tacloban City Philippines Temple (announced)  • Urdaneta Philippines Temple (under construction)

South America Northwest 1,299,577 33 247 stakes
49 districts 		1,874 congregations. 13 temples:

Arequipa Peru Temple  • Barranquilla Colombia Temple  • Bogotá Colombia Temple  • Cali Colombia Temple  • Caracas Venezuela Temple  • Cochabamba Bolivia Temple  • Guayaquil Ecuador Temple  • La Paz Bolivia Temple (announced)  • Lima Peru Temple  • Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple (under construction)  • Quito Ecuador Temple (under construction)  • Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple (announced)  • Trujillo Peru Temple

South America South 1,193,569 27 181 stakes
55 districts 		1,697 congregations. 11 temples:

Antofagasta Chile Temple (under construction)  • Asunción Paraguay Temple  • Bahía Blanca Argentina Temple  • Buenos Aires Argentina Temple  • Concepción Chile Temple  • Córdoba Argentina Temple  • Mendoza Argentina Temple (under construction)  • Montevideo Uruguay Temple  • Salta Argentina Temple (under construction)  • Santiago Chile Temple  • Santiago West Chile Temple (announced)

Utah 1,985,355 10 611 stakes
1 district 		4,937 congregations 27 temples:

Bountiful Utah Temple  • Brigham City Utah Temple  • Cedar City Utah Temple  • Deseret Peak Utah Temple (under construction)  • Draper Utah Temple  • Ephraim Utah Temple  • Heber Valley Utah Temple (announced)  • Jordan River Utah Temple  • Layton Utah Temple (under construction)  • Lindon Utah Temple  • Logan Utah Temple  • Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple  • Ogden Utah Temple  • Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple  • Orem Utah Temple (under construction)  • Payson Utah Temple  • Provo City Center Temple  • Provo Utah Temple  • Red Cliffs Utah Temple (under construction)  • St. George Utah Temple  • Salt Lake Temple  • Saratoga Springs Utah Temple (under construction)  • Smithfield Utah Temple  • Star Valley Wyoming Temple  • Syracuse Utah Temple (under construction)  • Taylorsville Utah Temple (under construction)  • Vernal Utah Temple

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Allen, James B. and Glen M. Leonard. The Story of the Latter-day Saints 2nd Edition, p. 654.
  2. ^ Mehr, Kahlile (Spring 2001). "Area Supervision: Administration of the Worldwide Church, 1960-2002". Journal of Mormon History. 27 (1): 192–214.
  3. ^ Africa Southeast Area to be Divided into Two Areas, South African Newsroom, 28 June 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. ^ Africa Central Area Office to be in Nairobi Kenya, South African Newsroom, 19 August 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  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. ^ Although area seventies may serve in an area presidency. In limited cases in the past, area seventies have comprised the whole presidency, but in recent years only a few area seventies have served in an area presidency. As of August 2019, the church has two area seventies serving in area presidencies: the second counselors in the Europe East and Middle East/Africa North areas.
  8. ^ For several years, the assignments were effective on August 15, but August 1 has been the effective date since 2007.
  9. ^ First Presidency announces 2021-2022 area leadership assignments, Church News 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  10. ^ First Presidency Announces 2021 Area Leadership Assignments, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  11. ^ a b c Reorganization of the Asia North Regional Presidency, 21 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  12. ^ The developing Church in Mongolia now belongs to the North Asia region, Newsroom: Mongolia, 24 July 2019, retrieved 30 July 2019.
  13. ^ As a result of McCune's transfer to the Asia North Area Presidency, Johnson was called to serve in this area presidency.
  14. ^ When the 2020 area leadership assignments were announced, Mark A. Bragg had been listed as the First Counselor in this area presidency. That assignment was subsequently transferred to Schmutz, as verified here and here.
  15. ^ a b c Current as of mid or late 2013. Information taken from churchofjesuschrist.org and cumorah.com.
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