Area (LDS Church)
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. |
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.
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 2024, there are 24 areas.[3][4][5][6]
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.[7]
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.[8]
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.[9] 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.[10]
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.[11]
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.[12]
Summary statistics
Area | Members | Stakes | Districts | Congregations | Missions | Temples | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
O | U | A | T | ||||||
Africa Central | 163,345 | 35 | 20 | 454 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
Africa South | 165,935 | 36 | 25 | 470 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
Africa West | 444,815 | 134 | 44 | 1,583 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
Asia[a] | 184,136 | 35 | 34 | 409 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
Asia North | 241,297 | 38 | 19 | 385 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
Brazil | 1,472,521 | 281 | 40 | 2,176 | 36 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 20 |
Caribbean | 399,607 | 67 | 29 | 607 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Central America | 822,262 | 133 | 28 | 1,101 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 |
Eurasian | 9,491 | 3 | 9 | 82 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Europe Central | 223,324 | 64 | 11 | 694 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 12 |
Europe North | 282,145 | 67 | 7 | 560 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
Unassigned | 10,799 | 2 | 3 | 48 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Mexico | 1,507,720 | 227 | 47 | 1,863 | 32 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 23 |
Middle East/ Africa North[a] | 5,457 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
North America Central[b] | 1,148,849 | 304 | 0 | 2,765 | 20 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 33 |
North America Northeast[b] | 643,071 | 141 | 5 | 1,300 | 17 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 18 |
North America Southeast[b] | 618,465 | 127 | 0 | 1,153 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
North America Southwest[b] | 1,120,569 | 259 | 2 | 2,257 | 22 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 21 |
North America West[b] | 1,300,546 | 273 | 1 | 2,219 | 29 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 24 |
Pacific | 581,988 | 140 | 35 | 1,278 | 17 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 17 |
Philippines | 853,254 | 125 | 55 | 1,272 | 23 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 |
South America Northwest | 1,327,350 | 217 | 40 | 1,625 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 15 |
South America South | 1,285,696 | 181 | 54 | 1,560 | 27 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 |
Utah[b] | 2,173,560 | 629 | 2 | 5,412 | 10 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 28 |
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)
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b c d e f 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.
Africa Central163,345 Members, 35 Stakes, 20 Districts, 454 Congregations, 11 Missions, 5 Temples[13] | ||
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Temple (announced) Kananga Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple (site announced) |
Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple (under construction) |
Mbuji-Mayi Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple (announced) Nairobi Kenya Temple (under construction) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
Africa SouthHeadquarters: Johannesburg, South Africa 165,935 Members, 36 Stakes, 25 Districts, 470 Congregations, 11 Missions, 6 Temples[13] | ||
---|---|---|
Second counselor: Vaiangina Sikahema[14][15] | ||
Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Cape Town South Africa Temple (site announced) Harare Zimbabwe Temple (under construction) |
Johannesburg South Africa Temple Luanda Angola Temple (announced) | |
Geographic coverage: | ||
Africa West447,186 Members, 134 Stakes, 44 Districts, 990 wards, 606 branches, 17 missions, 9 temples[17] | ||
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple (dedication scheduled) Benin City Nigeria Temple (site announced) |
Calabar Nigeria Temple (announced) Cape Coast Ghana Temple (announced) Eket Nigeria Temple (announced) Freetown Sierra Leone Temple (under construction) |
Kumasi Ghana Temple (site announced) Lagos Nigeria Temple (site announced) Monrovia Liberia Temple (announced) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
AsiaHeadquarters: Hong Kong, China 184,136 Members, 35 Stakes, 34 Districts, 409 Congregations, 10 Missions, 9 Temples[13] | ||
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Missions: | ||
Temples: | ||
Bengaluru India Temple (under construction) Jakarta Indonesia Temple (site announced) |
Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple (under construction) Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple (under construction) Shanghai People's Republic of China Temple (announced) |
Singapore Temple (site announced) Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Temple (announced) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
Asia North241,297 Members, 38 Stakes, 19 Districts, 385 Congregations, 11 Missions, 7 Temples[13] | ||
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Busan Korea Temple (announced) |
Osaka Japan Temple (site announced) |
Ulaanbaatar Mongolia Temple (announced) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
BrazilHeadquarters: São Paulo, Brazil 1,472,521 Members, 281 Stakes, 40 Districts, 2,176 Congregations, 36 Missions, 20 Temples[21] | ||
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple (under construction) Florianópolis Brazil Temple (announced) Goiânia Brazil Temple (announced) João Pessoa Brazil Temple (site announced) |
Londrina Brazil Temple (under construction) Maceió Brazil Temple (site announced) Natal Brazil Temple (site announced) Ribeirão Preto Brazil Temple (under construction) |
Santos Brazil Temple (site announced) São Paulo East Brazil Temple (site announced) Teresina Brazil Temple (site announced) Vitória Brazil Temple (site announced) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
Central AmericaHeadquarters: Guatemala City, Guatemala 822,262 Members, 133 Stakes, 28 Districts, 1,101 Congregations, 19 Missions, 12 Temples[13] | ||
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Guatemala City Guatemala Temple Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple (site announced) Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple (under construction) |
Managua Nicaragua Temple (under construction) Retalhuleu Guatemala Temple (announced) |
San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple San Salvador El Salvador Temple |
Geographic coverage: | ||
Eurasian9,491 Members, 3 Stakes, 9 Districts, 82 Congregations, 6 Missions, 1 Temples[13][23] | ||
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First counselor: Nikolai Ustyuzhaninov (Area Seventy)[24][25] |
Second counselor: Aleksandr A. Drachyov (Area Seventy)[24][25] | |
Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Russia Temple (announced) |
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Geographic coverage: | ||
Europe North282,145 Members, 67 Stakes, 7 Districts, 560 Congregations, 13 Missions, 9 Temples[13] | ||
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Birmingham England Temple (site announced) Edinburgh Scotland Temple (announced) |
Oslo Norway Temple (site announced) |
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Geographic coverage: | ||
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UnassignedAs 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[13] | ||
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Kyrylo Pokhylko (Area Seventy): Assistant to the Europe North Area Presidency[24][25] |
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
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Geographic coverage: | ||
MexicoHeadquarters: Mexico City, Mexico 1,507,720 Members, 227 Stakes, 47 Districts, 1,863 Congregations, 32 Missions, 23 Temples[26] | ||
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Cancún Mexico Temple (announced) Chihuahua Mexico Temple (announced) Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple Culiacán Mexico Temple (announced) Cuernavaca Mexico Temple (site announced) Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple |
Mexico City Benemérito Mexico Temple (site announced) Pachuca Mexico Temple (announced) Querétaro Mexico Temple (under construction) San Luis Potosí Mexico Temple (under construction) |
Toluca Mexico Temple (site announced) Torreón Mexico Temple (under construction) Tula Mexico Temple (announced) Tuxtla Gutiérrez Mexico Temple |
Geographic coverage: | ||
Middle East/ Africa NorthHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 5,457 Members, 2 Stakes, 2 Districts, 33 Congregations, 0 Missions, 1 Temples[13][27] | ||
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Missions: | ||
No Missions |
||
Temples: | ||
Dubai United Arab Emirates Temple (announced) |
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Geographic coverage: | ||
North America CentralHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 1,148,849 Members, 304 Stakes, 2,765 Congregations, 20 Missions, 33 Temples[13][28] | ||
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Missions: | ||
Temples: | ||
Burley Idaho Temple (under construction) Cody Wyoming Temple (under construction) Colorado Springs Colorado Temple (site announced) Des Moines Iowa Temple (site announced) |
Grand Junction Colorado Temple (under construction) Lethbridge Alberta Temple (site announced) Missoula Montana Temple (site announced) Montpelier Idaho Temple (under construction) |
Teton River Idaho Temple (under construction) Tulsa Oklahoma Temple (site announced) Wichita Kansas Temple (under construction) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
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North America SoutheastHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 618,465 Members, 127 Stakes, 1,153 Congregations, 16 Missions, 16 Temples[13][28] | ||
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Charlotte North Carolina Temple (site announced) |
Jacksonville Florida Temple (site announced) Knoxville Tennessee Temple (under construction) |
Springfield Missouri Temple (site announced) Tampa Florida Temple (site announced) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
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North America SouthwestHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 1,120,569 Members, 259 Stakes, 2 Districts, 1,948 Congregations, 22 Missions, 21 Temples[13][28] | ||
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Austin Texas Temple (under construction) Elko Nevada Temple (under construction) Farmington New Mexico Temple (under construction) Fort Worth Texas Temple (under construction) |
Houston Texas South Temple (announced) Lone Mountain Nevada Temple (site announced) |
McKinney Texas Temple (site announced) Yuma Arizona Temple (announced) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
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North America WestHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 1,300,546 Members, 273 Stakes, 1 Districts, 2,219 Congregations, 29 Missions, 24 Temples[13][28] | ||
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Bakersfield California Temple (site announced) Columbia River Washington Temple Fairbanks Alaska Temple (site announced) Feather River California Temple Honolulu Hawaii Temple (announced) Kahului Hawaii Temple (announced) |
Modesto California Temple (under construction) Newport Beach California Temple |
San Jose California Temple (site announced) Tacoma Washington Temple (site announced) Vancouver British Columbia Temple Vancouver Washington Temple (site announced) Victoria British Columbia Temple (announced) Willamette Valley Oregon Temple (under construction) Yorba Linda California Temple (under construction) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
PhilippinesHeadquarters: Quezon City, Philippines 853,254 Members, 125 Stakes, 55 Districts, 1,272 Congregations, 23 Missions, 12 Temples[31] | ||
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Alabang Philippines Temple (under construction) Bacolod Philippines Temple (under construction) Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple (under construction) Davao Philippines Temple (under construction) |
Iloilo Philippines Temple (announced) Laoag Philippines Temple (announced) Naga Philippines Temple (announced) |
Santiago Philippines Temple (announced) Tacloban City Philippines Temple (groundbreaking scheduled) Tuguegarao City Philippines Temple (announced) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
South America Northwest1,327,350 Members, 217 Stakes, 40 Districts, 1,625 Congregations, 30 Missions, 15 Temples[13] | ||
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Missions: | ||
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Temples: | ||
Cali Colombia Temple (groundbreaking scheduled) Chiclayo Peru Temple (announced) |
Cusco Peru Temple (site announced) Huancayo Peru Temple (announced) Iquitos Peru Temple (site announced) La Paz Bolivia Temple (site announced) |
Piura Peru Temple (announced) Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple (under construction) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
South America SouthHeadquarters: Buenos Aires, Argentina 1,284,696 Members, 181 Stakes, 54 Districts, 1,560 Congregations, 27 Missions, 12 Temples[13] | ||
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Missions: | ||
Temples: | ||
Antofagasta Chile Temple (under construction) Bahía Blanca Argentina Temple (under construction) |
Buenos Aires City Center Argentina Temple (announced) |
Rosario Argentina Temple (announced) Santiago West Chile Temple (under construction) Viña del Mar Chile Temple (site announced) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
UtahHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 2,173,560 Members, 629 Stakes, 2 Districts, 5,412 Congregations, 10 Missions, 28 Temples[13][28] | ||
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Area president: Kevin W. Pearson |
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Missions: | ||
Temples: | ||
Ephraim Utah Temple (under construction) Heber Valley Utah Temple (under construction) Lehi Utah Temple (site announced) |
Lindon Utah Temple (under construction) |
Smithfield Utah Temple (under construction) Syracuse Utah Temple (under construction) West Jordan Utah Temple (site announced) |
Geographic coverage: | ||
Utah; Arizona (small portion); Idaho (small portion); Nevada (small portion); Wyoming (southwest corner) |
See also
- District (LDS Church)
- List of area seventies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- List of general authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Regional representative of the Twelve
- Seventy: Area seventies and additional quorums of seventy
References
- ^ Allen, James B. and Glen M. Leonard. The Story of the Latter-day Saints 2nd Edition, p. 654.
- ^ Mehr, Kahlile (Spring 2001). "Area Supervision: Administration of the Worldwide Church, 1960-2002". Journal of Mormon History. 27 (1): 192–214.
- ^ Africa Southeast Area to be Divided into Two Areas, South African Newsroom, 28 June 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ Africa Central Area Office to be in Nairobi Kenya, South African Newsroom, 19 August 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ First Presidency Announces 2022 Area Leadership Assignments, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ^ The First Presidency Creates the Canada Area of the Church, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 6 December 2024. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ First Presidency Announces 2018 Area Leadership Assignments, Mormon Newsroom, 5 April 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- ^ First Presidency Announces 2019 Area Leadership Assignments, churchofjesuschrist.org, 26 April 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ Africa Southeast Area to be Divided into Two Areas, South Africa Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 28 June 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ Nairobi, Kenya, to be Church Africa Central Area Office, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 20 August 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ First Presidency announces 2022-2023 area leadership assignments, Church News, 7 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ^ Historically, the assignments were effective on August 15, but August 1 has been the effective date since 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq First Presidency Announces 2024 Area Leadership Assignments, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq 2024-2025 area leadership assignments announced, Church News, 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Swenson, Madison (Nov 23, 2022), "Church Opening Six New Missions in 2023", KSL TV 5, retrieved January 13, 2023
- ^ As noted here, current as of March 21, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p First Presidency Announces 2023 Area Leadership Assignments, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 14 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p First Presidency announces 2023-2024 area leadership assignments, Church News, 14 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ The developing Church in Mongolia now belongs to the North Asia region, Newsroom: Mongolia, 24 July 2019, retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ Current as of December 31, 2022. See this page for verification.
- ^ As verified here.
- ^ The name for this area was changed in late 2023, as verified here.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j First Presidency Announces 2022 Area Leadership Assignments, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 7 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j First Presidency announces 2022-2023 area leadership assignments, Church News, 7 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ^ "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Mexico", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 29 May 2023
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f Area boundaries many times deviate from state/provincial boundaries. Used statistics for states and provinces where this area is most predominant.
- ^ As verified here.
- ^ Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "Mormon missionaries find work, meaning in community service", The Washington Post, 4 February 2014. Retrieved on 7 March 2020.
- ^ As verified here.