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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.
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]
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 one of the members 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, areas in the United States and Canada would once again be supervised by a three-man presidency. This will enable members of the Presidency of the Seventy to more fully assist the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in their duties, and to fill other assignments as needed.[ 5]
Roughly one year later, in 2019, church leaders clarified that the 10 North American areas would be merged into 6 (with the Idaho and North America Central areas being consolidated into the North America Central, the North America Northwest, and North America West areas being consolidated into the North America West Area, and the Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City, and Utah South areas being consolidated into a single Utah Area.[ 6]
Also unique to the 2019 assignments was a change in the administration of the Middle East/Africa North Area. In prior years, two General Authority Seventies were assigned oversight for that area, which was administered from headquarters. However, beginning in August 2019, a three-man area presidency will serve the needs of that area. While the president and first counselor are General Authority Seventies who will continue their oversight from headquarters, the second counselor, an area seventy who lives and works within the boundaries of the area, will continue to do so and serve as a member of the area presidency.
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.
The church now has 15 areas outside North America and 6 areas inside North America for a total of 21. Area presidency assignments are generally filled by General Authority Seventies or area seventies.[ 7] Area assignments are typically announced in the spring each year, with changes effective that year on August 1.[ 8]
The following is an alphabetical list of the areas of the church and related leadership assignments as of 1 August 2020 for each of the Church's now-22 areas.[ 9] [ 10] [ 11]
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 ; Comoros ; Congo ; Democratic Republic of the Congo ; Djibouti ; ; Eritrea ; Equatorial Guinea ; Ethiopia ; Gabon ; Kenya ; Rwanda ; Somalia ; South Sudan ; Tanzania ; Uganda ; Seychelles ; Sao Tome and Principe
Africa South
Johannesburg , South Africa
S. Mark Palmer
Edward Dube
Ciro Schmiel
Angola ; Botswana ; Comoros ; Lesotho ; Madagascar ; Malawi ; Mauritius ; Mayotte ; Mozambique ; Namibia ; Réunion (FRA); Rwanda ; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (UK); Zambia ; Zimbabwe
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 ; Maritius ; Niger ; Nigeria ; São Tomé and Príncipe ; Senegal ; Sierra Leone ; Togo ; Western Sahara
Asia
Hong Kong , China
David F. Evans
Peter F. Meurs
David P. Homer
Afghanistan ; 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
L. Todd Budge
James R. Rasband
Japan ; Micronesia ; Mongolia ;[ 12] North Korea ; Palau ; South Korea ; Guam (US)
Brazil
São Paulo , Brazil
Adilson de Paula Parrella
Joaquin E. Costa
Joni L. Koch
Brazil
Official website (Portuguese)
Caribbean
Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic
Jose L. Alonso
Eduardo Gavarret
Jorge M. Alvarado
Antigua and Barbuda ; Bahamas ; Barbados ; 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); Guadaloupe (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
Gary B. Sabin
Massimo De Feo
Erich W. Kopischke
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 ; Republic of Macedonia ; Malta ; Moldova ; Monaco ; Montenegro ; Netherlands ; Norway ; Poland ; Portugal ; Romania ; San Marino ; Scotland ; Serbia ; Slovakia ; Slovenia ; Spain ; Sweden ; Switzerland ; United Kingdom ; Vatican City ; Azores (POR); Canary Islands (ESP); Gibraltar (UK); Greenland (DEN)
Europe East
Moscow , Russia
Christoffel Golden
Hans T. Boom
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
John C. Pingree Jr.
Hugo Montoya
Mexico ; Cuba
Middle East/ Africa North
Salt Lake City , Utah
Anthony D. Perkins
Randy D. Funk
Jeffrey H. Singer (Area Seventy)
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
John A. McCune
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)
North America Southeast
Salt Lake City , Utah
James B. Martino
Vern P. Stanfill
Marcos A. Aidukaitis
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
Evan A. Schmutz
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
Kevin W. Pearson
Scott D. Whiting
Rubén V. Alliaud
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 ; Northern Mariana Islands (US)
South America Northwest
Lima , Peru
Jorge F. Zeballos
Mathias Held
Jorge T. Becerra
Bolivia ; Colombia ; Ecuador ; Peru ; Venezuela
South America South
Buenos Aires , Argentina
Benjamin De Hoyos
Allen D. Haynie
Juan Pablo Villar
Argentina ; Chile ; Paraguay ; Uruguay
Utah
Salt Lake City , Utah
Craig C. Christensen
Mark A. Bragg
Walter F. Gonzalez
Utah ; Arizona small portion; Idaho (small portion); Nevada (small portion); Wyoming (southwest corner)
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
TBD
TBD
TBD
3 temples:
Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple
•
Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple (under construction)
•
Nairobi Kenya Temple (under construction)
Africa South
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
3 temples:
Durban South Africa Temple
•
Harare Zimbabwe Temple (under construction)
•
Johannesburg South Africa Temple
Africa West
248,350
17
109 stakes 52 districts
810 congregations
5 temples:
Aba Nigeria Temple
•
Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple (dedication scheduled)
•
Accra Ghana Temple
•
Benin City Nigeria Temple (site announced)
•
Freetown Sierra Leone Temple (under construction)
•
Lagos Nigeria Temple (site announced)
Asia
164,741
11
35 stakes 26 districts
368 congregations
6 temples:
Bangkok Thailand Temple
•
Bengaluru India Temple (under construction)
•
Hong Kong China Temple
•
Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple (under construction)
•
Shanghai People's Republic of China Temple (announced)
•
Taipei Taiwan Temple
Asia North
223,508
10
44 stakes 19 districts
420 congregations
6 temples:
Fukuoka Japan Temple
•
Okinawa Japan Temple
•
Sapporo Japan Temple
•
Seoul Korea Temple
•
Tokyo Japan Temple
•
Yigo Guam Temple
Brazil
1,289,376
35
274 stakes 39 districts
1,996 congregations
11 temples:
Belém Brazil Temple
•
Brasília Brazil Temple
•
Campinas Brazil Temple
•
Curitiba Brazil Temple
•
Fortaleza Brazil Temple
•
Manaus Brazil Temple
•
Porto Alegre Brazil Temple
•
Recife Brazil Temple
•
Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple
•
Salvador Brazil Temple
•
São Paulo Brazil Temple
Caribbean
194,221
8
33 stakes 23 districts
367 congregations
3 temples:
Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple
•
San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
•
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple
Central America
729,791
19
132 stakes 129 districts
1,071 congregations
9 temples:
Cobán Guatemala Temple
•
Guatemala City Guatemala Temple
•
Managua Nicaragua Temple (under construction)
•
Panama City Panama Temple
•
Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple
•
San José Costa Rica Temple
•
San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple
•
San Salvador El Salvador Temple
•
Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple
Europe
455,088
26
129 stakes 24 districts
1,261 congregations
15 temples:
Bern Switzerland Temple
•
Budapest Hungary Temple (site announced)
•
Copenhagen Denmark Temple
•
Frankfurt Germany Temple
•
Freiberg Germany Temple
•
Helsinki Finland Temple
•
Lisbon Portugal Temple
•
London England Temple
•
Madrid Spain Temple
•
Paris France Temple
•
Praia Cape Verde Temple
•
Preston England Temple
•
Rome Italy Temple
•
Stockholm Sweden Temple
•
The Hague Netherlands Temple
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
14 temples:
Ciudad Juárez Mexico Temple
•
Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple
•
Guadalajara Mexico Temple
•
Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple
•
Mérida Mexico Temple
•
Mexico City Mexico Temple
•
Monterrey Mexico Temple
•
Oaxaca Mexico Temple
•
Puebla Mexico Temple
•
Tampico Mexico Temple
•
Tijuana Mexico Temple
•
Tuxtla Gutiérrez Mexico Temple
•
Veracruz Mexico Temple
•
Villahermosa Mexico Temple
Middle East/Africa North[ 13]
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
22 temples:
Billings Montana Temple
•
Bismarck North Dakota Temple
•
Boise Idaho Temple
•
Calgary Alberta Temple
•
Cardston Alberta Temple
•
Chicago Illinois Temple
•
Denver Colorado Temple
•
Edmonton Alberta Temple
•
Fort Collins Colorado Temple
•
Idaho Falls Idaho Temple
•
Kansas City Missouri Temple
•
Meridian Idaho Temple
•
Nauvoo Illinois Temple
•
Pocatello Idaho Temple
•
Regina Saskatchewan Temple
•
Rexburg Idaho Temple
•
St. Louis Missouri Temple
•
St. Paul Minnesota Temple
•
Twin Falls Idaho Temple
•
Winnipeg Manitoba Temple
•
Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple
North America Northeast[ 13]
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
•
Richmond Virginia Temple
•
Toronto Ontario Temple
• Washington D.C. Temple
North America Southeast
526,385
15
115 stakes 0 districts
1,030 congregations
11 temples:
Atlanta Georgia Temple
•
Baton Rouge Louisiana Temple
•
Birmingham Alabama Temple
•
Columbia South Carolina Temple
• Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple
•
Louisville Kentucky Temple
•
Memphis Tennessee Temple
•
Nashville Tennessee Temple
•
Orlando Florida Temple
•
Tallahassee Florida Temple (dedication scheduled)
•
Raleigh North Carolina Temple
North America Southwest
1,032,246
21
269 stakes 2 districts
2,011 congregations
15 temples:
Albuquerque New Mexico Temple
•
Dallas Texas Temple
•
Gilbert Arizona Temple
•
Houston Texas Temple
•
Las Vegas Nevada Temple
•
Lubbock Texas Temple
•
Mesa Arizona Temple
•
Monticello Utah Temple
•
Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple
•
Phoenix Arizona Temple
•
Reno Nevada Temple
•
San Antonio Texas Temple
•
Snowflake Arizona Temple
•
Gila Valley Arizona Temple
•
Tucson Arizona Temple
North America West
1,347,961
28 missions
282 stakes 1 district
2,792 congregations
18 temples:
Anchorage Alaska Temple
•
Columbia River Washington Temple
•
Fresno California Temple
•
Kona Hawaii Temple
•
Laie Hawaii Temple
•
Los Angeles California Temple
•
Medford Oregon Temple
•
Moses Lake Washington Temple
•
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
•
Feather River California Temple
Pacific
499,509
16
139 stakes 39 districts
1,145 congregations
13 temples:
Adelaide Australia Temple
•
Apia Samoa Temple
•
Auckland New Zealand Temple (dedication scheduled)
•
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
•
Suva Fiji Temple
•
Sydney Australia Temple
Philippines[ 13]
688,852
23
113 stakes 64 districts
1,149 congregations
6 temples:
Cagayan de Oro Philippines Temple (under construction)
•
Cebu City Philippines Temple
•
Davao Philippines Temple (under construction)
•
Alabang Philippines Temple (under construction)
•
Manila Philippines Temple
•
Urdaneta Philippines Temple
South America Northwest
1,299,577
33
247 stakes 49 districts
1,874 congregations.
10 temples:
Arequipa Peru Temple
•
Barranquilla Colombia Temple
•
Bogotá Colombia Temple
•
Caracas Venezuela Temple
•
Cochabamba Bolivia Temple
•
Guayaquil Ecuador Temple
•
Lima Peru Temple
•
Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
•
Quito Ecuador Temple
•
Trujillo Peru Temple
South America South
1,193,569
27
181 stakes 55 districts
1,697 congregations.
10 temples:
Asunción Paraguay Temple
•
Antofagasta Chile Temple (under construction)
•
Bahía Blanca Argentina Temple (under construction)
•
Buenos Aires Argentina Temple
•
Concepción Chile Temple
•
Córdoba Argentina Temple
•
Mendoza Argentina Temple
•
Montevideo Uruguay Temple
•
Salta Argentina Temple
•
Santiago Chile Temple
Utah
1,985,355
10
611 stakes 1 district
4,937 congregations
23 temples:
Bountiful Utah Temple
•
Cedar City Utah Temple
•
Draper Utah Temple
•
Brigham City Utah Temple
•
Jordan River Utah Temple
•
Layton Utah Temple
•
Logan Utah Temple
•
Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple
•
Ogden Utah Temple
•
Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple
•
Orem Utah Temple
•
Payson Utah Temple
•
Provo City Center Temple
•
Provo Utah Temple
•
Saratoga Springs Utah Temple
•
Salt Lake Temple
•
St. George Utah Temple
•
Star Valley Wyoming Temple
•
Syracuse Utah Temple (under construction)
•
Taylorsville Utah Temple
•
Deseret Peak Utah Temple
•
Red Cliffs Utah Temple
^ 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 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.
^ 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.
^ For several years, the assignments were effective on August 15, but August 1 has been the effective date since 2007.
^ Africa Southeast Area to be Divided into Two Areas , South African Newsroom , 28 June 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
^ Africa Central Area Office to be in Nairobi Kenya , South African Newsroom , 19 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
^ "See the Church's new 2020 leadership assignments around the world" , Church News , Church News , 2020-04-16
^ The developing Church in Mongolia now belongs to the North Asia region , Newsroom: Mongolia , 24 July 2019, retrieved 30 July 2019.
^ a b c Current as of mid or late 2013. Information taken from churchofjesuschrist.org and cumorah.com.
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Category:Types of Latter Day Saint organization