Area (LDS Church)
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Areas 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 2025, there are 24 areas, 6 in the United States, and 18 worldwide, including the new Canada Area.[3][4][5][6] In conjunction with the move to create a Canada Area, five of the other six North American areas were renamed. The former North America Central, North America Northeast, North America Southeast, North America Southwest, and North America West Areas, respectively are now known as the United States Central, United States Northeast, United States Southeast, United States Southwest, and United States West Areas, respectively.[7][8]
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.[9]
The areas outside the United States continue to be governed by area presidencies that are typically composed of general authority seventies and/or 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.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12]
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.[13]
Then, in early December 2024, the First Presidency created a new Canada Area.[14] Subsequently, in mid-April 2025, in conjunction with the announcement of the first Canada Area presidency, it was announced that the area headquarters would be in Calgary, Alberta, with some area functions managed in Toronto, Ontario.[15][16]
As of August 2025, the church has 18 areas outside and 6 areas inside the United States, for a total of 24 areas. With the changes in the Europe Areas, 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.[17]
Summary statistics
Area | Members | Stakes | Districts | Congregations | Missions | Temples | |||
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O | U | A | T | ||||||
Africa Central | 207,648 | 43 | 23 | 602 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
Africa South | 204,063 | 47 | 24 | 533 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
Africa West | 503,555 | 151 | 43 | 1739 | 25 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 13 |
Asia | 172,278 | 29 | 21 | 287 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
Asia North[a] | 240,711 | 38 | 17 | 381 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
Brazil | 1,525,436 | 287 | 38 | 2096 | 37 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 24 |
Canada | 205,907 | 53 | 3 | 502 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
Caribbean | 230,596 | 34 | 24 | 373 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Central America | 842,351 | 133 | 27 | 1113 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
Europe Central | 231,566 | 61 | 11 | 694 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
Europe East | 22,823 | 3 | 4 | 70 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Europe North | 295,021 | 66 | 9 | 598 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 13 |
Middle East/ Africa North[a] | 3,496 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Mexico | 1,534,058 | 230 | 43 | 1878 | 34 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 27 |
United States Central[b] | 1,075,626 | 279 | 0 | 2589 | 18 | 19 | 6 | 8 | 33 |
United States Northeast[b] | 589,085 | 129 | 2 | 1138 | 17 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 19 |
United States Southeast[b] | 645,094 | 127 | 0 | 1158 | 18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 18 |
United States Southwest[b] | 1,143,351 | 267 | 2 | 2226 | 25 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 27 |
United States West[b] | 1,271,665 | 267 | 0 | 2082 | 29 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 28 |
Pacific | 597,413 | 140 | 27 | 1262 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 15 |
Philippines | 882,461 | 131 | 56 | 1324 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
South America Northwest | 1,541,074 | 256 | 47 | 1911 | 37 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 21 |
South America South | 1,316,514 | 188 | 46 | 1572 | 29 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 16 |
Utah[b] | 2,205,134 | 640 | 6 | 5386 | 13 | 23 | 5 | 4 | 32 |
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 any official church membership and congregational data and therefore are more reliant on these estimates.
- ^ a b c d e f Boundaries for areas follow mission boundaries and not necessarily state boundaries. Calculations were done according to state boundaries. When a state/province is split between more than one area, the area with the most predominance in the respective state/province received that state's 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 are outside of the Utah Area, and that area includes portions of other US states.
Area details
The following details are current as of August 1, 2025, 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 (with some approximations as noted in the previous section) in 2025.
Africa Central163,345 Members, 35 Stakes, 20 Districts, 454 Congregations, 15 Missions, 5 Temples[18] | ||
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Africa SouthHeadquarters: Johannesburg, South Africa 165,935 Members, 36 Stakes, 25 Districts, 470 Congregations, 13 Missions, 6 Temples[18] | ||
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Second counselor: Vaiangina Sikahema[19][20] | ||
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Africa West447,186 Members, 134 Stakes, 44 Districts, 990 wards, 606 branches, 25 missions, 9 temples[22] | ||
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AsiaHeadquarters: Hong Kong, China 184,136 Members, 35 Stakes, 34 Districts, 409 Congregations, 12 Missions, 9 Temples[18] | ||
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Asia North241,297 Members, 38 Stakes, 19 Districts, 385 Congregations, 12 Missions, 7 Temples[18] | ||
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BrazilHeadquarters: São Paulo, Brazil 1,472,521 Members, 281 Stakes, 40 Districts, 2,176 Congregations, 37 Missions, 20 Temples[18] | ||
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CanadaHeadquarters: Calgary, Alberta & Toronto, Ontario[29] 205,907 Members, 53 Stakes,39 Districts, 592 Congregations, 6 Missions, 10 Temples | ||
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Central AmericaHeadquarters: Guatemala City, Guatemala 822,262 Members, 133 Stakes, 28 Districts, 1,101 Congregations, 19 Missions, 12 Temples[18] | ||
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Eurasian9,491 Members, 3 Stakes, 9 Districts, 82 Congregations, 6 Missions, 1 Temples[18][31] | ||
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First counselor: Nikolai Ustyuzhaninov (Area Seventy)[7][8][32] |
Second counselor: Vladimir N. Astashov (Area Seventy)[7][8][33] | |
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Europe CentralHeadquarters: Frankfurt, Germany 223,324 Members, 64 Stakes, 11 Districts, 694 Congregations, 17 Missions, 12 Temples[18] | ||
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Europe North292,944 Members, 69 Stakes, 10 Districts, 608 Congregations, 15 Missions, 10 Temples[18] | ||
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MexicoHeadquarters: Mexico City, Mexico 1,507,720 Members, 227 Stakes, 47 Districts, 1,863 Congregations, 32 Missions, 23 Temples[41] | ||
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Middle East/ Africa NorthHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 5,457 Members, 2 Stakes, 2 Districts, 33 Congregations, 0 Missions, 1 Temples[18][42] | ||
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PhilippinesHeadquarters: Quezon City, Philippines 853,254 Members, 125 Stakes, 55 Districts, 1,272 Congregations, 23 Missions, 12 Temples[43] | ||
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South America Northwest1,327,350 Members, 217 Stakes, 40 Districts, 1,625 Congregations, 33 Missions, 15 Temples[18] | ||
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South America SouthHeadquarters: Buenos Aires, Argentina 1,284,696 Members, 181 Stakes, 54 Districts, 1,560 Congregations, 29 Missions, 12 Temples[18] | ||
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United States NortheastHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 643,071 Members, 141 Stakes, 5 Districts, 1,300 Congregations, 17 missions, 18 Temples[18][44] | ||
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United States SoutheastHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 618,465 Members, 127 Stakes, 1,153 Congregations, 16 Missions, 16 Temples[18][44] | ||
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UtahHeadquarters: Salt Lake City, Utah 2,173,560 Members, 629 Stakes, 2 Districts, 5,412 Congregations, 13 Missions, 28 Temples[18][44] | ||
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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.
- ^ 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 First Presidency Announces 2025-2026 Area Leadership Assignments, Church News, 14 April 2025. Retrieved 14 April 2025
- ^ 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 " Area presidency assignments for 2025-26 announced, Church News, 14 April 2025. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ 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.
- ^ The First Presidency Creates the Canada Area of the Church, Newsrooom, churchofjesuschrist.org. 6 December 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ^ New Canada Area Presidency Announced, Canada Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org. 17 April 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ^ While two of the area presidency members will administer the area from the main headquarters in Calgary, one presidency member will administer the area from Toronto
- ^ 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 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 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 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 First Presidency announces 2023-2024 area leadership assignments, Church News, 14 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ Area presidency assignments for 2025-26 announced, Deseret News, 14 April 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ First Presidency Announces 2025–2026 Area Leadership Assignments, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 14 April 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
August 2026 changes2
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ The developing Church in Mongolia now belongs to the North Asia region, Newsroom: Mongolia, 24 July 2019, retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ While the functional headquarters of this area is Calgary, one member of the area presidency will administer the area from Toronto, as verified here.
- ^ As verified here.
- ^ The name for this area was changed in late 2023, as verified here.
- ^ Although the area president and second counselor changed this year, Ustyuzhaninov has served as the first counselor in this area since 2022. That is verified here for 2022, here for 2023, and here for 2024.
- ^ Astashov is also currently serving as the president of the Russia Moscow Mission, as verified here.
- ^ Headquartered in Zagreb Croatia.
- ^ Headquartered in Munich Germany.
- ^ Headquartered in Leiden The Netherlands).
- ^ Headquartered in Sofia Bulgaria.
- ^ Headquartered in Prague Czech Republic.
- ^ a b c d First Presidency Announces 2022 Area Leadership Assignments, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org, 7 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ As verified here.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "Mormon missionaries find work, meaning in community service", The Washington Post, 4 February 2014. Retrieved on 7 March 2020.