Temple Site Possibilities: South America South Area, Part Two--Church Presence (including the number of units) within this area

Hello again, everyone! While I had intended, as promised in the last post, to devote this one to an overview of the current temples within this area (which, when I do get to that, will include a history of those 6 temples and an exploration of the size and composition of each district), I remembered that I had wanted to give additional background information about this area, particularly in regards to the number of Church units within each nation that is part of this area. So I will defer the post about the temple overview for now and first talk some more about pertinent information for each of these nations.

As I have previously observed, the Church has been very prosperous in South America, and the nations which comprise this area of the Church (which, again, are Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay) have seen a very significant amount of growth, particularly in recent years. So let's first take a look at where each of these nations is in terms of temples, missions, stakes, districts, and congregational totals (wards and branches).

Turning our attention first to Argentina, there are two temples in operation there (in Buenos Aires and Cordoba). I will be offering a look at the history and dedication of these temples in my next post. but for now, I wanted to note that 14 missions operate currently in Argentina. With the Church's announced intention to consolidate missions and utilize advances in technology to allow those serving in the missions that will remain after that to find religiously-minded people, I don't know how those changes might take effect in Argentina. It will be interesting to see what happens there.

In the meantime, I also wanted to note that the Church in Argentina has 76 stakes and 28 districts, which in turn are divided into 488 wards and 275 branches, for a total of 763 congregations in that nation. That total means that, between the two temples, each serves an average of 381-382 congregations, which is a lot for just two temples.

After addressing the history of temples in my next post, I will be talking specifics (likely in that same post) about the actual number of stakes and districts served by those two temples, and will move on in another post to discuss if, when, and in what city Argentina's third temple could potentially be built.

But for now, we move on to Chile. The Church there also has two temples, with one operating in Santiago, and a second currently under construction in Concepcion (which is anticipated to be the very first new temple dedicated next year). For now, that nation is served by the 10 missions currently operating. In terms of congregations, the Chilean Saints fall under 77 stakes and 16 districts, which are further subdivided into 433 wards and 168 branches. That is a total of 601 congregations in this nation, which means that, following the dedication of the Concepcion Chile temple, the two temples will serve an average right between 300 and 301 congregations each.

And again, I will be providing more information on the history of those temples, including the composition of the Santiago district and what the Concepcion district might take away from Santiago, along with if, when, and where I feel an additional Chilean temple (or two) may be built in the near future, in subsequent posts.

In the meantime, let's turn our attention to the Church's presence in Paraguay. The Saints there are served by a single temple in Asuncion. And, as we know, that temple closed for extensive renovation in late October this year. While confirmation on the extent of that renovation process is still pending (since no updates have been provided by any of the sources I have available for temple-related information), I do know that other temples that were originally dedicated during the late 1990s and early 2000s under President Hinckley's inspired impetus & smaller designs have been (or, in the case of the Memphis Tennessee and Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temples, will be) given a similar new exterior appearance. Unless the Church at any point confirms that that will not be the case for the Asuncion Temple, it seems to be a safe assumption.

With that said, let's talk now about the Church's presence in Paraguay. The Church has two operating missions, both headquartered in Asuncion, that serve the missionary needs in that nation. With 11 stakes and 9 districts that are further subdivided into 61 wards and 74 branches, the congregational total comes to 135. I don't have any idea if or when a second temple may be needed to split that district, but I am sure that the Church could opt to do so if the growth trends for this nation continue.

Rounding out our discussion of the Church's presence in this area, I wanted to share some specific data about Uruguay. In addition to being the location of the one temple in that nation, the Church's two missions in this nation are both headquartered in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo. With the Church in Uruguay having 18 stakes and 3 districts, the congregations in Uruguay include 104 wards and 35 branches, for a grand total of 139.

This concludes my overview of the Church's presence within the four nations comprising this area, so that does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time.

Until my next post (which should come shortly and will focus on the history of the six temples within this area, along with the composition of each of those current districts), I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.