Estimated 2017 Year-End Church Statistics

Hello again, everyone! On this second day of 2018, and at a time when Church and temple news has slowed somewhat in view of the Christmas and New Year holidays we have recently observed (though there are two meaningful articles from the Church News that were published earlier today, which I will cover in a post later on tonight), I am pleased to bring you my estimates for the 2017 year-end statistics of the Church.

There is some information among these estimates that will likely be spot on, since the figures were pulled from sources in the public domain. Others, by the same token, are more guesstimates which I have ventured based on both observed trends and averages from the statistical reports of previous years during President Monson's presidency.

As a quick sidenote, he and his counselors will be marking a full decade of service together in just 3.5 weeks (which is exactly 32 days from today), and they will thus become only the third First Presidency in the history of the Church to serve together for 10 years. While it will be 32 days until they reach that decade mark for their service together, they have already become the third longest continuously-serving First Presidency, having marked that milestone less than six months ago, on Monday July 31, 2017.

But in getting back to the statistics, I hope you enjoy reading what I have put together in terms of how the 2017 Statistical Report might look. You can find those statistics in the table below. I look forward to any feedback you might have, which is always welcome and appreciated.

That does it for this post. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

2017 Statistical Report (some figures projected)

Stakes	3,341
Missions	421
Districts	540
Wards and Branches	30,510
Total Church Membership	16,149,214
Increase in Children of Record	107,166
Converts Baptized	225,859
Full-Time Missionaries	56,745
Church Service Missionaries	35,974
Temples Dedicated during 2017 (Paris France, Tucson Arizona, Meridian Idaho, Cedar City Utah)	4
Temples Rededicated during 2017 (Idaho Falls Idaho)	1
Temples in Operation by the end of 2016	159

Some Additional Thoughts Regarding the Location of the Southwest Salt Lake Valley Temple Referenced by President Hinckley

Hello again, everyone! As I have waited for other comments to come in this weekend on my coverage of potential temple locations, I wound up doing some additional research about a few locations I have referenced in passing. One of the most intriguing ones that required a fair amount of research was the location of the temple for which President Hinckley had stated in 2005 that land was being held in reserve to serve the Saints of the Salt Lake Valley.

As some of you may know from following the thread of comments on the post I did about the Salt Lake Valley particularly, one comment pointed to the idea that this  land could be located in Bluffdale or Riverton. On the basis of that general location, I dug a little deeper and found this article, which stated that the location of the land was within the boundaries of Bluffdale city.


While the Church has yet to issue a statement on that identification, in digging a little more deeply into the history of the site referenced in that article, it appears that the land in question, which was part of Bluffdale, was the subject of an ownership dispute between Bluffdale and nearby Herriman (as the distance between the two is a mere 6.5 miles). Although the door remains open for Bluffdale to challenge that decision, the result has been that the land in question is now part of Herriman city.

So that means that, if my research is correct, the land referenced in 2005 is now part of Herriman. A temple there does make a lot of sense. Friends of my family relocated to Herriman when the land on which their home in Alpine sat was sold to make room for a housing development. And while I don't know whether or not this was the case in between the years when Herriman was incorporated and when these friends moved there, I do know that in the years since they made the move, Herriman has experienced a boom in its' growth.

With that said, I want to make one thing absolutely clear: In all the research I did to try and figure out the probable location for that temple site that was referenced by President Hinckley almost 13 years ago, even after I discovered the information pointing to Herriman as the likely location of that site, I never once found information from the Church that officially confirms that the site in question is in Herriman, or that such a site is the one President Hinckley referenced. In every article I have found on the subject, the Church has declined to comment on this issue.

So while the site may indeed be in Herriman, until the intent of the Brethren to build a temple in that city is officially announced, the confirmation of the site is only as good as can logically be concluded, and based on information on which the Church has declined to comment in the 11 or so years since the publication of the sources I have explored for this information. With all of that said, I will be watching the Herriman/Bluffdale/Riverton area with great interest, and I will try to pass along anything I discover further that may substantiate this.

In the meantime, this new information does raise some important questions: Is there enough to go on from sources not sanctioned or verified by the Church to put a potential temple for Herriman in the section I have for the Salt Lake Valley? And if the Church confirms at any point that the site in Herriman is the one referenced by President Hinckley 12 years ago and an announcement is made for a temple there, will that in turn impact the likelihood that Tooele will get a temple? It appears the two cities are roughly 38.7 miles apart, so I cannot rule out both getting a temple at some point. Of the two, which might be a more imminent possibility? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Yet Another Update Reported on Construction of Arequipa Peru Temple

Hello again, everyone! While I last reported a status update for the Arequipa Peru Temple just last Friday, when I was double-checking for any additional progress on temples anywhere in the world, I found yet another update had been reported for that temple. So it would appear that things are moving along very well indeed for that temple's construction.

The update shows that temporary windows have been installed to enclose the structure, which will allow for interior work to make progress. Additionally, that temple's steeple framework is currently being assembled as well. With all of this progress that this temple has seen in such a short time, I feel more confident than ever that we will see a dedication for it take place before the end of 2019.

Since there are no other temple updates to report at this time, 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, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.