New Stakes Organized in England, Ozarks, and Western U.S.

Seven new stakes have been added to the Church—three formed from mission areas and four from the division of other stakes.

Formed from the England North Mission was the new Hull Stake, which has a membership of 2,723 and comprises five wards and five branches. Ian David Swanney was installed as president of the stake, with Norman David Wilkinson and Alwyn Bernard Pooley as counselors.

Another new stake in England, the Bristol Stake, was created from the Bristol District of the England Southwest Mission. President Donald Victor Morris and his counselors, Dennis Ivor Armstrong and Brian Joseph Bliss, preside over six wards and six branches, with a total membership of 3,219.

The new Ozark Stake, formed from the Ozark District of the Oklahoma Mission, has five wards and five branches in four states—Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The stake membership totals 2,300. Carroll Stephen Claybrook, president of the Ozark District, was installed as president of the stake with Richard Wallace and Ruel Elmo Jarvis as counselors.

President Claybrook said that a year ago there were enough priesthood holders and enough buildings to have a stake, but that “education of the members was the greatest need.” The district leaders started “setting up a stake program, and when the members really saw there was going to be a stake, they started to work. Now with the complete program of the Church in operation, the potential for growth will be greater from a combination of both move-ins and converts,” he said.

Other stakes formed were the Jefferson (Idaho) Stake, from a division of Rigby Stake; Iona (Idaho) Stake, from a division of Idaho Falls East Stake; Sandy (Utah) North Stake, from Sandy East Stake; and Glendale (Arizona) Stake, from Phoenix North Stake. Glendale Stake is the 612th stake in the Church.