Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The First Mongolian Stake!

It was announced earlier today that the first Stake would soon be organized in Mongolia! That is wonderful news! The area now covered by the Ulaanbaatar District, will be split and become Ulaanbaatar East District and the Ulaanbaatar Stake.

It is difficult to envision all that this type of change entails. A new Stake Center will need to be built (a site has been selected); there are no High Priests in a District, so many who are now Elders will have to be ordained High Priests so that positions in Bishoprics, a Stake Presidency and an entire High Council can all be filled; and Stake leaders will also have to be called for the youth, Primary and Relief Society organizations.

Mission field areas also have no Patriarchs so a Patriarch will soon be ordained. Anyone in this mission will them be able to receive Patriarchal Blessings through him - something only young missionaries called from here to serve in areas of the world where Patriarchs, already exist have been able to receive until now. This Patriarch will potentially be a VERY busy man for awhile!

It also opens the door just a little bit wider to the possibility of a temple being built here in the near future.

The Church is growing in Mongolia!

9 comments:

Ryan Cowley said...

That is so cool! I bet the people there are so excited!!

Jason said...

Congratulations! It should be an exciting time there for the next while.

Kim Siever said...

Very awesome.

Angie said...

That is great news! My cousin was just called to a mission in Russia that has been closed to missionaries for the past 8 years! He is both excited and nervous.

Rick said...

That is great news. My son is serving in Mongolia.

The Fendleys said...

Congratulations, that is awesome. I bet that means that you both will be VERY busy for awhile (or should I say MORE busy than you already are!!).

Bressler Bunch said...

I have tears in my eyes!! We have been praying for them to get this blessing! I can't wait to tell my RS sisters when I teach next week.

Bookslinger said...

Wow!

We have a small Mongolian community in Indianapolis. He doesn't live here now, but a young man from Mongolia got baptized here in 2006.

I met him at a library, gave him a Mongolian Book of Mormon, and took him to see the "Mongolian Ping Pong" movie that was playing locally. (Yes, I know the movie was about "Inner" Mongolia, in China.)

We also have a sister missionary from Mongolia serving in the Indianapolis mission.

Anonymous said...

I guess they don't have a lot of internet access in Mongolia?

I say that because countries that have a lot of internet access tend to be the places where the church either isn't growing beyond the birthrate, or is actually shrinking.