Two new stakes in Utah now 560 of 1,490 in US

A new stake was crated in Layton Utah (Legacy area) and another new stake, which is a Young Single Adult (YSA) stake, in Riverton, Utah.  There are now 2,921 stakes, 51.0% (or 1,490) are located in the United States.  Of the 1,490 stakes in the US, 37.6% of those are in Utah. Utah has more stakes then Mexico, Brazil and Peru combined. Utah created 9 YSA stakes and a total of 12 new stakes this year - 2011. There have been 20 new stakes this year in 5 different countries.  The average stake creation over the past 5 years (2006-2010) is 36 new stakes a year or one new stake every 10 days - so about one new ward a day !
www.ldschurchnews.com/New-stake-presidents

LDS Stake created in United Arab Emirates, another chapel in Israel dedicated

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited the Middle East, where he converted the Manama Bahrain Stake (originally the Arabian Peninsula stake created in 1990's) back down to a district, but organized the Abu Dhabi Stake, which takes in Dubai, U.A.E. and branches in Kuwait and Oman.  
Elder Holland also dedicated a new chapel in Tel Aviv, Israel.  While the church first entered Jerusalem in April 1841, (note: when I went to the BYU Jerusalem Center in 1987 for a spring semester as a student, we visited the Orson Hyde Memorial Park, commemorating his missionary visit in 1841 and 1842) currently the church only maintains a few congregations and has agreed not to proselyte in the area.  The Israeli congregations are in Jerusalem, Tiberius and Tel Aviv. 

lds.org/prophets-speak-today/middle-east
www.ldschurchnews.com/New-stake-presidents
www.ldschurchnews.com/Historic-visit-Apostle-tours-8-nations

Good week for Mitt Romney (3 GOP dropouts + $10.8 M in cash)

Mitt Romney had a fantastic week as First Mike Huckabee, then Donald Trump and finally Mitch Daniels all dropped out (or decided not to enter the race) then Mitt raised $10.25 Million in a Las Vegas all day fundraiser and another $600,000 in Houston before stopping in South Carolina. Too bad this all starts SOOOO early.
http://mittromneycentral.com/
http://www.mittromney.com/
www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/us/republican

Church announces 8 Utah Young Single Adults (YSA) stakes

I assume modeled after the University student wards, the church has created 8 YSA stakes comprised completely of Young Single Adults in the Salt Lake City area.  Specifically, they are located in Bountiful, Utah; Layton, Utah; Murray, Utah; Salt Lake - Bonneville; Salt Lake - Holladay; Sandy, Utah; Taylorsville, Utah and West Jordan, Utah.  Interesting.
www.ldschurchnews.com/New-stake-presidents_YSA

Madagascar, Mexico & Utah - Three new stakes have been created.

A new stake has been created in Antananarivo Madagascar Ivandry. This is Madagascar's 2nd stake, the first was created in 2000.  Elder Daniel Ortiz from Mission Viejo Stake is just concluding his mission there.

A new stake has also been created in Teziutlan Mexico, called the Martinez de la Torre Mexico Stake. This is Mexico's 222nd stake, but it's first created in 2011.  There are now 1,431 stakes outside of the United States and 2,911 total worldwide. Martinez de la Torre is 200 Miles East of Mexico City almost to the Eastern Coast in the Veracruz temple district.

A third new stake has been created in West Point Utah called the Clinton Utah West Stake.  This is Utah's 550th Stake and the 2nd created in 2011.  Utah is home to 37% of the 1,480 stakes in the US.  West Point / Clinton is West of Hill Air Force Base between Bountiful and Ogden.

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/New-stake-presidents