First French-Speaking Stake Organized

As the number of stakes in the Church soars toward 600, it is of interest to note the recent organization of the 575th stake, Tahiti Stake, which represents the first French-speaking stake. The creation of the stake comes 128 years following the landing of three missionaries at Tubuai, some 355 miles south of Tahiti, on April 30, 1844.

The stake’s membership of 2,738 includes five wards and five branches. Called to serve as stake president was Raituia Tehina Tapu, captain of the Church-owned boat; first counselor is Raymond Rene Baudin, director of Papeete Primary School; and second counselor is Jacques Hattnieu Caumet, elementary school teacher.

Presently the non-English-speaking stakes of the Church include thirteen Spanish, five German, five Tongan, four Samoan, four Portuguese, one Dutch, one Japanese, and one French. In addition, over half a dozen other stakes use extensively both English and a non-English language. There are now seventy-five stakes outside the continental United States.