“The Annual Report of the Church,” Ensign, July 1972, 131
The Annual Report of the Church
As of December 31, 1971, membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was 3,090,953, it was announced at the first session of the 142nd Annual General Conference of the Church.
This figure represents an increase of 160,143 over the 1970 membership total and a numerical growth rate of 5.46 percent. The number of convert baptisms for 1971 totaled 83,514, compared with 79,126 for 1970.
There were only six male members (the legal number required by state law) the day the Church was organized at Fayette, Seneca County, New York, on April 6, 1830. All six men had been previously baptized. Before the day was over, additional converts had entered the waters of baptism.
From that humble beginning, the membership of the Church has grown rapidly and continuously.
The number of stakes of the Church has likewise increased over the decades. However, with the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the exodus of the Saints from the Midwest, existing stakes were disorganized, and stake organization began anew with the Salt Lake Stake in 1847.
The story of missionaries and missions is a story all its own. Samuel Smith, a brother of the Prophet, was the first to devote himself to full-time missionary activity. And he slept the first night under an apple tree!
The following statistics of missionaries set apart (accumulative by decade) do not include local missionaries who often serve in the same mission field where they were baptized and who begin their labors in their own native tongues:
|
1830 |
16 |
|
1830–40 |
661 |
|
1840–50 |
1,425 |
|
1850–60 |
751 |
|
1860–70 |
709 |
|
1870–80 |
1,544 |
|
1880–90 |
2,389 |
|
1890–1900 |
6,126 |
|
1900–10 |
8,254 |
|
1910–20 |
7,424 |
|
1920–30 |
10,140 |
|
1930–40 |
8,811 |
|
1940–50 |
14,942 |
|
1950–60 |
24,280 |
|
1960–70 |
65,215 |
More full-time missionaries (not including local missionaries) were set apart to begin their labors during the single year of 1970 (7,526) than the total number of such missionaries serving between 1830 and 1890 (7,495).
The following statistical report was issued by the First Presidency at April conference, concerning the membership of the Church at the end of the year 1971:
|
Stakes |
562 |
|
Wards |
4,342 |
|
Independent branches in stakes |
793 |
|
Wards and independent branches in stakes |
5,135 |
|
Mission branches |
1,942 |
|
Full-time missions |
98 |
Church Membership, December 31, 1971
|
Stakes |
2,622,439 |
|
Missions |
468,514 |
|
Total |
3,090,953 |
Church Growth During 1971
|
Children blessed in stakes and missions |
68,659 |
|
Children of record baptized in stakes and missions |
53,524 |
|
Converts baptized in stakes and missions |
83,514 |
The graphs on page 132 indicate the growth of the Church by membership and by stakes, wards, branches, and missions.
|
Church Membership |
Wards |
Stakes |
Missions | ||
|
April 6, 1830 |
6 |
0 | |||
|
1840 |
30,000 |
9 | |||
|
1850 |
60,000 |
1 | |||
|
1860 |
80,000 |
3 | |||
|
1870 |
110,000 |
7 | |||
|
1880 |
160,000 |
23 | |||
|
1890 |
205,000 |
32 | |||
|
1900 |
268,331 |
488 |
43 |
16 | |
|
1910 |
393,437 |
694 |
62 |
21 | |
|
1920 |
526,032 |
959 |
83 |
24 | |
|
1930 |
672,488 |
1,000 |
104 |
30 | |
|
1940 |
862,664 |
1,191 |
134 |
35 | |
|
1950 |
1,111,314 |
1,541 |
180 |
43 | |
|
1960 |
1,693,180 |
2,882 |
319 |
58 | |
|
1970 |
2,930,810 |
4,922 |
537 |
94 | |
|
1971 |
3,090,953 |
5,135 |
562 |
Social Statistics
|
Birthrate per thousand |
28.50 |
|
Number of persons married per thousand |
15.12 |
|
Death rate per thousand |
4.92 |
Priesthood
Members holding Aaronic Priesthood
|
Deacons |
136,969 |
|
Teachers |
98,814 |
|
Priests |
152,886 |
|
Total |
388,669 |
Members holding Melchizedek Priesthood
|
Elders |
252,051 |
|
Seventies |
23,914 |
|
High Priests |
88,416 |
|
Total |
364,381 |
|
Grand total of members holding priesthood (an increase of 23,824) |
753,050 |
Auxiliary Organizations
|
Relief Society (membership) |
377,840 |
|
Sunday School (enrollment) |
2,387,509 |
|
Young Men’s MIA (enrollment) |
355,107 |
|
Young Women’s MIA (enrollment) |
386,735 |
|
Primary (enrollment) |
487,951 |
Welfare Plan
|
Number of persons assisted |
100,722 |
|
Number placed in remunerative employment |
12,048 |
|
Man-days of work donated to the welfare plan |
195,932 |
|
Unit-days of equipment use donated |
5,589 |
Genealogical Society
|
Names cleared for temple ordinances |
1,750,416 |
(Genealogical records microfilmed in 17 countries during the year brought the total to 712,945 100-foot rolls of microfilm, the equivalent of over 3,401,301 printed volumes of 300 pages each.)
Temples
Number of ordinances performed in 13 operating temples
|
For the living |
62,672 |
|
For the dead |
6,898,428 |
|
Total |
6,961,100 |
Church School System
|
Total cumulative enrollments in church schools, including institutes and seminaries |
235,861 |