Statistical Report 1976
For the information of the members of the Church, the First Presidency has issued the following statistical report concerning the membership of the Church as of December 31, 1976:
Church Units
Number of stakes of Zion at the close of 1976 |
798 |
Number of wards |
5,481 |
Number of independent branches in stakes |
1,422 |
Total wards and independent branches in stakes at the close of the year |
6,903 |
Number of mission branches at the close of the year |
1,716 |
Number of full-time missions at the end of the year |
148 |
Church Membership
In the stakes |
3,283,264 |
In the missions |
459,485 |
Total membership |
3,742,749 |
Church Growth during 1976
Children blessed in stakes and missions |
88,522 |
Children of record baptized in stakes and missions |
52,281 |
Converts baptized in stakes and missions |
133,959 |
Social Statistics
Birthrate per thousand |
29.72 |
Number of persons married per thousand |
13.34 |
Death rate per thousand |
4.32 |
Priesthood
Members holding the Aaronic Priesthood, as of December 31, 1976
Deacons |
141,341 |
Teachers |
109,396 |
Priests |
188,122 |
Total number holding Aaronic Priesthood |
438,859 |
Members holding the Melchizedek Priesthood, December 31, 1976
Elders |
320,876 |
Seventies |
26,328 |
High Priests |
120,117 |
Total number holding Melchizedek Priesthood |
467,321 |
Grand total, members holding Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood |
906,180 |
(An increase of 32,387 during the year.)
Church Organizations (Enrollment)
Relief Society |
1,129,135 |
Sunday School |
3,387,454 |
Aaronic Priesthood-age young men |
267,352 |
Young Women |
249,724 |
Primary Association |
498,867 |
Welfare Plan
Number of persons assisted during the year |
110,306 |
Number placed in remunerative employment |
29,657 |
Man-days of work donated to the welfare plan (estimated) |
400,607 |
Unit-days of equipment use donated |
8,219 |
In addition to the above, 125,000 man-days were donated in connection with the Teton flood disaster in Idaho.
Genealogical Society
Names cleared in 1976 for temple ordinances |
3,539,340 |
The Genealogical Department is acquiring records in 35 countries, using 80 microfilm cameras and five oral interviewers. During 1976 microfilm holdings increased by 4.5 percent to a total of 910,661 100-foot rolls equivalent to 4,334,559 volumes of 300 pages each.
Temples
Number of endowments performed during 1976 in the 16 operating temples
For the living |
43,645 |
For the dead |
3,421,793 |
Total number of endowments |
3,465,438 |
Church School System
Total enrollment in Church schools for the 1975–76 school year, including institutes and seminaries |
322,587 |
Those Who Have Passed Away
Elder Alvin R. Dyer of the First Quorum of the Seventy; Sister Lewella Rees Christiansen, widow of Elder ElRay L. Christiansen, former Assistant to the Twelve; Sister Ida Josephine Murdock Kirkham, widow of Elder Oscar A. Kirkham, a former member of the First Council of Seventy; President Aley K. Auna of the Hilo Hawaii Stake; President Daniel O. Trevino of the Mexico Torreon Mission; President Millen Dan Atwood of the Ogden Utah Riverdale Stake; Dr. Leland R. Cowan, a pioneer in cancer research and treatment; and Sister Kate B. Carter, president, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers.