Statistical Report 1978
For the information of the members of the Church, the First Presidency has issued the following statistical report concerning the growth and status of the Church as of December 31, 1978:
Church Units
|
Number of stakes of Zion |
990 |
|
Number of full-time missions |
166 |
|
Number of wards |
6,731 |
|
Number of independent branches in stakes |
1,333 |
|
Number of mission branches |
1,790 |
|
Number of countries with organized wards or branches |
60 |
(These statistics reflect an increase of 694 wards and branches during 1978.)
Church Membership
|
Total membership reported by stakes, missions, and Church offices at the close of 1978 |
4,160,000 |
Church Growth during 1978
|
Children blessed |
97,000 |
|
Children of record baptized |
63,000 |
|
Converts baptized |
152,000 |
(This convert baptism figure is an estimate based on 1978 reports received at Church headquarters prior to conference.)
Social Statistics
|
Birthrate per thousand |
30.7 |
|
Number of persons married per thousand |
13.1 |
|
Death rate per thousand |
4.1 |
Priesthood
|
Deacons |
145,000 |
|
Teachers |
114,000 |
|
Priests |
211,000 |
|
Elders |
351,000 |
|
Seventies |
29,000 |
|
High Priests |
137,000 |
(This represents an increase of 37,000 priesthood holders during 1978.)
|
Full-time missionaries |
27,669 |
Church School System
Total enrollment during the 1977–78 school year:
|
Seminaries and institutes, including special programs |
301,000 |
|
Church schools, colleges, and continuing education |
70,000 |
Welfare Services
|
Persons assisted with cash or commodities |
111,500 |
|
Persons assisted by LDS Social Services |
18,000 |
|
Persons placed in gainful employment |
21,000 |
|
Man-days of labor donated to Welfare Services |
443,500 |
|
Commodities distributed from storehouses (in pounds) |
18,953,000 |
Genealogical Society
|
Names cleared in 1978 for temple ordinances |
5,120,000 |
The Genealogical Department is acquiring records in 43 countries and has a total of 983,000 one-hundred-foot rolls of microfilm, equivalent to 4,679,000 volumes of 300 pages each.
Temples
Number of endowments performed during 1978:
|
For the living |
50,400 |
|
For the dead |
3,756,600 |
|
Temples in operation |
16 |
|
Temples planned or under construction |
5 |
|
Temples undergoing remodeling |
1 |
There were 204,900 more endowments done in 1978 than in 1977, even though one of the temples was not in operation.
Prominent Members Who Passed Away during the Year
Elder Delbert L. Stapley, a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles; Ida Jensen Romney, wife of President Marion G. Romney, Second Counselor in the First Presidency; Dr. Ernest L. Wilkinson, former president of Brigham Young University; President Rudolph H. Luckau, president of the New Zealand Wellington Mission; President Robert Austin Trump, president of the Centerville Utah South Stake; Raymond J. Pace, former member of the General Church Missionary Committee and Regional Representative; and Wendell B. Mendenhall, former chairman of the Church Building Committee.