Statistical Report 1972

Presented by Francis M. Gibbons

For the information of the members of the Church.

The First Presidency issued the following statistical report concerning the membership of the Church at the end of the year 1972.

Church Units:

Number of Stakes of Zion	592
Number of Wards	4,365
Number of Independent Branches in Stakes	1,029
Total Wards and Independent Branches in Stakes	5,394
Number of Mission Branches	1,891
Number of Full-time Missions	101

Church Membership:

In the Stakes	2,716,769
In the Missions	511,021
Total Membership	3,227,790

Priesthood:

Members Holding the Aaronic Priesthood

Deacons	139,194
Teachers	101,042
Priests	160,993
Total Number Holding Aaronic Priesthood	401,229

Members Holding the Melchizedek Priesthood

Elders	264,465
Seventies	24,228
High Priests	93,344
Total Number Holding Melchizedek Priesthood	382,037
Grand Total, Members Holding Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood	783,266

An Increase of 30,216 during the year

Church Growth:

Children blessed in stakes and missions	69,695
Children of record baptized in stakes and missions	58,343
Converts baptized in stakes and missions	91,237

Auxiliary Enrollment:

Relief Society	715,071
Sunday School	2,442,033
Aaronic Priesthood MIA—Young Men	164,925
Aaronic Priesthood MIA—Young Women	186,393
Primary Association	478,769

Social Statistics

Birth rate per thousand	26.43
Number of persons married per thousand	15.39
Death rate per thousand	4.74

Welfare

Number of persons assisted	102,961
Number placed in remunerative employment	14,502
Man-days of work donated to the welfare plan	187,800
Unit-days of equipment use donated	7,140

Genealogical Society

Names cleared for proxy temple ordinances (endowments)

2,181,918

Genealogical records microfilmed in 20 countries during the year brought the total to 756,062 one hundred foot rolls of microfilm for use of the Church which are the equivalent of over 3,607,002 printed volumes of 300 pages each.

Temple Ordinances

Number of ordinances performed in the 15 operating temples:

For the living	68,376
For the dead	9,046,194
Total Number of ordinances	9,114,570

Church School System: (1971–72 school year)

Total cumulative enrollments in Church schools, including Institutes and Seminaries

257,388

Those Who Have Passed Away

President Joseph Fielding Smith, Tenth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at the age of 95 on July 2, 1972
Lula Maughan Jones Isaacson, widow of the late Elder Thorpe B. Isaacson, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
Lalene Hendricks Hart, widow of the late Charles H. Hart, member of the First Council of Seventy
June B. Thayn, president of the Chesapeake Stake of Zion
Elmo R. Smith, president of the Oakland-Berkeley Stake of Zion
E. Earl Hawkes, publisher and general manager of the Deseret News
Alfred W. Uhrhan, executive secretary of the General Welfare Committee
Gus P. Backman, prominent Salt Lake community and business leader