“Statistical Report 1977,” Ensign, May 1978, 17
Saturday afternoon session, April 1, 1978
Statistical Report 1977
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, 1977:
Church Units
|
Number of stakes of Zion |
885 |
|
Number of full-time missions |
157 |
|
Number of wards |
5,917 |
|
Number of independent branches in stakes |
1,549 |
|
Number of mission branches |
1,694 |
These statistics reflect an increase of 541 wards and branches during 1977.
|
Number of countries with organized wards or branches |
54 |
Church Membership
|
Total membership reported by stakes, missions, and Church offices at the close of 1977 |
3,966,000 |
At the current rate of growth since the end of the year, it is estimated that the Church membership is now in excess of four million.
Church Growth during 1977
|
Children blessed |
95,000 |
|
Children of record baptized |
62,000 |
|
Converts baptized |
167,939 |
Social Statistics
|
Birthrate per thousand |
31.66 |
|
Number of persons married per thousand |
13.25 |
|
Death rate per thousand |
4.14 |
Priesthood Bearers
|
Deacons |
142,000 |
|
Teachers |
112,000 |
|
Priests |
201,000 |
|
Elders |
338,000 |
|
Seventies |
28,000 |
|
High Priests |
129,000 |
This represents an increase of 45,000 priesthood bearers during 1977.
|
Full-time Missionaries |
25,300 |
Welfare Services
|
Persons assisted with cash or commodities |
99,600 |
|
Persons assisted by LDS Social Services |
15,000 |
|
Persons placed in gainful employment |
16,000 |
|
Man-days of labor donated to Welfare Services |
427,000 |
|
Commodities distributed from storehouses (in pounds) |
17,750,000 |
Genealogical Society
|
Names cleared in 1977 for temple ordinances |
3,374,000 |
The Genealogical Department is acquiring records in 36 countries and has a total of 949,000 one-hundred-foot rolls of microfilm, equivalent to 4,517,000 volumes of 300 pages each.
Temples
Number of endowments performed during 1977:
|
For the living |
47,037 |
|
For the dead |
3,555,118 |
|
Temples in operation |
14 |
|
Temples planned or under construction |
6 |
|
Temples undergoing remodeling |
2 |
There were 180,362 more endowments performed in 1977 than in 1976, even though two of the temples were not in operation.
Church School System
Total enrollment during the 1976–77 school year:
|
Seminaries and institutes, including special programs |
288,000 |
|
Church schools and colleges, and continuing education |
74,000 |
Prominent Members Who Passed Away during the Year
Elder Alma Sonne, member of the First Quorum of the Seventy; Sister Ina J. Ashton Richards, wife of Elder LeGrand Richards of the Council of the Twelve; Sister Jeanne N. Smith, wife of Elder Eldred G. Smith, Patriarch to the Church; President John Harold Mullen of the El Paso Texas Stake; President Ollie Richard Crichton of the Apia Samoa Stake; Dr. Sidney B. Sperry, author and educator; Edward Oliver Anderson, architect of the Los Angeles, London, Swiss, and New Zealand temples; Marriner S. Eccles, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board; and Dr. Florence J. Madsen, composer, educator, and director of all Singing Mothers activities for the Church.