The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized in a small log cabin in upstate New York in 1830.
It took 117 years — until 1947 — for the Church to grow from the initial six members to one million. Missionaries were a feature of the Church from its earliest days, fanning out to Native American lands, to Canada and, in 1837, beyond the North American continent to England. Not long after, missionaries were working on the European continent and as far away as India and the Pacific Islands.
The two-million-member mark was reached just 16 years later, in 1963, and the three-million mark in eight years more. This accelerating growth pattern has continued with about a million new members added every several years. Growth consists both of convert baptisms and natural growth through the birth of children.
Church membership in 2025 was nearing 17.9 million members. The Church’s more than 385,000 new converts from around the world reflect an almost 25% increase over 2024, the highest-ever rate of convert baptisms in a single year in Church history.
The consequences of this rapid and sustained growth are seen in many places in the world where the Church operates. Congregations that are grouped into geographical areas known as wards are periodically divided as they become too large to administer, or to worship in a chapel or meetinghouse all at once. New buildings are being completed virtually every day of the year in order to house growing membership.
The growth has been fueled by an increased number of volunteer missionaries. More than 78,000 proselytizing missionaries served in 2025, along with more than 36,000 service missionaries.
However, despite its growing numbers, the Church cautions against overemphasizing growth statistics. The Church makes no statistical comparisons with other churches and makes no claim to be the fastest-growing Christian denomination despite frequent news media comments to that effect. Such comparisons rarely take account of a multiplicity of complex factors, including activity rates and death rates, the methodology used in registering or counting members and what factors constitute membership. Growth rates also vary significantly across the world. Additionally, many other factors contribute to the strength of the Church, most especially the devotion and commitment of its members.
