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LDS Not Fastest-Growing

The Dec. 29 Tribune article, "2002 Utahn of the Year Gordon B. Hinckley," repeats the oft-quoted myth that the LDS Church is "the world's fastest-growing church." Though this may have once been true, it is no longer the case among even Christian churches.

LDS researcher David Stewart comprehensively addresses LDS Church growth in a paper located at www.cumorah.com/report.html from which I take the following statistics and quotes: "[The] . . . LDS Church ranks 23rd among the 149 participating denominations in overall U.S. growth rate . . . " and further, worldwide, "The Assemblies of God are growing at approximately 10 percent per year, or over three times the growth rate of the LDS Church, while the Seventh-day Adventists report growth two to three times LDS rates at 5.6-8 percent per year."

In fact, LDS Church growth rates have declined from 5 percent to less than 3 percent since the late 1980s. Additionally, the LDS Church does not adjust its membership tallies to reflect those who no longer identify themselves as members, or who are no longer actively participating. Were it to do so, its membership would drop by an estimated 65 percent to approximately 4 million participating members.

It is clear that the LDS Church is not the world's fastest-growing religion.

BRIAN JACOBSON
Provo

Your #3:

This is what the article calls "an intriguing news item". It appears to be a letter to the editor, not a news item.

As I said, better to read David Stewart's own words than these "summaries".

Statistics are a funny thing as you know Poly

If you have 1 Chinese man in your neighborhood and one more moves in you have grown 100%...So a 10% growth rate for the AOG is mucho more in actual numbers than 10% in the JW's

We must also consider that there are MANY non active LDS that are never taken off their rolls.....it makes them feel good to say they are the fastest growing .. ya know