The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the earth. - D&C 65:2.
More than half of the Church's members now live outside the United States.This milestone in the Church's growing internationalization was reached about the end of February, according to estimates by the Church's Member and Statistical Records Department.
At the end of February, the department estimates, members living out of the United States numbered some 4,720,000, while those living in the United States numbered 4,719,000.
President Gordon B. Hinckley commented about this in the October 1995 general conference:
"A crossover of that line is a wonderfully significant thing. It represents the fruit of a tremendous outreach. The God of Heaven, whose servants we are, never intended that this should be a narrow, parochial work."
He also observed in the priesthood session: "We are adding a million new members each three and a half years, and I am confident that the momentum will increase. It is expanding geographically over the world. . . . We have cause to rejoice over what is occurring."
The nearly 300,000 new members who are annually brought into the Church are baptized at a rate of about than 850 per day.
Representative of those converts from distant lands is Joseph Sitati, counselor in the Kenya Nairobi Mission presidency, who spoke to Church Public Affairs.
"The principles of the gospel are not American," he said. "The principles of the gospel are universal. A Kenyan can adopt the principles of the gospel and remain a Kenyan, rooted in his own culture.
"What is important is the unifying bond of the gospel, the things that are important, the fact that you worship together, that you have activities together. . . ."
Another member, Tamara Vizir, Relief Society president in Kiev, Ukraine, said: "This is The Church of Jesus Christ, and this is our Church, the people's Church, the people of Ukraine. I can say this is the Church I was looking for for a long time. I love it."
She continued: "This is a difficult life here. During this three and a half years (since baptism) I feel the blessings of God every day, every moment, and I can say to the world now, `I am happy.' "
The largest sector of Church membership outside the United States is in Latin America, which has nearly 3.1 million of the 4.72 outside the U.S., as of Jan 1. 1996. Next to the United States, Mexico remains the second largest
country with 728,000 members. Brazil is third with 547,000 members, followed by Chile with 385,000, and the Philippines with 354,000.
The Church is also making remarkable inroads in other countries of lesser size. Tonga, with an estimated population of 106,000, has 40,000 members, or about 38 percent of the population. Samoa has an estimated population of 207,000, with 54,000 Latter-day Saints, comprising 26 percent. Chile, with an estimated population of 13.8 million, has nearly 3 percent who are members of the Church.
Progress is also coming in more distant areas. Branches have been established in such lands as Central Africa Republic in Africa; Guadeloupe in the Caribbean; Corsica in Eastern Europe; French Guiana in South America, and Palau in the South Pacific.
Areas of recent growth include African nations, which had a total of 12,000 members in 1980, and have grown to 95,000 in 15 years. Significant growth has also occurred in Europe where a membership of 87,000 in 1980 has blossomed to 181,000 in 1995, much of it from conversions in Eastern European countries.
The Church currently has about 22,000 wards and branches in some 156 lands. Nearly 50,000 missionaries are serving in 307 missions, of which 90 are in the United States and 217 are abroad. In addition, the Church has 23 of its 47 operating temples out of the United States. Of those currently announced or under construction, 10 of 16 will be in other countries. Since 1980, 28 temples in other countries have been announced, are under construction or dedicated.
While some refer to the Church as an American Church, the Church's global expansion actually began in 1829, a year before the Church was organized. Hiram Page and Oliver Cowdery traveled in Canada seeking ways to finance the publication of the Book of Mormon. Missionaries soon followed.
England and Scotland were visited within nine years of the organization of the Church, and by the passage of three decades, missionaries had stepped foot on 24 countries, including such distant lands as India, Hong Kong, Thailand and South Africa.
In fact, it was the rapid influx of converts from England, Western Europe and Scandinavia that propped up the struggling Church in the 1840s. By the mid-1850s, the influx of European converts outnumbered American members. However, the emphasis on gathering to be with the main body of the Church in the Great Basin resulted in most of the converts becoming Americans.
Around the turn of the century, the Church placed emphasis on building the Church in other countries. Converts were encouraged to remain in their homelands and strengthen their branches and wards. As members were strengthened and increased in other lands, temples were built in these lands, the basis for a worldwide Church.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Church growth: selected Countries
Members: 1995
Mexico 728,000
Brazil 548,000
Chile 394,000
Philippines 354,000
Church membership worldwide
Canada: 145,000
United States: 4,719,000
Mexico: 735,000
Caribbean: 85,000
Central America: 360,000
Brazil: 555,000
Chile: 400,000
South America: 1,045,000
UK and Ireland: 167,000
Nordic: 22,000
Europe: 186,000
Africa: 100,000
Philippines: 360,000
Asia: 240,000
Australia
and New Zealand: 170,000
South Pacific: 150,000
Others: 1,000
Total: 9,400,000*
Estimate Feb. 29, 1996
Membership distribution
United States 49.9%
Canada 1.6%
South Pacific 3.5%
Africa 1.0%
Asia 6.3%
Caribbean 1.0%
Mexico 8.0%
South America 21.0%
Europe 4.0%
Central America 3.7%
Languages spoken
Tongan 57,321
Korean 64,977
Ilokano 66,977
Cebuano 76,148
Samoan 81,127
Japanese 102,223
Tagalog 111,896
Portuguese 550,772
Spanish 2,499,993
English 4,977,916
