The First Presidency released a statement Monday, April 20, encouraging members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to participate in the 2020 United States Census.

"The United States Constitution mandates that a census be counted every 10 years," the First Presidency wrote. "This census is used to determine the makeup of state legislatures, local school boards, and other government bodies and to determine how many seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Church also uses census data for planning and family history purposes.

"The Census Bureau is delivering census questionnaires to every household in the U.S. and its territories. We urge all members to respond to them in an accurate and timely manner. It is an important obligation for all people living in the United States and its territories to be counted in the census."

The Church believes “in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law” (Articles of Faith 1:12).

Church leaders recently encouraged Latter-day Saints in Mexico to participate in their 2020 census in March.

The Mexico Area Presidency sent a letter encouraging Latter-day Saints to respond to a new question asking for the religion of each citizen with the Church's official name — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Cooperation with the Mexico census, the leaders said, will give an accurate representation of the Church in that country.