The below guest post in which a writer reports that Church growth continues stirred a predictable reaction from the ex-Mormon crowd. One of the ex-Mormon boards linked the story, and we got dozens of mean-spirited comments from the nasty people who read those boards. The primary sentiment was, of course: there is no way the Church is growing because (insert anecdotal story here about all the people you know who have left the Church).
Sorry, ex-Mormons, go home, you are drunk.
This website titled “LDS Church Growth” has been chronicling the growth of the Church for many years.
So far in 2016, 54 stakes and and 12 districts have been added to the Church. Five stakes and five districts have been discontinued. Net growth: 49 stakes and seven districts in the first five months of 2016. In 2015, 67 stakes and 32 districts were added and seven stakes and 13 districts were discontinued for a total growth of 79 stakes and districts. So Church growth in 2016 has been way up from an already strong 2015.
Go check out the web site for yourselves. There are a lot of fascinating stories about Church growth in different spots around the world, and even a few anecdotes of the Church losing members in some areas.
As most readers know, the Church reports membership at April conference, and the Church reported in 2015 that there were 257,402 converts baptized and 114,500 new children of record for a total church membership of 15,634,199.
Brothers and sisters, the Church is true whether or not it is growing. There may come a time when Church growth slows down or we even lose members on a year by year basis. But the truth is that on a worldwide scale the Church is indeed growing today. It is just a fact.