Membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had hit 7 million people in December 1989 and then, 22 months after this landmark, membership rose again to 8 million people.
According to the Church News, this increase was equal to adding 1,500 members daily or 3800 members every 2.5 days — the equivalent of adding a new stake to the church.
“Much of the growth has come in countries outside the United States,” the Church News wrote. “Church members live in about 135 countries and speak upwards of 165 languages. According to estimates, about 60 percent of the wards and branches in the Church are English-speaking. Another 26 percent are Spanish-speaking, and 4.5 percent speak Portuguese. Next is Japanese with 1.4 percent, and German with 1 percent.”
The church first hit 1 million in membership in 1947. As of December 2021, the church had over 16 million members, according to the 2021 Statistical Report for the April 2022 conference. Additionally, there are 31,315 wards and 3,498 stakes.
During 2021, 168,283 converts to the church were baptized, while 89,069 children of record were born. The church was founded on April 6, 1830, meaning it has now been around for 192 years.