A new report shows that the growth rate of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the lowest it’s been in decades.
The total membership number for 2016 was just short of 16 million, which was an increase of 1.59 percent. But that’s the lowest the growth rate has been since 1937.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that membership numbers in parts of the US, Europe, Mexico and Brazil are down, while Africa, the Philippines and some of Central and South America are up.
For the first time in decades, however, independent LDS demographers say the number of additional members was fewer than 250,000. Church officials attributed the decline to overall trends and ebbs and flows of membership.
