This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The LDS Church that Thomas S. Monson leads as "prophet, seer and revelator" is nearly 25 times larger than the one he was born into Aug. 21, 1927.
As Monson prepares to mark his 88th birthday Friday, these statistics might give him pause — or an extra reason to celebrate.
In 1927, according to independent Mormon demographer Matt Martinich, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had:
• 644,745 members
• 1,763 congregations
• 99 stakes (regional groups of Mormon congregations)
• 2,000 to 2,500 full-time missionaries (the church "called," or assigned, 1,017 full-time missionaries but because it did not report the total number of missionaries serving by year's end, that number is an estimate)
• 28 missions
• 7 temples
Today — or at least by the end of 2014 — the Utah-based faith had:
• 15,372,337 members
• 29,835 congregations (as of last week, a 1,592 percent increase)
• 3,142 stakes (as of last week, a 3,073 percent jump)
• 85,147 full-time missionaries (a leap of at least 3,305 percent)
• 418 missions (as of last week, a 1,392 percent rise)
• 173 temples (includes temples announced or under construction, a 2,371 percent gain)
The future LDS Church president spent his childhood on the Salt Lake City's west side, then leapt into leadership — first as a Mormon bishop at age 22, a mission president at 31, an apostle at 36 and, finally, president at 80.
His tenure at LDS headquarters has spanned more than half a century, while his church has fanned out across the globe, winning converts, creating congregations and building temples.
And the amiable, ebullient, storytelling Monson has seen it all — knowing that he played a key role in the expanding Mormon narrative.
Peggy Fletcher Stack