Presented by F. Michael Watson
Secretary to the First Presidency

Afternoon session,
Saturday, April 4, 1998

      Brothers and sisters, for the information of the members of the Church, the First Presidency has issued the following statistical report concerning the membership growth and status of the Church as of 31 December 1997. These statistics are based on 1997 reports available prior to this conference.

Church Units
Stakes	2,424
Districts	649
Missions	318
Wards and branches	24,670

These wards and branches are in 143 nations and 19 territories and possessions.

Church Membership
Total membership	10,070,524
Increase in children of record during 1997	75,214
Converts baptized during 1997	317,798

Missionaries
Full-time missionaries	56,531

Prominent Members Who Have Passed Away since Last April
      Elder Paul H. Dunn, an emeritus General Authority; Elder Oscar H. Aguayo, an Area Authority Seventy; Sister Helen Kearnes Richards, widow of Elder Franklin D. Richards, former member of the Presidency of the Seventy; Sister Janet Elaine Weech Sorensen, wife of Elder Lynn A. Sorensen, a former member of the Seventy; Sister Carma Neilsen Cutler, widow of Elder Clinton L. Cutler, a former member of the Seventy; and Sister Maurine Johnson Turley, former counselor in the Young Women general presidency.