JOSEPH SMITH (1830-1844)Joseph Smith officially organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1829 with 5 other people, he being its President and Prophet in 1830. By 1838, that number had grown to 17,881 members.
In 1837, many of the Saints invested in a quasi-bank called the Kirtland Safety Society. Joseph Smith worked as cashier for it. Shortly after that, the Panic of 1837 hit, which caused hundreds of banks and quasi-banks to collapse, the KSS included. Many member, including half of the Apostles, blamed Smith for its failure, and many left the church over it in 1838. In 1839 church membership had slipped to 16,460.
As the Saints regrouped and new Apostles were called, the church was able to again grow. By the end of 1844, the year of Smith's murder, membership stood at 26,146.
BRIGHAM YOUNG (1847-1877)
While Young was not declared the new Prophet until 1847, he still led as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Members splintered off to other groups, led by Sidney Rigdon and others. Still, by 1847, church membership hit 34,694.
As the Saints migrated to Utah territory, they were still able to go abroad and find more converts. By 1854, the church now stood at 68,429. Famine and drought hit the Territory, causing more fiery sermons to demand repentance, as well as an increase in propaganda against the church back east. President James Buchanan, perhaps as a distraction from the troubles of the soon-to-secede South, took an interest in quashing the "Mormon rebellion" out west. In 1857, the year of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, church membership fell to its lowest point in five years at 55,236. 1857 was also the last year membership would be lower that it was the year before.
Young was able to have smoother relations with later US presidents, and Utah's loyalty to the Union North worked to their benefit. By Young's death in 1877, church membership grew to 115,065.
JOHN TAYLOR (1880-1887)
1878 125,046
1879 128,386
1880 133,628
1881 140,733
1882 145,604
1883 151,593
1884 158,242
1885 164,130
1886 166,653
1887 173,029
WILFORD WOODRUFF (1889-1898)
1888 180,294
1889 183,144
1890 188,263
1891 195,445
1892 200,961
1893 214,534
1894 222,369
1895 231,116
1896 241,427
1897 255,736
1898 267,251
LORENZO SNOW (1898-1901)
1899 271,681
1900 283,765
1901 292,931
JOSEPH F. SMITH (1901-1918)
1902 299,105
1903 304,901
1904 324,289
1905 332,048
1906 345,014
1907 357,913 1908 371,472
1909 377,279
1910 398,478
1911 407,291
1912 417,555
1913 431,607
1914 454,718
1915 466,238
1916 477,321
1917 488,038
1918 495,962
HEBER J. GRANT (1918-1945)1919 507,961
1920 525,987
1921 548,803
1922 566,358
1923 575,896
1924 597,861
1925 613,572
1926 623,909
1927 644,745
1928 655,686
1929 663,652
1930 670,017
1931 688,435
1932 703,949
1933 717,619
1934 730,738
1935 746,384
1936 760,690
1937 767,752
1938 784,764
1939 803,528
1940 862,664
1941 892,080
1942 917,715
1943 937,050
1944 954,004
1945 979,454
GEORGE ALBERT SMITH (1945-1951)
1946 996,505
1947 1,016,170
1948 1,041,970
1949 1,078,671
1950 1,111,314
1951 1,147,157
DAVID O. McKAY (1951-1970)
1952 1,189,053
1953 1,246,362 1954 1,302,240
1955 1,357,274
1956 1,416,731
1957 1,488,314
1958 1,555,799
1959 1,616,088
1960 1,693,180
1961 1,823,661
1962 1,965,786
1963 2,117,451
1964 2,234,916
1965 2,395,932
1966 2,480,899 1967 2,614,340
1968 2,684,073
1969 2,807,456
1970 2,930,810
JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH (1970-1972)
1971 3,090,953
1972 3,218,908
HAROLD B. LEE (1972-1973)
1973 3,306,658
SPENCER W. KIMBALL (1973-1985)
1974 3,409,987
1975 3,572,202
1976 3,742,749
1977 3,969,220
1978 4,166,854
1979 4,404,121
1980 4,639,822 1981 4,920,449
1982 5,162,619
1983 5,351,724
1984 5,641,054
1985 5,919,483
EZRA TAFT BENSON (1985-1994)
1986 6,166,974
1987 6,394,314
1988 6,721,210 1989 7,308,444
1990 7,761,179
1991 8,089,848
1992 8,404,087
1993 8,689,168
1994 9,024,368
1989-1990 was the largest two-year gain in church history, with an increase of over 1 million new members.
HOWARD W. HUNTER (1994-1995)1995 9,338,859
GORDON B. HINCKLEY (1995-2008)
1996 9,692,441
1997 10,071,783
1998 10,354,241
1999 10,752,986
2000 11,068,861
2001 11,394,522 2002 11,721,548
2003 11,985,254
2004 12,275,822
2005 12,560,869
2006 12,868,606
2007 13,193,999
2008 13,508,509
THOMAS S. MONSON (2008-Present)
2010 14,131,467
2011 14,441,346
2012 14,782,473
2013 15,000,000+
Since 2000, the church has seen its growth steady out between 2-3% each year. Pres. Monson announced that in September, the church passed 15 million, which would put 2013 paced to end somewhere between 15,060,00 - 15,120,000.
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