GOT JOY? LOTS OF IT AVAILABLE…
Got joy? I always enjoy seeing the statistical report the Church gives at the April General Conference. I look for the convert baptism number.
2017 Statistical Report
This year 233,729 people joined the Church. That is the lowest number of people to join the Church in 30 years! Those who joined received some joy. And those who helped them join received some joy. The question is, have you GOT JOY?
The chart below shows the relevant information. When I was a missionary in 1977, we had 167,939 converts. We also had 25,300 full-time missionaries. Therefore, we had 6.64 average baptisms worldwide per missionary.
Now, 40 years later, we had 233,729 converts with 67,049 missionaries serving. That’s an average of 3.49 per missionary. It seems that adding more missionaries isn’t producing more converts; hence my encouragement to get more involved as a member of the Church.
Got Joy? Check Out the Charts
Here is the information with the graphs: (click the links to see the charts) Convert Baptism Statistics
Average Baptisms Per Missionary
So I have one suggestion for the members of the Church to increase the number of converts: CARRY AN ARTICLES OF FAITH CARD WITH YOU EVERYWHERE. Put it in your car, in your purse, in your wallet, in your truck, in your corporate jet, in your backpack, and the like. Having this with you puts you in a position to give it away to someone the Lord will drop in your pathway. Notice I said “will”, not “may.”
He will use you as an instrument in His hands to lift others up. Having an Articles of Faith card on you allows you to then give it away to someone else. Because it’s a busy world, people don’t have time to stop and have a lengthy conversation with you. But you can give them a card easily.
Did you know if each member of the Church gave away one Articles of Faith card each week, as they are led by the Spirit, every person in the world would have one within 10 years?
So, if you want more joy, get more involved in member missionary work. It’s that simple!
Converts Baptized/Full-time Missionaries Since 1977
| Year | # Converts | # Missionaries | Average |
| 1977 | 167939 | 25300 | 6.64 |
| 1978 | 152000 | 27669 | 5.49 |
| 1979 | 193000 | 29454 | 6.55 |
| 1980 | 221000 | 29953 | 7.38 |
| 1981 | 224000 | 29700 | 7.54 |
| 1982 | 207000 | 26300 | 7.87 |
| 1983 | 189419 | 26565 | 7.13 |
| 1984 | 192983 | 27655 | 6.98 |
| 1985 | 197640 | 29265 | 6.75 |
| 1986 | 216210 | 31803 | 6.80 |
| 1987 | 227284 | 34750 | 6.54 |
| 1988 | 256515 | 36132 | 7.10 |
| 1989 | 318940 | 39739 | 8.03 |
| 1990 | 330877 | 43651 | 7.58 |
| 1991 | 297770 | 43395 | 6.86 |
| 1992 | 274477 | 46025 | 5.96 |
| 1993 | 304808 | 48708 | 6.26 |
| 1994 | 300730 | 47311 | 6.36 |
| 1995 | 304330 | 48631 | 6.26 |
| 1996 | 321385 | 52938 | 6.07 |
| 1997 | 317798 | 56531 | 5.62 |
| 1998 | 299134 | 57853 | 5.17 |
| 1999 | 306171 | 58593 | 5.23 |
| 2000 | 273973 | 60784 | 4.51 |
| 2001 | 292612 | 60850 | 4.81 |
| 2002 | 283138 | 61638 | 4.59 |
| 2003 | 242923 | 56237 | 4.32 |
| 2004 | 241239 | 51067 | 4.72 |
| 2005 | 243108 | 52060 | 4.67 |
| 2006 | 272845 | 53164 | 5.13 |
| 2007 | 279218 | 52686 | 5.30 |
| 2008 | 265593 | 52494 | 5.06 |
| 2009 | 280106 | 51736 | 5.41 |
| 2010 | 272814 | 52225 | 5.22 |
| 2011 | 281312 | 55410 | 5.08 |
| 2012 | 272330 | 58990 | 4.62 |
| 2013 | 282945 | 83035 | 3.41 |
| 2014 | 296803 | 85147 | 3.49 |
| 2015 | 257402 | 74079 | 3.47 |
| 2016 | 240131 | 70946 | 3.38 |
| 2017 | 233729 | 67049 | 3.49 |
follow the spirit, hastening the work, inspiration, jesus christ, member missionary work, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
