BYU NewsNet - LDS Church second-fastest growing religion in the nation

Some people may wonder why more than 60,000 young people postpone education, dating and careers for 18 months to two years to serve as LDS missionaries in places far from home.

Others may question why busy individuals, many with full-time jobs, devote additional hours in already long workdays to fulfill the needs of others - without reimbursement.

Or perhaps some marvel that millions of Latter-day Saints dedicate one-tenth of their income to tithing.

Whatever the reason, these demonstrations of religious devotion are becoming increasingly prevalent as more people join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, making the LDS Church the second-fastest growing religion in the United States, according to a study in the 2006 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches.

While numbers appear high, some church officials said the real measure of membership in the LDS Church is the depth of members' faith and how the gospel changes people's lives.

"The numbers don't tell the real story," said Robert Millet, a BYU professor of ancient scripture. "The essence of the church is what makes it grow - and that is members' testimonies."

The National Council of Churches has published the study yearly for the past 89 years, and it is one of the nation's oldest and most reliable sources of church membership and growth trends.

"The data in the study reflects the continued overall vitality of church participation and accounts for the religious affiliation of over 163 million Americans," said the Rev. Eileen W. Lindner, an editor since 1998 of the study, in a news release.

In past years, the LDS Church has had the highest rate of growth, 1.88 percent, compared to other churches.

"The numbers of church membership are an indication to me that people are looking for answers to some of life's most vexing questions," Millet said. "The gospel provides answers for those deep questions of who we are, where we came from, why we're here and where we're going."

Millet said one of the explanations for the church's growing membership is that the gospel gives people something to hang on to.

"I believe people are eager to grasp onto something that is solid, unchanging and constant in a world that's filled with a lot of matters that are not very constant," Millet said.

Scott Trotter, public affairs manager for the LDS Church, said the church is growing so rapidly because the gospel helps individuals and changes lives for the better.

At the end of 2005, the LDS Church reached 12,560,869 members worldwide, with more than 5 million in the United States, according to a news release on LDS.org.

"Church leaders have repeatedly stressed that the strength of LDS members may be traced to the personal testimony of each individual member," Millet said. "The depth of members' personal testimonies or convictions is the driving force that motivates them."