Friday, July 18, 2008

The Growth of the Church by Stakes

Four years after the church was organized Wilford Woodruff attended a meeting with several of the Priesthood brethren and the prophet Joseph Smith. He recalled that they were all called upon to bear testimony and that at the conclusion of the meeting the prophet remarked "Brethren, I have been very much edified and instructed in your testimonies here tonight, but I want to say to you before the Lord, that you know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother's lap. You don't comprehend it...It is only a little handful of Priesthood you see here tonight, but this Church will fill North and South America - it will fill the world." We are witnesses to the continued fulfillment of that prophecy today.
The attached video shows the growth of the church by stakes represented by a flash of light and if you've never seen it you have to check it out. Even if you have seen it its worth watching again. Because this video was produced in 2007 the official numbers are off. As of the April 2008 General Conference the number of stakes is 2,790 not 2,745. Also, the total church membership as of the same date was 13,193,999 instead of 12,868,600. Just goes to show how quickly the church is growing.
The video is found on http://www.videos.lds.org/ if you want to download it and save it on your own computer...its a little more impressive when viewed on a full screen as opposed to this little tiny one.

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