Are members leaving in droves? No. But ‘deeply concerning’ trends exist amid those record conversions. | Episode 436

There was plenty of good growth news — at least on its books — for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2025: a record number of convert baptisms of more than 385,000; an overall global membership climbing ever closer to 18 million; and at least 44 nations or territories with annual growth rates above 10%. At the same time, the United States, the nation with the most Latter-day Saints, saw its net raw numbers decline for the first time, and children of record continued to lag well below 100,000. On this week’s show, we dissect the latest data — from the exceptional expansions in parts of the Global South to the stagnant figures in other parts of the world — with independent researcher Matt Martinich, who tracks such data for the websites cumorah.com and ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com.