An annual survey of church demographics released this week shows The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is now the fifth-largest denomination in the United States.
But a top LDS leader doesn't expect a growth spurt because of attention to the faith during the Olympics.
"I don't think we'll see a great surge in convert baptism but a great surge of better understanding and appreciation for what the Mormon Church really is," said Elder M. Russell Ballard of the church's Council of the Twelve Apostles.
The National Council of Churches' 2002 "Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches," believed by many to be among the most authoritative chronicle of shifting denominational growth patterns, shows the LDS Church moved from sixth place last year to fifth place in total membership.
"This ranking represents a very brisk increase in membership for a church with a relatively brief history," said the Rev. Dr. Eileen W. Lindner, "Yearbook" editor and NCC deputy general secretary for research and planning. The LDS Church was organized in 1830, at Fayette, N.Y., by Joseph Smith, who said the church was not a "reformation" of errant Christian teaching but a "restoration" of Christ's original church and priesthood.
"The distinctive theological position of the LDS and the history of its persecution make such rapid growth all the more remarkable; however, the church's strong emphasis on outreach through both mission personnel and electronic and print advertising makes it unique among contemporary North American churches," she wrote.
Catholics (63.6 million), Southern Baptists (15.9 million), United Methodists (8.3 million) and the Church of God in Christ (5.5 million) outnumber the LDS Church (5.2 million), which was ranked sixth in last year's membership totals behind the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The two faiths traded places in this year's total, as the LDS Church gained roughly 95,000 members while the ELCA lost about 25,000. This is the first time the LDS Church has been ranked among the top five.
The news comes amid the heaviest international media coverage ever for the LDS Church, headquartered in Salt Lake City, which is hosting the Olympic Winter Games. The reporting, which church spokesman Dale Bills said leaders believe has been largely "accurate and fair," should help dispel some longstanding myths about the faith.
"That's all a positive and very strong plus," Elder Ballard said. "It will have an impact" on membership, "but not a flood." Instead, the interest, he believes, "will be steady."
LDS officials have been asked repeatedly how media coverage will affect their worldwide missionary efforts. But they respond by pointing out that religious conversion is not a "quick decision" but a careful and often lengthy process for people looking "for answers to the real questions of life.
"It's not because of Sept. 11," Elder Ballard said. "I think that was a tremendous spiritual wake-up call. . . . I think there is just a spiritual awakening, and our message is starting to appeal to people. It has some real answers, guidance and direction."
Another reason he believes the church continues to grow is the willingness of its members to share their faith with others, and "a great power of the spirit that accompanies what we're doing. I think people who are searching and really want to know the truth respond."