Mormons pass 11 million membership rank

SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) has passed the 11 million membership mark, said the church’s president, Gordon B. Hinckley.

Speaking during the church’s 170th semiannual General Conference, the 90-year-old prophet said the church has made “tremendous” progress since its centennial anniversary in 1947, when it had 1 million members, most of them living in Utah.

More than half of the church’s membership is overseas; about 5.1 million Mormons live in the United States. Hinckley said the church’s missionary work brought in 300,000 members last year.