First things first – I’m not a Mormon. I loved the musical (The Book of Mormon) and Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven. While I may not agree with or even understand the LDS beliefs, I’m fascinated by their propagation capabilities (both in terms of reproduction and proselytizing). The LDS Church is such a fast growing denomination, it makes me wonder why other religions don’t try to mimic their approach. It’s just impressive.

This graphic reveals the geographic spread of the LDS Church as a function of time. Its growth has been focused particularly in the past 30 years. Of the 143 currently operating temples, 123 (86%) were dedicated in 1983 or later. It should be noted that this graphic only shows temples, not churches. There are many more churches than temples!

Data source: http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/chronological/