Editors note This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. On condition of anonymity, he was eager to share insider information and proprietary data about: Declines in church participation and . Lets suppose that the church could maintain that 17.22% growth, which is certainly better than losing members as many mainstream Protestant denominations have been doing. And how easy is it to get preteens/teens from LDS families to get baptized? Is controversy driving members away from the church? Then-Apostle (now President) Russell M. Nelson claimed in January 2016 that the policy was a revelation from God. Source This decision created a firestorm and a mass exodus took place during the next few years. During the same time period, the church also restructured the organization of its highest-ranking priesthood. With respect to absolute numbers, most agree the church is still growing. Lets get started with the basic membership statistics given by the church. Notably, the United States share of members has declined, as has Utahs. In addition, Apple Computers launched the iPhone in 2007, allowing smart phones to connect to the Internet. 2023 Curriculum Focused on the New Testament. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. In the July issue of the Ensign, the churchs official magazine, Im glad to see some attention paid to people who leave the church, and how the people who remain in the fold can most lovingly stay in relationship with them. Mormons have developed a strong sense of community that stems from their doctrine and history. Historically, Riess says, American youth left the LDS church of their childhood between 17-23, only to return later in life when they married and began to have children of their own. When Church Is Hard It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by membership in the Church. Between missionaries stopping by and members of the bishopric, youre basically a project. Members of the church recorded just 94,266 births in 2019, and President Dallin Oaks, the second highest ranking official in the church, noted in an October 2018 speech that the average LDS woman now marries two years later than in the recent past. Catholics and evangelicals are keeping about half of their childhood members, according to the NSYR data, and mainline Protestants just a quarter (though they are getting some of the former evangelicals switching in as adults). The Pocatello Idaho Temple, one of six existing Latter-day Saints temples in Idaho. Whats more, the statistics showed that more young adults were leaving the church data supported by national studies from Pew (2014, showing 64% retention for all ages of Mormons) and the General Social Survey aggregated through 2016 (which had 57% retention for millennials and Generation X Mormons combined). Where, they want to know, did they go wrong? . Thus, the numbers dropped from 2014 when there were 297,000 converts with 85,000 missionaries, the largest number of converts since 1999 when there were 306,000 converts. Here is a basic description of each stage: The Utah-based faith saw its membership in California fall by nearly 3% in the past two years. Its no secret that the population of some states declined during the pandemic most notably California, which lost about 300,000 residents between 2021 and 2022. Thats a Catholic pattern in particular., By contrast, Smith says LDS youth tend to go to the extremes. With that new percentage in mind, lets see what this increase would do to the overall numbers. Maybe at some point in the next half-century well be broadcasting General Conference from Accra [Ghanas capital], he wrote in a Times and Seasons blog post. Its a demanding, almost all-encompassing, way of life. The Internet was in its infancy during the first half of the 1990s. Were they too lax about allowing their kids to attend a state university instead of BYU? The number of members of the church as late as 1950 was only 1 million. Before the 2021 report, the highest number of states with a membership decrease came in 2018, when 12 states saw a decline. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Salt Lake Tribune columnist Gordon Monson has some advice for members who feel unworthy, stating that sometimes the only cleanse you need is eliminating the feeling like you should do one.. These issues will certainly be a challenge in the next years: How will the leadership handle these issues? However, the number of converts went down 15% in 2015 and, from 2016-2019, the numbers have stayed below 250,000. According to the General Social Survey, the LDS Church retained 62.5% of youth born from 1965-1980. However, things slowed down tremendously as the church entered the 21st century. They take their whole family with them, he says, and a lot of people resigning are in their child-bearing years, and they have children who are then never counted on the rolls of the church. He said the actual exit strategy, people severing ties and taking their names off the records of the church, is a trend that has become distinctive over the last couple of decades.. We were able to baptize many of these 9,10, and 11 year olds. The founder of the church, one Joseph Smith, was a fraud and conjurer well known to the authorities of upstate New York. Many reach out to QuitMormon out of desperation, Sorensen says. Here, a pride flag flies in front of the. And when they leave, they are less inclined to go quietly. 20210m5m10m15m20m. Let me say again, the Church has never been stronger. He wrote, I was on my mission in Utah during 199193. Solutions to Retain Members. The church is the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the United States, with over 6.7 million members as of 2021 (self reported). Here is a chart comparing the two years: Throughout the decade of the 1990s, all but three years had more than 300,000 converts. Did the Utah Legislature do enough to save the Great Salt Lake? A few months later, the church also announced that it would do away with its standardized hymnbook in favor of regional hymnals designed to reflect local languages and musical customs. Resigning from the Mormon church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints) can be a tedious and painful process. Old Man says: October 8, 2021 at 9:11 am. Patrick Mason, head of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University told the Salt Lake Tribune, We know that there continues to be an exodus from the church. Instead of looking at absolute membership totals, lets see how growth percentages have changed over time. Which is more loving: to admit that yes, the churchs growth has slowed significantly and a lot of people who are technically still on the rolls are not involved at all, which is why we created this whole special issue of the Ensign in the first place, or to make the case that Everything Is Awesome and if there are problems, they are isolated and individual? That, in turn, raises the stakes for those who plan to leaveleaving may mean walking away from your entire social circle. As far as Christian titles that explained LDS beliefs while contrasting these with biblical Christianity, the list of offerings available before 1990 included: It must be remembered that there were no online retailers like Amazon or Christian Books before 1990. The faith's Oakland Temple. To go from 59,000 bodies in 2012 to 83,000 in 2013 (85,000 in 2014) must have caused a staffing nightmare since there were must not have been enough places to put these extra missionaries. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized in a small log cabin in upstate New York in 1830. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. One approach helps them to understand that what theyre experiencing with their kids is part of a massive social trend, and not just the result of their personal failings. Whatever the exact numbers, its hard to see a situation where Africa does not become a significant part of church culture and institutions in the long run., (Michelle Faye | FX) Gil Birmingham as Bill Taba and Andrew Garfield as Jeb Pyre in "Under the Banner of Heaven. A total of 126,000 new members were baptized in 2020, down from 249,000 in 2019, which is close to a 50% drop. What will really make the church successful, Mason posits, is whether it will identify and emphasize that which has made it most successfulthe strength of its local congregations, called wards. Had the South American nation added 4,000 more converts, last year would have marked the first time in church history that a nation outside the U.S. added more new members than the U.S. itself. Since 2008, the rate of growth has remained steadfast under 2%, with nothing higher than a 1.51% rate since 2016. If they choose the latter, it will remain small.. I figured we also might be able to make some interesting charts of that data as well. The average from 2013 through 2019 was never above 4 converts to every missionary. And this isnt the only front where the LDS Church is bucking U.S. and international trends toward secularization. It wasnt until my mission in the early 90s that I learned that I was identified as a convert. For instance, we had to find the name of a person with a certain phone number and write down the zip code of an address in Minnesota. Utah, home to the faiths headquarters and the most Latter-day Saints of any state, saw its membership grow by 1.66% (the 14th highest nationally) to 2,161,526. Yet promoting healthy local communities, he says, is the number one thing the church can do to maintain itself, because there are fewer and fewer places in the world where people find authentic communities. NOEL KING, HOST: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are known as Mormons, is facing allegations of financial fraud. New Jersey, Idaho and North Dakota were the three biggest losers when compared to population change, while South Dakota, Washington, D.C., and Arkansas saw Latter-day Saints become a larger share of their communities. Im sure to this day that missionaries in heavily populated LDS areas baptize children over eight, fluffing the convert baptisms for the church. Its unrealistic to expect that there has been a major turnaround in the churchs fortunes in the years since 2008 since religious inactivity has become more pronounced in the intervening years, and not just in this country. Is this what Jesus would do? The following chart shows the average number of converts per full-time missionary between 1990-2019: Of course, this is not to insinuate that every convert is a result of the work of a full-time missionary. One popular book on Joseph Smith was written by Fawn M. Brodie titled No Man Knows my History, a provocative biography in 1945 (Alfred A. Knopf). Notice that the missionaries did not attempt to get 8-year-olds baptized but rather aimed their efforts at those who were 9 or older. Church historian Elder Marlin K. Jensen attended a Q;A set up by Phil Barlow at Utah State University. He claimed to have been shown some gold plates on which a new revelation. The Gem State is a pretty profitable jewel in the churchs real estate portfolio. Larger societal trends play a key role in this dynamic, but so too does the number of young members who leave the church before their childbearing years due, experts believe, to the demanding nature of church culture. I served a mission for the LDS Church from 1969 to 1971. But there is general agreement that falling birthrates bear a good portion of the blame. Mormon missionaries only had the first 75 days of the year to do their work with no hinderances, but most were ordered to return home in mid-March. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". As a result, growth is sitting at just over 1.5% annually, significantly less than the 3-4% annual growth rates the church enjoyed in the 1970s and 80s. Three more are planned. But after about 1997, you do see a more consistent decline in growth rates over the past 25 years, from about 2% a year annually to about 0.5% annually now. In 2012, there was 4.62 converts per missionary, but this went down to 3.41 in 2013 (272,500 total converts) and 3.5 in 2014 (297,000 converts), a 25% drop. One of the helpful aspects of a book like Back-Pocket God is that it covers the whole gamut of religious identities and experiences, and when you look at the bigger picture, a retention rate of 6 in 10 is actually quite good. Most, Riess says, just stop showing up and quietly distance themselves from the faith. First, its just not statistically true, at least in the United States, and it wasnt even true five years ago. This, perhaps, offers an important glimpse into the future, one that some experts believe has been foreshadowed by recent reforms within the LDS Church: The future of this American-born faith lies elsewhere. ChurchPlants | Looking to plant a church? We wouldnt touch them while they were eight but when they turned nine we knocked on their families doors. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has never been stronger. In a lot of other traditions, the children tend to move toward a middle range of religiousness, Smith says. Probably one of the biggest reasons for the stunted growth in the LDS Church is easier access to information. They lose their membership and cannot participate in any way other than attend meetings. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. SALT LAKE CITY Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are questioning a letter that was sent to leaders last week reminding them of a policy that prevents them from. That is, when the church opens a new local unit, its less likely to close within a few years, as was the trend, particularly in Latin America, in the past. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Time will tell. This is the first time I have heard a general authority openly admit the church is currently losing a lot of its members. There is, however, no public record of what the church uses that money for. In 2000, 75 percent of Utah residents were Mormon, but today, only 51 percent are. Some who tried to leave by way of quiet inactivity find its hard to get the church to leave them alone, Sorensen says. New Book of Mormon Episode: Nephi's Vision. More than two decades later after Starks comments, we have the advantage of looking back and seeing how his prediction is looking. California (down 2.84%), North Dakota (off 2.28%) and Washington (minus 2.03%) were the biggest percentage losers between the start of 2020 and the end of 2021, independent demographer Matt. 1548: Is the Mormon Church in Decline? Daves article had a lot of good information, but I wanted to know more context around those numbers. 6. Feminism, gender bias and sexism. Data scientist Stephen Cranney wondered and did some basic calculations. For a 4-part Viewpoint on Mormonism series on this topic airing February 15-18, 2021, click these links: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4, Note: This article was modified on April 4, 2021. The machine magnified the words on a computer-like screen, allowing the user to read these publications with no paper involved.). But the churchs membership growth, which is public information, has slowed enough that it is basically flat, though this past year it did slightly reverse the downward trajectory and is back up to about 1.5% growth around the world, and 0.6% growth within the U.S. Maybe we could make a case for never been stronger if we compare todays church to the debacles that our denominational neighbors are experiencing right now. According to a 2019 University of Utah Survey, 61.5% of students who grew up LDS left the church while attending school, with the majority becoming agnostic, atheist, spiritual but not religious, or nothing in particular., Mason believes the resignations are significant, because people rarely resign alone. Note that I didnt say staying active in the church. Those numbers are lower. And some of the most secular, western nations, including the U.S., are seeing the greatest growth in new congregations. Importantly, the church remains opposed to. Address your letter to: Member Records Division, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 50 E North Temple Room 1372, Salt Lake City UT 84150-5310. Of course, several Christian books were available in 1990. The churchs total parcels in Idaho rank third among the states, behind only Utah and California, and its 58,000-plus acres rank eighth. In recent years, people have been leaving the church in droves. Without the ability to use the Internet to do research from the privacy of ones own home or phone, the information readily available today would have been much more difficult to obtain in these earlier years. With many members leaving the church as well, this is the first time in modern history that the membership gains did not grow by six figures, as the church grew in 2020 by a total of only 98,627. But in our current religious climate, its often not enough. Members leaving is not about people who remove their names always a minority but those who stop attending, drop out or go inactive. Emma Penrod is a journalist based in Salt Lake City, Utah who covers science, technology, business and environmental health. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 2023 Youth Theme: I Can Do All Things. This reflected more than a 4% growth rate. At the ward level, the church takes a village approach to not only religion and childrearing, but, as is the LDS way, all aspects of lifea given ward may appoint someone to help others find employment, pursue education, or improve physical health, according to the needs of the locals. While the church enjoyed small gains in membership growth the past two years globally (up 0.8%) and nationally (up 0.6%) amid a worldwide pandemic, more than 40% of U.S. states (21 plus the District of Columbia) saw their numbers decrease during that time frame. It is the level of the local ward where there are tremendous acts of goodwill, where the content of what you believe is subsumed in a general culture of service and compassion, he says.