As a teenager and missionary aged young adult, I was all in. I bought it all - hook, line, and sinker. Going out on my mission (Colombia, 1992-1994), I really believed that I was doing my part to spread the restored gospel and prepare the world for the second coming of Jeezus.
My mission was really the first big thing that made me start to see the church as something other than what I had been taught that it was.
Even in the early 90s in South America, where growth was supposedly robust, I quickly saw that retention rates were not even 10%. Of the 35 or so baptisms that I took part in during my time there, I would be extremely surprised if more than just 1 or 2 of them remained active to this day - perhaps zero. I have had no contact from any of my investigators/converts since I came home over 20 years ago.
It became pretty apparent, even then, that the church's claims of growth were wildly exaggerated. It also became pretty apparent that missionary "service" was about indoctrinating young people and that converts were merely a byproduct of that. The only real source of lasting growth of tithe-paying, temple attending Mormons comes from their breeding program.
But now even the birth rates are lagging. Young people today just aren't doing their jobs anymore of breeding like rabbits to grow the Lard's kingdom.
Anyhow, since growth is always worse than the church says that it is, it really makes me wonder. If church's own numbers make it look bad, then how bad is it really?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/10/2017 10:32PM by Strength in the Loins.
The article referred to losses from death and defection. Typically, I think of someone defecting when they escape from a communist country. That form of escape is fitting in this case too.