I wouldn't think that would be a good indicator of how many actual believers are out there. I know a lot of members didn't renew their subscription when the LDS (Satan laughs) church made it free on the LDS (Satan laughs again) app. Just my opinion.
I started receiving the Ensign two months ago. I have no idea who paid for the subscription. I write “refused-return to sender” on it and put it back in the mailbox.
From reports made here in previous years, you can call up the Ensign subscription office, cancel the subscription and receive a refund for the remainder of its term.
It might not be much money, but it's better for you to have it than the church.
I knew members who used to give subscriptions to their non-member friends as an "every member a missionary" activity. The receiver probably does not want to offend by canceling their subscription.
I have an idea that most subscriptions are gifts. The giver gets credit for his/her righteousness and doesn't actually have to think about the recipient.
But I'm sure they keep that as secure and sacredly secret as possible.
Ultimately, the only thing that really counts is the category known as tithe-paying Mormons. Everything else is just "prospective tithepayers' or "defunct tithepayers".
If you had a lot of money and free time, you could arrange for collaborators to go hang out in the parking lot of every temple around the world counting average attendance on a monthly basis. That would be a good barometer of the current health of the Morg.
the LSD Church ever decides to publish honest statistics.
But I know with every fiber of my bean that the official numbers published by the Church are as phony as Rorex watch and as fake as a Praba handbag.
Outside of the Morridor, I almost NEVER run into anyone who identifies as a Mormon. The few church buildings in the area are almost always empty and quiet when I pass by them.
It's not a thriving institution. It was back in the 1970s and 1980s. I think it actually peaked in 1984. It's a ghost of its former self now.
my MORmON parents sent me the ensign as their Christmass present, then my MORmON male parent died ( which was a much nicer gift from him ) and that practice stopped, I was very anti while that magazine was coming to me, so getting the ensign might not be the perfect indication
There is some Postal regulation that requires periodicals sent via US Mail have some boilerplate in the publication that states the owner, publisher and the circulation. Look at the fine print in the first few pages, maybe?