How many of you hear remember the wild and ridiculous claims of future growth in the LDS church. I came of age and went on a mission in the mid- and late-1960's, when the church was enjoying great success in most of the countries where it was established. So at least one Mormon leader (can't remember who) made big claims, one of them going by how successful the church was at that moment, and then carrying those same growth figures forward a few decades. Based on his results, Mormons were going to be as plentiful as Catholics, or locusts, or something.

Say,... What happened, anyway? Today's people are more evil! No, wait,... That ain't it. Church members aren't living their faith!! Yeah, that's the ticket. I don't think that church leaders ever blame the good part of the Internet, the part that brings facts and figures to our very fingertips.

Don't worry, all that growth talk is going down the memory hole.

Now they are focusing on excuses to explain why they are not growing and taking over like locusts. There's the pandemic, the last days, persecution, blah, blah.

When the church's growth was impressive, it was proof that it was the one true church, because it was fulfilling the prophecy that the stone cut without hands would roll forth and fill the whole world.

Now that the church's growth is (at best) stunted, it is proof that it is the one true church, because it is fulfilling the prophecy that in the last days many would fall away, and even some of the elect would be deceived.

The might as well say "heads I win, tails you lose."

Exactly. Always the credit, never the blame.

misplaced



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2021 05:50PM by Brother Of Jerry.

That was based on the plotting curve of increasing conversions continuing to rise on the graph...

Sure, I'll take a share of the blame because I definitely did not do my part.

After 184 years of missionary work the CULT of Joseph’s Myth now has 14 million members (according to the CULT’s claims) so giving them the benefit of the doubt, that’s 0.18% of the world’s population. So 1 MORmON/555 people on Earth.
So much for the prophecy of a great stone rolling forth from the mountain until it fills the whole Earth! Apparently the God of MORmONism is so lame he can’t even attract more than 1/5th of 1% of people to fork over their hard earned cash to the racist pyramid scheme.

You have to keep the con going or it will bite you in the ass

About a week ago Salon.com had a piece about the Hofmann affair, and they started off with the old line about Mormonism being the world's fastest growing religion. I graciously corrected them.

LDS Inc had a lot going for it through the 1970s. American Mormons were enthusiastic participants in the Baby Boom that happened after WW II. By the 1970s those Boomers were hitting college, getting married and having lots of kids, creating the Echo Boom.

Wards with lots of young marrieds, huge nurseries, yada yada. On top of that was the counterculture that got rolling in the mid 1960s. That scared lots of parents, and more than a few of them looked to the Mormon Church for safety and stability. Some of us on RFM were probably dragged into Mormonism during that period by our nervous parents.

Also there was a lot of pro-American sentiment around the world because of programs like the Peace Corps, Food for Peace, and earlier, the Marshall Plan and the Berlin Airlift in Europe. LDS missionaries were generally looked on with benevolence.

In 1984, Rodney Stark predicted that Mormonism would be the next world religion, possibly with 280 million members by 2080. See : http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-rise-of-mormonism/9780231136341 . In retrospect, he was a bit optimistic, seeing as how the current active membership is likely somewhere in the general neighborhood of 5 to 6 million, if that.

The Echo Boom subsided. Non-Mo parents became less terrified their dear darlings would grow long hair and start using pot. They kind of liked Bruce Springsteen. They didn't need to run to Mormonism to keep their kids out of trouble. Foreign countries, particularly in Europe, were less enamored of all things American.

Meanwhile, Mormonism proceeded to shoot itself in the feet with:
The BoA papyri calling into question JS "translation" (late 1960s)
creation of the three hour block (1974ish)
excommunicating Sonia Johnson and ERA supporters (late 1970s)
Mark Hofmann (early to mid 1980s)
Lafferty Brothers (1984)
Excommunicating/disfellowshipping the September Six (1993)
High profile defections of Martha Nibley Beck and Steve Benson (1994-ish?)
GBH repeated dissembling about Mormon doctrine.

And there's much more, but my brain is starting to hurt. Anyway, there was plenty that happened to cause the BIC side of Mormonism to scratch their heads and have a WTF moment.


And here we are, with Rodney Stark's growth predictions up in smoke. The Q15 were not as specific in their predictions, but they were expecting great things too. Those dreams also up in smoke.


We need new lyrics for "Shall the Youth of Zion Falter?"

1. Shall the youth of Zion falter

if a Laurel wears a halter?

While the music is playing

Shall we shrink or shun the flailing? No!


[Chorus]

True to the faith not one of us has cherished,

True to our truth for which facts have all perished,

To God’s command, Soul, heart, and pelvis,

Faithful and true we will always be to Elvis.



2. While we dig the pow’rs of laughter

and seek to learn of life and loving,

Shall the children of the promise

Cease to race in the Iditarod? No!


3. We will work out our exhilaration;

We will cleave, and not remain aloof;

We will dance and drink and party

With the fervent zeal of youth. Yes!


4. We will strive to be found earthy

in the kingdom of our youth,

With the faithful ones we'll party

Who have loved and been uncouth. Yes!

smiley emoticon!

My father, who never let a good set of facts stand in the way of believing, still insists that the church is growing at a pace nothing short of miraculous. The die hards continue to be happily bamboozled.

They aren't getting much in the way of help from the church, so it's apparently a matter of auto-bamboozlement!

Their net worth is probably growing like crazy. Maybe that’s what he’s referring to. :)

ChurchCo is (now) ambiguous in most Everything they say, they avoid 'hard facts' like they never existed.

the number of 'units' stakes & wards is easily manipulated, I think those are the only numbers they publish.