That article is far too polite in accepting the LDS version of stats.
...Today, there are around 4,000 Latter-day Saints in Ireland...[in] 12 congregations...
Jana Reiss, in July 2023, wrote this:
Irish Mormons face dwindling numbers, but researcher finds their community inspirational
...If you look at the church’s official statistics, LDS membership growth in Ireland looks healthy over the last decade; there were 3,013 members in 2013 and 3,980 in 2022, a 32% increase in just under 10 years. On the other hand, no new congregations have been created in Ireland over that period, which suggests poor retention of new converts and other members.
What’s more, according to the recently released 2022 census, only 1,111 people in Ireland said they were Mormon, a figure that includes both adults and children. This means that 72% of those the church claims as members do not declare themselves as such...
So, to be generous, that's 1200 or so who consider themselves LDS, in 12 congregations, not 4,000. That's much closer to the numbers in Reiss' statement about the researcher she was reporting on:
...she spent a year doing deep-dive ethnographic research in two LDS congregations — one an established ward with about 70 attendees and the other a smaller branch with around 30...
That jibes with the general averages for attendance seen across the UK. Given that there are now 6 wards and 6 branches (the Church closed the Limerick district and merged it with Dublin) it puts active membership (including minors) at around 600.
The Church recently discontinued the Limerick Ireland District and consolidated it with the Dublin Ireland Stake. There are now six wards and six branches in Ireland.
The Dublin temple will also serve Northern Ireland, which has 7 wards and 3 branches. So another 580 active members (including minors).
Maybe 1,200 active members in total.
Premise 1. Eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable.
Premise 2. The best evidence for the Book of Mormon is eyewitness testimony.
Conclusion. Therefore, the best evidence for the Book of Mormon is notoriously unreliable.
At some point the N+1 temple is no different than a potemkin village or one of China’s ghost cities. No practical purpose whatsoever. Purely to keep up appearances of something that has no basis in reality. Maybe we’re already there, judging by the level of densification of temples in Utah vs minuscule net growth in members and I believe erosion in active members.
Last edited by Dr Moore on Wed Oct 09, 2024 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Am I right in thinking that one of the reasons Nelson is announcing more temples than his predecessors, is because he announces them earlier in the process? Pulling forward the announcement, meaning that at some point the President that follows him will need to announce fewer to allow the building programme to catch up. Hence Nelson might be “pinching” his successors temple announcements to aggrandise his own tenure.
Take the Russia Temple as an example. That’s an announcement out of thin air. Nelson simply wanted to be remembered as the President who announced the first temple in Russia, no matter that it might not even have an agreed location for the next fifty years.
Announcing a temple before acquiring the land seems early to me, but I don’t know how that lines up with past practice.
The other thing that’s changed over time (that’s just sprung to mind) is the size of the temples. They’ve gotten smaller, cheaper, and therefore easier to roll out.
Premise 1. Eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable.
Premise 2. The best evidence for the Book of Mormon is eyewitness testimony.
Conclusion. Therefore, the best evidence for the Book of Mormon is notoriously unreliable.
