The LDS Church is actually "shrinking" in size except for...

[_daheshism]

There is ample evidence to support the view that the Church is actually shrinking in North America and Europe. I can tell just by the Single's Dances and Y.A. dances. When I was in my 20s and 30s, the Young adult dances in the greater Seattle area were well attended, some packed, and there was a dance somewhere every Friday and Saturday night. Several years ago I looked again and noticed there were only TWO y.a. dances per month left in Western Washington, I actually drove by one (not far from my then home) and I went in and there were about 15 kids milling about, half of them dancing. I remember going to that same dance twenty years before to find the place packed with 400 or more young adults. The other dance, I am told, has about 30 to 40 people going to it in the Summer months and half that during the school months. Twenty years ago, that other dance easily had 600 in the Summer months and 250 to 300 in the winter months.

The Church is "shrinking" in North America. The Church is trying to "cook the books" on this one. Stakes are losing entire Wards! If this trend continues, entires Stakes will consist of one Meetinghouse each with 2 or 3 wards each.


Not 1 in 30 Mormons who leave the Church bother to resign. They simply stop going. Most of them don't even know they CAN resign! Most would not even bother.

The VAST great majority of converts in the U.S. today are illegal aliens from Mexico and other Latin American countries. Why? Because they are trying to "Americanize". Joining an "American" religion fulfills that. If the JWs knock on their door first, they become JWs, if the Adventists do, they become Adventists, and if the Mormons do, they become Mormons. Whomever knocks on their door first.

A. Why are so many "leaving" the Church in North America (i.e. stop going, but few of these formally resign)??

Q. The Internet is the biggest reason. Before the Internet, a Mormon would have to be handed anti-Mormon literure, but not 1 in 1000 Mormons would take it. Not 1 in 100,000 would step into a Christian bookstore and "buy" anti-Mormon literature. Now, all a Member has to do is type in "Mormon" or "Mormonism' on the Internet and they'll be flooded with anti-Mormon information.


The Church is only NOW trying to combat anti-Mormonism on the Internet.....NOT by addressing anti-Mormon questions (as they should), but by cleaver manipulation, blocking anti-Mormon sites via paying for Search Engine tricks, and that sort of thing. All smoke and mirror stuff, as usual. No honesty. No honestly "dealing" with the issues. I know of a Mormon guy who spent tens of thousands of hours, of his own time and money, working on "All About Mormons" website where he tried to honestly answer all or most anti-Mormon questions. Well, the "word" came down, and his site was closed! Once again, this is how the Church "deals" with anti-Mormonism: ignore, ignore, ignore. All Church policies are "God-breathed" and infallible. If these policies don't work, they don't blame themselves for bad policy....they blame the Members....as usual.



The Church leaders have only themselves to blame for this, and, of course, THEY will blame the Members, as usually: "You're not working hard enough!" "You're not doing enough!" "You're not re-activiting enough!" "You're not.....You're not.....You're not....!!!!" It is never, "Hey, maybe WE did something that is NOT working?" Never! Their egos are too MASSIVE for any inward self-examination.



Q. Why is the Church "dying" in Europe?



A. Because Europeans are too educated and intellectual to "buy" the Joseph Smith Story of The Book of Mormon. It's seems too childish to them. They can't understand how anybody could believe either. The few Europeans who join the Church in Europe are "outcasts" looking for a place to belong, or people from Africa or Russia or China who are looking to assimilate. MOst protestant and Catholic Churches in Europe are filled with old women, who had nothing to do with religion when they were young and sexy, but after their husbands die and they are too old to **** they start getting lonely and thinking of the afterlife. No man wants them anymore, but Jesus. They cared nothing of Jesus when they were young and sexy, then they considered all religion to be foolishness, but now they are old and ugly and no man wants them, but Jesus.



Q. Where is Church growth coming from?



A. It's coming from the growth of the Church in Africa for the most part. Growing there by leaps and bounds. You tell an African you saw God flying a space ship with sparkles flying out the back, and you say it sincerely, he'll probably believe you! They're not intellectual giants over there. Few have university educations where the supernatural is ridiculed. That's where most of the numbers are from. Latin America is still strong, but there are signs that things are not well. Chile is experiencing massive in-activity rates and many stakes have been closed. There is still great baptism rates among the poor (not like in the late 1970s and 1980s), but 85% soon go inactive. The poor in Latin American countries cannot afford to pay tithing. They pay tithing for a month or two before going to the Temple, and then never again. They can't afford it. Their employers give them only enough to survive. Then they are taxed to the hilt. They have nothing left. They can't save a dime, much less turn over 20% of their net income to the Church! Simply does not work. And going to a chapel for three hours, after dragging 9 kids, taking three different buses, and sitting in a hot ans sticky NON-air conditioned chapel for three hours, listening to some idiot ramble on about who knows what, does not inspired a lot of poor Latin Americans to stay.



Ultimately, Church leaders don't care THAT MUCH of the massive inactivity rates, or that the Missionary force is getting smaller every year. They care about their own selves, about their families and friends. That's really it. Sure, they'd LIKE to see the "Numbers" get bigger, but, ultimately, they don't care. 95% of the Mission Presidents and bishops and stake presidents don't care either. They "care" about "looking good" to their Church superiors, and they'll "cook the books" to make themselves seem successful, but, again, they care about themselves and their loved ones. Do they really CARE about the inactives? No. 95% don't give a farthing. They care only about "looking good" to their superiors. They too, will blame the Members. It is always the fault of the Members; never Church leaders.

[_Fiannan]

Okay, so Europeans are intellectual giants, Russians and Mexicans are just trying to look cool and Africans are not too bright seems to be what you are saying.

I wonder if the posts at boards run by David Duke are less judgmental.