DiscussMormonism.com

In a news release the Church News leads with the headline

Church announces the addition of 55 new missions in 2026
The 55 new missions give the Church 506 missions worldwide — the most ever in Church history

and there’s a graphic…

However, when you dig just a little deeper, you find that “new” doesn’t mean expansion. It means that if you take an existing mission area, divide it into two halves, you can claim one of those half missions as a whole “new” mission without it being a new area at all.

The new missions, which will be created by adjusting the boundaries of existing missions, will help to accommodate a growing number of missionaries already called and will allow missionaries to better support the increasing number of congregations throughout the world.

Do you see the smoke and mirrors?

will help to accommodate a growing number of missionaries already called and will allow missionaries to better support the increasing number of congregations

Yes, I see smoke and mirrors. Everything is expanding and increasing except for the number of members.

That's not even clever of them......but hey, it keeps the kids busy. My goodness, keep the kids busy..........

My understanding is mission presidents have to spend much more time counseling and working with missionaries to keep them out. It became increasingly difficult once every young man could serve straight after high school to run a mission of 300. It's also part of why the church finally embraces video calls on P-day to help make it less jarring and help keep them out.

Gadianton wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 18, 2026 3:42 pm

will help to accommodate a growing number of missionaries already called and will allow missionaries to better support the increasing number of congregations

Yes, I see smoke and mirrors. Everything is expanding and increasing except for the number of members.

Apologists would point to the growing number of members on the claimed membership that’s announced every April. But as everyone knows, that is misleading. The figure that matters is the proportion of that membership that’s announced every are still “active”. The Church has that number. But it will not publicise it. The Church will publish anything and everything that leadership thinks is faith promoting or paints them and the Church in a good light. It will likewise go to great lengths to hide and suppress anything and everything that leadership thinks is not faith promoting (revenue generating), even going so far as breaking rules and laws and its own definition of “honesty”. Any transparency about non faith promoting items is always after the fact and after there no longer remains a reasonable option to suppress or deny. There are so many examples of that, that it is now an irrefutable assertion.