Birth Control

[_Zelder]

I feel this is a trend.
Think about how the Church now approaches masturbation. It is still totally against it but the language and overtones has changed. The Church is changing its language on homosexuality in a similar fashion.

Yeah, that's true. You think it's just PR?

[_Drifting]

I feel this is a trend.
Think about how the Church now approaches masturbation. It is still totally against it but the language and overtones has changed. The Church is changing its language on homosexuality in a similar fashion.

Yeah, that's true. You think it's just PR?

Yes.
The Church is shrinking and that is scary to the Leaders.
The items scaring people away from the Church or causing people to leave are being treated with softer, more careful language. Typical PR type strategy.

Why does Gods divinely appointed spokesperson need a spokesperson?

[_Zelder]

The Church is shrinking and that is scary to the Leaders.
The items scaring people away from the Church or causing people to leave are being treated with softer, more careful language. Typical PR type strategy.

Why does Gods divinely appointed spokesperson need a spokesperson?

Is the church shrinking? Where can I read up that that?

[_Drifting]

The Church is shrinking and that is scary to the Leaders.
The items scaring people away from the Church or causing people to leave are being treated with softer, more careful language. Typical PR type strategy.

Why does Gods divinely appointed spokesperson need a spokesperson?

Is the church shrinking? Where can I read up that that?

You can use two pieces of data.
1. Church membership numbers - available on LDS.org in the Ensign for each April conference where the numbers get published.
2. World population numbers.

Currently the Church claims circa 14,000,000 members.
World population is circa 7,000,000,000.
0.2% of humans currently are baptised Mormons.
Less than 0.1% are active Mormons.

Just google Mormon membership numbers or look on the cumorah website which tracks the stats.

[_Zelder]

You can use two pieces of data.
1. Church membership numbers - available on LDS.org in the Ensign for each April conference where the numbers get published.
2. World population numbers.

Currently the Church claims circa 14,000,000 members.
World population is circa 7,000,000,000.
0.2% of humans currently are baptised Mormons.
Less than 0.1% are active Mormons.

Just google Mormon membership numbers or look on the cumorah website which tracks the stats.

Maybe I missed something but from that data I might conclude that the church is growing at a lower rate than world population rates. So we could conclude that the church is shrinking in relation to world population growth but not shrinking in numbers.

In order for the church to be shrinking they would have to be closing down churches. And maybe that's happening but I don't know where to find out. Cumorah only give stats up to 2004 but shows that the church is growing albeit with a lot of rentention problems.

http://www.cumorah.com/index.php?target ... tory_id=10

[_Drifting]

You can use two pieces of data.
1. Church membership numbers - available on LDS.org in the Ensign for each April conference where the numbers get published.
2. World population numbers.

Currently the Church claims circa 14,000,000 members.
World population is circa 7,000,000,000.
0.2% of humans currently are baptised Mormons.
Less than 0.1% are active Mormons.

Just google Mormon membership numbers or look on the cumorah website which tracks the stats.

Maybe I missed something but from that data I might conclude that the church is growing at a lower rate than world population rates. So we could conclude that the church is shrinking in relation to world population growth but not shrinking in numbers.

In order for the church to be shrinking they would have to be closing down churches. And maybe that's happening but I don't know where to find out. Cumorah only give stats up to 2004 but shows that the church is growing albeit with a lot of rentention problems.

http://www.cumorah.com/index.php?target ... tory_id=10

If the Church is growing less than the worlds population then I don't view that as growth. You would also have to consider activity rates. Check your own wards membership list against those that actually attend. People who have done that put activity rates at less than 30% of the membership. Very few wards retain converts for longer than 12 months, that's based on feedback from posters on this board.

[_Fiannan]

Subgenius, why do you think there is a difference between how birth control is taught in a young married stake vs general membership stakes?

It's an interesting question. And why did they stop placing the emphasis on brith control to the general membership like they used to?

Maybe because when Ezra Taft Benson gave the talk on women placing motherhood and staying home with kids as the highest ideals a lot of bad press occurred. I am sure it did not phase ETB in the least but I think it scared many of the men who are now in leadership positions into staying quiet on issues dealing with the family.

[_ludwigm]

[_subgenius]

The Church is shrinking and that is scary to the Leaders.

prove that it is scary to anybody, let alone the leaders.

The items scaring people away from the Church or causing people to leave are being treated with softer, more careful language.

no they are not....prove it

Typical PR type strategy.

typical? prove it

Why does Gods divinely appointed spokesperson need a spokesperson?

why wouldn't he?

[_Drifting]

The Church is shrinking and that is scary to the Leaders.

prove that it is scary to anybody, let alone the leaders.

Ballard and other speakers acknowledged that the Utah-based faith was worried about massive losses of members in this age group — one of the reasons behind the change in ward structure — and challenged those in attendance to bring at least one other person back into the fold.(SLTrib)