LDS missionary numbers to peak at 88,000

[_Fence Sitter]

What does the church do with its money?

The LDS 1st Presidency announced today that President Monson's recent prophetic guidance for all members to "go shopping" has been expanded to "Let's go shopping and buy IPADs!".

In an unrelated matter Elder Otterson announced that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has purchased a controlling interest in Apple Computer™

[_zeezrom]

Remind me what these kids need iPads for?

The Church thinks it is a good idea for missionaries to spend time on the internet trying to convert people in social networks.


I think it is a recipe for disaster.
Time will tell.


The Church is also just figuring out, according to the OP article, that young people work well with electronic devices when it comes to reading and communication. Truly a prophet was involved in that revelation!

Thank God my kids aren't going to serve missions.

[_Res Ipsa]

The quote from Elder Evans is misleading. One would not expect an increase in the early return rate as a result of increasing the number of missionaries. The number of early returning missionaries would increase, but not the rate.

I would expect the percentage of early returns to go up because the average age of the missionaries has been lowered, so I would expect to see an increase in the rate.

I would expect an increase in the rate also. But the increase in rate is not, as Elder Evans said, a consequence of simply increasing the numbers. It is a consequence of lowering the average age. That's why what Evans says is misleading.

[_Spektical]

Here is one statistic I'd like to hear announced at April's GC -- the number of members who have officially resigned/had name removed from the Church during the previous year. I've heard rumors this number is approaching the number of convert baptisms (I don't think it's that high, but I'm sure the number has been escalating in recent years). I don't know if these numbers are at all used in the membership numbers announced by the Church.

I'd love to see this data as well, but I can't imagine resignations being that high. Consider that a big portion of those converts are relatively impoverished people in third-world countries who will soon be inactive. They don't resign because they wouldn't know how to do it, even if they had the motivation to go to such lengths to disassociate. Those who resign are people who are acting deliberately and with the basic resources to find out the procedure for resignation. They are probably in the U.S. or other developed countries. If resignations were that high I think the effects would be much more noticeable.

[_Bazooka]

The church will ask missionaries from areas Elder Evans said are "self-supporting in terms of missionary service" to pay for their own iPad Minis, similar to the way the church has asked missionaries to pay for bicycles to use in the mission field.
Those from areas that aren't self-supporting will work with their local church leaders and mission presidents on funding.

I have now been given reason to think that this is an attempt to stem the flow of early returning Missionaries. Issues associated with isolation are (allegedly) becoming the single biggest factor in early returns, which have rocketed (allegedly) since the age reduction. Yes missionary numbers have increased, but by far the biggest percentage rate increase is in the number of young people who jack it in before the magical half way mark. The iPad initiative is not about improving communication and organisation, it's about giving young people a comfort blanket in the hopes this problem of homesickness will go away.