How Many Leaving the Church?

[stu4491]

From the many posts on various web sites and from things that have been written, it seems we have very many people leaving and denouncing their belief in the Morman church these days. My question is two part: (1) Is the number of members leaving the church growing each year or is it staying about the same? (2) Is it possible to get an accurate count (say from church HQ) what the number is for letters submitted each year asking for removal of name from records of the church? I am really just curious as to how many are leaving and wonder if it is really possible to determine that number anywhere close to the actual number. :rolleyes:

[Born Free]

From the many posts on various web sites and from things that have been written, it seems we have very many people leaving and denouncing their belief in the Morman church these days. My question is two part: (1) Is the number of members leaving the church growing each year or is it staying about the same? (2) Is it possible to get an accurate count (say from church HQ) what the number is for letters submitted each year asking for removal of name from records of the church? I am really just curious as to how many are leaving and wonder if it is really possible to determine that number anywhere close to the actual number. :rolleyes:

Inside the raw numbers are the real numbers, those who are active.

This is one of the reasons I encourage people to not be complacent about insisting their names are removed. Don't let them use your number to keep misleading others about the sustaining appeal of Moism.

Besides static or negative growth will damage morale and gut the line that Mo is God's Work Rolling Inexorably Forward to Fill the World.

Daryl

[silverfox]

Inside the raw numbers are the real numbers, those who are active.

This is one of the reasons I encourage people to not be complacent about insisting their names are removed. Don't let them use your number to keep misleading others about the sustaining appeal of Moism.

Daryl

This is the main reason I had my name removed. I couldn't stand the thought of allowing the church to "use" me to pad their membership numbers. UGH! I've read that the church uses even babies BIC to pad their numbers along with number of inactive, etc.

I don't anticipate the church will ever come out and provide numbers regarding requests for resignation. They probably still use ex members in their membership totals.

[elder_nomo]

I don't anticipate the church will ever come out and provide numbers regarding requests for resignation. They probably still use ex members in their membership totals.
i bet they do...
which is one more reason why i never got my name removed.
two other reasons.... [sorry, i know, slightly off topic].
1-they don't know where i am and so they leave me alone. i want to keep it that way.
[exception - byu alumni assoc. regularly sends requests for $$$ in the mail.]
and
2- they do not get to decide if i'm a member or not. I decided i'm not. i don't have to follow their procedure. i will not give them that power. they can't give me my freedom - i took it!

that said, i completely understand the other line of thinking and sometimes toy with the idea.
esp. because sometimes i feel bad that they might be using me to bolster their numbers.
but hey, in a world of 6 billion people, even if they *double* their numbers, they are still a tiny little cult.

[Born Free]

i bet they do...
which is one more reason why i never got my name removed.
two other reasons.... [sorry, i know, slightly off topic].
1-they don't know where i am and so they leave me alone. i want to keep it that way.
[exception - byu alumni assoc. regularly sends requests for $$$ in the mail.]
and
2- they do not get to decide if i'm a member or not. I decided i'm not. i don't have to follow their procedure. i will not give them that power. they can't give me my freedom - i took it!

that said, i completely understand the other line of thinking and sometimes toy with the idea.
esp. because sometimes i feel bad that they might be using me to bolster their numbers.
but hey, in a world of 6 billion people, even if they *double* their numbers, they are still a tiny little cult.
I agree that the net numbers are rather insignificant. It is the trend line that they harp on about, use and abuse to create misleading impressions.

I would love to see really clear data that can be used to say "OK, you can go to unedcated people and pull the wool over their eyes, but in the educated west, where people can access information and scrutinize your so-so history, they are rejecting you in droves".

Spell out that their religion only holds appeal for the semi-ignorant, superstitious and fearful, and those at early stages of their growth. This is NOT a religion for healthy adults and it is far from an apprenticeship to become a God.....more like training for mindless subservitude, and permanaent exclusion from a "meat" diet.

Daryl

[noodle]

Back when I used to watch conference, they used to quote the number of members. Do they still do that?

[Born Free]

Back when I used to watch conference, they used to quote the number of members. Do they still do that?

Somewhere in my readings over thw last few days, someone claimed a friend or colleague had compared the Churchs claimed membership with census stats. That seemed a valuable comparison.

Sadly I don't recall the comparison outcomes and don't recall it had numbers, but I thought that an interesting angle.

Daryl

[silverfox]

Check out this site. There is a link to some charts that some of you might find interesting. A lot of the other info is speculation or "he said, she said" but I still found it interesting. The Black Sheep Roster is interesting as well as the X Files.

http://www.latterdaylampoon.com/gazelem/growth/

The next link is on a more serious note with some interesting numbers

http://www.fiber.net/users/drshades/stats.htm