While some members were certainly added through electronic media, not having the faiths 60,000 or so missionaries in strategic places and working full time ended up being quite costly to the churchs bottom line. "It's not the doctrine and it's not the brethren at all," Doty . (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Those who leave the church elsewhere are much more likely to join another faith; those who leave in Utah are more likely to become atheist and affiliate with ex-Mormon communities. There is a slow, slow move toward decentralization in decision-making on issues like how worship services function that is designed to foster a more active membership outside the U.S., Bowman says. Yet local leaders were also given direction to divide mens church services into more than one group as required by local activity levels. There has been a movement led by many feminists that may cause some leaders toward a politically correct decision. There is, however, a flip side to this trend: a sizeable and growing portion of young Mormons are leaving the mainline church. It's pretty clear you didn't actually read your source. The Mormon Church is growing at an astounding rate in just about every metric available. Surviving a faith crisis (and how Church members can help) Click on the drop-down menu in the top left to zoom in on a specific states members. For a related article, see Book Review: The Next Mormons: How Millennials are Changing the LDS Church. Most people who join the LDS Church are introduced to the faith by Mormon missionaries. Many more web sites have been developed to provide multiple sources of information on a wide variety of topics. I predict that a black man will be invited to become an apostle once there is an opening, as an Asian-American and Hispanic have become apostles in recent picks. The number of baptized converts was practically identical to the converts received 16 years later in 2019. That indicates that activity levels might be increasing, which I have some data to indicate.. Posting videos of their campus interviews, the Black Menaces are prompting Brigham Young University students to confront the thorny issues of racism and inequality at the Provo school and in the church. Utah membership is growing more consistently and linearly, as is the membership in Idaho and Arizona, while some other nearby states (California, Colorado, Wyoming) have seen more stagnant membership rates. ChurchPlants | Looking to plant a church? Find free ideas on how to get Quitmormon They are meeting . Even if they did, many would not have spent the money to purchase these resources. What will really make the church successful, Mason posits, is whether it will identify and emphasize that which has made it most successfulthe strength of its local congregations, called wards.