Keeping members a challenge for LDS church
Mormon myth: The belief that the church is the fastest-growing faith in the world doesn’t hold up
By Peggy Fletcher Stack
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 06/22/2006 04:14:18 PM MDT
The claim that Mormonism is the fastest-growing faith in the world has been repeated so routinely by sociologists, anthropologists, journalists and proud Latter-day Saints as to be perceived as unassailable fact.
The trouble is, it isn’t true.
http://www.sltrib.com/lds/ci_2890645
The Deseret News published the membership of the Church as of October 1st, 2008 in the 2009 Church Almanac to be 13,428,061, or an increase of around 234,000 members. This would mean an average of 26,000 people joined the Church a month for the first nine months of 2008. . . . . Membership growth slowed in 2008 and will likely be around 10,000 people less than the previous year.
There are numerous other sources showing the membership declining, not being reflected because many of those who leave face a bureaucratic gordian knot of paper work to have their names removed from the roster - thus falsely inflating the ‘membership’ . I’m sure Jonesie can point these out in greater detail to you.
LDS numbers are hard to pin down (more nail and jello) due to their now famous marketing and lack of candor, so mostly anecdotal evidence has to make do.
However even their own numbers, at 13 million world wide, doesn't even put them in the running for success if measured buy sheer butts in seats standards.