In addition it is almost impossible to have your named removed from their “membership” rolls.
Any other thing they do is keep people on the rolls until they reach their 110 year.
The 12 million figure is actually world wide, not just the USA.
Analysis of existing data on LDS member activity from official sources, national censuses, and other existing sociologic data lead to several key conclusions.
First, less than half of individuals claimed as members by the LDS Church worldwide identify the LDS Church as their faith of preference. The percentage varies from the mid-sixties in the United States to 20-27% in Latin America. The low correlations between official membership claims and self-identified religious affiliations in Latin American nations that account for the majority of non-U.S. LDS membership make it statistically impossible for this ratio worldwide to reach the 50% threshold. If neighboring nations with similar political and cultural circumstances demonstrate trends similar those of larger nations from which data are available, approximately 40% of individuals claimed as members by the LDS Church worldwide identify the Church as their faith of preference.
Second, as actual member activity and participation rates are always lower than self-identified rates of religious affiliation, existing data suggests that the number of Latter-day Saints attending church worldwide on an average Sunday cannot exceed 30% of official membership figures, and is likely closer to the upper twenties. Idiosyncratic definitions of "activity" that include members who attend irregularly or who identify the LDS Church as their faith of preference may lead to slightly higher figures not to exceed the 40% ratio of self-identified religious preference to official membership statistics, but such broader definitions are not reflective of weekly church attendance.
Third, the LDS missionary program has not been as effective in either the United States or in international areas as one would like to believe. Although convert baptisms outpace baptisms of member children by a factor of nearly three to one worldwide and are near parity in the United States, more than three-quarters of Americans identifying themselves as Latter-day Saints in independent sociologic studies are lifelong members. Such figures imply very high attrition of U.S. converts, as most nominal converts fail to become active or participating members. Data from Latin America, the Philippines, and other international areas demonstrate that three quarters of converts are entirely lost to the church within a year after baptism. While raw LDS membership numbers may appear impressive on paper, these numbers have only a fractional relationship to the far more modest number of converts who have experienced a genuine, lasting, and life-changing conversion and who experience the blessings of active participation in the work of the Church. The available evidence suggests that the primary responsibility for these fractional retention rates lie with quick-baptize tactics which have traditionally focused more on meeting monthly baptismal goals than on ensuring that converts have been adequately prepared for baptism. Recent missionary program changes with the "Preach My Gospel" manual have led to at least some improvements in these trends, although significant problems and challenges remain unaddressed.
Finally, great care is needed in researching, analyzing, and reporting activity and retention data. Pitfalls abound, and available data must be carefully scrutinized to ensure that it is well understood before valid conclusions can be drawn.
Activity Rates
While no regular reports of LDS activity rates are published, activity rate ranges for each country are based on the following published references, as well as from numerous inquiries to members, and returned missionaries, and mission homes in various areas.
"Attendance at sacrament meeting varies substantially. Asia and Latin America have weekly attendance rates of about 25 percent, Europe averages about 35 percent" (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, 1992, 4:1527.)
"Canada, the South Pacific, and the United States average between 40 percent and 50 percent." (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, 1992, 4:1527.)
As noted above, activity (almost 10 years ago) was as high as 35% in some areas. Recently I've received a personal correspondance from an LDS professor who has done a study in major cities of Western Europe (I have not received permission to cite his name, although the data was presented at the Mormon History Association conference in Copenhagen in June 2000). He found 20-30% activity rates in most of the major European cities he visited.
We have collected considerable recent activity rate data from missions, recently returned missionaries, and local members in many countries. However, as no official activity rates have been published for a number of years, listed activity rates should be considered to be well-researched estimates based on a variety of sources, and not as official church statistics. As such, activity rate estimates for individual countries may have some error (generally within 5%), but are likely to be very close to the real numbers. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of listed figures. If you have additional data, please submit it for consideration on the respective country pages.
Advancement to Melchizedek Priesthood
"For the U.S. as a whole, only 59% of baptized males ever receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. In the South Pacific, the figure drops to 35%; in Great Britain, 29%. In Mexico (with almost 850,000 members) the figure is 19%; and in Japan, only 17% of the male members ever make it past the Aaronic Priesthood. (Lowell C. Bennion and Lawrence Young, Dialogue, Spring 1996, p.19.)
Temple marriage data:
"The percentage of adults in a temple marriage varies from about 45 percent in Utah to less than 2 percent in Mexico and Central America." (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, 1992, 4:1531)
"For all of South America, with 2.25 million members, less than 1.8% of the total adult membership has been married in the temple." (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, 1992, 4:1532.)
Membership data on this site is from published figures in the LDS Church Almanac, or from more recent local sources, where available.