In the wake of the sociopolitical tumult following the 2016 election, and especially the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was able to put some emotional distance between myself and the church, which allowed me to be more objective about why I continued to believe in a “Plan of Happiness” that wasn’t making me happy. Watching two formerly faithful friends, whom I had never guessed would leave the church - and did - emboldened me even more. But I also felt conflicted about the positive experiences I had in the church - to say nothing of the spiritual experiences I had, which I then believed constituted proof of the church’s truth claims. I spent a lot of sleepless nights thinking and pondering, anticipating how much I had to lose if I decided to part ways with the church, and especially how much it would hurt my wife, who I loved very much. Months passed as I let all of this marinate. - Nathanael's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/nathanael-davenport/
In the wake of the sociopolitical tumult following the 2016 election, and especially the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was able to put some emotional distance between myself and the church, which allowed me to be more objective about why I continued to believe in a “Plan of Happiness” that wasn’t making me happy. Watching two formerly faithful friends, whom I had never guessed would leave the church - and did - emboldened me even more. But I also felt conflicted about the positive experiences I had in the church - to say nothing of the spiritual experiences I had, which I then believed constituted proof of the church’s truth claims. I spent a lot of sleepless nights thinking and pondering, anticipating how much I had to lose if I decided to part ways with the church, and especially how much it would hurt my wife, who I loved very much. Months passed as I let all of this marinate. - Nathanael's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/nathanael-davenport/

LDS Church Growth Declining

While the church continues to grow, the number of baptisms has been declining. Here are some charts created from the publicly available membership records. LDS Church Membership in Millions. Just over 13 millions in 2007 and up to 16.5 million in 2020. Looks like growth, but let’s look at the actual growth. LDS Church Missionary …