Utah - A Changing State

[jskains]

It appears many feel that the Church will slowly lose relevance in Utah due to declining membership in the area. Does anyone agree? How long do folks think that will be?

Personally my neighborhood has 10% active LDS for the entire community. Likely only 50% even connected to the Church. The rest are non-members. Am I in a weird area of Utah or is this the sign of things to come?

[Calm]

I highly doubt it will ever become irrelevant. Utah Valley is 90% LDS iirc, BYU and the Church employ a good percentage of Utahans especially if one includes Deseret News, Deseret Industries and KSL as well as other businesses. Rural Utah is still high LDS. Sandy requires two temples and now Provo is getting a second one even though Payson just broke ground....and apparently it is a big structure. Even if overall percentage is going down, overall numbers are going up. So not less LDS, just more nonLDS are moving into the state. Even in SLC which has the highest percentage of nonLDS (highest numbers, Grand by Moab has highest percentage) I believe one can hardly ignore the presence of Temple Square.

Look up "LDS population in Utah" for specific numbers.

Apparently I didn't recall correctly (may have confused it with UVU) or it was old numbers, but the percentage of Utah Valley is said to be around 75% in the Trib article cited below.

Edited October 18, 2011 by calmoriah

[Storm Rider]

As Utah continues to attract non-members to the state the number of non-members will grow. I don't see how that is a problem or surprising. It sees like an obvious logical outcome.

It would not surprise me to see SLC, over time, to have a minority LDS population in the city.

[CQUIRK]

Uh, excuse me but for awhile now, church growth has actually been on the rebound in Utah

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13902873

[Scott Lloyd]

Sandy requires two temples and now

Actually, we here in Sandy don't have a temple -- yet. But there are two in neighboring South Jordan and one in neighboring Draper.

[Calm]

I spaced there, was thinking of the wrong side of the freeway...

We take the same exit to go to my daughter's diabetes doctor (from which we can see the Jordan temple) as we do to go to the Convention Center in Sandy....for one we head west, the other east and north.

I've gotten 6 hours of sleep in the past 48 so my memory ain't that great right now...

Edited October 18, 2011 by calmoriah

[Scott Lloyd]

I spaced there, was thinking of the wrong side of the freeway...

We take the same exit to go to my daughter's diabetes doctor (from which we can see the Jordan temple) as we do to go to the Convention Center in Sandy....for one we head west, the other east and north.

I facetiously said on another thread the other day that the apple orchard less than a block from my house would be a good location for a Sandy temple.

But I'm thinking the Church would probably choose a site in the foothills below the canyon ski resorts.

Actually, now that I think about it, an appropriate location would be the quarry in Little Cottonwood Canyon where the "granite" was obtained to construct the Salt Lake Temple.

If it happens, just remember that you heard the suggestion here first!

Edited October 18, 2011 by Scott Lloyd

[Calm]

Are you up early or can't sleep?

[Scott Lloyd]

Are you up early or can't sleep?

I woke up a while ago, reached for my iPod Touch, read a post and tried to respond to it. I had the same problem as before: The quoted text got posted without my having a chance to type my reply.

So, I came downstairs to the desktop computer to fix the post. Now, after peeking at a few threads, I'm wide awake and can't get drowsy again.

How about you?

Edited October 18, 2011 by Scott Lloyd

[Calm]

Been on a limited sleep cycle for a couple of days, basically live off of a couple of cat naps a day. Wide awake even though I'm short ten hours of sleep for the past two days....of course taking the iPad to bed with me does not help but I find it essential when the meds aren't working at peak efficiency.

The light from computers and TV will stimulate your brain, next time reach for a book.

You might try keeping either L-tyrosine or L-tryptophan by the bed for mid night waking up as they won't make you drowsy later on, just have to take them on an empty stomach, no protein as they are amino acids (the first increases dopamine, the second serotonin...which works best depends on what is keeping you up). Throw in some magnesium and calcium in equal doses and you've got the best natural sleep aids I've come across (and I've tried them all).

Edited October 18, 2011 by calmoriah

[ERayR]

Been on a limited sleep cycle for a couple of days, basically live off of a couple of cat naps a day. Wide awake even though I'm short ten hours of sleep for the past two days....of course taking the iPad to bed with me does not help but I find it essential when the meds aren't working at peak efficiency.

The light from computers and TV will stimulate your brain, next time reach for a book.

You might try keeping either L-tyrosine or L-tryptophan by the bed for mid night waking up as they won't make you drowsy later on, just have to take them on an empty stomach, no protein as they are amino acids (the first increases dopamine, the second serotonin...which works best depends on what is keeping you up). Throw in some magnesium and calcium in equal doses and you've got the best natural sleep aids I've come across (and I've tried them all).

Thank you Doctor calmoriah. Your prescription may come in handy sometime.

[William Schryver]

As Utah continues to attract non-members to the state the number of non-members will grow. I don't see how that is a problem or surprising. It sees like an obvious logical outcome.

It would not surprise me to see SLC, over time, to have a minority LDS population in the city.

In SLC proper, Latter-day Saints are already a minority. Not by much, but a minority.

In Cedar City, where I live, there is pretty much an even 50/50 split, although it varies greatly by neighborhood. We like to keep the Gentiles in their own little ghetto down here. But seriously, at the hospital, where my wife works, I'll bet LDS are a minority among the professional staff. That's just an anecdotal report, but that's my impression.

[Jaybear]

In SLC proper, Latter-day Saints are already a minority. Not by much, but a minority.

I recall reading that in his last election 2/3 of LDS voters voted against Rocky Anderson. He won easily with over 60% of the vote.

Cedar CIty .. 50/50? No way. I doubt that less than 70% of Cedar City residents are LDS.

[William Schryver]

I recall reading that in his last election 2/3 of LDS voters voted against Rocky Anderson. He won easily with over 60% of the vote.

Cedar CIty .. 50/50? No way. I doubt that less than 70% of Cedar City residents are LDS.

Well, I confess my report is somewhat anecdotal, but it is based on what I was told back in about 2005 when I was on the high council of our stake. The report was based on an update of the 2000 census, IIRC. It was associated with some kind of missionary initiative. So, take it for what it's worth. I am rather confident that LDS in Iron County are less than 60%. You'd be surprised how many of those wicked "Gentiles" have infiltrated this place! It was a very popular relocation destination throughout the first decade of the new century, when real estate prices were high in California and relatively low in Utah. The same thing has happened in Washington County.

[William Schryver]

I recall reading that in his last election 2/3 of LDS voters voted against Rocky Anderson. He won easily with over 60% of the vote.

Cedar CIty .. 50/50? No way. I doubt that less than 70% of Cedar City residents are LDS.

I did a little online research and found this data based on the 2000 census: http://www.city-data...-County-UT.html

It indicates that, at that time, 64.8% of the population were LDS. I know it dropped considerably during the ensuing decade because of the influx of new residents from out of state. From 2000 to 2010, the population increased from ~33,000 to ~46,000. I haven't been able to locate religion statistics based on the 2010 census. I think what we were told in 2005 was based on LDS church-gathered statistics.

Edited October 18, 2011 by William Schryver

[Jaybear]

I did a little online research and found this data based on the 2000 census: http://www.city-data...-County-UT.html

It indicates that, at that time, 64.8% of the population were LDS. I know it dropped considerably during the ensuing decade because of the influx of new residents from out of state. From 2000 to 2010, the population increased from ~33,000 to ~46,000. I haven't been able to locate religion statistics based on the 2010 census. I think what we were told in 2005 was based on LDS church-gathered statistics.

Funny, this website using what appears to be the same source says it was: 70.57%.

But that is for the entire county, so if true, I was wrong, as I would expect higher portion of LDS in the rural areas of the county.

[Questing Beast]

It appears many feel that the Church will slowly lose relevance in Utah due to declining membership in the area. Does anyone agree? How long do folks think that will be?

Personally my neighborhood has 10% active LDS for the entire community. Likely only 50% even connected to the Church. The rest are non-members. Am I in a weird area of Utah or is this the sign of things to come?

Yes, as population continues to increase more rapidly from immigration than from Mormon reproductive rates, the percentage of Mormons statewide will continue to decline.

Also, activity levels are in decline (again). This can change, either worsen or improve, as has occurred in the past. But currently the activity rates are going down locally. Where I live, over half are Mormons of record, and somewhat less than 20 to 25 percent attend Sunday meetings. I know that the Church considers a member "active" if they attend even one meeting each quarter. So the c. 25% church-wide activity rate is somewhat misleading in that regard. In my ward we never have more than the same c. level of weekly attendance; yet faces change. It seems to me that the people who always attend Sunday meetings are considerably less than the 20 to 25 percent that the statistics assert....

[William Schryver]

Funny, this website using what appears to be the same source says it was: 70.57%.

But that is for the entire county, so if true, I was wrong, as I would expect higher portion of LDS in the rural areas of the county.

I think Iron County has always been a little lower because of the mines that used to be open in the area. That attracted lots of people from out of state.

Anyway, my impression has always been that Iron County is about 50/50, probably because there is a large proportion of inactives down here, too; people within ward boundaries that are on the membership lists, but you never knew they were LDS.

[jskains]

So many different angles.... *Sigh*

[Nathair/|\]

Does this mean I will hear less about the Zion vs. mission field dichotomy?

[Bernard Gui]

I don't live in Utah, but I follow the SL Tribune for news and comments. I'm shocked at how many disgruntled people

there are in SLC...bitter towards the LDS. Bitter is perhaps too nice...hatred is a more appropriate word.

Seems like the spirit of Missouri and Illinois has followed the Saints west, set down roots, and is open

for business. Or am I reading too much into what I see?

Bernard

[Facsimile 3]

The number of active LDS families will continue to multiply in Utah, but so will the numbers of members who decide not to practice their faith and so will the numbers of those who are not LDS. I'm sure the ratio will ultimately remain the same as it is now for quite some time. Young married LDS people that are a product of Utah Mormon culture (in the Wasatch Front metro of about 2.1 million) are generally pretty obsessed with living in new housing developments and thus are migrating towards the west of I-15 and south of Provo.

So you get a dynamic in Utah where the least amount of LDS families live in the older neighborhoods which are either rundown or way fixed up and awesome (e.g. West Valley vs. the Avenues). There is a New Urbanism movement happening within the Church (e.g. City Creek Center and a return of downtown Temples). And an encouraging portion of active LDS people in my generation and those who are retiring are now embracing a more urban style of living. One of the promising trends happening across the board with everyone in Utah is the rise of the townhouse; townhouses are now Ivory Homes's best selling type of residential development. Transit and transit oriented development is also becoming much more popular. The density to sprawl ratio in Salt Lake City is closer to Denver than it is to Phoenix and that's a REALLY good thing because our state government saves billions of dollars not having to deal with the water and road infrastructure that comes with full blown sprawl.

In 2010 Utah had a population of about 2.8 million people. The projection for 2020 is a population of about 3.5 million people. And unlike Arizona, who sucks the life out of the Rustbelt, we make our own people here.

Skyline with a Trax train by CountyLemonade, on Flickr

Edited October 19, 2011 by Facsimile 3

[Calm]

You can only sprawl so much when hemmed in by mountains.

[One Clear Voice]

It appears many feel that the Church will slowly lose relevance in Utah due to declining membership in the area. Does anyone agree? How long do folks think that will be?

Personally my neighborhood has 10% active LDS for the entire community. Likely only 50% even connected to the Church. The rest are non-members. Am I in a weird area of Utah or is this the sign of things to come?

When I was there 20 something years ago, Utah seemed to be 20 years behind everyone else in the country, are you saying they finally caught up?

[Grundelwalken]

I do live in Utah and our stake was just combined with another because of falling numbers in our area. On the other hand, a good friend lives where he has been in 4 stakes in the last five years without moving. It is natural to see demographic changes in neighborhoods as people age and their children move on. When the "old settlers" die or retire to a different location, young people generally don't want to purchase older homes so those homes are bought by others with different backgrounds. In our area, the price is right for immigrant families to find a good sized house that will hold multiple families so this is where they come. We just look at it as more opportunities for missionary work. Those folks where the church is growing have their own challenges (huge primaries, massive EQ, etc).

Is Utah less "Mormon" than before? Of course. It happens to all groups. Just that change of life. MW