Temple Marriage Statistics

[cinepro]

There seems to be a lot of doom and gloom about the future of the Church in terms of the youth.

The Church is just way too big for anecdotal evidence to be of any use. I've lived in three different wards in the last 13 years, and depending on which ward I was living in, and which group of kids were in the YM/YW program at the time, I would have drastically different "anecdotes" for you.

But in each ward, I generally see a few really faithful, sharp young men and women, a bunch of regular ones, and a few that don't think much of the WoW or LoC. Just like when I was a teenager.

But as others have pointed out, in addition to Temple Marriage statistics, you could look at missionary numbers and BYU attendance as well (since those also require some degree of initiative and worthiness.) And those numbers seem to be doing fine, so it can't be all that bad.

Edited July 18, 2012 by cinepro

[Buzzard]

The Church is just way too big for anecdotal evidence to be of any use. I've lived in three different wards in the last 13 years, and depending on which ward I was living in, and which group of kids were in the YM/YW program at the time, I would have drastically different "anecdotes" for you.

But in each ward, I generally see a few really faithful, sharp young men and women, a bunch of regular ones, and a few that don't think much of the WoW or LoC. Just like when I was a teenager.

But as others have pointed out, in addition to Temple Marriage statistics, you could look at missionary numbers and BYU attendance as well (since those also require some degree of initiative and worthiness.) And those numbers seem to be doing fine, so it can't be all that bad.

You don't even need to switch wards. Many moons ago, I was a early morning seminary teacher. At any one time, 3-6 members of my class could not offer prayers. I finally asked the bishop to keep me up to date on who could and who could not, which he did without disclosing any confidential details.

A few years later, I was called to be YM president in that same ward. I discreetly asked the same favor of the bishop at that time, and was told no one was under any restrictions, and during the nearly two years I served, I never had to refrain from calling on any of my priests or other YM/YW. And while only one of my Seminary YM served a mission, most of my second group of priests did. And many of them were the younger brothers of the first group. Go figure.

[Calm]

And while only one of my Seminary YM served a mission, most of my second group of priests did. And many of them were the younger brothers of the first group. Go figure.

While families are important, so are peer groups and their expectations especially during the teens.

[Duncan]

You don't even need to switch wards. Many moons ago, I was a early morning seminary teacher. At any one time, 3-6 members of my class could not offer prayers. I finally asked the bishop to keep me up to date on who could and who could not, which he did without disclosing any confidential details.

A few years later, I was called to be YM president in that same ward. I discreetly asked the same favor of the bishop at that time, and was told no one was under any restrictions, and during the nearly two years I served, I never had to refrain from calling on any of my priests or other YM/YW. And while only one of my Seminary YM served a mission, most of my second group of priests did. And many of them were the younger brothers of the first group. Go figure.

I was in YM with a core group of 7 guys. Only 3 of us were active at 19, the three of us served missions and now only 2 of those 3 are active.

[happy]

Thank you for your responses. I was referring to actual number of temple marriages performed yearly, but I am finding such statistics are not publicly available.