Increases in Baptisms, Missionary Applications, Numbers

[smac97]

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2023/06/22/missionaries-mtc-latter-day-saints/

Quote

In April 2022, President Russell M. Nelson issued an impassioned plea to young men in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve full-time missions — and a surprising number have done just that.

“The response has been huge,” apostle Quentin L. Cook said in an interview Thursday at the faith’s flagship Missionary Training Center.

The Latter-day Saint leader, who oversees the missionary efforts, was at the Provo MTC to help unveil the second edition of “Preach My Gospel,” the church’s chief proselytizing resource, to a new batch of mission leaders before they start their assignments on July 1.

“This new edition comes at a time when the world is rapidly changing,” the 98-year-old Nelson said in a video announcement. “[It] reflects a sensitivity to many of those changes. It contains some of the best instruction I have ever seen to help people accept the Lord’s invitation to come unto him.”

A feeling of optimism pervaded the presentation of the new missionary directives, which place an increased emphasis on Jesus’ teachings, along with the importance of making and keeping covenants.

With a buoyant outlook, Cook pointed to recent reports, stating that at the end of 2021, the church had 56,000 teaching, service and senior missionaries.

As of June 14, that number stood at 68,000 and, he said, leaders “expect it to reach 72,000 by end of the year.”

Applications have soared, Cook said, and a higher percentage of available candidates are now putting in their “papers” to serve missions.

Convert baptisms in the first months of this year are up from last year, he said. “From January to May 2022, the church had 82,000 converts; this year, it was 102,000.” (The Utah-based faith ended 2022 with more than 212,000 convert baptisms.)

“It’s an amazing time,” Cook said. “The [religious] activity of our young people is higher than it has been. We are very, very pleased and excited.”

Thanks,

-Smac

[Buckeye]

Purely anecdotal, but I’ve seen an uptick in numbers in my ward. My son leaves on his mission this summer (luckily 10 days after his older brother gets back from his mission). Following a priest quorum discussion with him a few months back, two of his friends decided to put in their papers now rather than go after a year of college.

[Diamondhands69]

Anecdotal here as well. 

My current ward hasn’t seen any change in outbound missionaries. Nearly every male and about 25% of females have and continue to go out on missions. 

In my own extended family… bishop family btw, so far two males opted out of missions, 1 girl military and another girl is a self- professed lesbian at age 16. The weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth there is real. 
 

The hubby was just released as bishop over it all. 

[Teancum]

2 hours ago, smac97 said:

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2023/06/22/missionaries-mtc-latter-day-saints/

Thanks,

-Smac

The jump in full time missionary numbers is pretty amazing.  The jump in convert baptisms not so much.But I guess % wise they are close.  And my guess is retention is still dismal. And if one looks at converts as at least one ROI for missionary work 200k converts annually for $68k missionaries is also pretty dismal. 

Edited June 23, 2023 by Teancum

[bluebell]

1 hour ago, Diamondhands69 said:

Anecdotal here as well. 

My current ward hasn’t seen any change in outbound missionaries. Nearly every male and about 25% of females have and continue to go out on missions. 

In my own extended family… bishop family btw, so far two males opted out of missions, 1 girl military and another girl is a self- professed lesbian at age 16. The weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth there is real. 
 

The hubby was just released as bishop over it all. 

He was released as bishop because he has sons that didn't serve and a daughter who is a lesbian?  

[Diamondhands69]

27 minutes ago, bluebell said:

He was released as bishop because he has sons that didn't serve and a daughter who is a lesbian?  

They didn’t say that, but at barely three years you do the math.
 

Difficult to manage a ward when majority of your kids are waving a bird at the church.

It says that either the bishops family isn’t doing all the right things or doing all the right things doesn’t matter. This is Utah so anything less than cookie cutter perfection is unacceptable. 

[ksfisher]

1 minute ago, Diamondhands69 said:

It says that either the bishops family isn’t doing all the right things or doing all the right things doesn’t matter.

Sounds like children are exercising their agency.

 

2 minutes ago, Diamondhands69 said:

This is Utah so anything less than cookie cutter perfection is unacceptable. 

BS

[The Nehor]

33 minutes ago, bluebell said:

He was released as bishop because he has sons that didn't serve and a daughter who is a lesbian?  

The more charitable version (though maybe or maybe not the accurate one) is probably that they figured he may have needed more time to focus on his family.

[Diamondhands69]

6 minutes ago, ksfisher said:

Sounds like children are exercising their agency.

 

BS

Two non rm and a lesbian is not a good business model for the church. 

[bluebell]

10 minutes ago, Diamondhands69 said:

They didn’t say that, but at barely three years you do the math.
 

Difficult to manage a ward when majority of your kids are waving a bird at the church.

It says that either the bishops family isn’t doing all the right things or doing all the right things doesn’t matter. This is Utah so anything less than cookie cutter perfection is unacceptable. 

Interesting.  That has not been my experience in other wards with bishops who had "wayward" (in quotes because not serving a mission doesn't automatically mean a child doesn't have a testimony) children.

But, different stakes handle things differently I'm sure.

[bluebell]

12 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

The more charitable version (though maybe or maybe not the accurate one) is probably that they figured he may have needed more time to focus on his family.

That's what I was wondering.  I've only known one bishop who were released "early" and that was because he refused to take counsel from the stake president despite repeated directions to stop doing something.   

But I wouldn't be surprised if a bishop here or there requested to be released early for family stuff.

[Buckeye]

16 minutes ago, Diamondhands69 said:

They didn’t say that, but at barely three years you do the math.
 

Difficult to manage a ward when majority of your kids are waving a bird at the church.

It says that either the bishops family isn’t doing all the right things or doing all the right things doesn’t matter. This is Utah so anything less than cookie cutter perfection is unacceptable. 

We’d all do best to refrain from ‘doing the math’. When my children were younger -oldest son was 13 - I’d been serving in a calling with a very significant time commitment and an understood number of “expected” years of service. Our family suffered from my absence. I was also the sole breadwinner at the time. My wife and I chose to step away from the calling to focus on our family. I was worried how some in the ward would react. I shouldn’t have been. We were fully supported. No one judged. A decade later all my kids are active with the oldest three served/serving missions. The two still at home plan to serve as well (they get back from trek today). Every family is unique and children will make their own decisions, but my datapoint is evidence that stepping down “early” can be the right decision. 

[Duncan]

I've known more than a few bishops who were released early, some because they've moved, others because they got called into other things and then others who just didn't want to do it anymore/asked to be released. Our current temple president was a bishop in the late 1970's and his wife asked him to be released! ha! they had 3 or 4 kids under 7 and he was out do the calling and she was stuck at home with the kids and she was one that ended that calling! 

[The Nehor]

I am pretty sure that if I ever really want a release all I have to do is disclose my sexuality to a member of the Stake Presidency.

[ksfisher]

47 minutes ago, Buckeye said:

My wife and I chose to step away from the calling to focus on our family. I was worried how some in the ward would react. I shouldn’t have been. We were fully supported. No one judged

The first time I was called to serve in a bishopric the stake president taught in our training about balancing callings with family, job, etc.  He said that callings will come and go and to remember who you're sealed to.  I've thought about that often since then.  Every decision is based on individual circumstances but it sounds like you made the right one.

That particular bishop was also released "early" in response to family needs.  That was also the right decision.  He worried about how it would look, but I don't think anyone else did.  Later when I served as an elders quorum president he was one of my counselors.

[Tacenda]

1 hour ago, Diamondhands69 said:

They didn’t say that, but at barely three years you do the math.
 

Difficult to manage a ward when majority of your kids are waving a bird at the church.

It says that either the bishops family isn’t doing all the right things or doing all the right things doesn’t matter. This is Utah so anything less than cookie cutter perfection is unacceptable. 

That's a big loss for the ward IMO, think of the empathy your husband the bishop would have for the outsider.

[Tacenda]

1 hour ago, ksfisher said:

Sounds like children are exercising their agency.

 

BS

Just curious if you don't mind answering do you or have you lived in Utah?

[ksfisher]

9 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

Just curious if you don't mind answering do you or have you lived in Utah?

I do live in Utah. 

With all the bishop that I've had in my life there have been some who's children are active, some who have children who aren't.  Same with stake presidents.  I've known some who have had children decide to not be a part of the church. 

The "cookie cutter perfection" held up by the earlier post as being demanded of bishops is not anything that I have ever seen in any of the multiple wards and stakes that I have lived in. 

Edited June 23, 2023 by ksfisher

[Tacenda]

2 minutes ago, ksfisher said:

I do live in Utah. 

With all the bishop that I've had in my life there have been some who's children are active, some who have children who aren't.  Same with stake presidents.  I've known some who have had children decide to not be a part of the church. 

The "cookie cutter perfection" held up by the earlier post as being demanded of bishops is not anything that I have ever seen in any of the multiple wards and stakes that I have lived in. 

Thanks for answering, I thought maybe Utah was different than other areas besides maybe Idaho, that's why I asked. Anyway, transplants seem to dislike how Utah LDS behave.

[ksfisher]

9 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

I thought maybe Utah was different than other areas besides maybe Idaho,

I'm not sure how.  There aren't rules for the church in Utah and Idaho and then rules for elsewhere.

 

9 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

transplants seem to dislike how Utah LDS behave

Seems kind of rash to judge people based on which side of the line on a map that they live on.  Utah LDS is a label.  People shouldn't be judged by how others label them.

 

[Duncan]

Our entire temple presidency has inactive kids, one of them all of his kids are inactive, the oldest even married a RM, who isn't active

[smac97]

3 hours ago, Diamondhands69 said:

They didn’t say that, but at barely three years you do the math.
 

Difficult to manage a ward when majority of your kids are waving a bird at the church.

It says that either the bishops family isn’t doing all the right things or doing all the right things doesn’t matter. This is Utah so anything less than cookie cutter perfection is unacceptable. 

 I don't think this is a reasonable characterization for speculation. 

[Diamondhands69]

43 minutes ago, smac97 said:

 I don't think this is a reasonable characterization for speculation. 

It isn’t speculation. This is my family member’s opinion and it is their family so they would know. 

[Calm]

4 hours ago, bluebell said:

He was released as bishop because he has sons that didn't serve and a daughter who is a lesbian?  

I have a good friend who became bishop shortly after we moved out whose son was gay and didn’t go on a mission 20 years ago, the parents just got home from serving as mission presidents.  The son is still gay and still hasn’t gone on a mission.

Doesn’t seem to bother anyone.

Now that I think of it, my BIL who lives in Utah Valley has a kid who became an anti in his late teens, never went on a mission, and the dad still got called as a bishop and high councilman.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Calm

[Calm]

2 hours ago, Tacenda said:

Anyway, transplants seem to dislike how Utah LDS behave.

I am a transplant (Californian) and I have for the most part loved how Utah LDS act, which is why I married one.  My son, who was born in Utah, but has lived elsewhere since preschool loves Utah Saints as well.  Married one too.

Driving Utahns could take some lessons on civility, driving in the first snows, merging, etc.  And they need to kick out most of the DoT’s road planners, imo.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Calm