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<< Of Priesthood Bans and Atomic Bombs | Home | Being Perfect >>

North American Baptisms Down 80%?! (Updated)

By: Eric Nielson

Update:  As I suspected the number reported was completely wrong.  Please see comment 15 for the real story.  I apologize for passing along a bad number.

I received a copy of an email from one of our High Council members that informed us that ward mission leaders were supposed to report baptism numbers and goals every month to the stake.  The reason for this was reported to be that baptism numbers in North America were down 80% this year.  This is a huge drop in baptisms over a significant amount of time in a large area.  From the email, it appears these numbers are coming from an Elder Pitts who is our Area Authority Seventy.

 

I am initially very skeptical about this number.  It does not seem realistic that baptism numbers would drop this dramatically.  Can someone out there confirm this report?  Are North American convert baptisms for 2008 really down 80% from 2007?

 

If we assume for a moment that this is really happening, do you have any speculations as to why?  I might throw a few wild ideas out to get started:

 

-  Raising the bar was the wrong way to go.

 

I do not buy this, but who knows.  One of the top baptizing missionaries in my mission was a lazy, disobedient Elder with an admitted shaky testimony.  He was one of the most talented missionaries I was around, however.  He could make great first impressions.  Maybe lowering the bar…

 

-  Preach My Gospel isn’t working.

 

Preach My Gospel has some good stuff in it, but I liked the previous discussions.  There was a logical progression to them that appealed to me.  Preach My Gospel seems more random.  But this can’t be the reason, can it?

 

-  It’s the economy, stupid

 

Gas prices, the value of the dollar, the stock market, have been down lately.  People are worried about other things, and are cutting back on everything.  Joining a church and paying tithing just isn’t as exciting right now.

 

-  The FLDS

 

The practices and publicity of the FLDS church have been a poor reflection on the LDS church, and are cutting into baptism numbers.

 

-  Mitt Romney

 

Maybe having a prominent presidential candidate had a negative effect on baptisms.

 

Well, that is what comes off the top of my head.  So again, is this report legit?  Are North American Baptisms really down 80%?  If they are correct, then what is happening?

Print | posted on Monday, June 09, 2008 12:41 PM | Filed Under [ Eric Nielson General Missionary Work ]

Comments:

#1: Rob T.

It sounds pretty dubious--our ward here in Florida has baptized 10 people over the last eight months and according our area authority seventy, the Jacksonville Mission is on track to double last year's baptism total. At least in our ward, the missionaries have the trust of the members & are teaching a lot because the members are comfortable inviting their friends to learn more. Also, the young married couples served their missions using the more fluid style of Preach My Gospel (can't believe it's been in print that long!) and it seems to making a major difference for the better in how the ward approaches missionary work. Of course, this could just be our ward, but down 80% doesn't seem likely.
6/9/2008 12:58 PM

#2: JM

In the ward I live in, missionary work = working with the less active.

If I remember correctly, less active = previously baptized.

If this conception exists throughout the church in North America, then perhaps that may be a cause.
6/9/2008 1:49 PM

#3: Eric Nielson

Rob T:

I agree. This stat just doesn't sound right to me.

JM:

I have also noticed a stronger emphasis on working with less actives, which would contribute to this result (if true).
6/9/2008 2:52 PM

#4: Dennis

I also doubt this statistic, but assuming it is correct, we could actually say it might because lower bar IS working and Preach My Gospel IS working. Meaning, we've stopped wasting our time trying to baptize everyone under the sun for the sake of statistics. Let's hope that is what is behind this (if it is true)...

I personally would like to see 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year retention figures, including the percentage of those who have received the priesthood, have a calling, do their home teaching, have received their endowment, etc. These numbers tell us a LOT more about the growth of the Church.
6/9/2008 3:45 PM

#5: Nick Literski

I would find an 80% decline to be pretty shocking, and I suspect it would generate a stronger GA response than simply directing ward mission leaders to report baptism goals and numbers.

I would not, however, be particularly surprised to find that North American baptisms have experienced some decline, due primarily to the FLDS situation and Mitt Romney's campaign. Many LDS just don't quite get how dramtically disturbing Mitt Romney was to the general population.
6/9/2008 3:53 PM

#6: Floyd the Wonderdog

I received a copy of the presentation. Convert baptisms in North America and Canada dropped from 75,058 in 1996 to and estimated 53,108 in 2007. A drop of 29%. It is interesting that the convert baptisms have been relatively flat since 2000. My guess is that that is why we have raised the bar and introduced Preach My Gospel.

80% drop? Perhaps the HC meant it was in your Stake alone.
6/10/2008 4:51 AM

#7: Floyd the Wonderdog

Oh, BTW, international convert baptisms are up 5% over the period between 2002 and 2007 (which was the only period for which data were provided). US and Canadian convert baptisms were down 1% over the same period.
6/10/2008 4:56 AM

#8: The Baron

Coincidently, here's a recent article on how Southern Baptist conversions are down and how it has people worried...
6/10/2008 6:34 AM

#9: Eric Nielson

Flloyd:

It may be possible, but the email clearly said that is was North American baptisms. We are having a priesthood leadership meeting tomorrow about it.
6/10/2008 9:25 AM

#10: Todd Gray

Here in Southern California we had a new stake building project halted because the wards in San Diego are contracting. The loses are greater than the gains and we have building in the area that are way under utilized. Even though our stake has grown the surounding areas have not so SLC has said until the other building are filled up people will have to drive futher before they will build a new building.
6/10/2008 11:00 AM

#11: Brent W

Baptisms went down in Massachussetts when Mitt Romney became Governor. Mitt even jokes about that sometimes, but it's a strong argument against Evangelicals who don't want to see the LDS church "legitimized". In my stake (Bakersfield Calif), I believe that baptisms are slightly higher than last year, so at least we're not seeing a downward trend - certainly not 80% down !
6/10/2008 7:09 PM

#12: Mark Hansen

Just a wild thought, but maybe it's, oh, I don't know, the influence of Satan on society and the last days?

MRKH
6/11/2008 1:35 PM

#13: TrevorM

in last few years Baptisms have been going back up after the introduction of PMG. Here are charts on

baptismal numbers.
6/11/2008 4:48 PM

#14: TrevorM

it appears the the valley follows where the original discussions began to be fazed out. It was done slowly and old discussion Elders were told to use "their own words" with little lesson plans and other guidance.
6/11/2008 4:50 PM

#15: Eric Nielson

We had a stake priesthood leadership meeting with our Area Authority Seventy Elder Pitts last night. I asked him about the 80% decrease number reported by our HC, and he said that the number was not true. He said baptism numbers in North America have been basically flat for many years.

Again, I am sorry for passing along bogus numbers.
6/12/2008 4:59 AM

#16: Eric Nielson

Mark Hansen:

I am imagining Dana Carvey as the church lady saying your comment. But that certainly could have an influence (although this is not showing up much).

TrevorM:

Thank you to the link for the statistics.
6/12/2008 6:15 AM

#17: Jesus Girl

Hey in the US they have went down But in my CHurch there is only about 2 people that have not been Baptized
7/2/2008 9:14 AM

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