LDS Freedom Forum

Currently the church reports that there are around 52,000 missionaries serving world-wide. I thought at one time it used to be higher than this and I think this is actually the amount of missionaries when I was on a mission 10 years ago. Does anyone know if missionary numbers are declining? I was having a conversation with someone who travels all over as a organizational expert and has a keen sense of organizational planning, changes in direction, etc and he mentioned to me that he believes there may be very little need for full-time missionaries in the future. I was surprised that he thought the church might ever do away with them but he pointed out trends in our own ward: families are having fewer children; we have 3 wards in our stake that have to combine their scouting programs just to get a good turnout. I'm not sure if it is just the geographic makeup of our stake but we have very few youth compared to when I was a youth in the church. The church has also raised the bar, and it could be that fewer young men (and maybe women) are qualifying to go on a mission. On top of that, new programs for missionary work are being rolled out across Ward Councils, starting on the West Coast of the US and being implemented eastward. We are having great success and he pointed out that if this program were implemented effectively, there would be very little need for FT missionaries as wards and stakes step up to do the work. I guess my question is, are people in other areas having the same observations? Or is it just us? Are your YM and YW organizations as large as they ever were or larger? If this is actually a trend that goes beyond our stake, I am wondering if this will be part missionaries are called home and perhaps it is closer than we think? Hmmm.....

Great post. Read the book, Law of the Harvest. It's not too kind with the present missionary program, the authors seems to think we went off course in the 1960's when we tried to corporatize missionary work. They are now bring it back into line with the spirit.

You're right though, numbers have been flat for almost 10 years. I think it peaked at 60,000 in the mid nineties. We have a demographics problem, and a raise the bar "problem," that are contributing to this trend. Demographics are hard to fight, and the Church seems to have thrown in the towel on promoting large families--they leave it up the couple--as it should be--but it's a wider societal symptom that is getting out of control. Large famlies are seen as too expensive, people are marrying much later--again a cultural problem--I got married at 31--didn't want to, but that's how it happened. Half of all BYU graduates now leave that venerable institution still single.

The raise the bar issue may seem like a problem, but it has contributed to better results in the mission field, mostly with retention, but here's the rub. In America, retention runs 40%, outside of America, it runs 10%. It has gotten better from those rates a decade ago. Before the 60's retention rates were above 40% almost anywhere.

I think this is a trend to watch, because I think it says much about the diminishing returns on the missionary program when society is rotting from the inside. Eventually, the Lord will call the missionaries home and do his own work. We may be very close to that, since are rates are sliding.

I heard in General Conference within the last couple of years (can't remember who said it) that we didn't send missionaries out to convert others, we sent them out so they will be better leaders when they arrive home, and for the rest of their lives. As a mother that has sent out 3 missionaries, with a fourth coming up, what serving missions has personally done for my sons, aside from any teaching and baptizing they did, is invaluable. The intensive training they receive in those two years cannot be gained any other way. So apart from helping others to come to Christ, I look at how every couple of years we have 50,000 of our youth better trained and committed to come to Christ. Certainly God is in charge, and when and if the missionary program comes to a close it will be under His direction. Until that time I hope as many of our young men and women take advantage of the on-the-job-training for the Lord's Army! We certainly need as many on the Lord's side now as we can get.

minuet1 wrote:I heard in General Conference within the last couple of years (can't remember who said it) that we didn't send missionaries out to convert others, we sent them out so they will be better leaders when they arrive home, and for the rest of their lives. As a mother that has sent out 3 missionaries, with a fourth coming up, what serving missions has personally done for my sons, aside from any teaching and baptizing they did, is invaluable. The intensive training they receive in those two years cannot be gained any other way. So apart from helping others to come to Christ, I look at how every couple of years we have 50,000 of our youth better trained and committed to come to Christ. Certainly God is in charge, and when and if the missionary program comes to a close it will be under His direction. Until that time I hope as many of our young men and women take advantage of the on-the-job-training for the Lord's Army! We certainly need as many on the Lord's side now as we can get.

I think you may be on to something there. Why was Zion's Camp formed? They thought it was because they were to redeem Zion. Turns out it was to make leaders.

I know the percentage of baptisms is greatest when the investigators know a member, or are taught in their homes. Certainly members of the church should be the greatest missionary force the church has. If we as members, along with our missionary force would take missionary work more seriously there would be way more baptisms, and a much higher retention rate. Retention is the key.

I agree with everything said here. I’ve sent out two of my boys and have 5 more to go. Raising the bar has helped the boys work harder to be worthy and to prepare for their missions. It also makes for a better missionary who is attuned to the Spirit.

This is how I see the future of missionary work.
Media; The Church launched a web site a few years ago, mormon.org, that can and will reach every man and woman on earth. I can also see the Church using Satellite TV. Remember, the gospel will be ‘taught from the roof tops”. The Missionaries will be facilitators to follow up, bring in the Spirit, and baptize those who have found and learned the gospel through these interactive mediums of the future.

Numbers; The numbers may have stabilized but will increase soon. All the baby boomers that are beginning to retire will be called on missions to help spread the gospel and organize the new branches and stakes world wide. They will be a blessing to the mission field.

Heathen Nations; I had always believed that the large populated nations of China, India, and others had to be opened up before the 2nd Coming. Further reading showed me that these are the Heathen Nations that are taught during the opening years of the Millennium. We are told that the gospel will first go to the Gentiles first, then to Israel.

D&C 45:47-49, 54
47 Then shall the arm of the Lord fall upon the nations.
48 And then shall the Lord set his foot upon this mount, and it shall cleave in twain, and the earth shall tremble, and reel to and fro, and the heavens also shall shake.
49 And the Lord shall utter his voice, and all the ends of the earth shall hear it; and the nations of the earth shall mourn, and they that have laughed shall see their folly.
54 And then shall the heathen nations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the first fresurrection; and it shall be tolerable for them.

D&C 90:9-11
9 That through your administration they may receive the word, and through their administration the word may go forth unto the ends of the earth, unto the Gentiles first, and then, behold, and lo, they shall turn unto the Jews.
10 And then cometh the day when the arm of the Lord shall be revealed in power in convincing the nations, the heathen nations, the house of Joseph, of the gospel of their salvation.
11 For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are cordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The Gentile nations are those descended from are descended from Japheth, son of Noah.
Genesis 10:1-5
1 NOW these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
5 By these were the isles (regions) of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

The Gentiles are equivalent to what scholars call the "Indo-European" family of nations. In the earliest times these were:
1. The Hittites
2. The Celts
3. The Germanic nations
4. The Greeks

Today they make up what we call western civilization.
Everyone else are either descendents of Abraham or the Heathen Nations.

BTW the Chineese are receiving the gospel today through Hong Kong. The people are finding out about the Church and going to HK to be taught and baptised then returning a year latter to get their Endowments. The Work is moving forth rappidly in the world today
in a very well organized manner.

minuet1 wrote:I heard in General Conference within the last couple of years (can't remember who said it) that we didn't send missionaries out to convert others, we sent them out so they will be better leaders when they arrive home, and for the rest of their lives. As a mother that has sent out 3 missionaries, with a fourth coming up, what serving missions has personally done for my sons, aside from any teaching and baptizing they did, is invaluable. The intensive training they receive in those two years cannot be gained any other way. So apart from helping others to come to Christ, I look at how every couple of years we have 50,000 of our youth better trained and committed to come to Christ. Certainly God is in charge, and when and if the missionary program comes to a close it will be under His direction. Until that time I hope as many of our young men and women take advantage of the on-the-job-training for the Lord's Army! We certainly need as many on the Lord's side now as we can get.

while there certainly are benefits of serving a mission- as in saving one self- the primary purpose of the mission of to preach the gospel. i have had this discussion with many, it is purely to preach. the rest IS a benefit, but not the objective

AussieOi wrote:while there certainly are benefits of serving a mission- as in saving one self- the primary purpose of the mission of to preach the gospel. i have had this discussion with many, it is purely to preach. the rest IS a benefit, but not the objective

I do agree with your sentiment; the true purpose of serving a mission is to preach the gospel and call the world to repentance. The problem is, this mission is entrusted to 19-21 year-olds. Most of them are still learning the gospel and gaining a testimony. I observed this firsthand, watching fellow young elders struggle to mature, find their way and do what was expected of them. Many of them were reading the Book of Mormon for the first time while in the MTC.

I think there are a few who reach the mission field ready to teach and preach repentance, faith, etc. Sadly, they're a small minority, in my experience. Most need the time to learn and grow in the gospel. (I count myself in the latter group, BTW.) Even so, there are still quite a few in the latter group who still manage to help others find salvation in the process, sometimes in spite of themselves.

About ten years ago when my husband and I were called to be Stake Missionaries (in Florida) we were told at a missionary meeting that one day missionaries would be called from Wards and Stakes to teach IN THEIR OWN COUNTRIES. The "Preach my Gospel" series is geared toward teaching every day members the "hows" of teaching the Gospel. I had all this brought back to me when reading Pres. Eyrings message in the January Ensign. We will feel the responsibility of this more and more...and hopefully we will all respond.

A few years back when I was bored one day at work, I wondered about all the numbers that the church publishes. Along with all the mormon urban legends about the church growing more than any other, so on and so forth. So, I did a little statistical analysis of my own. The church membership is easy to find in back issues of the Ensign on the lds.org website. The world population is easy to find on any number of census websites. I synced up the two for about the last 15 years or so. Guess what I found. True, the mormon membership is increasing. At the same time, the world population is increasing. The two - are increasing at about the same rate. In other words, I discovered that the ratio of mormons to non-mormons hasn't changed in the past 15 years. An interesting side note to that was that when the world population increased significantly from the prior year, so did the mormom membership. When the world population increased only minimally, so did the mormom population.
In sum, the mormon membership is increasing, but only because the world population is increasing. Enjoy.

Natasha, that's interesting. The missionaries literally being called home (not released from missionary service). That could easily happen sooner than we think, though a quote comes to mind that they would be called home as a result of the war that will then or soon thereafter rage.

SwissMrs&Pitchfire wrote:Natasha, that's interesting. The missionaries literally being called home (not released from missionary service). That could easily happen sooner than we think, though a quote comes to mind that they would be called home as a result of the war that will then or soon thereafter rage.

Those elders who have served missions have NEVER been released from their callings. Have you noticed that? Not sure about the sisters, but as an elder I wasn't released when I returned. Once a missionary, always a missionary.