Just got these from a friend. I have no idea what they mean, but ya’ll can analyze, come back, and explain. If you can’t read, save to your hard drive, and find a way to expand visually.
- LDS Official Membership Annual Growth 1860-2005 10 year moving average.
- LDS Missionary Service and Baptisms 1977 to 2007
Please return, and report.
I’ve posted an article with my take on the numbers at The Cultural Hall. The source data for the post is on my personal web site.
Link to the post didn’t work. Let’s try again?
The declining child baptisms and missionaries as a percentage of church membership shows an aging church population and/or declining birth rate. Interesting given 1) more than half the church population live outside the US, and 2) 64% of church membership are converts.
John, I’d be curious to find where your friend got annual membership data since 1860.
It is my understanding that the church no longer counts child baptisms, but the addition of children of record.