People who believed that the internet will work collateral damage on the LDS church where simply wrong. As 2017 has just started, the LDS church is heading for 16 Mio members and continues to grow nicely with a 1.7% increase of converts and in addition to the converts it records ca 100 000 additional children of record. Stats are available below. The LDS church provides its members with a feeling of absolute certainty (claimed to be divinely inspired knowledge). In Utah it is the most attractive place to raise a family in the faith as it provides rich community programs, personal development and social cohesion. It has a strong missionary force (75 000 people, mostly young) and it has a high fertility rate which is way above the population replacement level. Its teachings avoid any relativism and hence they have a strong impact on its members.
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/2015-statistical-report-april-2016-general-conference
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints
http://www.mormoninformation.com/stats.htm
So how do they manage to defy gravity by upholding its claims to a monopoly on truth, that is materially unsustainable and do so in the internet age where fact checks are at our finger tips ? In my opinion the leaders and faithful followers succeed by spiritualizing the truth and sustaining authority by dismissing any contrarian opposing facts as incompatible with the truth, which has already been predetermined in doctrine , narrative and personal revelation received one and for all. God (the Holy Ghost) is called to the witness stand.
All sermons and articles use brilliant strategic as well as tactical approaches to reveal and conceal inconvenient material truth and emphasizing spiritual truth and values ! Faith in spiritual truth is ultimately the higher commodity if it is found to be in conflict with material truth.
Even the 2nd largest Mormon church (RLDS), in recent years renamed Communities of Christ, where able to keep their membership pretty stable at ca 250 000. This proves that even abandonment of an absolute claim to divine truth will not be significantly detrimental to faith and retainment of membership. Hence I believe the LDS church has nothing to fear and will keep its place in society regardless of any inconsistencies it grapples with or not. If a major spiritual revival should break out among other Christian movements, one that is substantially threatening to the LDS church, than it has historically proven that it is capable to adapt and compromise its most fundamental doctrines to secure the survival of its faith under extreme circumstances.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_Christ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_the_Community_of_Christ_and_The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints
Apostasy and Restoration (extract from Wiki)
The LDS Church teaches that Joseph Smith restored the fullness of the gospel after a centuries long period known as the great apostasy.[56][57] The LDS Church therefore characterizes itself as a restoration of fallen Christianity and the one true church that exists.[56]In contrast, the Community of Christ has de-emphasized its traditional tenet that it is the one true church and has adopted a viewpoint that all faith traditions can offer a pathway to spiritual enlightenment.[58] Barbara McFarlane Higdon has called the Community of Christ a "unique member of the body of Christ, the universal community of believers."[59] Higdon also suggests that prior claims that the church had been "restored" were tantamount to idolatry. The Community of Christ has therefore moved towards ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue. Nevertheless, the Community of Christ "steadfastly affirms the primacy of continuing revelation instead of creedal rigidity". The Community of Christ's Doctrine and Covenants continues to contain documents that declare that the church is the one true church.[60]
Below are my comments on the power of a recent sermon titled "To whom shall we go" designed to sustain the unique faith of LDS members in its leaders and doctrines.
Read on !
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/2015-statistical-report-april-2016-general-conference
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints
http://www.mormoninformation.com/stats.htm
So how do they manage to defy gravity by upholding its claims to a monopoly on truth, that is materially unsustainable and do so in the internet age where fact checks are at our finger tips ? In my opinion the leaders and faithful followers succeed by spiritualizing the truth and sustaining authority by dismissing any contrarian opposing facts as incompatible with the truth, which has already been predetermined in doctrine , narrative and personal revelation received one and for all. God (the Holy Ghost) is called to the witness stand.
All sermons and articles use brilliant strategic as well as tactical approaches to reveal and conceal inconvenient material truth and emphasizing spiritual truth and values ! Faith in spiritual truth is ultimately the higher commodity if it is found to be in conflict with material truth.
Even the 2nd largest Mormon church (RLDS), in recent years renamed Communities of Christ, where able to keep their membership pretty stable at ca 250 000. This proves that even abandonment of an absolute claim to divine truth will not be significantly detrimental to faith and retainment of membership. Hence I believe the LDS church has nothing to fear and will keep its place in society regardless of any inconsistencies it grapples with or not. If a major spiritual revival should break out among other Christian movements, one that is substantially threatening to the LDS church, than it has historically proven that it is capable to adapt and compromise its most fundamental doctrines to secure the survival of its faith under extreme circumstances.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_Christ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_the_Community_of_Christ_and_The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints
Apostasy and Restoration (extract from Wiki)
The LDS Church teaches that Joseph Smith restored the fullness of the gospel after a centuries long period known as the great apostasy.[56][57] The LDS Church therefore characterizes itself as a restoration of fallen Christianity and the one true church that exists.[56]In contrast, the Community of Christ has de-emphasized its traditional tenet that it is the one true church and has adopted a viewpoint that all faith traditions can offer a pathway to spiritual enlightenment.[58] Barbara McFarlane Higdon has called the Community of Christ a "unique member of the body of Christ, the universal community of believers."[59] Higdon also suggests that prior claims that the church had been "restored" were tantamount to idolatry. The Community of Christ has therefore moved towards ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue. Nevertheless, the Community of Christ "steadfastly affirms the primacy of continuing revelation instead of creedal rigidity". The Community of Christ's Doctrine and Covenants continues to contain documents that declare that the church is the one true church.[60]
Below are my comments on the power of a recent sermon titled "To whom shall we go" designed to sustain the unique faith of LDS members in its leaders and doctrines.
Read on !
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