1635: The Great Mormon Missionary Decline

<p>The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is known globally for its massive missionary force. Over the past year we have received several independent reports suggesting serious distress in the Mormon missionary program, including:</p> <ul> <li>A sharp decline in the number of LDS missionaries overall.</li> <li>A sharp decline in the number of young men willing to serve missions.</li> <li>A significant increase in the number of LDS missionaries returning home early.</li> <li>Troubling new rhetoric/teachings from Mormon church leadership suggesting (out of seeming desperation) that Mormon missionary service for young men is mandatory/compulsory.</li> </ul> <p>On Thursday at 4pm (mountain) we will be exploring this issue. If you have any data or stories regarding these (or other) developments regarding Mormon missionary work, please post them as comments below, or email us at: mormonstories@gmail.com and we can include your input in the show (anonymously if requested). Also, please plan to join us live for this show, wherein we hope to accept live video call-ins from viewers.</p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Show notes: </span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mormon Stories episodes on Missionary Injuries, Mental Health & Sexual Assaults:</span> <ul> <li><a href="https://mormonstories.org/podcast/parent-of-mormon-missionary-not-allowed-to-contact-son/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">787: Parent of Mormon Missionary is Not Allowed to Contact Son in Houston Hurricane</a></li> <li><a href="https://mormonstories.org/podcast/missionary-sexual-assault/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">976-979: Experiencing Sexual Assault as a Missionary - Camille & Maddy</a></li> <li><a href="https://mormonstories.org/podcast/mckay-johnson/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">1492-1493: Sexually Assaulted by My Companion as a Mormon Missionary - McKay Johnson</a></li> <li><a href="https://mormonstories.org/podcast/lauren-rodgers/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">1481-1482: My Mormon Mission Left Me Disabled - Lauren Rogers</a></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Mormon Stories Early Return Series: <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://mormonstories.org/podcast/mormon-missionary-faith-crises-and-early-return-josh-tesch-and-facebook/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">643: Mormon Missionary Faith Crises and Early Return Pt 1 - Josh Tesch & Facebook</a></li> <li><a href="https://mormonstories.org/podcast/mission-depression-faith-crisis-suicidality/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">644: Mormon Missionary Faith Crises and Early Return Pt 2 - Depression & Suicidality</a></li> <li><a href="https://mormonstories.org/podcast/mike-woodruff-gay-abused-on-mission-ptsd-early-return/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">645: Missionaries Pt 3 - Mike Woodruff - Gay, Abused on Mission, PTSD, Early Return</a></li> <li><a href="https://mormonstories.org/podcast/missionaries-tre-shortland-tormented-over-self-abuse-disillusioned-by-uninspired-mission-leadership/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">646: Missionaries Pt 4 - Tre Shortland - Tormented over "Self Abuse," Disillusioned by Uninspired Mission Leadership</a></li> <li><a href="https://mormonstories.org/podcast/rose-sorenson-becoming-atheist-as-a-missionary/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">647: Missionaries Pt 5 - Rose Sorenson - Becoming an Atheist as a Missionary</a></li> <li><a href="https://mormonstories.org/podcast/jacob-sent-home-early-for-cuddling-with-zone-leader/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">648: Missionaries Pt 6 - Jacob - Sent Home Early for Cuddling with Zone Leader</a></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://mormonstories.org/podcast/is-the-mormon-church-in-decline-an-insider-report-2022/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mormon Stories 1548: <span style="font-weight: 400;">Is the Mormon Church in Decline?</span></a></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://rameumptomruminations.org/2022/06/rameumptom-ruminations-057-a-peek-behind-the-curtain-at-church-hq-part-1-with-brian-harris/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rameumptom Ruminations: Inside the Curtain of Church Headquarters</span></a></li> <li>(LDS.org) <a href="https://rebrand.ly/x5k8w0e" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Why is there so much pressure on young men to go on a mission?</a></li> <li><a href="https://rebrand.ly/3b9prjt" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mexican Youth Mission Activity (Spanish)</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">—————</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">WE ARE 100% DONOR FUNDED! Thank you for your donations!</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Monthly Donor:</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Monthly Donor</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">or</span> <a href="https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>One Time Donation:</strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> One Time Donation</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">or</span> <a href="https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories"><span style="font-weight: 400;">https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><strong>Amazon Purchases: </strong> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"> <strong>ONLINE:</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Follow the link below and choose "Mormon Stories". Amazon will do the rest at no cost to you.</span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/?fbclid=IwAR1yFnCiM-VT5GPjKsb6C8Fvl1GSorGlMjQB8j2bYqJztl4vQsm-CxUJt00"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon Donates When You Purchase Items</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>APP:</strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Enable Amazon Smile in your app by following link below:</span> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&amp;node=15576745011&amp;fbclid=IwAR2yR0234V1t1g0aOrN58-uRFve4y2zptPFQPOgV4Bj46pyIoPX6Zo1DQjM"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Amazon Donates When You Purchase On The App</span></a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">—————</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Like & Share our Podcasts! </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Social Media/Information Links:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">MSP on Spotify</span></a></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Apple Podcasts</span></a></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes"><span style="font-weight: 400;">MSP Blog</span></a></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/mormstories/?hl=en"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instagram</span></a></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Patreon</span></a></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast?lang=en"><span style="font-weight: 400;">TikTok</span></a></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Discord</span></a></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Contact Us!</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">MormonStories@gmail.com</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mormon Stories Podcast</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">PO Box 171085</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Salt Lake City, UT 84117</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">#LDS #Mormon #PostMormon #ExMormon #MormonStories #Religion #Education #Truth #History #JosephSmith #ChurchofJesusChristofLatterDaySaints #HighDemandReligion #Cult #Patriarchy #WomensRights</span></p>