Critics assert that the number of LDS in Utah has steadily declined over the past 10 years as the result of people leaving the Church.

Critics of the Church and misinformed members of the mainstream media sometimes claim that the number of Latter-day Saints in Utah has fallen. This belief led the producers of the anti-Mormon video Search for the Truth to claim that "within Utah, we are doing a fairly good job of combating Mormonism" and therefore "the Mormon Church is vulnerable" to anti-Mormon criticisms.

A complete analysis of such a claim would need to examine several different factors. In any given year, how many LDS moved out of state and how many moved in, how many non-LDS moved out of state and how many moved in, how many LDS actually resigned their memberships or were excommunicated, and how many of the non-LDS joined the Church?

These numbers are not kept or reported. However, even without the more detailed information, it is clear that the critics who make statements about declining numbers of LDS in Utah are simply wrong.

According to figures from the U.S. Census and the LDS Church Almanac:

Actual numbers versus share

As the table shows, the LDS population in Utah is growing—it is just growing at a slightly slower rate than the non-LDS population. The primary reason for this is the high non-LDS immigration into Utah over the previous two decades.

According to an article in the Salt Lake Tribute :

Utah 's ongoing religious diversification has little to do with the LDS Church or its teachings, but rather is a reflection of the economy.... When economic growth goes up, minority population goes up, and this is kind of a code word for non-Mormons.... While continuing to grow in actual members, the LDS share of the state population showed a slow but constant decline every year from 1989 to 2004. (Emhasis added.)

These numbers are from 2005. More recently, population statistics from 2008 show that the percentage of LDS in Utah compared to the total population, has stayed relatively stable, at around 72%, which is approximately the same as 2005. Contrary to the claims of critics, there was an increase in total number of LDS within Utah of over 100,000 individuals. This is hardly a decline in numbers.

Conclusion

Statistics are often confusing and may lead people to wrong conclusions. Statistics may also be manipulated by those who wish to prove a point which the real data does not support. The numbers here are clear enough to show that the Church is not declining in numbers in Utah . Those who make that claim are clearly trying to promote conclusions which are not based on the truth.

The full FAIR wiki article is available by clicking here.

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