On Tuesday (23 September 2014) the blog nearing kolob took a look at recent Mormon missionary reports regarding localized Church inactivity. What follows is a summary of nearing kolob’s research findings (that they gleaned unscientifically from reading Mormon missionary blog posts).

• South America Northwest area: Out of 1,800,000 members, 1,000,000 do not go to church.
• Germany: After two stake presidents left the Church, 90% of the ward in Dortmund is inactive.
• Santo Domingo West Mission, cities of Ocoa and Parra: Members are refusing callings, six former branch presidents have gone inactive, and the small 350-member branch of Parra is “basically all inactive.”
• Arizona, Scottsdale: 75% of the reporting missionary’s ward is inactive.
• West Virginia: Most of the wards and branches are comprised of inactive members.
• Colombia, Cali: Most of the ward leaders are inactive.
• Belgium/Netherlands: 75% of the reporting missionary’s ward is inactive.
• Argentina, Mendoza: 60.8% of the ward is inactive.
• Canada, Montreal: Most of the reporting missionary’s ward is inactive or borderline inactive.
• Michigan, Detroit: The reporting missionary’s ward had only 30 people at a Sunday service because “the rest of the ward is inactive.”
• Spain, Malaga: 70% of the reporting missionary’s ward is inactive.
• Philippines, Quezon City: The reporting missionary suggests (exaggerates?) that 95% of her ward is inactive.
• Philippines, Cebu: The majority of the ward is inactive.
• Texas, Seagoville: An “enormous portion” of the reporting missionary’s ward is inactive.

While this information is likely troubling to LDS leaders, and perhaps encouraging to critics of Mormonism, it does not prove or disprove anything about the truthfulness of the religion. What it does tell us is that a significant number of Mormons are dissatisfied with their faith.

Friends, people who leave Mormonism for a life without Christ are no better off in the eternal scheme of things than people who remain LDS and follow a “different Jesus.” These inactivity reports are a poignant reminder that, as Christians, we do not seek merely to lead people away from Mormonism. We are called to a much greater purpose. Our hope and deepest longing is to walk with those who are spiritually lost, helping them along that rough but glorious pathway to new life in Christ. The great scope of Mormon inactivity does not reduce the size of our mission field one bit. Let us keep our shoulders to the plow until the field is ripe and ready to harvest.

“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone,
able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.
God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,
and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil,
after being captured by him to do his will.”
(2 Timothy 2:24-26)