About the complex factors, that is true, for example:
* A blessed baby already counts in the records of the church until gets baptized or reach 18 years old.
* An inactive member even when join another church, stills remains in the church’s records.
* The church couldn’t be able to find out when an inactive member (not linked anymore to the church) passes away.
* The age for baptism in the church is 8 years old, in many of the other ones is older.
* LDS families are well known for a high rate of natality.
So, it is true that the growing of the church can’t be truly measured, but still is interesting that even when the church make an statement about caring less about this kind of statistics for the “news media”, still it bothers sending to them this private statistics… free publicity is always welcome.
Read more:
Looking Beyond Statistics: The Sould Behind the Numbers (LDS comentary)
Hey man!
Your dissection of the stats claims are interesting. I would add that the church’s stats are meaningless unless they provide parallel figures for attendance, as MOST people who are baptized don’t continue to attend. As a former missionary like me, you know this to be true as well…
Also, when I think about Church retention figures, I think that all my childhood friends and siblings would be counted as church members, most of us don’t go to church and haven’t for years, and don’t believe…
Kirk
By: alainkyriakos on May 28, 2008
at 3:36 pm
Estimado, me gustaría que me comentaras si tu estás a favor o encontra de la Iglesia, ya que al leer tus post me causa confusión tu forma. De verdad me gustaría que me contestaras a mi mail si no te fuera mucha molestia.
Espero que realmente tu fe esté firme en el Señor y en su Iglesia.
By: Matías on October 9, 2008
at 7:29 pm
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——————–
ADALBERTO FLORES
Landscape Architect
By: dremremnhemia on December 29, 2010
at 4:36 pm