Episode 67

Is There Shrinkage? LDS Attendance Numbers Debunked with Simon Southerton

Can our cell phones give us a clue as to whether LDS memberships numbers are declining? As Dr. Simon Southerton tells us, one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Mormon church is the numbers of people sitting in Mormon chapels each week. Church leaders know what the attendance figures are, but the leaders don't like sharing bad news.

The truth is that attendance is lower than everyone expects and is declining rapidly in most western countries. While the church won't share the numbers, our cellphones may hold the key to getting a more accurate picture of what the real attendance numbers are.

Dr. Southerton dives into the use of cellphone technology and the information it can give us in this absolutely fascinating episode. We learned so much from this conversation and we know you will too.

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About your hosts

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Rebecca Bibliotheca

Rebecca Bibliotheca is a mother or three boys, co-founder of "The Good Book Club," a virtual reading group for post and nuanced Mormons, cohost of "Mormon Media Reviews," and leader of the "Mormon Stories Book Club." She has a Masters of Library and Information Science from BYU and worked for many years at the BYU Library. She and her husband, Tom, also founded a youth theater program that is in its 19th year. Rebecca loves the theater, reading, film, spending times outdoors, church watching and iced coffee!
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Landon Brophy

Landon Brophy is the proud father of four children, two grandchildren, three ATVs and a boat. He's a former military officer, the co-founder of The Good Book Club, a reading group for post and nuanced Mormons, ann international manager for a global defense contractor, and a worldwide traveler. He and his wife founded "Utah Wanderers," an online travel guide to exploring Utah. Landon loves the outdoors, ATVing, boating, flying, reading, observing the "ongoing restoration" and second Saturdays!