My question is basically whether or not one could extrapolate some estimation of what lamanite and nephite populations would have been in the book of mormon. How many nephites the book of mormon at the bar of. There are currently over 80,000 missionaries in 162 countries 20, and in the year 2000 alone five million copies of the book of mormon were handed out. Mormon population mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. To be of good standing, all mormons must tithe, or give 10 percent of their gross income to the church. I have written a little about book of mormon population numbers before, but i dont believe ive ever done it for the jaredites. Until that time, human population was increasing at a rate dwarfed by modern figures. Therefore, we might assume that many others natives were involved. There are currently over 60,000 missionaries in 162 countries, and in the year 2000 alone five million copies of the book of mormon were handed out. Mormons trace their origins to the visions that joseph smith reported he had in the early 1820s while living in upstate new york. Countries with the largest mormon populations worldatlas. The book of mormons own population data is consistent with this figure. That rate would result in about 33 nephites and lamanites 200 years later. The mormon church traditionally announces a statistical update during its april general conference.
And then whether that amount of population growth would even be plausible compared to other populations with similar environments. Indeed, the population figures given in the book of mormon show a rather gradual population growth over the years. Apologists may walk back population claims at their convenience, but they simultaneously undermine the validity of the book of mormon itself. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of spanishlanguage. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints membership. Mormons believe in the bible, as well as other books of scripture, such as the book of mormon. At first glance the modern reader might suppose that rapid population growth in the book of mormon is an anachronisma misplaced modern idea in a supposedly ancient text. The book mormons nephites have multiple large citys. So the worlds population is growing at a rate about 400% faster than the lds church or to put it another way, the mormon church is falling behind population growth by 83,700,000 each year. However, latinos are the fastestgrowing group in the church. New approaches to the book of mormon brent lee metcalfe, editor. Book of mormon population sizes, advocates a growth rate of 0. Thats not a likely number given the record in the book of mormon. Mormon growth slows to its lowest level since 1937.
The churchs reported membership as of december 31, 2019 was 16,565,036. Though a relative slowing of the growth rate continues, although it slightly increased in 2019, church membership growth continues to outpace the world population growth rate, which is currently around 1. A closer examination of growth and retention data demonstrates that lds growth trends have been widely overstated. The book of mormon contains many overt references, and some more oblique ones, to other peoples that were part of the demographic mix in book of mormon times a superficial reading of the book of mormon leads some to conclude that the named members of lehis group were the only members of nephitelamanite society. If this were applied to the 57 people from lehis company and projected to the. Population growth in the book of mormon wednesday, october 10, 2012. Mormons believe that returning to god requires following the example of jesus christ, and accepting his atonement through ordinances such as baptism. This includes more than 300,000 converts a year plus growth through members having families. May 25, 2014 population growth and the book of mormon every so often i come across an argument against the book of mormon that i feel i have to respond to in some way. Yet there are bright spots in terms of international retention and member activity. And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.
Can you comment on the demographics of the book of mormon. An obvious puzzle is how the lamanites could have become so much more numerous than the nephites. Mormon population religionwiki fandom powered by wikia. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds, better known as the mormon church, is on track to become the largest both in the united states and in the world at largeand the secondlargest religious body in the world during the next 100 years so says mark koltkorivera, ph. Nor is the growth of the mormon church in the 170 years since its founding particularly meteoric at least not in comparison with other religions that the mormons consider false. Nevertheless, ignoring the logistic nature of population growth was a fundamental flaw in starks model. I have also worked for the cumorah foundation since 2009 providing research assistance and resource development on lds growth and missionary work. When describing the lds population, he quotes others. Demographics mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. The book of mormon includes specific population numbers which make it possible to evaluate the authenticity. Nephitelamanite populations with the most conservative estimates possible. The conclusion states, much as critics and defenders of the book of mormon would like to use dna studies to support their views, the evidence is simply inconclusive. Thomas ford in his history of illinois wrote that there were by the end. With a combined adult male population of probably no more than 60, the groups could probably only have been some limited miles apart in order for wars even to be feasible.
His best guess was an average annual rate of increase of 1. Through its final edition, which was published for 20, the deseret morning news church almanac gave information on historical membership records of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church. My interest in researching the growth of the lds church began in 2002. Lets go over ancient population growth rates before cycling back to the book of mormon people. According to the pew research center, seven percent of u. Better understand the expansive growth of printing in early nineteenthcentury america and how that affected society. Estimates put growth rates in ancient prehistoric australia at 0. Mormon church set to become worlds largest charisma news. For example, the data on armies and battle casualties indicate quite consistent growth. Can you comment on the demographics of the book of mormon people. For many years now, these numbers seem to show consistent, even exponential growth, making church leader quentin cook recently proclaim that the church of jesus christ of latterday saints has never been stronger. Some arguments are so trivial that they can be dismissed out of hand but there are a few that look damaging on first view but with a little thought and additional information the apparently. Jun 25, 2019 at least one researcher has projected significant growth in the numbers of lds members for the rest of the 21st century, forecasting in 2012 that the world would have more than 125 million mormons by 2120. The growth of the mormon church is among the fastest of any denomination on the planet.
As latterday saints we are urged to study the book of mormon and apply its teachings to our lives. In 20 the growth rate dropped below 2% for the first time, and it has gone down since, with 2016 at 1. A collection of informative and visually appealing infographics relating to topics of mormonism. In the last 50 years, membership has increased tenfold. Critics challenge the viability of the population size and growth of the book of mormon people. On the other hand, the nephites and lamanites, whose thousandyear history comprises most of the book of mormon ca. Smith published what he said was a translation of these plates in march 1830 as the book of mormon, named after mormon, the. Annual lds growth has progressively declined from over 5 percent in the late 1980s to less than 3 percent from 2000 to 2005. During general conference, buried in the official statistics that make up the lds churchs annual report, we learned that the lds church grew by 261,862 people in 2015, a 1. Mormon growth is down to about one and a half percent around the world and half that in the united states. Populations in the book of mormon by study and faith.
An additional % live in california while 7% reside in idaho, 5% in. Latterday saint blogs is a portal for mainstream blogs about the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. In his speculations on book of mormon populations, vern elefson 1984 briefly discussed population figures contained in the book of mormon, and then reverseengineered them to estimate the growth rate that must have prevailed for those figures to be reached. The book of mormon and the growth of printing in america. Population growth in the book of mormon the book of mormon population growth rate would have to have been more than double that of the roman empire and other peers. What do we know about the numbers of nephites and lamanites. Calculating potential population purely from elapsed time take the form of the following equation. Absolute growth is greatest in latin america, but the rate of growth is highest in africa and the former soviet bloc. A high side estimate of population growth would be 3 % per year. Populations in the book of mormon latterday saint blogs. This graph is calculated by dividing each years change in membership by total membership for each year. I began this blog in late 2007 to provide a forum to discuss lds growth developments and share information.
Through its final edition, which was published for 20, the deseret morning news church. Book of mormonpopulation and demographics fairmormon. Exploring beyond the scale of the land itself, the massive construction projects described throughout the text surely would have endured, just as did the structures of so many lesser advanced early. The book of mormon population growth rate would have to have been more than double that of the roman empire and other peers.
The mormons reported a population of ten thousand by late 1842. Book of mormon peoples and precolumbian populations, fairmormon conference, 2003, online at archive book of mormon central, why hasnt lehis dna been found. How could so many people have died at the battle of cumorah. In such an analysis, the assertions of population growth in the book of mormon approach the ridiculous. In fact, roughly onethird of all american mormons 35% live in utah, the state founded by its early leaders. Growth of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. This graph shows the growth rate of the mormon church.
Explore the connections in this period between religion and print culture. They have a unique view of cosmology and believe that all people are spiritchildren of god. Jan 09, 2019 mexico has the highest population of mormons outside the u. The book of mormon and the growth of printing in america objectives. But the rate of population growth, which in the past only under very exceptional circumstances ever rose to 2 percent a year on rare occasions 3 percent for short. Nov 20, 2007 so, without knowing what this persons opinion is of the population growth it is impossible to answer your question.
Population growth and the book of mormon quantumleap42. Currently church growth is right around three percent every year. When the value of n is small, the growth increases almost exponentially, as in equation 2. Number of mormons to peak at 20 million in 2045 mormonism 101. The first person to be baptized by the ldschurch was. John sorenson, the geography of book of mormon events. Critics challenge the viability of the population size. The lds church did their first missionary work in mexico in 1874 right after the book of mormons was translated to spanish by meliton trejo and daniel jones. An essential requirement for any demographic study is to determine what growth rates to use for escalating numbers forward and backward. A number of studies have been made to provide estimates of what the population of the book of mormon nations may have been, but there is no way of confirming any of the estimates from information given in the book of mormon. Mormon growth continues to slow, especially in the us. Dan browns inferno and the dangerous myth of overpopulation. Critics of the book of mormon who say that there cannot be the number of people claimed in the book of mormon make the opposite error, often using documents of ehrlich and his fellow doomsayers. For the last 15 years, an average of 800 people have joined the lds church every day.
As is the case with most religions here in the united states, mormon growth is starting to slow. At least one researcher has projected significant growth in the numbers of lds members for the rest of the 21st century, forecasting in 2012 that the world would have more than 125 million mormons by 2120. As the value of n gets nearer to the carrying capacity, however, the growth rate slows dramatically as the population approaches but does not exceed the carrying capacity. Mexico has the highest population of mormons outside the u. Population growth and the book of mormon every so often i come across an argument against the book of mormon that i feel i have to respond to in some way. Number of people in the book of mormon lds teachers toolbox. In reading ether, how could there possibly be so many. The mormon church has said it plans are necessary because urban growth in the area is inevitable. The importance of a good sales force posted on november 4, 2012 by avram miller 11 comments given the potential election of the first mormon president, mitt romney, i have been trying to learn a bit about the mormon faith and was pretty amazed to find out their are now more mormons then jews. John kunichs essay on book of mormon population sizes. Aug 22, 2016 according to the pew research center, seven percent of u.
For example, under a low population growth rate kunichs for mula predicts that. Although the book of mormon is silent on population growth and decline as such, it does provide glimpses of how the numbers were growing. For example, robert flanders simply states, the population of illinois trebled during each decade between 18201840 and doubled between 1840 and 1850. Book of mormon population statistics meridian magazine. The book of mormon is the sacred text of mormonism. In 2018, there were 16,118,169 members worldwide with the highest population found in the united states at 6,592,195 members. I only looked up and started skimming through the other essays or articles on this topic after writing most of this post.
In the book of mormon, in one battle between the combined nephitelamanite army and the gadianton robbers, the prophet mormon commented that there never was known so great a slaughter among all the people of lehi since he left jerusalem. Understand the creation and publication of an important american religious text, the. In 1823, smith said an angel directed him to a buried book written on golden plates containing the religious history of an ancient people. As mormons believe in jesus christ, they are considered to be christians.
So, without knowing what this persons opinion is of the population growth it is impossible to answer your question. Number includes both lehis family and the mulekites who colonized during the same period. An additional % live in california while 7% reside in idaho, 5% in nevada and 4% each in oregon and arizona. The mormon churchs financial growth has been fueled by sacred taxation tithing. Size of nephite and lamanite populations book of mormon. Moreover, in the early 1980s it may have been difficult to see the reversal of the mormon growth trend, although it might have been more apparent when stark revisited his prediction in 1998. The book of mormon includes specific population numbers which make it possible to evaluate the authenticity of book of mormon growth rates against known growth rates for similar cultures. Islam began in 622 ad, and, according to the encyclopedia britannica, it developed into a world civilization with extraordinary rapidity in the course of less than. Populations in the book of mormonvisit this post on my site.