The Prophet Joseph Smith declared that he was laying “a foundation that [would] revolutionize the whole world.” (“Chapter 44: The Restoration of All Things: The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, [2007], 507–16.)
This has come about in a marvelous way. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called the Mormon Church, is a global faith.
Here are some salient statistics:
• Membership: 12,868,606
• Missions: 344
• Missionaries: 53,000
• Missionary Training Centers: 17
• Temples: 124
• Congregations: 27,475
• Universities & Schools: 4
• Seminary Students Enrollment: 362,756
• Institute Students Enrollment: 358,516
• Family History Centers: over 4,500
• Number of Countries with Family History Centers: 70
• Countries Receiving Humanitarian Aid: 163
• Humanitarian Cash Donations Since 1985: $201 million
• Value of Humanitarian Material Assistance Since 1985: $705 million
• Welfare Service Missionaries: 3,552
• Languages Church Curriculum Available: 178
(Source: Newsroom.LDS.org)
This suggests two questions. First, is the Church of Jesus Christ a mega-church? Second, how do you manage these 13 million members?
The first question, is this a mega-church? No, not in the traditional sense of the word. Mega-churches are those large gathering places you see on TV. They usually have about 2,000 members attending each week, and are semi-independent from larger traditional denominations. They are predominantly a protestant/evangelical phenomenon.
That last point is key: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is its own Christian denomination. It is neither Catholic, Orthodox, nor Protestant.
Joseph Smith explained this idea by comparing the protestant denominations to branches on a tree:
“Here is a principle of logic … I will illustrate it by an old apple tree. Here jumps off a branch and says, I am the true tree, and you are corrupt. If the whole tree is corrupt, are not its branches corrupt? … ”
“When men come out and build upon other men’s foundations, they do it on their own responsibility, without authority from God; and when the floods come and the winds blow, their foundations will be found to be sand, and their whole fabric will crumble to dust.”
“Did I build on any other man’s foundation? I have got all the truth which the Christian world possessed, and an independent revelation in the bargain, and God will bear me off triumphant.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 375-376. Cf. “Chapter 45: Joseph Smith’s Feelings about His Prophetic Mission,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, [2007], 517–27.)
It is not a branch of anything; it is its own unique tree. President Thomas S. Monson, the current world leader of the Church of Jesus Christ, illustrated this principle with some military humor:
“As a 17-year-old, I enlisted in the United States Navy and attended boot camp in San Diego, California. For the first three weeks, one felt as though the navy were trying to kill rather than train him on how to stay alive.”
“I shall ever remember the first Sunday at San Diego. The chief petty officer said to us, ‘Today everybody goes to church.’ We then lined up in formation on the drill ground. The petty officer shouted, ‘All of you who are Catholics—you meet in Camp Decatur. Forward, march! And don’t come back until three!’ A large number marched out. He then said, ‘All of you who are of the Jewish faith—you meet in Camp Henry. Forward, march! And don’t come back until three!’ A smaller contingent moved out. Then he said, ‘The rest of you Protestants meet in the theaters in Camp Farragut. Forward, march! And don’t come back until three o’clock!’
“There flashed through my mind the thought, Monson, you’re not Catholic. You’re not Jewish. You’re not a Protestant. I elected to stand fast. It seemed as though hundreds of men marched by me. Then I heard the sweetest words which the petty officer ever uttered in my presence. He said, ‘And what do you men call yourselves?’ He used the plural—men. This was the first time I knew that anyone else was standing behind me on that drill ground. In unison we said, ‘We’re Mormons.’ He scratched his head, an expression of puzzlement on his face, and said, ‘Well, go and find somewhere to meet—and don’t come back until three o’clock.’ We marched away. (Thomas S. Monson, “Your Eternal Home,” Ensign, May 2000, 52.)
Another indication that the Church of Jesus Christ is not a mega-church is that we do not use the so-called contemporary worship service. Here and there the Mormon Tabernacle Choir will do something modern, such as Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind,” or a piece from Lord of the Rings. But more often than not, this is your grandmother’s worship service. And I prefer it that way. I could not abide having a religious meeting marred by a carnival atmosphere. I think the signers of the Cambridge Declaration were on to something.
A press release from Newsroom.lds.org indicates that the protestant trend towards mega-churches may be leveling out.
“The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a report this week surveying the faith landscape of the United States. Based on interviews with 35,000 Americans, the report finds that religious affiliation in this country is increasingly diverse and fluid.”
“Religion scholar Stephen Prothero commented on the implications of the Pew survey in the New York Times. ‘The trend is towards more personal religion,’ he said, speaking of evangelicals in particular and religion in general.”
“Prothero points out that even in mega-churches seen in today’s American religious landscape, members are grouped into smaller ministries within the larger church body.”
“Latter-day Saints identify with that. Mormon congregations are kept small enough to maintain a close and intimate relationship between members and their congregational leaders. At the same time, they are large enough — usually a few hundred members — to pool talents and resources for the entire group’s benefit.” (Bishops See National Trend in Mormon Congregations, 28 February 2008.)
That is the genius of Joseph Smith’s system. In effect, Joseph Smith says bigger is not always better. We keep the bodies small, and therefore have more interpersonal contact. This face-to-face, one-on-one interaction is something you could not get if the congregation were in the thousands. It is all too easy to get lost in the crowd.
However, each of the local congregations is not a separate entity, but is closely linked and overseen by the higher organizations. This is where the 13 million members come in. Each member is geographically assigned to a ward, or local congregations. In turn, several wards operate under a stake, akin to a diocese. The next level is called a region, followed by an area. The last level is the general level. Through it all, there is a system and order and a place for people, akin to an army. This analogy should not be shocking to anyone who has sung “Onward, Christian Soldiers.”
So to look at the Church as a lumbering worldwide leviathan is incorrect. Yes, there is a mass of membership, but it is portioned out into manageable units.
Boyd K. Packer, the president of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles (the second-highest governing body in the Church) said this:
“Often we are asked how the relatively few Apostles in the First Presidency and the Twelve can manage the Church, now more than [12] million strong.”
“Actually the Church is no bigger than a ward. Each bishop has counselors. He wears a special mantle and is designated as the presiding high priest in the ward. There are other high priests, and there is a presidency of elders. There are auxiliary leaders and teachers sufficient for the need. When we serve obediently, ever willingly, our pay, like the bishop’s, comes in blessings.”
“No matter if the Church grows to be a hundred million (as it surely will!), it will still be no bigger than a ward. Everything needed for our redemption, save for the temple, is centered there—and temples now come ever closer to all of us.” (Boyd K. Packer, “The Bishop and His Counselors,” Ensign, May 1999, 57)
To paraphrase Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil, all religion is local. And yet there is a smaller unit within the Church: the family.
In 1995 the Church issued a proclamation on the family. Two paragraphs explain that the family is really the place for spiritual development, with the Church merely being a support.
“Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. ‘Children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.”
“The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World)
President Packer summed up these paragraphs this way:
“I’ve always felt that the ultimate end of all of the activities and programs of the Church rests in a man and a woman and their family being happy at home.” (Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting: Building Up a Righteous Posterity. February 9, 2008.)
That is what I love about my church. It is small. And it focuses on the small things, such as people, families, and the local congregations. Theologically and spiritually speaking, this is where the rubber meets the road.
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