Why Are More Members Leaving the Mormon Church in 2025?

The Data Says Growth—But the Stories Say Departure

You see the headline numbers from the LDS Church's 2024 year-in-review, and they look impressive. Total membership sits at 17,887,212 as of late 2024.

Missionaries number 78,596. The Church opened 36 new missions in 2024 to accommodate "rising numbers of missionaries" now at 72,000.

They spent $1.45 billion on global welfare. President Russell M.

Nelson celebrated his 100th birthday. On paper, this is an institution firing on all cylinders.

But these numbers tell only one side of the story. The question "Why are more members leaving the Mormon Church in 2025?" demands you look behind the curtain of official statistics.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: raw membership counts have never been a reliable measure of active participation. When you compare active membership rates against official rolls, the picture shifts dramatically.

Metric	Official Number (2024)	What It Actually Measures
Total membership	17,887,212	Anyone ever baptized, including inactive and deceased
Active missionaries	78,596	Full-time, currently serving volunteers
New missions opened	36	Geographic expansion, not retention
Welfare spending	$1.45 billion	Humanitarian aid, not member growth

The Church has long counted anyone baptized as a member for life unless they formally request removal. Many who have mentally checked out remain on the rolls.

The real story of 2025 isn't about people losing belief—it's about people finally acting on it. Resources like The CES Letter: A Closer Look at the Mormon Church have circulated widely, giving members permission to ask hard questions they previously suppressed.

When you combine access to critical information with shifting cultural norms, the result is predictable: those who were already halfway out the door now feel empowered to leave completely. The Church's response has been to double down on institutional strength—more missions, more spending, more temples.

But that strategy assumes the problem is external visibility, not internal credibility. The data suggests otherwise.

The Handbook Changes That Quietly Pushed People Out

In August 2024, the LDS Church updated its General Handbook with changes that received surprisingly little attention outside of Utah. The revisions touched transgender policies and garment guidelines.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, scholars warned these policies "relegate trans members to 'second-class' status." The Church's own FAQ claimed the changes "simplify the instruction," but for many members, they did the opposite. Let's be direct about what happened.

The Church tightened restrictions on transgender members' participation in ordinances and church activities. It also adjusted garment-wearing expectations, which many interpreted as a response to members quietly abandoning the practice.

These weren't minor edits—they were signals about who belongs and who doesn't.

Policy Area	Pre-2024 Stance	Post-2024 Handbook Position	Impact
Transgender membership	Case-by-case pastoral approach	Explicit restrictions on ordinances, callings, and temple access	Alienated LGBTQ+ members and allies
Garment wearing	Required for endowed members	Clarified expectations, but expanded exceptions	Highlighted widespread non-compliance
Earth stewardship	Not addressed	New section titled "Caring for the Earth"	Attempted to modernize, but felt reactive

The transgender policy change was the tipping point for many. Here's why it matters: the Church is asking members to believe in restoration, prophetic authority, and continuing revelation.

When the "continuing revelation" tells a transgender member they cannot hold a temple recommend or serve in certain callings, it forces a choice. Either God is leading the Church and these policies are correct, or the Church is making human decisions that hurt real people.

For a growing number of members, the latter conclusion feels more honest. Books like Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith have chronicled this exact journey—people who loved their faith community but couldn't reconcile its treatment of marginalized members with their own moral compass.

The 2024 handbook updates handed these members a clear reason to walk away. If you're a member wrestling with these policies, ask yourself: does this feel like the direction a loving God would lead?

If the answer gives you pause, you're not alone.

The Temple Endowment Updates Nobody Asked For

On August 13, 2024, the Church announced "inspired revisions" to the temple endowment ceremony. The official statement said the changes "maintain the covenants, doctrine, and ordinances of Salvation and Exaltation." But anyone who has attended the temple regularly knows that significant elements were altered or removed.

This matters because the endowment is the most sacred ritual for Latter-day Saints. It's the ceremony members are told to attend weekly to feel closer to God.

When the Church changes it without explanation—and then tells members not to discuss the changes—it creates cognitive dissonance. If the ceremony was revealed directly from God, why does it need frequent revisions?

If it's a human creation, then it can be updated, but that undermines the claim of divine origin.

Aspect of Change	Before August 2024	After August 2024	Why It Matters
Specific wording of covenants	More explicit details	Streamlined and shortened	Raises question of which version was "true"
Physical gestures	Included multiple signs	Simplified sequence	Feels like corporate efficiency, not revelation
Penalties and sanctions	Omitted years ago	Already removed	Pattern of gradual elimination of uncomfortable elements
Length of ceremony	2+ hours	Shorter	Accommodates busy schedules, but at what cost?

The problem is that each revision chips away at the authority of previous versions. If the 2024 endowment is the correct one, then members who attended for decades were participating in a flawed ceremony.

That's a difficult pill to swallow for anyone who built their life around temple worship. Mormonism: A Historical Encyclopedia documents that the endowment has changed dozens of times since its introduction in the 1840s.

This isn't new. But what is new is the speed of change and the lack of transparency.

Members in 2025 are more connected than ever—they share leaked changes on platforms like Reddit, where the r/exmormon subreddit tracks every update in real time. The Church can no longer control the narrative.

For many, these changes feel less like revelation and more like rebranding. When your most sacred ritual starts resembling a corporate update, the magic disappears.

The 100-Year-Old President Problem

President Russell M. Nelson turned 100 in 2024.

The Church celebrated with fanfare—Instagram posts, news releases, and talk of his "historic" leadership. But here's the question nobody wants to ask: what happens when the most powerful leader in the Church is a centenarian?

Nelson has been president since 2018. He's overseen massive changes: the "Mormon" rebrand, shortened Sunday meetings, the home-centered church program, and now the temple revisions.

He's been described as a reformer. But he's also 100 years old.

The succession process is opaque, and the current First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve average age is well over 70.

Leadership Fact	Data Point	Implication
President's age	100 (as of 2024)	Succession is imminent and unpredictable
Average age of Quorum of the Twelve	~70+ years	Generational gap with younger members
Succession rules	Seniority-based, not election	May not reflect member demographics or needs
Recent changes	36 new missions, 200+ temples	Focus on expansion, not retention

The problem isn't age itself—it's the lack of accountability. Church leaders serve for life.

Members do not elect them. There is no mechanism for removing a president who may be declining in health.

The Church's own newsroom celebrated Nelson's 100th birthday, but the unspoken concern is that the institution is running on a succession clock that could create instability. Compare this to other global organizations—governments, universities, even the Catholic Church—all have age limits or retirement policies.

The LDS Church does not. When the president dies, the entire leadership structure shifts.

The longest-serving apostle becomes the new president. This means a single death can change the direction of the entire faith overnight.

For members who are already questioning, the aging leadership feels like a liability. If the prophet is too old to fully lead, who is actually making decisions?

The answer—an unelected group of elderly men—does not inspire confidence in 2025.

What You Should Do If You're Questioning Right Now

If you're reading this and recognize yourself in the patterns described above, you're probably wondering: what now? You don't have to announce your departure tomorrow.

You don't have to confront your bishop or your family. But you do need to make a decision about what you believe and why.

Here's a practical framework for anyone in this position. First, separate the institution from the community.

Many people leave the Church not because they hate Mormons, but because they love them and can't stay in a system that feels dishonest. Recognize that your relationships are real even if your testimony has changed.

Action Step	Why It Helps	Common Pitfall
Read primary sources	Understand church history from non-correlated material	Assuming correlation equals accuracy
Talk to a trusted friend outside your ward	Get perspective without fear of discipline	Only talking to believing members who reinforce doubt
Write down your honest questions	Clarify what bothers you most	Shoving doubt aside to "stay faithful"
Set a timeline for your decision	Prevent indefinite limbo	Rushing into a dramatic exit

Second, consider what you actually want. Some people want a complete break.

Others want a hybrid approach—attending occasionally, keeping friendships, but no longer believing the truth claims. Both are valid.

The only wrong answer is staying silent while your soul shrinks. Third, read widely and critically.

The CES Letter: A Closer Look at the Mormon Church is a starting point, not a finishing line. Pair it with Mormonism: A Historical Encyclopedia for context.

Read Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith to see how one person navigated the journey. No single book will give you all the answers, but together they show you that thousands have walked this path before.

The Church will tell you that leaving means losing your family, your salvation, your identity. That's fear, not faith.

Real faith is strong enough to ask hard questions and follow the truth wherever it leads. If the Church is true, it can survive your questions.

If it's not, you deserve to know. The decision is yours.

Make it with your eyes open.

Affiliate Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we believe in.