Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
For this weeks Mormon News Podcast, John Dehlin and Meggan Hayes dig into what Bloomberg uncovered about the Church's growing real estate empire, plus warnings about "baseball baptisms" and the push for convert growth, concerns about the Church's new Sunday meeting schedule, the sentencing of a polygamous sect leader, and a new LDS strategy for bringing nonmembers into local meetinghouses.
Bloomberg's investigation examines just how much land The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns across the United States and how its property holdings have grown. We look at the numbers, where that land is concentrated, and what the investigation reveals about the scale of the Church's real estate portfolio.
Links:
Bloomberg Digs Into the Church's Land Holdings: youtu.be/G0pU8s0hlJU
Historian Matthew Bowman warns against chasing membership growth at the expense of meaningful conversion, pointing to the infamous era of "baseball baptisms." What can that history teach us about today's emphasis on missionary numbers and Church growth?
Links:
Beware the "Baseball Baptisms": sltrib.com/religion/2026/08/26/be-wary-baseball-baptisms-quest
Changes are also coming to Sunday meetings. A new schedule means shorter classes and less transition time between meetings. Supporters see a more streamlined Sunday experience, while others worry about losing valuable time for discussion, connection, and community.
Links:
Is Sunday Church Getting Too Short?: sltrib.com/religion/2026/08/26/mormon-land-podcast-we-dissect-new
We also cover the sentencing of polygamous sect leader Samuel Bateman, who was already serving a lengthy federal prison sentence and has now received additional prison time in Arizona.
Links:
Polygamous Sect Leader Sentenced: mormonnews.com/story/polygamous-sect-leader-faces-sentencing-after-girls-found-in-trailer-jskg
Finally, we look at the LDS Church's "Activity Sharing" program. Public-facing ward activities can appear in online searches and allow nonmembers to find local events and RSVP. The Church is encouraging wards to make activities more accessible to outsiders, while its own success stories show these community events can also lead to Sunday attendance and contact with missionaries. We look at how this fits with new research being conducted among nonmembers who attend LDS activities.
Links:
The Church's New Activity-Sharing Push: newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/activity-sharing-a-simple-way-for-latter-day-saints-to-invite-friends-to-church-ward-events
Show notes can be found on the Mormon Stories blog here: mormonstories.org/bloomberg-exposes-mormon-land-empire-baseball-baptisms-more
Timecodes:
00:00:00 - Introduction to stories
00:04:08 - How much church the land owns
00:04:33 - (Clip) News coverage
00:08:04 - (Clip) Ashley Powell in charge of Property Reserve
00:10:32 - (Clip) Church owns 2.4 million acres
00:16:24 - (Clip) How does the church pay for the land?
00:24:12 - (Clip) Why does this matter?
00:26:54 - (Clip) Tithing montage
00:37:50 - Baseball baptisms
00:40:03 - (Clip) What are baseball baptisms?
00:44:00 - Number of members
00:45:35 - (Clip) What leaders want you to spend time on
00:47:11 - (Clip) Why the church keeps these numbers
00:52:45 - Church growth by numbers
00:54:45 - Comparing the maps to population growth
00:59:45 - Sam Bateman sentenced again
01:01:24 - Drive through church
01:01:50 - (Clip) Mormon Land on Church schedule
01:03:25 - (Clip) What is the goal of Sunday School?
01:08:48 - (Clip) Why did they make this change?
01:12:37 - (Clip) The church builds community
01:15:24 - (Clip) The students were not studying at home
01:27:18 - (Clip) Drive through church
01:20:58 - (Clip) Lessons on Conference talks
01:22:52 - (Clip) Church program you wished would come back?
01:29:10 - (Clip) Church is not a social club
01:33:46 - Activity sharing
01:36:04 - Survey by the church
01:43:07 - (Clip) Priesthood ban video
01:51:22 - (Clip) Gay man speaking against Charlie Bird
01:58:30 - Closing remarks
For this weeks Mormon News Podcast, John Dehlin and Meggan Hayes dig into what Bloomberg uncovered about the Church's growing real estate empire, plus warnings about "baseball baptisms" and the push for convert growth, concerns about the Church's new Sunday meeting schedule, the sentencing of a polygamous sect leader, and a new LDS strategy for bringing nonmembers into local meetinghouses.
Bloomberg's investigation examines just how much land The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns across the United States and how its property holdings have grown. We look at the numbers, where that land is concentrated, and what the investigation reveals about the scale of the Church's real estate portfolio.
Links:
Bloomberg Digs Into the Church's Land Holdings: youtu.be/G0pU8s0hlJU
Historian Matthew Bowman warns against chasing membership growth at the expense of meaningful conversion, pointing to the infamous era of "baseball baptisms." What can that history teach us about today's emphasis on missionary numbers and Church growth?
Links:
Beware the "Baseball Baptisms": sltrib.com/religion/2026/08/26/be-wary-baseball-baptisms-quest
Changes are also coming to Sunday meetings. A new schedule means shorter classes and less transition time between meetings. Supporters see a more streamlined Sunday experience, while others worry about losing valuable time for discussion, connection, and community.
Links:
Is Sunday Church Getting Too Short?: sltrib.com/religion/2026/08/26/mormon-land-podcast-we-dissect-new
We also cover the sentencing of polygamous sect leader Samuel Bateman, who was already serving a lengthy federal prison sentence and has now received additional prison time in Arizona.
Links:
Polygamous Sect Leader Sentenced: mormonnews.com/story/polygamous-sect-leader-faces-sentencing-after-girls-found-in-trailer-jskg
Finally, we look at the LDS Church's "Activity Sharing" program. Public-facing ward activities can appear in online searches and allow nonmembers to find local events and RSVP. The Church is encouraging wards to make activities more accessible to outsiders, while its own success stories show these community events can also lead to Sunday attendance and contact with missionaries. We look at how this fits with new research being conducted among nonmembers who attend LDS activities.
Links:
The Church's New Activity-Sharing Push: newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/activity-sharing-a-simple-way-for-latter-day-saints-to-invite-friends-to-church-ward-events
Show notes can be found on the Mormon Stories blog here: mormonstories.org/bloomberg-exposes-mormon-land-empire-baseball-baptisms-more
Timecodes:
00:00:00 - Introduction to stories
00:04:08 - How much church the land owns
00:04:33 - (Clip) News coverage
00:08:04 - (Clip) Ashley Powell in charge of Property Reserve
00:10:32 - (Clip) Church owns 2.4 million acres
00:16:24 - (Clip) How does the church pay for the land?
00:24:12 - (Clip) Why does this matter?
00:26:54 - (Clip) Tithing montage
00:37:50 - Baseball baptisms
00:40:03 - (Clip) What are baseball baptisms?
00:44:00 - Number of members
00:45:35 - (Clip) What leaders want you to spend time on
00:47:11 - (Clip) Why the church keeps these numbers
00:52:45 - Church growth by numbers
00:54:45 - Comparing the maps to population growth
00:59:45 - Sam Bateman sentenced again
01:01:24 - Drive through church
01:01:50 - (Clip) Mormon Land on Church schedule
01:03:25 - (Clip) What is the goal of Sunday School?
01:08:48 - (Clip) Why did they make this change?
01:12:37 - (Clip) The church builds community
01:15:24 - (Clip) The students were not studying at home
01:27:18 - (Clip) Drive through church
01:20:58 - (Clip) Lessons on Conference talks
01:22:52 - (Clip) Church program you wished would come back?
01:29:10 - (Clip) Church is not a social club
01:33:46 - Activity sharing
01:36:04 - Survey by the church
01:43:07 - (Clip) Priesthood ban video
01:51:22 - (Clip) Gay man speaking against Charlie Bird
01:58:30 - Closing remarks
