Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
For years, many Latter-day Saints have looked at declining activity rates and wondered the same thing:
Is the Church failing?
In this episode, I sit down with BYU Studies Editor-in-Chief Justin Dyer to examine what the data actually says about retention, religiosity, mental health, and why people leave faith. What we found surprised me.
While religious participation has declined dramatically across the United States, the data reveals that Latter-day Saints continue to retain active members at higher rates than nearly every other Christian denomination. The question may not be, “What’s going wrong with the Church?” but rather, “What is happening to religion, community, and identity as a whole?”
We discuss the four major groups of people who leave the Church, why many never completely close the door on returning, how politics increasingly shapes religious belief, and what predicts whether someone stays connected to faith over time.
We also explore a striking idea found in Doctrine and Covenants Section 1: that God foresaw the challenges of our day and provided guidance for navigating them. According to Justin’s research, the strongest predictor of whether someone remains connected to their faith isn’t simply church attendance or religious habits. It’s whether they consistently experience God in their lives.
Whether you are a parent worried about a child who has left the Church, someone wrestling with questions about faith, or simply trying to understand what is happening in our culture, this conversation offers both data and hope.
Chapters:
0:00 Title sequence
1:06 Decline in US religiosity?
5:00 Why certain groups leave vs stay?
13:25 Demographics & LDS data
21:00 Why religious decline in western society?
30:00 Religion and politics
40:08 Feeling God’s presence & perfectionism
53:00 What makes LDS different?
1:03:07 Family business - Immorality & eternal life
1:09:02 What can we do better?
1:21:57 Reversing trends & staying rooted
1:32:11 Bro Dyer’s faith experience & conclusions
1:41:52 Bro Dyer summary of the report
1:47:47 Helping others & testimonies
For years, many Latter-day Saints have looked at declining activity rates and wondered the same thing:
Is the Church failing?
In this episode, I sit down with BYU Studies Editor-in-Chief Justin Dyer to examine what the data actually says about retention, religiosity, mental health, and why people leave faith. What we found surprised me.
While religious participation has declined dramatically across the United States, the data reveals that Latter-day Saints continue to retain active members at higher rates than nearly every other Christian denomination. The question may not be, “What’s going wrong with the Church?” but rather, “What is happening to religion, community, and identity as a whole?”
We discuss the four major groups of people who leave the Church, why many never completely close the door on returning, how politics increasingly shapes religious belief, and what predicts whether someone stays connected to faith over time.
We also explore a striking idea found in Doctrine and Covenants Section 1: that God foresaw the challenges of our day and provided guidance for navigating them. According to Justin’s research, the strongest predictor of whether someone remains connected to their faith isn’t simply church attendance or religious habits. It’s whether they consistently experience God in their lives.
Whether you are a parent worried about a child who has left the Church, someone wrestling with questions about faith, or simply trying to understand what is happening in our culture, this conversation offers both data and hope.
Chapters:
0:00 Title sequence
1:06 Decline in US religiosity?
5:00 Why certain groups leave vs stay?
13:25 Demographics & LDS data
21:00 Why religious decline in western society?
30:00 Religion and politics
40:08 Feeling God’s presence & perfectionism
53:00 What makes LDS different?
1:03:07 Family business - Immorality & eternal life
1:09:02 What can we do better?
1:21:57 Reversing trends & staying rooted
1:32:11 Bro Dyer’s faith experience & conclusions
1:41:52 Bro Dyer summary of the report
1:47:47 Helping others & testimonies
