2011 census data indicates the current membership growth rate of 12.35% in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is nearly double that of five years ago.* Church leaders attribute the increase to the appeal of Mormonism’s steadiness amid changing social and moral standards.
Gordon B. Hinckley, past President of the Church, stated, “The Church is an anchor in a world of shifting values. Family life is unravelling across the world. We have a program of family solidarity that is satisfying a human need and offers hope to many...”
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“It seems,” says Elder Terrence Vinson, Area Seventy living in Sydney, “that there is an awakening in the Christian world generally, reflected in Australia, that something precious has been lost—that many of the traditional values and ethics of true Christian principles have been discarded. A significant number of concerned individuals are rallying against this loss and are seeking more earnestly to follow the clear path of undiluted truth as originally taught by Jesus Christ, our Saviour. “
According to many, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an exacting faith. Its members abstain from tea, coffee, alcohol and tobacco, and addictive drugs. They believe in the traditional institution of the family and shun pre-marital and extra-marital relationships.
“The Mormon view of the world is through the prism of eternal principles and unchangeable consequences,” says Alan Wakeley, Advisor to the Church’s Australia Public Affairs division. “We believe God’s laws are eternal and that the human conscience is born with an understanding of them.
“When religious denominations modify their views according to current social mores, the effect is a confusing message rather than the ‘certain sound of a trumpet’ that attracts people to our faith.”
Missionaries from Utah first arrived in Australia in the mid 1800s. Those who joined the Church at that time were encouraged to gather to the USA to help the Church grow a foundational base there.
In the early 1900s members were asked to remain in their homelands, at which time Australian Mormons began to establish a long-lasting legacy in this country. Over 132,000 Mormons now call Australia home, assembling in 285 congregations across the country.
*The figures were published 21 June 2012 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.