Item Detail
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27578
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0
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0
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English
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The Mormon culture of community and recruitment
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Wheaton, Illinois
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Wheaton College
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125
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Honors Thesis
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This thesis is a study of the culture of community and recruitment in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as LDS Church or Mormonism. The statistical report published by the Church in December 2009 recorded that there were 13,824,854 Mormons worldwide. This compares to one million members in 1947, and two million members as of the end of 1963. I believe that Mormonism appeals to members by providing a safe harbor from what believers commonly describe as a "sin-driven", and competitive American society.
At the same time, the general public often perceives the Mormon faith negatively. There is even a certain apprehension toward the LDS Church. As a critical thinker, I wondered why and how the Church experienced such exponential growth, and so undertook to study the Mormon culture of community and recruitment. I examined the Church's organizational structure offline and online, as well as its beliefs and practices.