April 2022 LDS General Conference

Every six months, we get a General Conference featuring the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Was there anything newsworthy this time around? The top fifteen leaders, comprised of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has remained unchanged since 2018. The following shows their order of seniority, the year they were called to the Q12, the initials of the church president who called them, name, birthday, current age, and where they were born.

==First Presidency==
(1) 1984-(SWK)-Russell M. Nelson - 9/9/1924 - 97 - USA-UT
(2) 1984-(SWK)-Dallin H. Oaks - 8/12/1932 - 89 - USA-UT
(5) 1995-(GBH)-Henry B. Eyring - 5/31/1933 - 88 - USA-NJ

==Quorum of Twelve Apostles==
(3) 1985-(SWK)-M. Russell Ballard - 10/8/1928 - 93 - USA-UT
(4) 1994-(HWH)-Jeffrey R. Holland - 12/3/1940 - 81 - USA-UT
(6) 2004-(GBH)-Dieter F. Uchtdorf - 11/6/1940 - 81 - Czech (German)
(7) 2004-(GBH)-David A. Bednar - 6/15/1952 - 69 - USA-CA
(8) 2007-(GBH)-Quentin L. Cook - 9/8/1940 - 81 - USA-UT
(9) 2008-(TSM)-D. Todd Christofferson - 1/24/1945 - 77 - USA-UT

(10) 2009-(TSM)-Neil L. Andersen - 8/9/1951 - 70 - USA-UT
(11) 2015-(TSM)-Ronald A. Rasband - 2/6/1951 - 71 - USA-UT
(12) 2015-(TSM)-Gary E. Stevenson - 8/5/1955 - 66 - USA-UT
(13) 2015-(TSM)-Dale G. Renlund - 11/1/1952 - 69 - USA-UT
(14) 2018-(RMN)-Gerrit W. Gong - 12/23/1953 - 68 - USA-CA
(15) 2018-(RMN)-Ulisses Soares - 10/2/1958 - 63 - Brazil

The biggest story would be a report that is no longer part of General Conference, but is released on the church website during Conference. I can understand why they no longer want to report the numbers during. While still growing, the church's rate of growth has been steadily declining for decades.

The last time the church saw a membership increase of more than 

4% - 1991

3% - 1999

2% - 2013

1% - 2019

The church has had less than 1% growth for the second year in a row, which hasn't happened since the 1850's, in the times of the Utah War. Covid is likely the primary reason for the "less than 1%" but the leaders have to keep wondering why the decline continues. The church is on pace to have shrinking numbers before the end of the decade. 

Total Membership / Growth %

2012 14,782,473 2.36%

2013 15,082,028 2.03%

2014 15,372,337 1.92%

2015 15,634,199 1.70%

2016 15,882,417 1.59%

2017 16,118,169 1.48%

2018 16,313,735 1.21%

2019 16,565,036 1.54%

2020 16,663,663 0.60%

2021 16,805,400 0.85%

As to the actual talks, no revelations. Emphasis on all eligible young men to go serve a two-year mission. David Bednar said don't listen to critics of the church. Dale Renlund gave an obnoxious talk about Heavenly Mother, warning against speculation while providing zero enlightenment beyond "Don't pray to Her." Dallin H. Oaks gave the clincher, doubling down against gay marriage and LGBT people in general - "The Lord has required His restored Church to oppose social and legal pressures to retreat from His doctrine of marriage between a man and a woman, to oppose changes that homogenize the differences between men and women or confuse or alter gender."

And then of course, Oaks goes on to suggest anyone who has a problem with that is from Satan: "Our Heavenly Father’s plan allows for 'opposition in all things,' and Satan’s most strenuous opposition is directed at whatever is most important to that plan. Consequently, he seeks to oppose progress toward exaltation by distorting marriage, discouraging childbearing, or confusing gender. However, we know that in the long run, the divine purpose and plan of our loving Heavenly Father will not be changed."

If the church really wanted to turn things around, it'd forego the seniority order for the Presidency and make Dieter F. Uchtdorf the next prophet, but I think the egos of the men ahead of him would never allow that. "Over our dead bodies, literally" would be the sentiment.