Blog 10

Danielle Orrock

Blog 10

December 4, 2012

Globalization and the Church

            Globalization is a phenomenon that is sweeping the world, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is not an untouched by this.  The many effects of globalization on the church have a positive effect on the growth of its membership and services, and the church is happy to accept them.

            Professor Hawkins defined globalization in class as, “the world becom[ing] a single market in terms of both demand and supply.” (December 3, 2012). Using this definition we focused on the two aspects of globalization, the supply and demand. Globalization in demand being what the people of the world want and globalization in supply being the products or ideas being processes at different points or states along the way of its production.

            The first part of this definition of the globalization of demands can be found in examples of the church. More and more people are joining the Church. Authors Goodman and Hooper noted some statistics of the church in their article, “By 1970 the 55,000 convert baptisms made up 59% of all new members. In 1998 the 299,000 converts made up 80% of all new members,” (2012). So the demand for the gospel and for membership is growing at an exponential rate.

            The second half of the definition of globalization is supply. This can be seen in the statistics of the temples. According to the Facts and Statistics page on the Mormon Newsroom, “There are 166 temples throughout the world either in operation, under construction or announced,” and at least that many languages (2012).  Also according to the same source there are over 50.000 missionaries supplying the gospel to the people around the world in approximately 350 missions (2012). These institutions and missionaries help facilitate the spread of the gospel across the globe and provide opportunities for the people to use them and to learn more about the church, as well as internet sites reaching the far corners of the earth.

            The globalization of supply not only effects the cultural side, but also economic as well. According to Boise Idaho Temple Rededicated After Extensive Renovation page on Mormon Newsroom, when the church builds a building whether it be a temple or a meetinghouse, the church uses local resources as well as exported items. The author gives an example of the Boise, Idaho using woods from Africa and the United States (2012). This increases the economy of the multiple economies across the world.

            Globalization of the Church has a positive impact on the spreading of their message. The view this globalization as a way to effectively and quickly spread their information and share the gospel with as many people they can (Christensen, 2008). Overall the globalization of the church is a positive thing and the leaders of the church view it as such.

Works Cited

Christensen, J. J. (2008) “The Globalization of the Church Educational System,” in Global Mormonism in the 21st Century, ed. Reid L. Neilson

Facts and statistics. (2012). Newsroom. Retrieved from http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-statistics/

Facts and Boise Idaho Temple Rededicated After Extensive Renovation. (2012).  Newsroom. Retrieved from http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/boise-idaho-temple-rededicated-after-extensive-renovation

Goodman, K. L., & Hooper, D. A. (2012). Globalization. Global Mormonism project. Retrieved from http://globalmormonism.byu.edu/?page_id=899

Professor Hawkins. 2012, December 3. Globalization