I grew up in the Church as a faithful member. Served mission married in temple. Fast forward 20 years and 4 children and I no longer believe. Although my family knows or senses this I am careful no to sway (too much) their opinions or beliefs with one exception; missions.

I loved my mission and the experiences on it. Saw wonderful conversions and count many families and old companions as friends today. That said, some of the most fulfilling experiences I had was what little community service we did. Not the door knocking.

I am not a fan of my kids serving missions today. With the internet it's too difficult to share the message without people knowing all the facts and muddied history. I also think their time could be better spent serving in volunteering capacities.

I have often shared with with full active members and surprisingly almost all of them (don't like speaking in absolutes but can't think of anyone who has disagreed) that the church would have better success if they changed their approach to 95% community based service and 5% proselytizing.

Imagine a community where a person saw a 18 year old who had decided to leave his or her family for 2 years all to serve their fellow man. He would then compare this to their child who may be living in their basement unemployed playing video games all day and then ask "what makes this kid different?". They might even want to learn more without be asked.

Has anyone else thought this? Imagine the good the church could do with it's vast wealth of money and service hours of its members if it did this.

Disclaimer. Sorry for the lenght of post and if this has already been covered in previous posts (new to Reddit)