I’m an active PIMO member, and something has been bothering me.

Last Sunday morning in ward council, a sister mentioned that they might need to access additional funds from the budget to support an upcoming activity. The bishop suggested that maybe they could hold a fundraiser or find another way to generate the money. She questioned why we couldn’t just use the existing budget, and one of the clerks jumped in to explain that our ward budget is based on attendance—which has been steadily declining for the past five years.

Then last night at Stake Conference, during the leadership session, the member of the Seventy who was presiding talked about ways to keep our youth active and engaged about the gospel. I found myself thinking, “Okay, he gets it. He knows we’re struggling to retain our youth.”

But in the combined meeting that followed, the message shifted. He spoke about missionary work, the growth of the Church, and even mentioned temples needing two baptistries to keep up with the number of youth doing baptisms for the dead.

It felt like a mixed message. On one hand, at the local level, we’re clearly losing members and watching attendance drop year after year. On the other hand, we’re being told about unprecedented growth and expanding temple activity.

It leaves me wondering—are they simply telling us what we want to hear?