A Religious Startup

2025 was our 20th year in business. When I think of all the things we have been through in those twenty years, I consider it a miracle that we have made it this far.

Out of curiosity I recently asked ChatGPT about statistics around the survival rates for businesses over the years.

Here is what it said:

78–82% of new businesses survive year 1
~50% survive 5 years
~35% survive 10 years
Analysts infer that well under 5%—and near ~1% or less—survive to 50 years.

In 2023, over 5 million new businesses were started and probably over 100 million businesses were started over the past two hundred years. Very few businesses have succeeded. It takes a unique combination of vision, adaptability, good fortune, and many other factors.

In that same vein, a while back I was talking to someone about Joseph Smith and early church history, and I compared the early church to a startup, and it really struck a chord with me. So, when I saw these statistics, I got even more curious about how well new churches and denominations survive and thrive over time.

I searched for many hours, and I really couldn’t find great statistics, and clearly far fewer new denominations are started than businesses. While I was searching and reading, I found something that was really interesting. Some scholars believe that between 1820-1860 more new Christian denominations were formed than any other period since the reformation era spawned new denominations so many centuries earlier.

We know from history that this period was known as the Great Awakening and Joseph Smith lived in what was called “The Burnt Over District.” Dozens, if not hundreds, of new denominations and religions were formed during this time and thousands of new congregations within already established denominations.

This unique environment for a new religion to be formed and succeed occurred during an interesting window of time; after the many wars of freedom (1775-1812) and before the Civil War (1861-1865). Scholars called this window of time a Religious Laboratory where people needed meaning as they felt like the old ways weren’t providing it.

This line of study and thought led me to this essay about engaging with early church history and the Church itself as a religious startup.

To best help us engage with our history as a religious startup, I needed a framework of attributes that would help us as we looked at the early church. I consulted a handful of business books, my own experience and ChatGPT to create 6 things that are almost always involved in a successful new business:

A Strong Vision
Product and Environment
Executive Team Strength
Capitalization and Financial Resources
Operational Execution
Adaptability and Evolution

From here I think you’ll be interested to see how early church history fits into this framework, both good and bad, but mostly I think you’ll see how big of a miracle it truly is that the Church has thrived for almost 200 years.

A Strong Vision

Visions of God, Jesus Christ and angels coming to restore the true Gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth after it was lost is a very ambitious vision. The idea that God would again speak to prophets and help correct the wrongs of the previous 1,800 years would have been, and continues to be, one of the most compelling visions in our modern times.

Then from there, it wasn’t just an idea and a vision, there came so much substance to support that vision – revelations and doctrines to back it up. The first new claimed book of scripture in over a thousand years, the first set of modern revelations documented in centuries, answers to questions that had troubled Christian theologians for thousands of years (see below for some key examples):

Adam and Eve didn’t make a mistake as their fall was part of the plan
We existed prior to the creation of the earth, and our spirits are eternal
God doesn’t only love Jews and Christians – not everyone who died without knowing Jesus was going to hell and we all can return to our Father
Heaven and Hell is incomplete and there is so much more to eternity – families and relationships last forever – we continue to progress and inherit all that God has
Mother in heaven, Priesthood, how the Law of Moses and the New Testament church work together, restoring temples, emphasizing covenants, the Nature of the Godhead, science and religion should coexist, etc.
The mission of the church is to bring the word to the world by example and effort and to bring to pass God’s work and glory – the eternal life of humankind

Joseph Smith’s vision and revelations brought an unbelievably unique vision as to what the Church was and was supposed to do. This vision has captivated millions around the world.

Summary: An Inspiring Vision with Unbelievable Foundational Revelations

Product and Environment

Most businesses are successful not only because their product is great. It also has to be of great need and be attainable. Market conditions must include opportunity, and a tremendous amount of support, acceptance from communities, the media, governments, and subscribers.

On this point early church is a mixed bag.

As established earlier, the product itself was very much something that was appealing and the conditions of that time in American history was about the only time it had any chance of success. On the other hand, bringing the product to market was difficult in the 1800’s. Very few people read, the mail system was fledgling, the early saints were poor and so it was nearly impossible to get the message out other than to do missionary work.

On top of that, the broader market absolutely despised the early church. The opposition both from fellow religionists, former members, the local and national media, and the government was unbelievably united against the church. The church had its base camp in no less than 7 places, most often being run out of town by people who despised them.

In addition, many of their forced moves included their property being destroyed or confiscated. Normally a group is able to appeal to the government for protection, but in the case of the early church they were also persecuted by the government for close to 100 years.

Imagine a business facing those challenges. Imagine any organization facing those challenges. I can hardly believe the church survived those early years.

Summary: The product itself was amazing, the timing for it to be established was amazing. However, it is nothing short of a miracle to survive the difficulties in establishing the product and the near constant persecution, confiscation of property, and governmental interference.

Executive Team Strength

When I look at one of the primary reasons our business has made it for the past twenty years it comes back to my partners. Our relationship, mutual sacrifice, complementary skill sets, trust and willingness to do whatever it took is the foundation for our survival. That unity creates trust from our employees and our clients. I think this is true for most businesses. The team is one of the most important things for long term success.

Then when we look objectively at the early leadership team of the church, we see that while Joseph was fortunate to bring people into the leadership team that had complimentary skill sets, the near constant change in leadership and infighting was a very difficult challenge for the early church.

All three witnesses to the Book of Mormon left the church and claimed Joseph was a fallen prophet. Over half of early First Presidency members left the church and started their own or persecuted the saints. The actual organization of leadership was evolving every few months and while it was still unstable the most unthinkable thing happened, Joseph Smith himself was killed. It is no surprise that almost everyone believed the church was finished at this moment. How could they think anything else? He was the only constant in the eyes of almost everyone.

The chances of the church surviving that moment were infinitesimally small. The ensuing conflict over this succession crises divided the church further. I honestly can’t even imagine this moment; how difficult this must have been.

Only God himself and the faith of those early saints carried the church through this moment. The stability that we know in the church now was not felt in that regard for probably 100 years after the church was formed.

Summary: With so much dissension, turnover, and negative former leaders it is a miracle the church survived.

Capitalization and Financial Resources

Very few businesses, if any, can succeed for more than five years without having capital and stable financial resources. The same is true for any organization. Except the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Here is a brief history of finances for the church:

Martin Harris mortgaged his farm to pay for the printing of the Book of Mormon (he lost the farm)
Early church members donated literally every asset and every dollar they had to establish Kirtland and even invested in the Kirtland Safety Society Bank.
The Kirtland Safety Society Bank (and hundreds of other banks) failed, and they lost everything invested in the bank.
New members of the church continued to flock to the church, they contributed what they had and bought land and a community in Missouri, and after the saints were chased out of Kirtland they were persecuted in Independence to the point where they had nearly all their property confiscated and they moved to Coldwell County.
In Coldwell County, members again used much of their money and assets to buy property and establish a community. This time it ended with The Extermination Order from the government and losing their property again.
They moved to Commerce Illinois and once again pooled their assets together to build a thriving community, only to be forced to leave again and migrate across the United States to Utah.
In Utah, the saints began to prosper after a few decades, only to be threatened again from the United States government because of plural marriage. If the saints could not meet the conditions of the government, they would not become a state, and they would have their government replaced by the Federal Government.
In the early 1900’s the church finances were at their worst, even though the communities began to thrive. Lorenzo Snow instituted Tithing as an obligation and eventually by the 1950’s the church became stable financially for the first time.
Now, the church may be the most stable financial institution in the entire world.

Whew! Spend a few minutes and think about this timeline. How is it even possible that the church survived and turned into what it is today? My sense of awe for these early saints is something that I can’t find words to describe.

Summary: The church had no legitimate source of capitalization and revenue for almost the first hundred years. There might not be a bigger miracle, and attestation of the conviction and faith of the early saints than this.

Operational Execution

Every startup business comes to a crossroads on the journey to long term stability. There comes a point when the heroic efforts of the founders must cede ground to systems and processes that allow the organization to grow and succeed over longer periods of time.

While the church struggled early on with operational execution (understandable as they were literally fighting for their very existence), but when Brigham Young took the reins in 1847 things began to change.

Brigham Young often gets a bad rap. He no doubt is the source of some of our most complicated and embarrassing moments within the church. He was a big personality and said a lot of things that haunt the church today. Through all of that, I think outside of Joseph Smith, he certainly deserves the most credit for our survival. He organized the community, he united the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he created the only lasting communities in church history, he gave the people the confidence to keep going and his organizational decisions is what much of the long-term success of the church sits on.

Now look at the church – it is an organization that employs (I count members since we do everything) over 16 million people. It does that with such operational efficiency that is the envy of other organizations around the world. When there is a natural disaster or some calamity, the church is there – organized, prepared, ready to help – making a difference in ways almost no other organization can. Across every single county in the world there are branches, missions, stakes, and areas that are functioning largely without major problems bringing the gospel (this most amazing product and vision) to the whole world. On top of that it consistently produces some of the most stable, happy, well-adjusted, productive human beings in the world. Everywhere it goes the life of the people it touches improves. Its unbelievable.

We take this for granted, and sometimes we actually get annoyed by it. The systems and process can be a pain in the butt sometimes. It causes frustrations, even people leave the church because of the organizational structure. I understand those feelings and actually find myself on the sympathetic side of maybe wanting a little less organizational efficiency. It bugs me a lot at times.

I cannot deny, however, the absolute miracle that it is to see where the church is now compared to where it began.

Summary: The church struggled initially in this regard but now may be one of the most well-run organizations in the world.

Adaptability and Evolution

Every long-term business must adapt and evolve. People change, culture changes, what people need changes. This is how businesses succeed in the long term. Amazon was an online bookstore, now it changes the world in so many other ways. There is a balance here with operational execution and systems that only the most successful businesses find.

The church has done nothing but evolve. The way it interacts with its members, the way it teaches, even many of it teachings have evolved. Sometimes that evolution was questionable, or late, or maybe not enough in the eyes of many, but it does evolve, and I believe it has found a balance that allows for it to grow and scale, while still evolving to be relevant to its primary customers (humans).

I know there are many things that people critique about the church in our modern age. It is always easy to see things that are wrong, or we disagree with, and it is impossible to build an organization that will be a perfect fit with every single person’s lived experience. Sometimes I don’t think we understand how difficult that goal is across different lives, cultures, nations, and generations.

What remains true it that every time it has faced an existential threat and the need to evolve it has done that by the grace of God and has come out of it stronger and more able to deliver it mission.

Summary: The evolution and adaptability of the church has been one of its greatest strengths from the beginning. Evolving so that it can be a vehicle to bring the gospel to people around the world, in different cultures, languages, problems, and situations is a inspiring.

When I taught my lesson to the youth a few weeks ago, a moment in early church history came to my mind that I hadn’t prepared to share, but it was one of the most spiritual moments of the class period.

In 1834, shortly after the Zion’s Camp failed attempt to preserve the saints in Missouri and many of the early leaders of the church leaving the church, there was a sentiment building amongst the members that Joseph was a fallen prophet. The people were in poverty from buying land in Missouri and building the Kirtland Temple. They were being persecuted and killed in Missouri, and leaders were leaving the church in Kirtland.

Everything seemed like it was falling apart.

Joseph gathered some of the remaining leaders into a room and was teaching them. I can’t even imagine their state of mind, but in that moment, Joseph said something that feels different to me now:

“Brethren, you know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother’s lap. This Church will fill North and South America—it will fill the world.”

I think this may have been the most impossible prophecy and prediction of all-time. How could anyone actually believe that at the time? Even if you knew what would happen over the next 50 years how could anyone believe it? Yet it came true and in my opinion that is because God has His hand upon the work of the church. None of the imperfections, problems, challenges, and catastrophic events that have or will happen have stopped it and nothing will.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Podcasts

Faith Matters Podcast: Encouraging faithful inquiry amid complexity.
Comeback Podcast: Sharing Stories of those who left the church and came back.
Unshaken with Jared Halverson: In-depth historical and doctrinal studies for those wrestling with tough questions.
Leading Saints: Insights into modern leadership and discipleship, often addressing nuanced challenges.

Books

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days (Vols. 1–2): Thorough Church history, incorporating modern research.
Planted by Patrick Q. Mason: A compassionate approach to faith challenges.
The Crucible of Doubt by Terryl and Fiona Givens: Thoughtful exploration of faith reconstruction.
Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Lyman Bushman: A deeply researched biography reflecting Joseph’s certainty and complexity.
Making Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants by Steven C. Harper: A summary of the history and context for each section of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Blogs and Articles

Gospel Essays: Accessible discussions suited for individual and group study.
Faith Matters: Engages contemporary faith topics with candor.

A Religious Startup

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