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Question: Why would the true church of Jesus Christ be comprised of only a small percentage of the population of the Earth?
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Question: Why would the true church of Jesus Christ be comprised of only a small percentage of the population of the Earth?
Christ specifically mentioned to His followers that they were the "salt of the earth"
No matter how many member of the Church there may be at any time in history, it appears that being the smaller number among a larger population has long been the problem of the Gospel. This may be why Christ specifically mentioned to His followers that they were the "salt of the earth." To modern English speakers, that idiom is used to mean good, average people, but that wasn't what Christ meant. He was speaking to very few who believed him. Those who believed were to do for the earth what salt does to a pot of stew or soup. A little seasoning nevertheless plays an important part.
Christ never answered the specific question of why there were so few believers, but he did tell those few believers that they played an important role.
An angel showed Nephi a vision of the last days and the Church numbers were described a few in comparison to the rest of the world
In 1 Nephi 14:12, an angel shows Nephi a vision of the last days and the church numbers were described a few in comparison to the rest of the world.There's no reason to believe that Latter-day Saints will ever outnumber the largest religions based on this vision. Remember that when the gospel is finally preached in all the world, the Second Coming will occur and the end of the current condition will follow. Latter-day Saints believe that all mankind will have an opportunity to hear the Gospel but that most of the population of the Earth will hear it in the Spirit World. Those who had no opportunity to hear it in mortality will have that opportunity then. When you consider the small minority of the earth's population throughout all of history that even knew about Jesus Christ, it should not surprise us that many in our day will not hear about Him either. Latter-day Saints believe that God is just and is concerned about all of His children. He will see to it that all mankind are taught and judged justly.
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