20 years ago today - Nov 1, 1995

Five BYU professors submit an officially-commissioned, four-year study of LDS applicants for freshmen admission (1971-88). Findings show that active Mormons who attend BYU "even for only one semester" have significantly higher rates of temple marriage, tithing payment, and belief in LDS doctrines than Mormons who attend other colleges. Although survey participants are age twenty-six to mid-forties, 20 percent "of the marriage respondents in both groups remianed childless." BYU's spokesperson says that the executive committee of the Board of Trustees decides to suppress this report because "we already get a lot of pressure about admission to BYU and release of this study would only make that worse." Since 1973 the enrollment limit of 27,000 means that "only a small and shrinking minority of Mormon youth," can attend BYU. No spokesperson at LDS headquarters or at BYU comments on the evidence of long-term birth-control by married couples who are actively LDS. Despite contrary statements of BYU's spokesperson and sources at church headquarters, BYU president Bateman denies in February 1996 that the board has made any decision about circulating this study's findings.

[Source: The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database (http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase)]]

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