Could Mormonism Make Liberal Judaism Relevant?

While perusing the findings of the 2011 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches published by the National Council of Churches (NCC), I couldn’t help but notice that all of the denominations that were listed as “growing”  – Latter-day Saints, Catholics, Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Pentecostals – were not members of the ecumenical NCC. However, almost all of those with declining membership figures were mainline Protestant members of the NCC, including Presbyterians, Methodists, and Episcopalians. Coincidentally, I also happened to read an article in the Forward newspaper that documented the decline of the Reform and Conservative movements in Judaism (i.e., the Jewish equivalents of liberal Protestants), which are “struggling for relevance and funding.” As a member of one of the fastest-growing faiths who wishes to see more Jews become active in their communities, I humbly offer several suggestions for making liberal Judaism more relevant and meaningful to people who are voting with their feet to abandon organized Judaism.