David G. Stewart

David G. Stewart is the author of Law of the Harvest, the data-driven critique of LDS missionary work Kyle read in 2019. In Kyle’s notes, Stewart’s central provocation is that the Church baptizes far more than it retains — and that the gap is a methodology problem, not an inevitability of growth: “When individuals are baptized but do not attend church… has the Church grown?” He argues retention, not baptism counts, is the real metric (Church Growth); that high-demand faiths grow faster rather than slower; that finding (not teaching) is the bottleneck; and that “it is impossible to achieve meaningful improvement without awareness of present reality.” Kyle ties Stewart’s data-welcoming posture to Faith is Not Blind — “Those whose faith is grounded in a true testimony… will welcome data and objective analysis” — and to a Radical Candor-style honesty about metrics over flattering numbers.

Context: David G. Stewart Jr. is an orthopedic surgeon and LDS author and demographer known for his data-centered analysis of Church growth and convert retention, including The Law of the Harvest: Practical Principles of Effective Missionary Work.

Where this appears

• Law of the Harvest — author of the book; quoted throughout on retention vs. baptisms, high-demand religion, and honest measurement