For this weeks Mormon News Podcast,  John Dehlin and Meggan Hayes dig into what Bloomberg uncovered about the Church's growing real estate empire, plus warnings about "baseball baptisms" and the push for convert growth, concerns about the Church's new Sunday meeting schedule, the sentencing of a polygamous sect leader, and a new LDS strategy for bringing nonmembers into local meetinghouses. Bloomberg's investigation examines just how much land The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns across the United States and how its property holdings have grown. We look at the numbers, where that land is concentrated, and what the investigation reveals about the scale of the Church's real estate portfolio. Links: Bloomberg Digs Into the Church's Land Holdings: https://youtu.be/G0pU8s0hlJU Historian Matthew Bowman warns against chasing membership growth at the expense of meaningful conversion, pointing to the infamous era of "baseball baptisms." What can that history teach us about today's emphasis on missionary numbers and Church growth? Links: Beware the "Baseball Baptisms": https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2026/08/26/be-wary-baseball-baptisms-quest/ Changes are also coming to Sunday meetings. A new schedule means shorter classes and less transition time between meetings. Supporters see a more streamlined Sunday experience, while others worry about losing valuable time for discussion, connection, and community. Links: Is Sunday Church Getting Too Short?: https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2026/08/26/mormon-land-podcast-we-dissect-new/ We also cover the sentencing of polygamous sect leader Samuel Bateman, who was already serving a lengthy federal prison sentence and has now received additional prison time in Arizona. Links: Polygamous Sect Leader Sentenced: https://www.mormonnews.com/story/polygamous-sect-leader-faces-sentencing-after-girls-found-in-trailer-jskg Finally, we look at the LDS Church's "Activity Sharing" program. Public-facing ward activities can appear in online searches and allow nonmembers to find local events and RSVP. The Church is encouraging wards to make activities more accessible to outsiders, while its own success stories show these community events can also lead to Sunday attendance and contact with missionaries. We look at how this fits with new research being conducted among nonmembers who attend LDS activities. Links: The Church's New Activity-Sharing Push: https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/activity-sharing-a-simple-way-for-latter-day-saints-to-invite-friends-to-church-ward-events Show notes can be found on the Mormon Stories blog here: https://www.mormonstories.org/bloomberg-exposes-mormon-land-empire-baseball-baptisms-more/ Timecodes: 00:00:00 - Introduction to stories 00:04:08 - How much church the land owns 00:04:33 - (Clip) News coverage 00:08:04 - (Clip) Ashley Powell in charge of Property Reserve 00:10:32 - (Clip) Church owns 2.4 million acres 00:16:24 - (Clip) How does the church pay for the land? 00:24:12 - (Clip) Why does this matter? 00:26:54 - (Clip) Tithing montage 00:37:50 - Baseball baptisms 00:40:03 - (Clip) What are baseball baptisms? 00:44:00 - Number of members 00:45:35 - (Clip) What leaders want you to spend time on 00:47:11 - (Clip) Why the church keeps these numbers 00:52:45 - Church growth by numbers 00:54:45 - Comparing the maps to population growth 00:59:45 - Sam Bateman sentenced again 01:01:24 - Drive through church 01:01:50 - (Clip) Mormon Land on Church schedule 01:03:25 - (Clip) What is the goal of Sunday School? 01:08:48 - (Clip) Why did they make this change? 01:12:37 - (Clip) The church builds community 01:15:24 - (Clip) The students were not studying at home 01:27:18 - (Clip) Drive through church 01:20:58 - (Clip) Lessons on Conference talks 01:22:52 - (Clip) Church program you wished would come back? 01:29:10 - (Clip) Church is not a social club 01:33:46 - Activity sharing 01:36:04 - Survey by the church 01:43:07 - (Clip) Priesthood ban video 01:51:22 - (Clip) Gay man speaking against Charlie Bird 01:58:30 - Closing remarks