Why Do People Join the LDS Church: or, Why Do Religions Exist?

Very few adult converts join the LDS Church out of fear and/or guilt. Most of them join because something about the teachings resonates with them - and the LDS approach to "preaching the Gospel" is FAR less fear and guilt infused than that of most other denominations. There is a big difference between why people JOIN a religion and why multiple-generation members stay - and it points to the need for those generational members to experience an individual conversion of some sort to replace the natural reason to stay without such experiences.

My own take is that religion is so popular because people really are spiritual beings having a mortal experience. There just is something inside most people that makes them want to believe in a God of some kind. It's the need to work out the details that creates religions.