Why We're Hemorrhaging Members

As a Church we are hemorrhaging members, this is a trend that started in 1991.  And since the advent of Google it has only been exacerbated.  We have14+ million registered members but active membership of those who self-identify as Mormon/LDS is estimated to be around 5 million.  Now what's so disconcerting is that people don't just become inactive but stop self-identifying as LDS.  They have fallen away completely and retention rates are also dismal, it is common for a new convert to only remain active for about a year after baptism.
This downturn in retention of members new and old is certainly a perfect storm of issues, a confluence of events that result in an abysmal membership rate.  So what are some of the issues that come into play?
I had a long talk with Don Bradley about this very issue, he asserts and I agree one of the primary reasons is the "we are Christians too" kick we have been on as a church.  I have taken part in the discussion too but I was speaking to my readership which is primarily LDS not evangelical Christian.
When we go from judging our Christianity on our own term to the terms of others we then forfeit the debate, we lose automatically by definition.  We turn over control to our opponents rather than our Savior.  We used to be a Church that said in essence "We follow the teachings of Christ as best we can and as best we understand them and if others do not consider us to be Christian that is their loss."
But when we try so hard to adapt our beliefs to make them more palpable to the evangelical country we live in we dilute the Gospel we were instructed and formed to spread, this does no one in our Church or any other any favors.  We do not faithfully recognize the Gospel of the Restoration if we dilute it to make it more acceptable to other Christians.
For example we place little emphasis on having a Heavenly Mother, on becoming exalted beings and equals with God as in the example of Jesus, or in eternal families and conceiving spirit children because we fear it makes us look weird and we don't like that as a Church anymore. For example The God Makers severely impacted the Church and embarrassed us as a people; it seemed to be in the wake of that that the modern PR campaign to "normalize" our faith began.
According to Wikipedia "The God Makers is a book and film highlighting the inner workings and perceived negative aspects of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The book and film was co-authored by Ed Decker and Dave Hunt.
The film, produced by Jeremiah Films in 1982, takes a highly critical view of the LDS Church, its practices, and its teachings. The film is an exposé of the Church's secrets, which has been controversial among church members and non-members since its release, provoking passionate debates about its veracity and message."
In the wake of this attack we De-emphasized many of the teachings that were attacked with venom in this film and shied away from what makes us so unique as a Church.
Think about it this way; if you're trying to sell a product are you going to emphasize the aspects of your product that are the same as what people already have or is it a better idea to emphasize those points along with the added bonuses and features that you Only get with this particular product?  Which tactic is more successful?  Because for the last 25 years or so we have been emphasizing the similarities to the rest of Christendom and we have suffered as a result.
Also though I understand the milk before meat principle our Church has gone so overboard with this concept that now we offer milk Instead of meat.  The teachings of Joseph Smith contained in Joseph Smith as a Scientist are know by only a fraction of members as well as the Lectures on Faith by JS.  The mysticism once so integral to our faith is all but gone in the typical LDS ward house.  In other words the meat is gone and only the milk remains.  In order to progress from childhood to maturity and adulthood you need to be weaned from milk and start to eat meat you cannot progress otherwise.  So if we continue on this path how are our members to grow and progress spiritually in any proper sense?
It is noble to find the common ground between faiths, interfaith dialog can broaden and strengthen faith but we cannot brand ourselves as just another Christian Church especially since we are not typical in any sense.  We are a unique, distinguished and ultimately revolutionary faith and we have been since our restoration.  That should not be diminished that should be praised.  We should not be shamed by our differences but joyous because of them.