Church Mission Thoughts (Jun 2013)

Last night I was reading President Eyring's talk in the last priesthood session "We are One" and the Lord has been inspiring many thoughts.

The bishop oversees all the government of the ward but has a couple special focuses: Aaronic priesthood, missionary work, worthiness, and physical welfare. It seems like Aaronic priesthood can be connected to the other three. The bishop should delegate, as appropriate, to the Aaronic priesthood holders active participation in teaching the gospel, committing people to obey commandments and support those in need. This would also prepare them better to serve full time missions. Teaching, committing and serving should be second nature habits before they enter the mission field.

I was also thinking about the concept of strengthening the core. The wards that have the most love appear to me to be the ones which grow the fastest. So, I think that missionary work should only proceed in balance with the other missions of the church. We should focus on growing in size only in measure with our strength (Jacob 5).

The order is that we first commit to make covenants. Then we keep that commitment by making covenants. Then we keep our covenants. However, it is more important to keep our covenants than to make them, because if we make them and don't keep them we are worse off then if we did not make them. Likewise, making covenants is more important than just committing to them for the same reason; and because it is through the covenants and their associated ordinances that we are saved and exalted.

Here is a set of seven showing a set of three:
1) (first) We hear the gospel
2) We make covenants
3) (last) We keep covenants
4) (last) We make new friends who support us in keeping covenants (including the Holy Ghost)
5) We spend time growing and making further commitments like accepting callings and responsibilities
6) (first) We share the gospel with our friends
7) The Lord blesses us

It has been my observation that sometimes Elder's quorum presidents and bishops tend to focus most on getting new members and less on strengthening the ones we have. For example, where home teaching is concerned they think that the active members are strong enough and need less support. Therefore, if they are not home taught as frequently it is okay, as long as those who are less active or semi-active are home taught more frequently. This is backwards to me. Likewise, with missionary work the focus is more on teaching and baptizing new members and less on what to do once they are baptized. The transition from being taught and committing to the gospel and then being a baptized member is not smooth enough.

My observation of this started on my mission where I noticed that the wards that grew the fastest were the strongest (the growth being the symptom and the strength being the cause). But more specifically, I noticed that they were the wards which had the highest home teaching percent. Obviously, the numbers are not the focus, but numbers are a symptom. Numbers indicate the strength of testimony, strength of commitment and strength of love.

So, in the case of the Elder's quorum president, he should make sure first, that every active member is being cared for. Are their testimonies strengthening? Are they supported in their commitment to the gospel and going above and beyond in their callings? Are they being loved by other members of the ward by being invited to events or activities outside of leadership instruction?

Every home teaching companionship that is doing 100% of their visits should then have added to their list one semi-active or less active family. The Elder's quorum presidency should have a focus of committing members of the quorum to do their home teaching. This should not be done in the typical way (having an elder's quorum lesson on it), but rather, should be done with creativity, commitment and revelation.

In the case of missionary work, the ward missionaries should be in the practice of visiting the newly baptized members at least as frequently as the full-time missionaries did. This frequency should continue until they have a calling and feel supported in that calling and then gradually tapper to an appropriate level. After the full time missionaries are done with the lessons, the ward missionaries take over completely. They then visit with the home teachers that have been assigned. These home teachers must visit as frequently as the ward missionaries have been and then tapper to an appropriate level.

I think to say this last paragraph better, ward missionaries visit investigators with the missionaries. Once an investigator is committed to baptism, one ward missionary is assigned as their home teacher (visiting with the missionaries) with the special assignment of a high frequency of visits. Once they are baptized a second ward missionary is assigned as the home teaching companion to the first where they continue the high frequency of visits. Their focus is to prepare the new member to keep their baptismal covenants (by sharing the gospel, going to the temple and taking names with them, and serving in the church) and to make new covenants. After a time determined by the ward mission leader and the appropriate quorum leader, one of the ward missionaries is assigned a new companion who is not a ward missionary with a little lower frequency of visits, but still more than once a month. Then, perhaps after the new member has received their temple covenants, the ward missionaries are no longer involved in their home teaching.

In president Eyring's talk he mentions the bishop or ward council discussing each progressing investigator. I think that each new member should likewise be discussed, perhaps in a different setting or without the bishop.

I have described a means of carrying out the three missions of the church. The first is preaching the gospel to inspire commitment to make and keep covenants (not just baptism). The second is redeeming the living by making covenants and the dead by doing temple work. The third is perfecting the saints by keeping covenants to serve God and to build up His kingdom both physically and spiritually.