Action Guide to
Planning, Time Management, and Implementation
By David Stewart. Copyright 2001.
Version of August 26, 2001
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Contents:
Strategic Planning
Prayer and Planning
Goals
Time Management
Proselyting Hours
Preparation Day
Nutrition
Work
Thoughts on Work by Kelly Mordaunt
Lessons from the Area Book
Strategic Planning
Spencer W. Kimball taught of the need for powerful strategic planning to reach every soul with the gospel message (Ensign, October 1974):
"The scriptures are replete with commands and
promises and calls and rewards for teaching the gospel. I use the word command
deliberately for it seems to be an insistent directive from which we, singly
and collectively, cannot escape. I ask
you, what did He mean when the Lord took his Twelve Apostles to the top of the
Mount of Olives and said: '...And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the
earth.' (Acts 1:8). These were His last words on earth before He went to His
heavenly home. What is the significance
of the phrase 'uttermost most part of the earth'? He had already covered the
area known to the apostles. Was it the people in Judea? Or those in Samaria? Or
the few millions in the Near East? Where were the 'uttermost parts of the earth'?
Did He mean the millions in what is now America? Did He include the hundreds of
thousands or even millions, in Greece, Italy, around the Mediterranean, the
inhabitants of central Europe? What did he mean? Or did He mean all the living
people of all the world and those spirits assigned to this world to come in
centuries ahead? Have we underestimated his language or its meaning? How can we
be satisfied with 100,000 converts out of nearly four billion people in the
world who need the gospel? After His
crucifixion the eleven apostles assembled on a mountain in Galilee and the
Savior came to them and said: '...All power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:' (He said 'all nations.') 'Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with
you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.' (Matt 28:18-20)...
"Again as Mark records the events after the
resurrection, he upbraided those who had some doubts about his resurrection,
then commanded them, '...Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature.' (Mark 16:15). And this was just before the ascension. Do you
think he meant Egypt and Palestine and Greece? Do you think he included the
world of 33 AD or the world of 1970, 1980, 1990? What was included in his
phrase 'all the world' and what did he mean by 'every creature'? And Luke records the event - '...That
repentance and remission of sins should be preached...among all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem.' (Luke 24:47). Again , his last command. Surely there
is significance in these words! There was a universal need and there must be
universal coverage.
"As I remember the world as Moses saw it - it was
a big world. '...And Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the
children of men which are, and which were created...' (Moses 1:8). I am
constrained to believe that at that time the Lord knew the bounds of the
habitations of man and the areas that would be settled and already knew his people
who would possess this world. Still impressing Moses with the magnitude of his
works and glory, the Lord showed him more. '...Moses cast his eyes and beheld
the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did
not behold, discerning it by the spirit of God...And their numbers were great,
even numberless as the sand upon the sea shore. And he beheld many lands; and
each land was called earth, and there were inhabitants on the face thereof.'
(Moses 1:27-29).
"Remember also that Enoch the prophet, beheld the
spirits that God had created. (See Moses 6:36). These prophets visualized the
numerous spirits and all the creations. It seems to me that the Lord chose his
words when he said 'every nation,' 'every land,' 'uttermost bounds of the
earth,' 'every tongue,' 'every people,' 'every soul,' 'all the world,' 'many
lands.' Surely there is a significance to these words! Certainly his sheep were not limited to the
thousands about him and with whom he rubbed shoulders each day. A universal
family! A universal command!
"My brethren, I wonder if we are doing all we can. Are we complacent in our approach to teaching all the world? We have been proselyting now 144 years. Are we prepared to lengthen our stride? To enlarge our vision?..
"Now, how can we do this? We see that there are these elements to be considered: the breaking down of resistance of the nations of the world to receive our missionaries; a greatly increased missionary force (greatly, I emphasize); a better trained missionary army; and better and additional methods and approaches. Now here we will consider each one in its turn. We need to enlarge our field of operation. We will need to make a full, prayerful study of the nations of the world which do not have the gospel at this time, and then bring into play our strongest and most able men to assist the Twelve to move out into the world and to open the doors of every nation as fast as it is ready."
President Kimball later stated:
"...could we bring concerted action to a
'lengthening stride' movement that would bring into the missionary activity the
good members of the Church the world around. The approach and the attack will
need to be planned very carefully. We will need to impress upon stake, ward,
and branch leaders around the globe their opportunity and responsibility. There
will be need for strong, well-organized stake, ward, and district missions. It
cannot be left to a mere suggestion, and a comprehensive score must be kept as
a stimulant to the workers. Such a special, organized and developed program
could bring many other of the blessings of the Church to more people as we have
said." Spencer W. Kimball, Regional Representatives Seminar, April 3, 1975
Today, the opportunities for sharing the gospel are greater than ever. There is a greater need for careful strategic planning of our missionary efforts than ever before. Yet, a review of recent LDS missionary results demonstrates that our performance has been slipping. LDS convert baptisms fell to less than 275,000 in 2000. This represents only half as many baptisms per missionary as a decade ago, and one-third as many baptisms per missionary as in 1963. Why is this happening? While there are many factors, perhaps one of the greatest factors is a lack of powerful strategic planning to reach the world at a mission level. In my research, I have had an opportunity to interview LDS missionaries in many nations, including a number of mission presidents. Most LDS missions, I was surprised to find, have no plan for how to reach every person or enter every home! In fact, most have no meaningful contacting goals, and many even go so far as to generically claim that contacting is not effective. How will people ever learn about the gospel, if they aren't contacted in some way? When I ask, "how are you going to reach every soul in your area with the gospel message," I find it remarkable that very few have even considered this basic issue in strategic planning repeatedly emphasized by the Savior himself and by ancient and modern prophets! Saying "members need to share the gospel more frequently," "we're trying to strengthen existing members and reactivate the less active" or "we have a new referral program that we're excited about" doesn't answer the question of the gospel is to be how to sound the gospel in every ear. Nor are excuses like "it's difficult to tract after dark" or "the culture here is closed to strangers" substitutes for viable, well-researched, comprehensive strategies for reaching the world!
It might further be noted on as remarkable that most missions don't even track the number of people they are reaching through contacting or referrals! How can you accurately evaluate your progress in reaching the world if you don't even know how many people you are reaching? When actual numbers of gospel contacts - individuals who missionaries or members approach about the gospel, regardless of their response - are reported, the numbers in some areas are surprisingly low.
In some missions, missionaries approach as few as five or ten non-members each day! It doesn't take a statistician to recognize that, if there are ten million people in a mission with one hundred missionaries who average ten gospel contacts a day, it will take 300 years to provide each person with an average of only one contact with the gospel! Is this really what the Lord had in mind when he commissioned his disciples to preach the gospel to "every creature?" Today, only 4.4% of all LDS members live in the continental Afro-Eurasian land mass that is home to over 80% of the world's population. Unless we enlarge our vision and establish powerful strategic plans on a mission, ward, and branch level, how will we ever reach the world with the gospel? Do we have 300 years to contact everyone in our own area once, when much of the world's population still lives in areas without any missionaries at all?
The Jehovah's Witnesses distribute over 5,000 tons (10 million pounds) of
religious literature in Russia alone each year! In contrast, the average LDS
missionary worldwide distributes only one copy of the Book of Mormon every five
days. With these facts in mind, the results can hardly be considered
surprising. Even the best and most
spiritually prepared individuals can't accept a message unless they have an
opportunity to hear it! In light of these facts, it can hardly come as a
surprise that there are over 120,000 active Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia and
similar numbers in Ukraine and Poland, compared to only about 4,000 active Latter-day
Saints (out of 12,000 "on the rolls") in Russia, 2,500 active (out of
8,000 "on the rolls") in Ukraine, and 250 active out of 1100 "on
the rolls" in Poland. Nor can it come as a surprise that there are over
13,000 active Witnesses in Kazakhstan and over 10,000 in Georgia, compared to
only a handful of LDS members in both countries. A comparison of statistics in many other Eastern European and
Asian nations is similar (Slovakia -- 12,000 JWs to about 40 active LDS,
Romania -- 30,000 JWs to under 500 active LDS, et cetera.) Why are the
Witnesses growing so rapidly in these countries with very few foreign
missionaries, while Latter-day Saints are experiencing very slow growth in
spite of a large contingent of full-time foreign missionaries? It isn't that JW
commitments are easier -- meeting schedules are comparable and JW members
actually have to be attending church for much longer before they can be
baptized. The answer lies in the Jehovah's Witnesses strategic planning and
literature distribution to reach every soul and sound their message in every
ear, often many times over.
The Apostle Paul asked, "How will they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14-15). Good question. To which I might add, "And how shall they hear, unless those that are sent have a strategic plan?" How shall they hear, when missionaries and members in areas with untouched millions spend the vast majority of their time with only a handful of individuals? Can we leave reaching the world to chance or accident? Can we honestly pray for the Lord to lead the "honest in heart" to us, when we make only feeble effort to use those means the Lord has put in our power for reaching the world? Why do so many seemingly feel a great responsibility to go back time and again to the stagnant investigator who has made little if any effort to follow through on basic gospel commitments, yet feel so little responsibility towards the millions who have had no opportunity to learn of the gospel at all?
Dr. Jim Montgomery writes,
"The second common denominator in successful growth programs is that denominations not only have their heads in the clouds but their feet on the ground. They see that the way to accomplish their dreams is not through sentimental, emotional fantasizing but through a concrete understanding of their situation. These denominations study their context to see who is responsive to the gospel and how to best reach them. They study their own resources to see how big they are, how fast they are growing, what their effective and ineffective methods are, and so on. They study other growing churches and denominations to find good ideas for their own programs."
What is your plan for reaching every soul in your area with the gospel?
Prayer and Planning
An effective missionary will harvest the power of prayer in planning. Ezra Taft Benson noted, "In the work of the Lord there should be no serious mistakes. The most important point of your planning should be on your knees" ( LDS General Conference, April 1977). The Spirit, of course, does not replace or eliminate the need for us to use our own faculties to gather data, counsel wisely, use good judgment, and make course corrections as we go along. The Spirit, however, does magnify our labors after we have done all we can do and made wise use of the opportunities and resources the Lord has already put at our disposal.
Goals
"We do believe in setting goals....we must have goals to make progress, encouraged by keeping records...Laboring with a distant aim sets the mind in a higher key and puts us at our best...Goals should always be made to a point that will make us reach and strain." Spencer W. Kimball, Regional Representatives Seminar, April 3, 1974
"Our goals should stretch us bit by bit. So often when we think we have encountered a ceiling, it is really a psychological or experimental barrier that we have built ourselves. We built it and we can remove it. Just as correct principles, when applied, carry their own witness that they are true, so do correct personal improvement programs. But we must not expect personal improvement without pain or some 'remodeling.' We can't expect to have the thrills of revealed religion without the theology. We cannot expect to have the soul stretching without Christian service.' Neal A. Maxwell, Deposition of a Disciple, pp. 33-34.
"The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them" Jim Rohn
"A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder." Thomas Carlyle
Goals can motivate us to work harder and better. They can help us to catch the vision of missionary work. Clearly, we need goals. However, there is a difference between goals. Some are more helpful than others.
Commonly-Emphasized Missionary Goals
Not infrequently mission goals read something like this:
"Every missionary companionship should bring someone into the church each month, and every member should bring at least one person into the church each year."
Now, I think that's a nice idea. It sounds good. Most importantly, it can and should be done. Goals are important. But how helpful is this goal to members and investigators?
Setting the Right Goals
Before investing time and resources into a goal, it's important to ensure that you have the right goal! Jim Rohn wrote:
"Education must precede motivation...If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around."
Good goals harness energy and resources towards powerful strategic objectives. How do you find the right goals, to ensure that your motivational pep-talk isn't simply accelerating your program faster and faster down a dead-end street? Proper goals aren't picked out of a hat. They require thought and prayer, but they also require research, collaboration, and communication. Before you can set the right goals, you need to be familiar with the needs and opportunities of your area, as well as the principles below. Too much care cannot be taken in the selection of one's goals.
Achieve Cooperative Goal Ownership
What is the best way to instill in others a sustained enthusiasm towards missionary goals? If you set out to "sell" your predetermined goals to others, no matter how appropriate the goals, you won't be very successful. The key is involving other members and missionaries in a collaborative goal-setting process, educating them when necessary. The statesman Alexander Hamilton wrote: "Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it." Even though most individuals might not oppose goals imposed upon them, it is unlikely that they will work wholeheartedly for the accomplishment of such goals! You should discuss together the needs of your area, resources and possibilities, and factors that make certain goals more or less desirable. Goals should be set through collaborative decision-making with widespread involvement, and not through top-down decrees. This way, the goals aren't simply your goals. They are everyone's goals! A group which feels a strong community ownership of a goal because of personal involvement in the goalsetting process, and understands the reasons why the goal was picked and the means by which it will be achieved, will participate much more reliably in the processes that will lead to the goal's accomplishment.
Each Goal should Convey a Means to its Completion
Most members and missionaries find goals like this not to be very helpful. Most people want to be effective at bringing others into the Church. But how does one actually do this in practice? These goals conveys to members and missionaries that they should already know how to effectively bring others into the church, when in fact this is often not case. The goal itself conveys no helpful information on how to make this happen. In fact, such lofty but vague goals generally convey lack of familiarity of the person setting the goal with the actual processes of missionary work. When goal setting involves others, example is critical. I have never known a stake or ward mission leader or mission president who set goals for members to bring x number of people into the church a year or to reactivate x number of inactives, who have been able to achieve their own goals for others on a consistent basis. Not surprisingly, such goals are very rarely actually accomplished or meaningfully implemented by others. Example reigns supreme in good leadership and helpful goal setting. It is simply not reasonable or appropropriate to expect others to do that which we are unwilling or unable to do -- or do not understand how to do -- ourselves. Good leadership is not fostered by setting vicarious goals for others, but rather by showing others how to teach and baptize in example as well as theory.
If one were instructing a young son or daughter on how to bake a cake, how would one best go about it -- by telling them, 'go bake a cake,' or by providing step by step instructions on how to accomplish the goal, along with problem-solving tips and knowledge of where they can turn for help? Of course, it is important never to micro-manage, but always to make sure that those who will implement the goals know how to go about it and are aware of the resources at their disposal. They must be taught -- both by precept and effective example. A good goal is not an endpoint, but a means for bringing about conversion.
Qualities of Helpful Goals
'We cannot do everything at once, but we can do a great deal if we choose our goals well and work diligently to attain them.' Ezra Taft Benson, Mission Presidents' Seminar, 27 June 1974
How can we follow President Benson's counsel and choose our goals well? What are the qualities of helpful goals?
1. Helpful goals are not endpoints
Helpful goals are not simply endpoints, like baptism. Programs with artificial endpoints may achieve those artificial endpoints, but may not optimally facilitate the final goal of conversion. Helpful goals help us to make consistent progress in fostering true conversion. With endpoint goals like baptism, the goal is either completed, or it's a zero. There are no points for trying. One individual may be able to bring another individual into the church with relatively little effort, while another consistently shares the gospel but experiences little acceptance. Yet in the above baptismal goal program, the first person may stop putting forth real effort after achieving the goal, and the second individual is considered a failure regardless of effort. Baptism or nothing. Is this approach really helpful or fair? This system does not take into account at all those who may bring friends to church or who may refer friends to the missionaries, and yet these acts represent more than most members do. We should applaud small acts. We need to teach from the very beginning and help people at their level.
When discussions and baptisms are the main endpoints, ironically both the quantity and quality of discussions and baptisms are often lower than when more helpful goals are introduced like contacting a large number of people each day. The more helpful goals generate more quality discussions and baptisms by giving more individuals the opportunity to hear the gospel. By focusing more on consistency in making the gospel message available, the problems of discussions and baptisms usually take care of themselves. With endpoint goals, there is no feedback along the way of how well the goals are being accomplished. Therefore, there is little opportunity to modify or fine-tune one's approach. True progress is difficult to assess, since the situation can change dramatically due to factors beyond the control of the members or missionaries. As a result, it is difficult to learn or improve with endpoint goals.
2. A helpful goal is a good habit
Second, helpful goals are relatively simple things that can be done consistently. A helpful goal is a helpful habit. Occasional or long-term events (like bringing someone into the church) are rarely helpful as isolated goals for member-missionary work. After all, progress happens in increments. Helpful goals are much more stable over time. Once a challenging but consistently achievable level of performance is achieved, it is not necessary to continue raising the goal indefinitely. These goal 'habits' generate regular progress which, over time, will almost inevitably result in the conversion of others.
3. Helpful goals depend on personal obedience and
effort, not on the response of others
Third, helpful goals depend on the person working to achieve the goal, and not on how others may react. Helpful goals focus on putting forth effort on a consistent basis, and do not depend on the response of others. Goals which depend upon the positive acceptance of the gospel message by others only lead to disillusionment when the message is rejected. Goals should actually be within the member or missionary's power to consistently accomplish. As President Gordon B. Hinckley noted, "If you will work hard, the matter of converts will take care of itself. I am satisfied of that. Give it your very best" (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, p. 357).
4. Helpful goals facilitate true conversion
Finally, helpful goals facilitate the eternal goal: conversion. Less helpful goals (like baptism) may interfere with the greater goal (conversion), since missionaries may rush inadequately prepared individuals to the project endpoint (i.e. baptism) to meet a monthly goal rather than an eternal one.
The Need for Awareness
I don't mean to imply that baptismal and other goals should not be used. I do feel however that when we use certain goals, we need to be aware of what the goals actually measure, and that a desire to increase baptisms is best facilitated by consistently striving towards more helpful intermediate goals that meet the criteria above. We need to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the goals we choose. We must put forth conscious effort to prevent goal 'endpoints' from obscuring the greater purposes of missionary work.
Goals vs. Quotas
"We'd like to get back into baptizing many, many people....What we want you to do is to establish goals. Now somebody also got mixed up and they thought goal was spelled, 'q-u-o-t-a,' and it isn't, that's another word. Now there's a tremendous difference between a goal and a quota." Spencer W. Kimball, Regional Representatives Seminar, April 3, 1974
"Missionaries should have goals but they should not be imposed by the mission president, his assistants or the zone leaders. I am persuaded that the missionaries will be more dedicated to their work, will be more committed, if they have set their own goals, and happier in their labors than if goals are imposed upon them. The best motivation is self-motivation." James E. Faust, New Mission Presidents' Seminar, June 21, 1996
Examples: Helpful and Less Helpful Goals
Baptism Goals
"There is no point in baptizing people if they do not become solid members of the Church. Actual harm may be done to those who leave old friendships and old ways of doing things only to be allowed to slip into inactivity." President Gordon B. Hinckley, LDS Church News, July 4, 1998
The practice of setting monthly baptismal goals often conveys that investigators should be baptized as quickly as possible. This does not facilitate true conversion, since the Lord seeks only long-term converts who will endure to the end -- not 'short-term customers.' Teaching investigators adequately often requires longer than a month. Missionaries must recognize that, when investigators are taught adequately and truly converted, next month's baptisms will generally be a reflection of this month's finding efforts. One valuable principle inherent in the concept of monthly baptismal goals is that every companionship can and should baptize each month. The desire to bring people into the church consistently each month over the period of one's mission is more helpful than temporary and fluctuating goals.
In my experience, it is neither appropriate nor constructive to set goals to find, teach, and baptize people within a single month. This encourages rushed, poorly prepared baptisms. Helpful monthly baptism goals focus on individuals who are already being taught and who already preparing for baptism, and not on cold contacts.
Goals for members should also focus on the process of sharing the gospel on a regular basis, and not on baptisms. The best goals are helpful habits. While we may put forth our best efforts, we respect the agency of others and cannot control how they will respond to the gospel message. Goals to reach a certain number of individuals with the gospel message (i.e. for members to share the gospel with a different non-member at least once a week or even daily, or for missionaries to contact a hundred people a day) are far more helpful and reliable in achieving sustained, meaningful missionary results than baptismal goals. Additionally, goals which focus on the conversion process rather than endpoints foster adequate pre-baptismal teaching, true conversion, and post-baptismal retention.
Discussion Goals
To be baptized, investigators must hear the discussions. However, not all discussions are productive. Teaching an investigator the next discussion is not always the appropriate thing to do. Goals to teach a certain number of discussions often lead to missionaries forging ahead with discussions that the investigators are not prepared to hear. This results in significant amounts of lost missionary time and in decreased effectiveness in resolving the investigators' real issues. The quality of discussions can suffer significantly when missionaries focus on a number of discussions as their main goal, regardless of whether the investigators are fully prepared. I actually like discussion goals quite a bit when used in the proper context, but I think that missionaries need to understand clearly that there are frequently times when forging on with the discussions is not in anyone's best interest.
Book of Mormon Goals
There are effective and less effective ways to use the Book of Mormon. How effective are goals to distribute a certain number of copies of the Book of Mormon? These programs may promote distribution of a certain number of copies, but many of the books placed are never read. Artificial distribution goals sometimes convey that books should be placed with anyone who will accept it (different from 'anyone who will read meaningfully in it) and that our job is 'done' once the book has been placed. Follow-up and meaningful discussion are sometimes lacking.
A goal to offer one person a day an opportunity to read the Book of Mormon, or to discuss one Book of Mormon passage with a nonmember each day, is much more effective than a distribution quota. This optimizes both opportunities for real conversion and (much less importantly) resources. It also promotes more real reading and thought about the Book of Mormon than when books are simply given away.
Other Examples of Helpful and Less Helpful Goals
Helpful: Speak to one person about the church each day (for members) or contact a hundred people each day (for missionaries).
Less helpful (for members): Bring one person into the Church each year.
Less helpful (for missionaries): Teach ten discussions a week
Helpful: Invite a friend to church every week. Less helpful: Get a friend to church once a month.
Helpful: Offer one friend each day an opportunity to read in the Book of Mormon.
Less helpful: Give out one copy of the Book of Mormon each week.
The 'more helpful' goals tend to be accomplished much more consistently than the less helpful goals. Additionally, some of the 'less helpful' goals are not as effective at facilitating conversion even when they are accomplished.
Keep Members Informed
Establish a system to keep members and missionaries up to date on the progress of goals. Without frequent field progress reports, goals will soon become forgotten and the initial enthusiasm will be lost. A regular publication reporting on progress can help to keep members enthusiastic and motivated.
Conclusion
Good goals can become good habits. They can lift our character and enrich our lives and the lives of others. It is in the small, quiet, consistent daily acts unseen by most of the world that the real battles are won or lost. Quality baptisms (i.e. true conversions) occur not by focusing on baptisms, but on the many souls who have not yet had an opportunity to hear the gospel. We must be careful to choose the goals that will lead most consistently toward eternal objectives.
Addendum
[The addendum below was sent courtesy of Ivan S. Makarov of Moscow, Russia. Every missionary should be aware of President Didier's inspired counsel on proper goal setting. Like my essays on goals, this article emphasizes the need for appropriate smaller goals that teach people how to reach a greater goal, rather than focusing on 'endpoint goals,' the need for personal example, and the need for making adaptations based on progress checks at regular intervals. Proper goals are far more likely to be achieved than those that do not follow these principles. Thanks very much to Ivan for sending this on! -DS]
Thank you for your article on setting goals. I'd like to share some insights too, something we heard on priesthood leadership training in Sept '98 that was done in our district (Moscow North) by President Charles Didier, Europe East area. he taught the leaders how to set up proper goals, for there was a big problem with that. People know how to set goals, but they don't know how set them right. He asked church leaders what goals they have set. they said that to build a temple here. He said it a good goal. But in order to have a temple we should at least triple our current membership to first create the stake. And to do that we supposed to have 25 Melchizedek priesthood holders in each branch. That is a long-term goal. First we need to learn to set short-term goals. He compared it to marathon runner. In order to run the marathon you should first learn to run a mile, then 3km, then 10km and so on. You have to be specific in your goals. He shared an example. How about we make a goal that all the people in branch would have valid temple recommends? The first thing that we do and the place where we start in order to achieve this goal is ourselves. Only by example we may lead people to follow us. Then we (if we are branch presidency for instance) turn to Relief Society presidency, and see if their recommends are valid. He asked us to think about people first, not the numbers. This was just an example. Then he shared important principles in goal-making. Once we chose one, there are certain things we do then. That is:
- We choose the objective, then we share vision with our branch president, and he then turn his attention to members.
- We select the second goal, and so on.
President Didier said that we shouldn't set more than three goals, because this time we'll lose people. Then here is what to do next:
- We share the goals with other people who are involved (in your case, other missionaries or companion)
- We talk about it during our meetings and interviews
- We show to our members that we are making progress, that it's not in vain.
Then he promised us that as we do this, something is going to happen, both to us and people that we are thinking and caring about. The Plan of Salvation was carefully planned with many steps we ought to make, one by one - that should be our perfect example.
Sincerely,
Ivan Makarov, Moscow, Russia
The Power of Focus
One of the great religious phenomena of the past decade has been the explosion of Christian "cell churches" in the third world.Within Cambodia alone, the number of Christian believers has increased from about 200 to over 100,000 in a ten-year period, with the number of churches doubling almost yearly. How is this dynamic growth achieved? Through focus and the driving vision that sharing faith with others is one of the central callings of Christians! The real growth occurred when evangelism became a broad-based, grass-roots effort integrated into the daily life of local members who had caught the vision of their potential. Those involved cite the power of consistent focus on a few important objectives: Bible study, church attendance, and member evangelism.
Some Latter-day Saints go to great lengths to defend practices such as member-missionary dinner programs. This program takes missionaries off the streets and away from investigators during prime proselyting time in the evenings when families are home, and also gives members a false sense of having contributed to the missionary effort without taking the effort to interact with non-members face to face. Interestingly, Christian researcher George Barna's study of July 9, 2001, documents that only 26% of Latter-day Saints surveyed made any attempt shared the gospel within the past year, while 61% of Pentecostals and members of the Assemblies of God do so! The 26% of Latter-day Saints who share beliefs is not significantly different from the 24% of all Americans who do so, documenting that widespread LDS missionary dinner appointment programs result in little if any real benefit to the missionary effort.
A common philosophy is that if a missionary approach isn't patently harmful or grossly inappropriate, it must be good. Right? Effective missionaries learn to transcend this type of thinking. We must measure the opportunity cost of time, and compare the results of our current approaches to the true potential of our situation. Our performance must be compared not to a baseline of zero -- patting ourselves on the back because *something* was accomplished, no matter how little -- but to the higher standards of the potential of our area and the expectations of God. Once this frame of thinking is established, it becomes much easier to cut off our own barren branches and replace them with more fruitful patterns and methods.
Fruitfulness is one of the highest callings of Latter-day Saints. The great condemnation of Phariseeism was its barrenness. The Savior cursed the barren fig tree. John the Baptist taught that every tree which bringeth forth not good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire. The Savior tells us that if we abide in him, we will bring forth "much fruit" (John 15:5). We cannot disbelieve the Savior, nor can we rationalize unfruitfulness. Fruitfulness is inseparably intertwined with obedience, just as barrenness is the result of disobedience. Often, lack of fruitfulness comes not from acts of flagrant disobedience, but through sins of omission and neglect that can deprive us of the full measure of the Spirit. In such a state, we lack the understanding and inspiration to most effectively build the Kingdom of God. Many today are guilty of the same sin that hindered the Church in Kirtland in 1835:
"The Presidency of Kirtland and Zion say that the Lord has manifested by revelation of His Spirit, that the High Priests, Teachers, Priests, and Deacons, or in other words, all the officers in the land of Clay County, Missouri, belonging to the Church, are more or less in transgression, because they have not enjoyed the Spirit of God sufficiently to be able to comprehend their duties respecting themselves and the welfare of Zion; thereby having been left to act in a manner that is detrimental to the interest, and also a hindrance to the redemption of Zion. Now if they will be wise, they will humble themselves in a peculiar manner that God may open the eyes of their understanding." (Messenger and Advocate June 1835, DHC 2:229-31)
Through humility and obedience, God can enlarge our understanding. Rather than rationalizing ineffective dinner appointment programs because they might bring about some anecdotal or hypothetical good, it is necessary to step back and examine our performance in an objective framework. While any approach -- no matter how ineffective - might occasionally result in a few conversions, if practiced sufficiently widely, the institutionalization of less-effective approaches saps time, energy, and resources that could be better-directed towards more constructive ends. You see, less-effective means can distract members and missionaries from more important goals. They can make the law of God of no effect through our tradition. The proliferation of less-effective traditional finding methods like the missionary-member dinner program hampers proselyting results even in areas where the harvest is abundantly ripe. Such approaches distract members and missionaries from their true goals by introducing artificial and unnecessary considerations which consume time and resources. They promote small-minded thinking of "who is going to feed the missionaries on Tuesday" and obscure the big picture of "how are we going to reach the world with the gospel."
As Lin Yu Tang wisely stated, "Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom in life consists in the elimination of non-essentials." Effective missionaries, member-missionaries, and leaders learn to focus and eliminate non-essentials which otherwise become barriers to growth. Rapid growth occurs not through the proliferation of peripheral programming, but by concentrating energies and resources on a few clearly-defined, powerful strategies that make the most difference.
Time Management
President Charles Creel of the Russia St. Petersburg Mission used the analogy:
"Who will catch more fish -- the fisherman who spends ten hours a day preparing his bait and two hours with his line in the water, or the fisherman who gets his bait together in fifteen minutes and spends ten and a half or eleven hours each day fishing?"
Regardless of the finding methods one uses, it's vital to spend 90% of the working day working. I knew many missionaries who got caught up running lots of meaningless errands or sitting at home studying the language or writing talks instead of working because they believed that contacting was not effective and didn't have other appointments. As ineffective as contacting may seem at times, contacting is vastly more effective in sharing the gospel than running errands or sitting at home. An important reason to contact is that the Lord has asked us to do so, and it works. Results come with consistent effort. Once a good work ethic exists, there are many things that can be done to enhance success and improve finding effectiveness. But nothing can compensate for lack of work ethic, nor is failure to open one's mouth ever justified.
If one spends several hours with an uninterested contact, one has also lost time that could have been used contacting countless others. Every soul is precious, not just the ones in a missionary's contacting and teaching pools, but also the hundreds of thousands more who they haven't even met yet. Time is limited. Missionaries don't have time to make celestial people (this is the members' job), only to find those who are looking for truth. Investigators and members come to understand that missionary time is precious when missionaries do not spend more time with them than is really essential. It is always better to understay one's welcome than overstay it. Not all time is of equal value. Time is most valuable in the evenings and weekends when families are home. It is important to schedule appointments effectively to keep some evening time free for high-impact contacting activities. The most important time of a missionary's week is time spent at church. It is crucial to meet all new people. It is imperative to get the addresses and phone numbers of investigators and arrange meetings with them on the spot, if possible. One day, last summer while I was attending a branch in Eastern Europe, I noticed some new people at the meeting who no one had spoken with even though there were many missionaries. After sacrament meeting, they attended the investigator class, picked up some pamphlets, and headed out the door. I had not seen any of the missionaries take down their phone numbers, so I ran after the contacts and got their numbers and set up times for the missionaries to visit them. Afterwards I asked the missionaries if anyone had taken down their contact information. No one had. They all assumed that someone else had done it. One should never assume. There is little value in contacting people during the week if those who come to church are not followed up on.
Proselyting Hours
While visiting missionaries in Japan, President Heber J. Grant stated that missionaries should work at least as hard as those who earn salaries. Apparently this was not being done in the area at that time. In some areas, it is still not done today. As President Benson stated, the secret to missionary work is work.
Missionaries are commissioned to preach the gospel full time. There are no weekends off or holidays. The work requires complete dedication. Proselyting times are generally between 9:30 am and 9:30 pm six days a week and from 6:30-9:30 pm on P-day. An additional hour is usually adequate between lunch and dinner. That leaves sixty-nine hours in the proselyting week.
P-day is in essence the missionary Sabbath, as it must be used appropriately for the rest of the week to run in good order. The 'P' in 'P-day' is for preparation, not for play. Sightseeing and other diversions are appropriate only after preparation is done. When P-day is not used appropriately, shopping, personal errands, and other activities often spill over into the proselyting week. This wastes time and offends the Spirit. There are very few reasons (and no good ones) for proselyting hours to be under the work of those who 'earn salaries' as President Grant stated, or under forty hours a week. Faithful missionaries can accomplish much more. Missionaries who are basically obedient should achieve 50-65 honest proselyting hours each week as defined below.
Sometimes reported proselyting hours are difficult to interpret because the missionary interpretation of what constitutes proselyting hours varies so widely. Webster's dictionary defines proselytizing as: '1. To induce someone to convert to one's faith. 2. To recruit someone to join one's party, institution, or cause.' Many include time spent in the apartment writing talks or lessons, time traveling to the mission office, or general travel time spent without speaking to others about the gospel. Clearly, time spent in this fashion does not meet the definition of proselytizing. Time spent with members, in district meetings, or other meetings without investigators present also cannot be proselyting time. Member work is ultimately an adjunct (albeit an important one) to the basic task of proselyting. Work with members is member work and not proselyting. It is important to recognize that time spent in administrative functions does little or nothing to spread the gospel.
Keeping separate records of administrative and member work hours is undoubtedly valuable. I realize that when true proselyting numbers are reported without being padded with administrative and member hours, they may appear more modest. However, when true proselyting time is inflated, it becomes difficult or impossible to meaningfully interpret the results. In many areas, when adminstrative, member, and transport hours are excluded, the amount of real proselyting occurring is frequently under twenty hours a week, and sometimes significantly less. Are we obeying President Grant's admonition?
Goals to achieve maximal numbers of honestly reported true proselyting hours each week are central to effective missionary work. Do we work as hard as those with paid salaries, or much harder as we should with the message of the restored gospel? Each individual missionary should strive to work hard and to manage time as efficiently as possible to optimize the Lord's time. While many workers understand the need for hard work and efficient time management with the motto 'time is money,' missionaries need to realize that time is worth far more. In the mission field, time is souls.
How are proselyting hours best measured?
The number of hours proselyting each week can be a valuable if the concept of true proselyting is kept pure and not falsely inflated with busywork. Many missionaries misreport proselyting hours by lumping a heterogenous group of activities into this category.
Proselyting is not writing lessons or talks in the apartment. It is not studying the language or the gospel. It is not sitting on a bus or riding a bike to an appointment while talking to no one. It is not sitting in a district meeting or a zone conference. It is not taking a trip to the office to pick up new materials. It is not eating dinner with members, or for that matter eating dinner with investigators. I do not mean to imply that some of these activities, like attending missionary meetings, are not legitimate or necessary. I am simply pointing out that time spent in these fashions does little or nothing to bring souls into the Kingdom of God. Proselyting is time spent bringing the word face to face, contacting and teaching, and nothing more or less. This is what we should focus on - maximizing face to face contacting and teaching, and minimizing all of the other 'busy-work' that spins the wheels but converts no one. To borrow an expression from my father, there are many 'busy people accomplishing nothing'.
Other items, like shopping on proselyting days, have no place in the missionary schedule. Just as members are expected to dedicate one day to the Lord and turn away from their own thoughts and deeds and do the Lord's work, so is every day a Sabbath to the missionary, who has covenanted to dedicate each day wholly to the Lord and leave all else behind. For the missionary, preparation day is the one day given to prepare for the rest of the 'week of sabbaths'. Missionaries who run personal errands, go shopping, or indulge their own ways on proselyting days lose the Lord's Spirit in their work and incur the Lord's condemnation just as members who break the sabbath. When we spend the Lord's time doing our own pleasure, we are in a literal way robbing God, only we are robbing him of something much greater than tithing funds - we are robbing him of the souls of men.
While each missionary mandate deserves careful respect, we must be careful about not omitting the 'weightier matters of the law'. Too many missionaries wouldn't dream of being late to their district meeting or of arriving home at 9:31 pm, yet frequently miss valuable opportunities to teach and baptize by sitting in their apartment during the day or running various errands when they should be constantly opening their mouths and sharing their talent.
Preparation Day
Just as members churchwide must use Saturday to prepare for Sunday - to purchase necessary items, to plan wisely, and to perform temporal labors - so must missionaries use preparation day appropriately to be able to magnify their calling throughout the proselyting week.
- Preparation day is to prepare for work.
- Engage in cultural or recreational activities only after preparation is done.
- Clean house
- Buy food
- Write home every week.
- Work from 6 pm until 9:30 on P-day.
Do you have thoughts or comments about this article? Please let us know!
Nutrition
Policies on nutrition vary widely, except that virtually all mission presidents agree that nutrition is important. Here are some sample rules on nutrition from my mission in Rostov, Russia (1994-96).
- Always have a fruit basket.
- Prepare and eat good meals.
- Eat a good breakfast and a good lunch. Drink plenty of water.
- Evening is prime proselyting time when you can reach the most people. Some mission presidents advise that dinner can be skipped if you eat 2 healthy meals.
- Avoid eating with members and investigators when at all possible.
- In areas where water is unsafe, wash your fruits and vegetables with a small amount of bleach.
- Only one hour at home for meals.
- Purchase all food on P-day.
True Faith, Expectations, and Reality: Emotional
Preparation for Serving Effectively
"We are not getting the results we ought to get. We are not getting the numbers of baptisms that in my judgment the Lord expects us to get. To a degree, at least, we are grinding our wheels without going forward...Perhaps what is wrong is that we have not desired faith with all our hearts to bring souls into the kingdom. Perhaps we have not made up our minds that we can and will bring people into the Church. Now, very frankly, whether we gain many converts or few depends in large measure upon our frame of mind." Bruce R. McConkie, Mission Presidents' Seminar, 21 June 1975.
"This faith and hope of which I speak is not a Pollyanna-like approach to significant personal and public problems. I don't believe we can wake up in the morning and simply by drawing a big 'happyface' on the chalkboard believe that is going to take care of the world's difficulties. But if our faith and hope are anchored in Christ, in his teachings, commandments, and promises, then we are able to count on something truly remarkable, genuinely miraculous, which can part the Red Sea and lead modern Israel to a place 'where none shall come to hurt or make afraid.'" Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, October 1993
"Too many of us seem to expect that life will flow ever smoothly, featuring an unbroken chain of green lights with empty parking places just in front of our destinations!" Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, November 1989, p.82
The scriptural stories of Ammon and his brethren and other great missionaries are tremendously valuable to any missionary, as they focus on the conditions by which missionaries may truly bring thousands of souls to Christ. However, there is a whole genre of LDS literature which has grown up around non-scriptural inspirational storytelling. Some of the accounts are true, while others are fictional. Many Latter-day Saints focus a significant portion of their gospel study on such non-scriptural stories of the miraculous which represent a highly filtered selection of reality. This is represented in the LDS-related media, which is remarkable for the great abundance of extraordinary stories and the conspicuous absence of ordinary ones. In stating this, I do not intend to take anything away from the many wonderful stories of courage and dedication of the many members who have sacrificed so much. There is nothing wrong with those inspirational stories which are true and factual, and many contain valuable lessons. The problem is when individuals only want to hear the remarkable stories of miraculous success but do not wish to hear about everyday realities. This is like wanting to feast continually on ice cream and chocolate while turning up one's nose at the main dish. An occasional serving of dessert can be enjoyable, but it should never become a staple of life. It simply isn't healthy or nutritious.
I have seen too many missionaries fed on miraculous stories of great success with little effort who arrived in the mission field ill-prepared for common real-world challenges in building the Church. Many expect the Lord to work miracles with only a token effort on their part. Then they encounter an unanticipated challenge and either lose momentum or are derailed completely. Often, discrepancies between the inspiring motivational stories and much less dramatic personal experience leads missionaries and members either to become discouraged and slacken their efforts, or, equally detrimentally, to disconnect the physical reality from the spiritual and to compartmentalize the gospel into a 'religious hyperspace.' In the one case one is both in the world and of it; in the other, neither of the world nor in it. In both cases, unhealthy gaps separate spirituality, reality, and personal philosophy.
As a young missionary, I at first expected the Lord to inspire me as to which building to tract or which door to knock, and found little success. I had erroneously expected the Lord to lead me to the elect without having to go through all of the others. I had not initially understood that all people -- prepared for the gospel or not -- are entitled to the opportunity to be approached by LDS missionaries and given an opportunity. I quickly learned that the Lord expected me and my companion to knock on all the doors. As we did this, our effectiveness increased and we were blessed greatly in bringing souls to Christ. We had been waiting for the Lord to do His part, only to learn that the Lord had been waiting for us to do our part. This was one of the first of many humbling lessons in the mission field.
A well-documented a fact of life as a missionary is that only a fraction of people at each major cut-off point will progress to the next step. A few years ago, the church missionary department reported that only about one-fifth of first discussions lead to second discussions, and only one-fifth of baptismal commitments are carried through. This doesn't account for the fact that only a portion of second discussions lead to baptismal commitments. One should realize that to have one baptism, one has to teach an average of over 25 first discussions. In some areas, the average numbers are higher; in others, somewhat lower. In saying this, I am in no way justifying slackening of our efforts to personalize the message and to bring each soul to Christ. We need to approach each discussion with sincere preparation, true concern for those being taught, and the Spirit. We also need to recognize when it is time to move on.
Being prepared emotionally for constant rejection is one of the most important preparations a missionary can make. One must expect that only a fraction of people who express interest will carry through. If fifteen individuals contacted on the street state that they will 'definitely' come to church, perhaps one will show up, perhaps zero. This isn't a problem with the approach; this is just a fact of life that missionaries deal with in any country of the world. If a missionary gets a hundred 'interested' contacts in a week who promise to come to church, while only a fraction are likely to come, enough investigators may show up to fill a row. If we are content with only a few commitments, chances are that the investigator class will be empty. Contacting can be extremely productive if the effort is put in to contact enough people.
So often we have expectations which are vastly discrepant with realities. For example, most missionaries I have met expect to baptize a relatively high percentage of those whom they teach. I have often heared missionaries say that they have 'faith' that all of their investigators will desire to be baptized, that all of those who commit to baptism will carry through, and that all those who are baptized will remain active and strong members of the church throughout life. The spirituality of anyone who would acknowledge other possibilities is often questioned. 'Faith' which does not acknowledge free agency is not true faith. It is simply wishful thinking which is bound to fail. The real faith is in persistently putting forth our best effort, come what may, to teach others to love and live the gospel. With consistent effort over time, such effort is inevitably rewarded. Of course there are principles which, if understood and applied, do result in more effective missionary work, more baptisms, and better retention. Conversion and retention come not from wishful thinking or even from fervent desire on the part of the missionaries, but from discerning teaching in tune with the Spirit and with the investigators and with a firm focus on keeping commitments.
Often I have seen missionaries disparage themselves and wonder what they are doing wrong that more people do not accept their message. Frequently, the problem is not that their techniques are poor, but that their expectations are unrealistic and they are simply not meeting enough people. Even girl scouts selling cookies face, for the most part, rejection. Preaching the gospel message is much more challenging than selling cookies. The Lord is looking for dedicated 'long-term customers' rather than 'quick sales.' When missionaries have falsely high expectations and are ill-prepared for rejection, they may lose valuable time going back time and again to the same investigators who are not progressing. In some cases, missionaries may become depressed and slacken their work habits. Missionaries may cut back on contacting in an effort to avoid further rejection, instead of strengthening their efforts to teach more discussions.
The Savior taught that just as He experienced rejection, we must expect to as well: 'If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also' (John 15:20). My first mission president, President Charles Creel in St. Petersburg, instructed missionaries: 'If you aren't being rejected many times each day, you aren't doing much to preach the gospel.' The gospel polarizes people. When they accept or reject it, they are not judging the messengers or the gospel, but themselves. Of course we should work to be sensitive to local customs and to and individual needs and feelings so that the rejections that inevitably come will be for the gospel's sake rather than for our own lack of preparation or sensitivity.
If a missionary consistently contacts 100 people a day, in two years he or she can reach over 70,000 people. Even if only one in a thousand is baptized, that is over seventy baptisms, compared to three or four if only five a day are contacted. If a member speaks with one person about the gospel a day, even if only one in three hundred receives the gospel, he or she can bring at least one person into the church consistently each year. Contacting a hundred people a day consistently can be easily done with a by almost any missionary companionship anywhere if the effort is made, and talking to one person about the gospel a day is a simple task any member can learn to do. Unfortunately, in practice this is rarely done by either missionaries or members, often because we have false expectations of great success with little work. Missionaries who want a baptism for every fifty or hundred people they contact may quickly conclude that contacting isn't worth their time, when in actuality it can be quite productive when done vigorously and constantly. If a member only speaks with someone about the gospel once or twice a year, it is unlikely that he or she will be able to bring anyone into the church over an entire lifetime. This is not because people are all 'hard-hearted,' but simply because those who would have been interested were never approached.
Inspirational stories have their place. But above all, as President Ezra Taft Benson stated, we must "take off our rose colored glasses and look at the world as it really is, and not as we would like it to be." Until all of our missionary experiences are stories of success, we need to work to understand what we can do better just as much or more as what we may be doing well. Miracles do happen, yet the greatest miracle of all is the true conversion of a soul to Christ. This greatest miracle occurs when the Spirit works on living faith manifested through consistent obedience. In facilitating the miracle of conversion, the most important lessons for us are those which prepare our hearts and minds to put our hands to the plough and to serve with all our might.
"And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness." Moroni 9:6
"If you put on more garments, the cold cannot reach you. Similarly, increase your patience and concentration and even great injuries cannot vex your mind." Leonardo Da Vinci
Work: The Secret of Missionary Work
There are no shortcuts to missionary work. As President Benson has stated, the secret to missionary work is work. I felt the most powerful manifestations of the Spirit when my companion and I had exhausted ourselves putting in 12 and 13 hour days bringing the word face to face. Being a missionary is very different from having a summer job or full-time employment. An effective missionary works much more than the 40-hour week of a company employee. There are no holidays, evenings, or weekends off. We work hard (and we love it!) because of a realization that we are involved in the most important work in the world, the work for which the Savior gave up his life (making it possible) and the work for which He lived and now lives.
A good missionary works hard and constantly looks for ways to be more effective. Remarkable spiritual experiences come the way of those who tirelessly serve and not those who sit back waiting for experiences to come to them. To gain and keep the spirit, the most important factor is work. There are millions of church members praying for missionaries in temples, chapels, and homes across the world. This provides immense spiritual support for the missionary effort. In the mission field, the Lord needs hands that do his work much more than lips that pray.
There are 75 hours set aside for proselyting during a missionary's week (9:30 AM-9:30 PM six days a week and 6:30 PM-9:30 PM on preparation day). Any missionary who observes basic mission rules by using time efficiently, maintaining a vigorous work ethic, economizing travel time, keeping lunch to only an hour or less, and using P-day for preparation can consistently reach over 60 hours of real proselyting each week. True proselyting time includes only time spent contacting and teaching.
In the past, the Area Presidency emphasized that all missionaries in Eastern Europe should be teaching at least ten discussions a week. This is not only possible, but also entirely realistic and practical for missionaries One must remember that to teach 10 discussions a week, one may have to set up 20 or 30 discussions! Good proselyting numbers come along naturally with hard work, but the numbers are only important for the people they represent.
One common but pernicious misconception is that 'it doesn't really matter how many conversions' there are in the mission field. The implied corrolary is 'so why work hard?' This myth runs contrary to numerous scriptures and greatly discounts the imperative need to proclaim the gospel. It flies in the face of Ezra Taft Benson's inspired counsel: 'New missionaries need to know exactly the purpose for being in the mission field, which is to save souls, to baptize converts, to bring families into the church' (Ezra Taft Benson, New Mission Presidents Seminar, June 1976). Of course it matters a great deal how effective we are in proclaiming the gospel when people's lives are changed through repentance and conversion. If our own souls are precious, surely the souls of our fellow men and women are as precious as our own -- not as statistics, but as unique individuals precious in the sight of our Heavenly Father. The Lord sends all missionaries out to be successful.
What is true is the fact that all people have free agency, and that missionaries are not accountable for how people react to the Gospel message: we are only accountable for how hard we work. As a general rule, it is not realistic for most missionaries to set artificial monthly baptism goals unless they already have investigators who have progressed considerably. Such 'goals' are ineffective because they focus on factors that we only partially influence rather than those more fully within our control. In some cases, I have seen missionaries who have worked hard become discouraged and consider themselves failures because of failure to meet an artificial baptism goal. They also can place more emphasis on a number than an actual conversion and can lead to rushing unprepared individuals to baptism, resulting in later inactivity or member problems. No one should ever be baptized to meet a goal or quota. However, we can and should set high goals for that which we can control: our own work ethic and the number of people we contact. Of course, it is important also not to let ourselves be limited by goals, or to let down our guard once our goals have been accomplished.
A missionary's goal is to sound the gospel in every ear, and when a missionary does not get out of the apartment on time, he or she will miss the opportunity to declare the gospel to some person. This opportunity may be gone forever, regardless of how much the missionary may regret it later. Each missionary should remember that he or she will give many people the only chance to hear the gospel they may have in this life! If the missionary is not there for them when he or she should be, the opportunity is lost forever. When individuals consistently fail to turn professed intentions into action, it is often because of a lack of sincerity or effort.
Many missionaries are obedient to many rules, but not to the greatest rule of all -- that of work. Many missionaries would never consider walking the street in street clothes on proselyting days, and would not consider missing a district meeting, but routinely pass by others without mentioning the gospel, or may spend time on proselyting days running personal errands or sitting at home studying. Which of these is the greater sin? While outward conformity of appearances is often rigorously enforced, less-visible but equally or more important items that are not simply 'rules,' but scriptural commandments, may not be. The weightier matters of the law are often not those easily gauged by outward appearance.
Thoughts on Work by Kelly Mordaunt
I was very impressed when I came across these remarks of Elder Kelly Mordaunt some time ago on the Spain Barcelona Mission Alumni Website (http://www.xmission.com/~dderhak/barna/mordaunt.htm). Kelly has graciously agreed to allow reprinting of his remarks. Kelly served in the Spain Barcelona Mission from 1990-92.
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Now let's talk about work. There's hard work, which simply means opening your mouth all of the time. Do this. You will love the feeling of coming home knowing that you preached 'hasta los pajaros' (even to the birds). Still, there is good work, better work, and best work. There's also hard work, harder work, and hardest work. I agree with everyone at this site who may say that you must work hardest, in other words, you must preach to everyone, no exceptions. Let no one pass you by without preaching them a sermon. That's your job, right? But I also believe in working the best way possible, or the most effective way possible.
What is the most effective way of working, according to my experience? I can summarize it easily: the ward or branch mission leader. He is your key to success. I repeat, he is your key to success. Use him. Depend upon him. Weary him with your endless requests. Inspire him to magnify his unique calling. Let him become your most cherished friend. What can this man do for you? In a word, everything. I'll explain.
Every time you teach a discussion, you must have at least one member present, if you are to be successful. I found that the more members that were present, the better the discussion went. Also, don't match members with investigators. In other words, don't say that we can't bring Juan to the discussion because he is 75 and the investigator is 18. Who cares?! Think of the members not as young or old, but as testimony units. Their whole purpose at a discussion is to bear their personal testimony of whatever principle you happen to be teaching when you so indicate that they do this, or when the Spirit tells them to. That's it. They don't teach anything, or at least they shouldn't teach anything. That's your job. The more testimony units you have the more powerful is the impression upon the soul of a human being. For example, if one person were to say to you, I just saw an angel, you may or may not believe it and probably would not even consider it, but if 20 people come to you and say they just saw an angel, too, then you really have to consider what they are saying, after all, there are 21 witnesses present, right? Therefore, be sure that in subsequent discussions that you don't use the same testimony units every single time. Expose these new investigators to as many testimonies as you possibly can. But how, you ask, can we get these testimony units to our discussions? Through the ward mission leader.
Make it his job to find you members to be at whatever discussion you have planned and remember, the more the merrier. He knows the members better than you. He's got the member's trust. They love to bear testimony and they are dying to be put to work. All members want to feel like they are contributing something to the kingdom. Give them that opportunity through use of the mission leader. There is a side benefit, too. When a discussion goes well, meaning that when the Spirit is present, the members who are present get on fire! I mean they almost get giddy with excitement. Why only have two missionaries in a ward or branch, when you can have thirty or forty missionaries called members? So in all your goals, make having testimony units present at every discussion. Also, explain to the members that all that is requested of them is to bear testimony and perhaps to offer a prayer. And also to befriend the investigator.
Lessons from the Area Book
As I periodically read through my old journals, many dearly-held false ideas of past times become obvious. Sometimes I find that time has vindicated me. Sometimes I wonder what I could have been thinking, or if I was thinking at all. I suppose that in another ten years, I may identify similar misconceptions of the present. Records, as Joseph Smith says, are a proof against evil. They provide a standard against which we can compare the present to the past, and juxtapose feelings with observed reality. Records can be immensely valuable in helping us to improve if we summon the courage to strip away our pride and look at them honestly. Many times on my mission, I had the assignment of serving in areas which some missionaries considered 'hard.' In these areas, there the previous missionaries had experienced little success. After looking through the area books, I began to understand many other reasons for low missionary success besides the 'hardness of peoples' hearts.' I found the area books to be very revealing about what missionaries had actually been doing, or not doing. Generally I found four warning signs in area books where missionaries experienced low success:
1) First, poor record keeping in general. What the missionaries had been doing, if anything, was not clearly documented. Schedules were largely empty with only a few appointments, mostly with members and stale investigators, while for some reason very little contacting was being done.
2) Second, the relative paucity of fresh contacts. Often, there would only be a handful of contact phone numbers, even in areas where missionaries had served for considerable periods. Even these had often not been followed-up promptly.
3) Third, the relative paucity of investigators, at least for the time the missionaries had served. Some area books might appear thick, but usually these went back many months.
4) Fourth, a pattern of inappropriate discussions that was obvious even from the documentation. Often, missionaries would push ahead with the discussions with investigators who had basic hang-ups.
Often I would find notes similar to these on investigator records:
"We gave the sixth discussion. John is still having trouble believing that there is a God who loves him..."
"Susie had difficulty with the principle of tithing in the fifth discussion...she has not yet been to church."
"We talked about eternal progression [4th discussion] with the Stevens family. They are having trouble reading the Book of Mormon and believing in modern prophets."
The errors in these teaching methods should be obvious even from these brief lines, yet I point it out because I have been amazed at how widespread this style of teaching is. Obviously, these hangups should have been resolved early on or the missionaries should have invited the investigators to come to church to learn more when they were prepared to accept more, rather than racing ahead without addressing the underlying issues. These practices were adopted by missionaries who are interested in 'filling up their schedules' with something to do, rather than acting in the best interest of the Lord or of the people they are called to serve. The correct question when scheduling discussions is not "what will I do on Tuesday with this hole in my schedule if we don't fill it up with something," but rather "are the investigators adequately prepared to hear and accept it."
If you had a six-month old infant who coughed and spit up when fed milk, would you proceed to ram green beans and potatoes down his throat? Yet this unfortunately not an uncommon approach in missionary work. Often, missionaries run ahead when basic issues are not resolved, hoping that more detailed teaching will somehow correct the basic deficiency. This generally makes things worse and multiplies doubts instead of resolving them. While this may seem obvious, I make this point because I have seen this mistake made frequently by well-meaning missionaries. Does piling on additional commitments help us to keep basic ones? Does teaching the law of tithing help investigators to start reading scriptures or attend church, or does it simply overwhelm a doubtful investigator further? You can't skip elementary school and suddenly master college calculus. A foundation must be laid first. Differential equations can be learned in time, but one must first learn to add and subtract and then to divide and multiply. Even the Savior proceeded from grace to grace.
Too often I found myself wondering what the missionaries had been doing with their time, when discussions were low and yet very little contacting was being done. Too often, the truth was that I did not know. Where all of the blank hours on old missionary planners had evaporated to was a mystery to me. I found that were I questioned at the bar of judgment about what the previous missionaries had been doing, I would have to answer truthfully that I could present relatively little evidence on their behalf. This is not to say that there are not other valuable things that can be done with one's life, but that the mission is not the place for them. The role of a missionary is to find, teach, and baptize.
After a few phone calls to determine the level of interest of old investigators and contacts, we generally had the area book down to a fraction of its former size. Many individuals were sad that elder or sister so-and-so was gone, but expressed no real interest to continue learning about the gospel. This is indicative of inappropriate teaching centered on personal relationships rather than on the gospel. My companions and I were always amazed at how much more receptive we found people in the area to be when we consistently got out of doors to make new contacts and kept an active turnover. Of course we relied on the Spirit and on the Lord -- "it is by grace we are saved, after all we can do." That is the part that so often is left out. Needless to say, increased contacting was associated with increased success and the branches started to grow again.
"For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written." 2 Nephi 29:11
"The dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." Revelations 20:12