All right! Another meeting about missionary work!

[PaloAltoCougar]

For tomorrow's joint RS/Priesthood meeting during the third hour, I've been asked to present a program on missionary work--you know, the kind of meeting that makes you groan, reach for the iPad (or ilPad), or simply bail early. But imagine yourself in my position. What would you do, within the range of acceptable Church behavior, to make the hour worthwhile and interesting?

I'd like to motivate people to be more active representatives of the Church, but want to remove the usual guilt and drudgery associated with that task. I'm going to focus on service (and the Helping Hands program that's gaining traction here), making new friends without necessarily making new members, being more outgoing in talking about the Church, sponsoring community activities without any expectation of converts, etc.

This thread will likely be DOA, but I'd welcome any ideas about what to do, or not do, with this topic.

[wuapinmon]

I would share your personal experiences with missionary work and that of your kids. Show some photographs. Be open and honest and admit that referring people to the missionaries sucks because missionaries come and go, and you're risking a real relationship here to a couple of teenagers, and it makes you uncomfortable. That kind of stuff. Then ask how we get over these feelings.

[Clark Addison]

I remember the 5th Sunday lesson I did shortly after being called as WML. I started by relating something a woman who works for me told me. She takes the bus to work, and there is a Mormon who occasionally takes it as well. She knows that he is a Mormon because he always tries to share a BoM with whomever he sits next to, and tell them all about it. She said that when he gets on the bus, they all put their laptop cases/purses in the adjacent seat and stare intently at their book/newspaper. When he gets off, they all talk about how much they hate him, and how annoying he is. I told this because I always hate it when the WML or missionaries say things like "Just share your testimony with everyone! You think they will be annoyed, but that's not true! They won't mind at all!"

As I was telling the story, my bishop had a thoughtful look on his face. The thought, I believe, was "why did I call this guy to be WML?"

My lesson was pretty well-received, but, honestly, I am pretty sure that it didn't do anything for missionary work in the ward. That's OK, though, since I am pretty sure the traditional talks where the WML or bishop stands up and says "I want everyone to think in your head of one name that you will share with the missionaries", and pound on everyone about how terrible and ungrateful they are, don't really do anything for missionary work either.

I'll look to see if I still have my notes, but even if I find them, I expect there will be little there to help you.

[Moliere]

Now that the missionaries will be on Facebook, you could train all the older members on how to set up an account and share/like Mormon articles. You could encourage all the other people in the class (the ones already on Facebook) to take the time to surf Facebook and do some missionary work right then and there.

I'm only half kidding....

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Ours is Friends of Scouting for the 5th hour. Want to trade?

[clackamascoug]

I've tried for 5 minutes to think of something positive about being a member missionary - I got nothing. You're on your own.

- Oh.... just thought of one. Indexing as a way of doing missionary work. Teach everyone about indexing and pass it off as helping others enjoying the Gospel in the hereafter.

[bluegoose]

There are a few things that bug me about our current approach to missionary work.

Guilt trips really bother me, and one of the worst offenders is the common practice of standing up in priesthood with a BoM and waving it in the air until some One commits to take it and pass it out that week. This is a terrible idea on several levels.

First is the concept of guilting someone into sharing the gospel when the timing may or may not be right for them.

Second, there are a number of ways to share the gospel with your friends an family, and giving away a copy of the BoM is just one of them. In many cases I don't think it is going to be the best one.

The are dozens of other things you can do to bring up the gospel or church activities that don't involve giving out a book that can be hard to read and understand and which carried a bit of a stigma in certain circles. Sharing videos or conference talks appropriate to their life circumstances are often far more applicable. Inviting to ward activities or smaller gatherings with church friends is also a very non-threatening way to introduce friends to the ward. Telling them about what goes on at girls camp or youth conference. Explaining why you spent half a day driving 3 hours with the youth to a temple trip. Telling why Monday nights are important to you to spend time with your family.

I also think the phrase "missionary work" gets overused in our meetings, especially sacrament meeting where we may have non-member friends visiting for the first time. It has a very networking/marketing/business development feel to it. I can see how some visitors would be a little creeped out by it if that is all we are taking about in a meeting that Is supposed to be focused on worship and the atonement.

[Harry Tic]

For tomorrow's joint RS/Priesthood meeting during the third hour, I've been asked to present a program on missionary work--you know, the kind of meeting that makes you groan, reach for the iPad (or ilPad), or simply bail early. But imagine yourself in my position. What would you do, within the range of acceptable Church behavior, to make the hour worthwhile and interesting?

I'd like to motivate people to be more active representatives of the Church, but want to remove the usual guilt and drudgery associated with that task. I'm going to focus on service (and the Helping Hands program that's gaining traction here), making new friends without necessarily making new members, being more outgoing in talking about the Church, sponsoring community activities without any expectation of converts, etc.

This thread will likely be DOA, but I'd welcome any ideas about what to do, or not do, with this topic.

One thing that Mormons are particularly unskilled at is simply providing information about the church and answering questions in a straightforward way, without feeling the obligation to bear a testimony. I think that if we were generally better at talking about Mormonism in a matter-of-fact way, we wouldn't weird people out so much. Bearing testimony is, I think, vastly over-rated. We need to learn to dial it back. My favorite missionary scripture is probably Alma 38:12, which talks about not being 'overbearing.' If we could learn to talk about our beliefs in more impartial way, I think missionary work would tend to happen naturally.

M. Russell Ballard gave a great talk a few years ago about being a good missionary just by being yourself. Of course, I'm not particularly good at that either.

[LA Ute]

For tomorrow's joint RS/Priesthood meeting during the third hour, I've been asked to present a program on missionary work--you know, the kind of meeting that makes you groan, reach for the iPad (or ilPad), or simply bail early. But imagine yourself in my position. What would you do, within the range of acceptable Church behavior, to make the hour worthwhile and interesting?

I'd like to motivate people to be more active representatives of the Church, but want to remove the usual guilt and drudgery associated with that task. I'm going to focus on service (and the Helping Hands program that's gaining traction here), making new friends without necessarily making new members, being more outgoing in talking about the Church, sponsoring community activities without any expectation of converts, etc.

This thread will likely be DOA, but I'd welcome any ideas about what to do, or not do, with this topic.

I like wuap's suggestions. coupled with some effort to show how it can be fun to so missionary work. (I try hard to convince/remind myself of this. It doesn't come easy to me.) To start off the lesson, this story might work:

From 'Book of Mormon' musical to Mormon convert

It brings to mind this OT scripture, which we studied in Seminary last year:

"Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks." --Jeremiah 16:16.

Maybe you can tie all this in to Facebook and social media, because that is how the young woman in the news story was taught. Good luck!

[Dwight Schr-ute]

This topic reminds me of an experience while serving a mission. I seemingly had above average success working closely with the members and many of the baptisms I was involved in we're from member referrals. A detail not missed by my mission president, who asked me to present my "strategy" at the next mission conference. It seemed like the AP's were constantly pushing some new gimmick to add to our sales pitches, and I wasn't thrilled to be lumped into that group.

Mission conference came, the MP introduced me, and I stood up and confessed to the mission that I hadn't ever asked a member for a referral. I went on to explain that there wasn't a member within our mission boundaries that wasn't aware of what missionaries did. I followed that thought up with the idea that the only way that a member was going to introduce them to one of their friends, which is rarely the same thing as "getting a referral," is if they trusted you. So, the take home message is, if your members aren't working with you, then they don't trust you. Earn their trust, and you'll never even have to ask.

That was the last time I was invited to speak at mission conference.

[clackamascoug]

This topic reminds me of an experience while serving a mission. I seemingly had above average success working closely with the members and many of the baptisms I was involved in we're from member referrals. A detail not missed by my mission president, who asked me to present my "strategy" at the next mission conference. It seemed like the AP's were constantly pushing some new gimmick to add to our sales pitches, and I wasn't thrilled to be lumped into that group.

Mission conference came, the MP introduced me, and I stood up and confessed to the mission that I hadn't ever asked a member for a referral. I went on to explain that there wasn't a member within our mission boundaries that wasn't aware of what missionaries did. I followed that thought up with the idea that the only way that a member was going to introduce them to one of their friends, which is rarely the same thing as "getting a referral," is if they trusted you. So, the take home message is, if your members aren't working with you, then they don't trust you. Earn their trust, and you'll never even have to ask.

That was the last time I was invited to speak at mission conference.

Trust... I when I was the WML, that's what I told the missionaries to work on. Then I looked one Elder in the eye, and said, "When the members see you wearing a thumb ring they think you're not taking your mission seriously, and if they have a friend who wants to hear the discussions, they'll wait for a missionary they feel they can trust." Next week he showed up with the thumb ring.

[myboynoah]

Note that the handbook emphasized that ward mission work has equal parts member missionary work, retention, and activation, then make member missionary work more about invitations (inviting friends to the church for any number of things--like church bball, trunk or treat, etc.--and being open about church membership) and making the "invitation theme" a component of planning your current ward activities. Then have the missionaries come in and do role play--you do the "what you shouldn't do" and make it funny, then ask people how you could have done it better. That's one third of the time. Spend equal time on retention and activation.

On member missionary work, I'd stay away from the Book of Mormon challenges and emphasize being a good example, not shying away from letting people know we are Mormon, and inviting people to church activities that are non-threatening. Elder Uchdorf had a First Presidency Message a few months back on the reluctant missionary that I thought was good and makes a nice outline.

Good luck.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

Maybe I can get LA to endorse this post, but I think that The Little Prince is the best pamphlet on effective missionary work ever written.

[mtnbiker]

One thing that Mormons are particularly unskilled at is simply providing information about the church and answering questions in a straightforward way, without feeling the obligation to bear a testimony. I think that if we were generally better at talking about Mormonism in a matter-of-fact way, we wouldn't weird people out so much. Bearing testimony is, I think, vastly over-rated. We need to learn to dial it back. My favorite missionary scripture is probably Alma 38:12, which talks about not being 'overbearing.' If we could learn to talk about our beliefs in more impartial way, I think missionary work would tend to happen naturally.

M. Russell Ballard gave a great talk a few years ago about being a good missionary just by being yourself. Of course, I'm not particularly good at that either.

I like Tic's comment. Just be yourself, and be a good example, and people will notice.

My sister who lives in the Houston area (I believe P-dip knows her) has a spinning wheel and little loom that she's had since she was probably pre-teen. She washes and cards the wool, spins it into yarn or thread, then makes things. She happened to buy wool from a lady in Boston several times, and either in emails or phone conversations, the lady would ask how my sister got into spinning, and eventually they talked about the church and its teachings. I don't know how much my sister's influence had, but the lady is being baptized today, and my sister flew to Boston to be there for it.

So I think the best overall thing you can do is to be a good example, live a good Christlike life. If people express interest, then answer their questions, but not be pushy or shove books in their face. That's why I'm also glad that they're letting missionaries do more service and less tracting, to be out with people, befriend them, and when they express interest, help them understand what we believe.

[The_Tick]

I have the same assignment PAC. Feel free to give me your outline. TIA.