Erich's "Rant"

Blargh. I'm in some downtime. Some of what I type here may not make sense after I reread, so I'm just hoping that the Spirit knows better. Maybe. Gah.
Alright. This last week was interesting, because after a few days of following up with some deadwood investigators we switched into full-on member-work mode. No knocking doors unless absolutely necessary. And now we've got an enormous list of people to visit, and a handful of references and appointments with members for the week. Only this week will that start to give fruit...but we got to know a LOT of less actives and incomplete families. And now we're doling out responsibilities for the members, in hopes of helping them be a better-interconnected ward. I'm excited for this week, and another turnover of investigators.

The training we had was also great. I felt vindicated with many of the things that were said in that broadcast. First off, I agree that members need better training with respect to how to support each other, especially the less-actives - this makes the ward a more cohesive "family", and in an age where there are many less converts in the Mormon population we need to start using members as an appendage of the missionary work. The only function limited to the missionaries is the authority of convert baptisms and the responsibility for effective teaching of the basic principles of the gospel - besides that, members can participate in the following:

- Finding

- Following Up

- Retention

These parts are actually quite huge, and the most difficult parts from my point of view are the finding and the retaining. Finding is the most tiring, and least productive, part of missionary work in the mission work I've come to know. It's easy to find people who will let you into the door, but people that want something to do with the Church is something else. People that already know the members, though, already have a friend, and can recognize positive Church values through the member's example. There's a certain barrier with missionaries that becomes much more easily navigated when a member is able to insert them into the lives of other normal people. Finding is simply much, much more effective when you seek to find them through members - though it requires patience, diligence, and organizational skills.

Retention is the other part I think that is the hardest, simply because it doesn't start with baptism - the members have to participate in helping the baptism staying firm, and the sooner the process starts the better. I note that the ward mission leader is an excellent solution for this, since he ought to know the ward better than any missionary. The ward missionary should be the point of coordination with the members, and direct the ward's mission as if he were personally responsible for every person that the missionaries find - because he is! He's the crucial link between the missionary spirit carried by those ordained, and the local knowledge necessary for effective teamwork in the ward. He ought to know the spiritual strengths of the ward, so that he can bring them to the fore as the need arises in the missionary work. And he also serves as the leader that helps to train the ward, a point of leadership that doesn't fade when a missionary gets transferred. He's necessary to making sure the members are working with the missionaries like they could be.

I frankly got sick of knocking doors, dealing with so many people that don't want anything to do with you, when I started learning how to work with the members. It's so much more pleasant, and when you focus on them the members also benefit spiritually. They become part of the work, and could be important in helping some from turning away simply because they didn't have enough attention in the ward. Missionaries have the entire day to meet up with whomever they need to, and I believe that in two transfers it's possible to have made a visit in every single house in a member's home in a reasonably-sized ward (80-120 members), should the missionaries focus. The majority of baptism stories in the training were...hello? Incomplete families! You don't know who's incomplete until somebody tells you - and you gotta get to know the members to ask them. When you involve them, they start to become appendages of the work - they become your eyes, and ears. If you train them, they can spot people that you might never have noticed, because the missionaries only have one body - they can't be everywhere at the same time. But the members are in many places. And I strongly believe that God uses members, not just missionaries, to soften the hearts of those who have yet to know the true Church, and for this reason "Every member a missionary." Through the members' examples people see the incredible blessing of the restored Gospel...and when they start to get involved, they make the missionary work more than just the missionaries. And the Church needs that to keep the work accelerating.

Working with members requires the missionary to use his brain. It requires him to organize himself, and be patient when things go wrong on something they weren't responsible for. It requires more than a callused hand and endurance - it requires a soft heart and a love for the people who serve alongside you as representatives of Christ, albeit at a different level. It requires you think about how to build up wherever you go, and confide in God. Baptism is promoted as the strongest indicator of growth in the Church, and the fact is that baptism is the highest a missionary can take another human being while they serve. We need to seek to build up all others around us - and if we really are looking, really are seeking to love others around us, which REALLY isn't that different from what we should do as members, God will inspire us to find members. We need to pay attention. It needs blood, sweat, and tears like Nephi shed as he worried and worked and did all he could to keep his people a righteous one in

2 Nephi 33:3. We need to lean on His arm, and do His work. And when His leaders are telling us that member work is the most effective way to do it...well, what do you *think* we should do?

Anyway. That's my rant for today. All the less actives and non-members who want to come to Church will. I've seen it happen. And I testify that member missionary work will be instrumental in the evolution of the missionary work that God needs. The Church is true, and thus God shall never stop sending us signals to help us serve Him better. The Book of Mormon is the best missionary, because it's the centerpiece of the work in the Latter Days. It's a true book, and serves us better than any other. It proves, and has given me testimony, that Joseph Smith was a prophet that was essential in having returned to us the tools necessary for our salvation. I'm grateful to be a part of the true Church, and the privilege to lead as a missionary of the Savior.

Don't forget to write, y'all. I love you.

-Erich