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Our stake is rolling out a new program. It is going to be introduced this week. It has had very little publicity. It’s called:
Self-Reliance Devotional. It was described as follows: You will be able to:
– Assess your needs (set your self-reliant income goal and spiritual goals.)
– Choose your path (decide how you will become self-reliant).
– Join a GROUP to develop spiritual habits and practical skills in 90 days:
Improve your personal/family budgeting ability. Start and grow a business.
Find a better job, or identify needed skills and create an education plan.
All are worthy goals. I have never heard of this particular program.
Has anyone on this forum heard of this program in your stake?
How well has it worked?
With what seems like, lack of preparation, they are scrambling to recruit members to show up & participate.
I am always suspicious.
Our stake has launched it. I don’t have personal experience on it, but some of my home teaching families were told by the bishop they need to attend. I think they are trying to get many members to go to it…so that it isn’t only certain people attending with some stigma attached to it.
But…I know little about it. My HT family said it was great.
This program should be rolling out everywhere in the US and Canada. I groused about it here: http://forum.staylds.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8204 ” class=”bbcode_url”> http://forum.staylds.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8204 We had some of the same problems with communicating about the program. I was aware of the kick off “devotional” but did not attend. However, the program is rolling in our stake and the first set of twelve week groups are having their meetings and doing their homework. In my stake of 8 units we apparently have 9 groups. They’re divided regionally so not every building has a group, and there are groups in all but one of the areas of focus (or whatever they’re called). My understanding is the plan is to have one more set of groups (with their attendant devotional) this year starting late summer and ending before the holidays and to try to run three rounds next year. I am aware that some people were specifically invited to attend (written invitations, actually) and anyone else was welcome and that there is a mix of invitees and volunteers in the groups. I think if you need help budgeting, finding a job, etc., it’s great. The TBM take on it is that it’s for everyone (the same TBMs will say the same about ARP, but more so with this program).
The program was piloted and has been in existence in SA for some time (at least a few years).
DJ, thank you for referencing your original post on this topic. I looked for other posts & couldn’t find them. I can find value in networking members that have skills or specific knowledge about various topics. Especially as it relates to:
Employment, investing, education, etc. Like I said, I’m always suspicious about more programs.
Thanks,
We are waiting to get adequate numbers. Minyan Man wrote:
DJ, thank you for referencing your original post on this topic. I looked for other posts & couldn’t find them.I can find value in networking members that have skills or specific knowledge about various topics. Especially as it relates to:
Employment, investing, education, etc. Like I said, I’m always suspicious about more programs.
Thanks,
Except part of the plan is that “experts” in the field aren’t supposed to be facilitators for those groups. That is, no educators facilitating the education group and no business owners running the business group. They explained why but I don’t remember and it does seem counterintuitive.
And I meant to mention that in my prior post – one of the problems we had was getting enough facilitators. We would have more groups. We did extend “calls” to enough (it’s an assignment as opposed to a calling) but several refused for whatever reason. Some refused because they didn’t know or understand the program.
Just attended a rollout meeting the other night for it. It reminded me a little of the pathway program through byu idaho, a mix of spiritual and temporal exercises promoting growth and change. I think the reasoning for the facilitators not being experts was that they didn’t want the facilitators to be leading the meetings in a particular direction, but to let him flow as the group as a whole allows it.
That’s right LDSSM, I do recall them saying it had something to do with the facilitators not dominating the meetings. And I think the Pathways program, also ramping up, can be a part of the education area. In our area the Pathways meeting place is in a neighboring stake, average two hours away from us.
One more reason for me to shout, “Get Off My Lawn.” My real annoyance with the Pathways program is that it was heavily pushed by the church, but BYU-I didn’t give any sort of reduction in tuition for such online courses. The Pathways program doesn’t teach a lot of marketable skills. Too many pathway programs are focused on genealogy and family life skills. Yes, you can earn a degree in those areas, but such degrees are not going to allow SAHMs to become significant wage earners. This second program of financial self-reliance could too easily be turned into a mass MLM situation.
The church needs to decide what it wants out of its people. There are too many mixed messages. It is hard for an individual to be a family-focused parent of a large family that sees money as not the end goal .. while at the same time being a hard-driven corporate rising star.
mom3 wrote:
One more reason for me to shout, “Get Off My Lawn.”
That’s exactly what this sounds like to me too! On one hand I don’t mind that they may offer help to people in these areas, but it won’t stop there, it will become mandatory for everyone. . .
Journey girl – I second your observations Quote:That’s exactly what this sounds like to me too! On one hand I don’t mind that they may offer help to people in these areas, but it won’t stop there, it will become mandatory for everyone.
And add AP’s wisdom –
Quote:The church needs to decide what it wants out of its people. There are too many mixed messages.
Whatever happened to D & C 58:26, 27
Quote:26 For behold,
it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. 27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and
do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For me and my house we will play by the above bolded rules.
I dust off D&C 58:26-27 all the time. For me the purpose of church programs is for those moments when you’re fresh out of ideas and need a little help finding ways to be actively engaged.
The programs kinda took a life of their own over time and now it feels like they’re expectations that over-engage some people.
As an FYI, BYU-I and the Pathways program have partnered with Arizona State University to offer more degrees at the reduced rate. I just saw an announcement this afternoon. It is interesting to watch how the church works. For example, my wife & I have been active for the past 5 or 6 years after many years of inactivity. (decades) We both have jobs that we feel comfortable with. My wife in Primary. Me in Family History.
Next is:
– Home Teaching & Visiting Teaching. (We both like participating.)
– Missionaries come over & try to get us to go on visits with investigators.
– Then, Family History Center assignments.
– Then, Singing in choir (wife).
– Then, Quarterly visits to inactive members.
– Then, Stake meetings & training sessions. (stake center is 45 min one-way)
– Then, provide rides for elderly in nursing home. (we like doing this.)
– Then, youth baptisms at the temple. (temple is 1 hr 45 min one-way)
– Then, additional callings in the HP & Primary organizations.
– Now, Stake Self Reliance Devotional. (with a 12 week commitment in the middle of summer).
I’m amazed more members aren’t inactive. Up to this point, I haven’t had a problem saying no to the majority & yes to activities
I feel I have an interest, enthusiasm & some skill level.
God Bless those that can say yes to everything & make it look easy. I don’t know how you do it.
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