RE: Missionary Work

[Anonymous]

I’ve been a ward missionary for sometime now in a ward I don’t really like. I’m an outsider (only been in the ward for 3 years). It seems too long. Six more months will be ward missionary for 2 years. I’m disaffected. I don’t see the point of missionary work. I see it as a numbers game to get more tithe payers (I’m totally against this approach).

I don’t like planned meanings where we gather around talking about who to help. I am more nonchalant. I would rather just chum and talk with people and then share with them how I feel and build trust with them. I don’t want to be really preachy. I’ve made friends with 4 less active people and two semi-active people. If I could just work with these individuals I would be fine. There are no set guidelines, it just seems like their is a programmed approach to be “doing” things to “show” that we are actually doing missionary work. At least it seems like the intentions are right, I just hope it works.

Another thing. I have to teach about teaching the gospel on Sunday and how it extends from the family to missionary work in general. Basically I don’t want to teach the missionary work aspect at all. I just want to focus on how I teach my family the gospel and the success I have had with my family. I am struggling to save my family, I don’t really care about trying to save the people I rarely know in the ward when I need to spend quality time with my family who I want to share eternity with, not people who don’t really give a crap if I visit them or not.

[Anonymous]

Then teach that. Focus on teaching the family and leave it at that,except for a really low-key comment about linking it to missionary work just to say you hit the objective of the lesson, maybe at the end. Amplify the part of the lesson that you feel passionate about and dedicate 99% of the lesson to it. They won’t take you off the podium/lecturn mid-lesson unless you start making totally apostate comments. So, get up there and talk about what you are passionate about that bears on the lesson even tangentially and hopefully, blesses the people listening at the same time. I’m finding there is a ton of stuff to teach that you can agree with. And often, the things you DON’T agree with, when supported with little known or little quoted supportive statements from the scriptures, GC talks etcetera can make for a lesson where people come away with a whole new perspective. Be careful with that though, make sure your alternative perspective only reframes the objectionable statements without attacking them or directly challenging them in a way the TBM membership will find offensive..

[Anonymous]

Well, one view on missionary work that you might find appealing is bridging the gap between believers and non believers because that’s what it is. That should be a bridge that goes both directions. Anyone who is called to that should be comfortable with a wide variety of beliefs and perspectives, listening to people, sharing their experiences, and finding common ground. To me, that’s not objectionable. Trying to convince people they are wrong, spewing your dogmatic worldview or being an unremitting dil-hole is not real missionary work in my book, but try to tell the dil-hole that!

[Anonymous]

Sincerely becoming friends with people is never a bad thing — forming real, meaningful relationships.

Forcing “missionary work” to happen rarely seems to produce more than a little light and heat, but never a fire. People will be interested in our way of thinking and our way of life when they see it makes a difference, not so much when we intellectually convince them it is true.

When this topic comes up, I usually talk about reaching out to form real relationships. That is the basis of real conversion work. You can’t make that happen artificially through a management program, and it doesn’t seem to work much either when I asked God to make someone out there mysteriously and suddenly want to hear the Gospel. He usually said “Go do it yourself! Most of the time, I can barely get all those humans to notice me at all when I am speaking directly at them …”

[Anonymous]

You could also focus on the relatonship building aspect of missionary work only. Indicate that there is a relationship building period, a teaching period, an inviting period, and a following up period. Tell everyone at the outset that you are narrowing the scope of your lesson to the relationship building part of missionary work because that is what you are good at and have the most passion for. Take it from there.

[Anonymous]

Missionary work doesn’t even make sense from a TBM perspective, unless it’s centered around how it might help a person in this life. If everyone gets a chance later, it’s not about salvation at all, it’s about bring people the blessings of the gospel, whatever those might be.

So, while I’m not fired about missionary work myself, I would try to get people to think about how the gospel has improved their lives. For me, it’s brought me a wonderful wife and kids I would have had later or not at all without it.

Other people could definitely benefit immediately from the church’s teachings on family focus. So, that’s what I would share.

What makes the gospel worth it for you? Think about that and ask your class to think about the same?

[Anonymous]

embwbam wrote:

Missionary work doesn’t even make sense from a TBM perspective, unless it’s centered around how it might help a person in this life. If everyone gets a chance later, it’s not about salvation at all, it’s about bring people the blessings of the gospel, whatever those might be.

So, while I’m not fired about missionary work myself, I would try to get people to think about how the gospel has improved their lives. For me, it’s brought me a wonderful wife and kids I would have had later or not at all without it.

Other people could definitely benefit immediately from the church’s teachings on family focus. So, that’s what I would share.

What makes the gospel worth it for you? Think about that and ask your class to think about the same?

I like this a lot and see this in the similar manner. Joining the Church for the sake of joining the church has no value in this life as you pointed out as we could all receive ordinances in the after life and it makes no sense that .02% of the population get some gift that increases their value or chance to get back… that doesn’t make sense to me. The value of the gospel is if it affords you more peace, shields you from some major disappointments you would have had otherwise, and gives you more protection over what you would experience out of the church” God finds his joy out of our personal growth and our joy, this is why he wants us in the church.

[Anonymous]

Jamison,

You’ve probably been a ward missionary for too long. The CHI now says that ward missionaries should serve for a set amount of time. I think almost every ward has someone who has been a ward missionary almost as long as the three Nephites. Since the calling isn’t very well defined, it’s easy to overlook, and a lot of “outsiders” seem to be called as ward missionaries and stay there forever.

If I were in your situation I would either:

1) Talk to the bishopric about a new opportunity to serve

or

2) Take advantage of the lack of definition and make your calling what you want it to be. You want to work with half a dozen semi or less active people? I think that’s fantastic missionary work.

I also get frustrated with all the meetings and programs we do to “show” are doing missionary work. We when try to do missionary work through programs, processes, and bureaucracy we fail; when we focus on the needs of individuals we can help them make lasting changes in their lives.

[Author]

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