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Having served a mission (in Japan), having one son who served a mission (in the USA) and having a daughter who is in the MTC right now (going to Germany), I have thought about what I would say to a Mission President about how to measure success as a missionary. I was fortunate, and, based on the letters we have received thus far from my daughter’s MP, I believe my daughter will be, as well – but I know too many missionaries who were not as fortunate. I served immediately following the fiasco of baptism competitions that were epitomized by the term “baseball baptisms”, and I know part of the reason why I didn’t face intense baptism goal pressure was a direct result of the crackdown at the time. Thus, I have thought about what I would say if I heard of pressure being applied to equate success with baptismal numbers. The following is what I drafted as a result of my pondering:
Quote:President ___________,
I served a mission in Japan following the crackdown on practices that led to baptism contests within and among missions, quick baptisms of people who were woefully unprepared (and, in some cases, not fully aware of what they were doing) and the inevitably horrible retention rates that followed. Thus, I am sensitive to the way “success” is defined in a mission and the pressures that missionaries can face with regard to goals and, ultimately, things that are outside their control. I understand and appreciate faith and trust in the Lord, but I also understand and honor agency as the foundational gift of mortality – right alongside the Atonement itself.
My only request is that “success” be defined as it is in “Preach My Gospel”. That manual is crystal clear that success is not a measure of baptisms – or any other metric that involves the agency of others. I loved my mission and understand and support completely the need for measurements of missionaries’ personal efforts, but I also have friends who had horrible experiences on missions due solely to high pressure sales tactics and success metrics used by their Mission Presidents and, as a result, their AP’s and Zone Leaders.
I want people to be converted more than I want people to be baptized, and, again, I want success defined as it is in Preach My Gospel, not strictly numerically. I want missionaries to be faithful, successful missionaries, but I don’t want them to feel like they failed if they end up having an Elijah mission and not an Ammon mission. I would love for each of them to have an Ammon mission, but I would be happy if each of them becomes an Elijah if that is what the Lord has in store for them.
There is nothing specific to you that makes me feel uneasy or concerned, so please accept this as nothing more than the desire of my heart for my own children and everyone else who serve missions. I appreciate deeply your and your wife’s sacrifice and dedication in accepting the call to serve as Mission Presidents and in nurturing the missionaries. May God bless you in your own efforts, and may your success be measured in the same way the success of the missionaries you serve is measured – whether you look back and feel like Ammon or Elijah.
Sincerely,
Old Timer
I think you should send it. :thumbup: Germany strikes me as a lower baptising mission anyway.
Ray, I agree with everything in your letter.
My own view is that I would prefer the church and MPs wouldn’t try to make robots out of missionaries. Obviously there are rules of conduct that the missionaries need to follow, and they need to understand procedures for accepting new members into the church, etc. But when it comes to teaching, missionaries are individual people. They have different backgrounds. They bring different strengths to the table. I would much prefer for the church to train missionaries in WHAT they are to teach, and stay away from HOW to teach it. Then let missionaries learn from each other; not one training another in technique, but by working side-by-side, and talking together about their common experiences. As long as the missionaries are working hard, they will figure out the HOW. If they don’t want to work hard, then they shouldn’t be missionaries. If they do want to work hard, then their INDIVIDUALITY will work for the collective good. Tracking how many referrals have been collected by member-referral-program-7-presentations just stifles the spirit.
This, then, comes back to the age issue. In terms of life experiences, adaptability, and individuality, I think a 20-year-old who has worked or started college… or both… would be way ahead of an 18-year-old who just graduated high school in Orem.
I don’t think success can be quantified. I really do like the way Preach My Gospel addresses success. I’ve said a number of times that I ought to do a series of posts here about why I like PMG so much, especially compared to what I had as a missionary. I really ought to do that.
😳 Old-Timer wrote:Thus, I have thought about what I would say if I heard of pressure being applied to equate success with baptismal numbers.
I think about this sometimes for our missionary. I realize that you haven’t actually had to cross the bridge yet, but was your letter more of an exercise, or would you really consider communicating directly with a mission president?
Ann, I absolutely would consider communicating directly with a Mission President, especially if he was the MP over one of my children or the MP in the mission in which I live. I believe the majority of them would appreciate it, as long as it wasn’t just or primarily a tirade and/or condemnation. That calling is incredibly hard. The vast majority of them are good, sincere people doing the best they can. With that in mind, yes, I would communicate directly with them.
Of course, it helps that I’m not exactly shy.
😳 My MP and his wife talked to my parents a lot more than I did. It was always a weird feeling when the MP’s wife would tell me my mom said hi.
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