A Plan for a White Christmas!

NOTE:  It is hard to imagine, after you have read the following, how really hard it is to get the average ward to embrace something like a White Christmas.  This is a perfect plan....but it was never implemented.  - Bro. P.

Bishop Anderson:

There is an infinite distance between the wishers and the doers. A mere desire is lukewarm water, which will never take a train to its destination; the purpose must boil, must be made into live steam to do the work. Who would have ever heard of Theodore Roosevelt outside of his immediate community if he had only half committed himself to what he had undertaken, if he had brought only a part of himself to his task? The great secret of his career has been that he has flung his whole life, not a part of it, with all the determination and energy and power he could muster, into everything he has undertaken. No dillydallying, no faint-hearted efforts, no lukewarm purpose for him!     --Orison Sweet Marden

Part I – Background

     I am still on a spiritual high from Stake Conference and I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some ideas that have been running around in my head this week.  I can’t help but get excited about missionary work as I listen to our leaders talk about the possibilities for success.  When they give me the results of research accompanied by statistics, my mind naturally begins to work on how I can use what I’ve learned to increase the success of our efforts.  President Hinckley wants to DOUBLE the baptisms in the U.S.  That’s an exciting goal!

     With all of this excitement and possibility thinking going through my mind, I remembered what we would do in the Youth Guides when presented with this kind of challenge.  We would prayerfully consider what we had learned and set goals accordingly.  Then, with hard work, enthusiasm, and the help of the Lord we would set about accomplishing them.

     While I was a leader in the program, although I was not identified as a “mission president,” in actuality I gained the experience of a mission president.  With this extensive experience in mind, my thoughts have been racing to figure out ways we can set and accomplish the kind of goals that our Prophet wants us to.

     I thought about the similarities between the Youth Guides and the members of the Mezona Ward.  As Youth Guides, we were not a full time mission, but in every other respect we were truly a mission.  Since we weren’t full time and had all of those things that detract from missionary work in our lives, we had to work hard to figure out ways to get around the obstacles. We developed simple policies and procedures that could be used in our special circumstances as we trained youth and adults to be missionaries.  When we followed these we were known for accomplishing extraordinary goals.

     Those special circumstances we had to deal with are the same that we find in our ward, namely, those whom we are requesting to do missionary work are themselves some of the busiest people in the world.  They work (both youth and adult), go to school (both youth and adult), have callings, families, friends, extended families, are active in the community, etc., and so on.  Plus, for most, just like it was for the Youth Guides, doing missionary work is WORK!  Making it fun and rewarding was what the Youth Guides became famous for.

     Then I thought about the differences.  In the Program we were dealing only with youth and everyone knows that when inspired our wonderful youth can do whatever they set their minds to.  For the most part, missionary work was new to them and since they were planning on going on missions, it became central in their lives.

     Something that is different for the ward is that many of us have been around and around with missionary work and have failed many more times than we care to admit.  This leaves us scared to reach out, for fear of failing again.  We make up excuses like, “I don’t want to push my religion on anyone,” or “If I’m a good example then others will see me and want to know more about my church.  When they ask me, I’ll tell them.”  We feel guilty for not doing missionary work, because we view it as hard and too much work right now, and we’ve failed so many times in the past that we keep it a great distance from the center of our lives.

     We learned in the Program that the upside of setting and following specific policies and procedures was that we could attain miraculous results.  We were able to set extraordinary goals and accomplish them month after month for years.  As a result, the Program was responsible for thousands of referrals to the full timers, placing hundreds of copies of the Book of Mormon, and teaching our method of missionary work in one hundred wards via Visitors’ Center Sundays.  We had 80 firesides a year, Tri-Stake Conferences in Tempe and Gilbert, Sisters Conferences, and because of our success we were written up in the New Era and the Ensign.  It was HUGE!  The most successful pre-missionary training program the Church has ever known!

Part II – A Plan

     Let me outline a few policies that, when modified, would work well in the Mezona Ward.  It was our policy to have a:

1.                  Standard of Excellence

Procedurally, we decided that in order for a Standard of Excellence to capture the imagination of the youth it had to be simple and cover the basics.  We wanted them to study the scriptures, attend our meetings, and invite people to the Visitors’ Center.  So, our SofE was a one page document that had five items on it.

Standard No. 1:  Study the Gospel 30” a day, spending some time in the Book of Mormon daily.  This was easy to do because they could listen to tapes by General Authorities; read in the Ensign, the New Era, or the Friend; read any of the Standard Works, or any of the books in the Missionary Library.  When they received their temple recommends I allowed them to count time doing temple work as study time.  You will not believe what a constant program of scripture study did for those kids!

Standards No. 2 & 3:  Attend the Sunday Night Training Meeting and District Night.  The SNTM was the most exciting meeting in the Valley for these kids.  It was their pump night.  We sang and laughed and had training and testimonies.  It was invaluable and provided a spiritual high that lasted all week.  Of course they had to attend and work on their District Night.  There they got more training and experience practicing leadership skills.

Standard No. 4:  Using Temple Cards, invite five (5) nonmembers to the Visitors’ Center for a tour each week.  This put them on the “front line” and provided them with work to do.  Using the Missionary Guide to teach the skills of preparing, inviting, resolving concerns, and follow-up prepared them for the MTC in addition to helping them in all areas of the Program.  The number of people who came to the Gardens on a regular basis in the summer when it was still 110 degrees out at 8:00 p.m. was kind of sparse.  However, with 100-200 youth inviting all week, most nights there was someone to give the tour to.

Standard No. 5:  Set-A-Date to have someone come to the Gardens for an inside or outside tour.  Over the years I boiled everything about Set-A-Date down to a one page handout, which I have modified and attached to this letter.

                        If the Standard of Excellence was maintained at 90% by the Guides, then we were promised that we would receive our goals.

2.                  Meaningful and Exciting Sunday Night Training Meeting

Missionary work is hard work if you are working at it, and all of those involved, both leaders and followers, need a “pump night” on a regular basis.  We found we had to do it weekly because of the dynamics of the Program.  For those who are succeeding at the process, they need a place to celebrate.  For those who were struggling, they needed a place to be uplifted.  We found that youth of the Church love to sing and bear testimony, so a large part of our meetings were devoted to those two things.  We also found that running the Program meant we had to have a time when everyone was required to be there to state policy and any changes in existing procedure.

3.                  Weekly Report

These allowed individuals to report to their District Leader on their progress on the Standard of Excellence and on the back they could write about their life, challenges, successes, kudos, whatever.  We found that when we did not require reporting, they didn’t do the standards.  Also, when the reports were tallied we had a good idea of where we were in all phases of the Program.  It was interesting to read these reports for an individual prior to his mission and show him how much progress he had made.

4.                  Leadership Opportunity for Everyone

I told the Guides that we all enter life with lots of rough edges.  It is when we bump up against new ideas or new people that we begin to smooth off those edges.  Therefore, every opportunity to work with people in a leadership position was given to each person eligible.  There were a few standard positions, like District Leader and Zone Leader, and I was diligent in making sure that each young man that wanted to was trained in these positions.  However, if I had someone who needed a position and there wasn’t one available, I would create one and make sure it had lots of work assigned to it.  Once, when our numbers were large, I created a whole duplicate mission called the Ammonite Mission, staffed it with 36 leaders and worked hard to make sure it accomplished its goals.

5.                  “Heroic” Referral Goal

To capture a youthful imagination, often the only way to do it is with a heroic goal … a goal so high that in order to reach it they would have to sacrifice lots of things that were dear to them … time, sleep, parties, friends.  But when they came to the Program they had already heard the buzz that this group of youth was different.  They worked hard, played hard and when they set a goal they accomplished it!  You can’t imagine what it is like work with a group of young people of such single-minded devotion to the Lord that they could not conceive of not achieving their goal as a group.

6.                  Getting a Signed Commitment

Our application process included signatures from the youth, their parents, and their bishop.  On the application were the Standard of Excellence and an explanation of the rules.  Everyone knew what was expected and agreed in writing with his signature.

Part III – The Mezona Ward  - WHITE CHRISTMAS! (Hmm hmming hm hm White Christmas)

     As we begin to think how all of this can come together in the Mezona Ward, let’s start with the things we learned from our general authority leaders on the video that was presented at Stake Conference.  Some of the statistics include the fact that only 10% of the referrals in the U.S. are member referrals.  That is shocking and means that, for some of the reasons mentioned above, almost none of us (90%) are referring our friends to the missionaries.  We also learned that out of those that are taught in homes by missionaries, 59% are baptized!  That seems to be the place where we should concentrate our energies, since the reward is so great … getting our friends into our homes.  Let’s build a whole plan around teaching friends in our home.

     I found while setting goals in the Youth Guides that through a plan and enthusiasm, and with the help of the Lord to soften hearts, we can accomplish tremendous goals.  All it takes is a person of vision, who can share that vision with others and offer them help in setting up the plan of action to accomplish the goal.  I believe I can help outline the vision, if you’ll be the one who will make it yours/our ward vision.

     So, I would like to share with you a vision I have of what we can do and how we can accomplish it.  Speaking from experience, I would like to see the leadership of our ward step up to the plate and outline a truly heroic goal to accomplish before the end of the year.  Why heroic?  Remember, goals that are not heroic do not capture the attention or imagination of the masses.  Since we’ve got too much on our plate already, only really big thinking gets our attention, and then for only a little while.  Our Heavenly Father’s goal is to save all his children.  That is truly heroic.  Our prophet’s goal was to have 100 operating temples in the year 2000!  We as of this date have 115 working, announced or on the drawing table.

     I’d like to see us set as our goal the teaching of 60 friends in our homes between now and Christmas Day, with the end result of baptizing 35 of them during our Mezona Ward WHITE CHRISTMAS!

     How do you go about doing that?  Well, lots of small steps help us achieve grrrr8! things.  I’d like to see everyone in the Priesthood in our ward buy into the goal on the faith that as our leader you wouldn’t set it if you didn’t think we had the faith to achieve it.  You see, goals are accomplished with faith.  If we have the faith, then and only then will be do the work.

     We can do it with committees, the Elders and the High Priest Group, and committees for missionary work in all the other classes and auxiliaries.  Approve, call and set apart committee Chairs and members with the charge to accomplish miracles for the Lord this Christmas time.  Capture their imagination by calling it the “Mezona Ward WHITE CHRISTMAS!”  White is the color of the baptism clothes.  Follow through the “white” theme by any means that are tasteful - WHITE CHRISTMAS Temple Nights that are especially for inspiration to accomplish our goal, WHITE CHRISTMAS Primary/RS/YW/YM/Elders/HP parties - flyers, buttons - whatever it takes to keep it in front of the members at all times.

     Wonderful things happen when the people know that their leaders are of one mind and one heart.  It allows them to hope and dream and believe that it really CAN happen.  Present a united front, no one lacking in faith, and see what the members will do for the Lord and for you.

     Next, I’d like to see the leadership put it in front of the members and themselves by making posters, writing it in their Day Planners, speaking about it in Church, putting it on the kitchen bulletin boards, talking about it in FHE’s.  In other words, publish the goal throughout the land.  Tell the Stake, tell the other wards, and tell everyone who will listen of our goal.  Everyone should know that through prayer and pondering a goal as been set that is acceptable to the Lord.  And, so as not to wear out the troops, set the date for accomplishment within the next 100 days.  We can sustain for a short time a dramatic sprint that will get us up and running in missionary work for the ward.

     Can you imagine what achieving such a goal would do for our ward family?  Just imagine!  Once we have done something like this, is there anything we can’t do?  Can every one of our young men go on missions?  Sure!  Can we all hold temple recommends?  Sure!  Can we have 100% attendance at our meetings?  Sure!  (Get the picture?)

     Now that we have a goal, I’d like to see all of the mind power in the ward go to work on how to accomplish it.  Establish policies and procedures that govern this effort.  Have a Standard of Excellence that everyone buys into and reports their progress on.  Challenge each organization and auxiliary to plan events that go along with the goal and the theme.

     We can begin by reserving the font for Christmas Day and for several other dates preceding Christmas Day (dates three weeks out in October and in November, for example).  We can tell everyone that we are going to run nice warm water on those days, prepare refreshments for the celebration, and have the grrrr8!est baptism programs that we can, full of music and the spoken word that will uplift and thrill all who attend.  If we don’t have a baptism, turn it into a “pump” meeting.  They will come having worked hard and will go away having been refreshed by the Spirit.  All who want to come will be invited to each baptism.  Make them an event of joy and thanksgiving.

     Have special firesides for spiritual uplift during the time.  Is there any reason we couldn’t do something weekly?  Is there?  It wouldn’t be just a meeting to have a meeting.  It would be for pumping up the troops for the week ahead.  It would be marvelous!

     Wouldn’t it be grrrr8! for the leadership to establish as our motto, “Let’s all work to GROW the Mezona Ward.”  (This was a suggestion from the Prophet at his historic meeting earlier in the year.  He said why don’t we all go home and have as our motto, let’s all WORK to grow the ward.)  Make cards and posters with the motto on them and be excited about the opportunity to grow the ward.  (See a card I made up and attached to this letter.)

     In addition, if asked, I would offer my expertise in missionary work for the next 100 days to help train members of the ward to use Set-A-Date the way we used it in the Youth Guides and to set up firesides and meetings that will help us achieve our goal.  We have David Glass, Vance Lemos and Bro. Brown, plus all of those who volunteered for a year-long missionary effort, already called in the ward to help lead the effort and interface with the full timers.  I could work as one of the members of the Missionary Committee for the High Priest Group in our ward.  Perhaps we could meet as a group to do planning - Elders, HP, and the missionary force.

     For example, an alumnus of the Youth Guide program is pursuing his Doctorate at Northwestern University.  He is an accomplished organist and I believe it would be possible to set up a special organ recital featuring the music of Christmas that we could invite our friends to.  It would be top drawer, terrific program, lots of advance publicity, something really fine that anyone would be happy to bring their friends to.  But, in addition to some special events, most of the work would be done within the walls of our homes, on an individual or group basis, to tell our friends about our Church and the Lord and His Gospel that means so much to us and that we love so much.

     The special, almost magical quality of Set-A-Date that we would teach is that it releases us from worrying about all those people we feel guilty about by telling us it is okay to quit feeling guilty.  We love them in old and new ways, but we don’t worry ever again about “getting them into the Church.”  They are not really a part of our Set-A-Date date.  Perhaps something we do will impress them this time, and perhaps not.  But it won’t be our focus.  Instead, our focus would be on all those new people the Lord would put in our path that we could invite.  I can testify to you that there are thousands ready right now to be invited to learn more about what makes us so happy and content with our direction in life.  And as soon as you take the pressure off of trying to baptize your neighbors, more often than not they become more interested!

     We can use F.O.R.M. as a way to strike up conversations.  Family, Occupation, Recreation, and Message.  We can make little cards for everyone to carry until they can do it on their own.  After we have asked a few questions about those simple subjects, we give the message using “will you” questions.  “Will you” questions get a yes or a no.  A yes is what we want and we know what to do with that immediately, we go on to working out the date and details of how they will get to where we can teach them.  To help with the “no’s” we will teach about resolving concerns by finding out what the real objection is and offering a solution.  Oftentimes the person will say no for the simplest of reasons, such as they didn’t really hear what we asked, or they feel they are too busy, or lots of things we can help resolve with a little thinking and ingenuity.

     What we did in the Gardens was give a tour, which talked about the temple, families, family history work, and the Book of Mormon.  It was nothing more than a glorious FHE that took place in the Gardens.  I can help put together a really simple FHE that our ward families can use to teach their friends about what we believe.  We can use our children (young and older), songs, videos.  It can be a most marvelous experience for the whole family.  And in case of challenges, we have the full timers to fall back on.

Part IV – A Review……

1.                  Vision can set a heroic goal that will grasp the minds and imaginations of members (A Mezona Ward WHITE CHRISTMAS!).  (Imagine having 35 baptisms in the next 100 days!!!  Is it possible?  What has the Lord said? “With Him NOTHING is impossible).

2.                  Organize Missionary Committees to adopt and communicate that goal to all of the leaders and rank and file (The Priesthood leads by following the Prophet and establishing committees who work together to achieve the goal - youth are involved as members of their Quorum or Class Missionary Committees).

3.                  A Plan can include a Goal Statement (written down in specifics with date and time - 35 baptisms as a result of invitations by members of the Mezona Ward to their friends, wherever they are in the Valley or the World), a Motto (Let’s all work to GROW the Mezona Ward), a faith-promoting system and training (Set-A-Date - the easy way to do missionary work - train the leaders - leaders train the troops), Helps (F.O.R.M. and FHE template), Special Events - not all can come to one, so we can have many.

     Using these few ideas was the way we in the Youth Guides became the premier program in the Church.

     I sat on the couch while I home taught the Ryans this last Sunday and explained how easy it was to use Set-A-Date to help with missionary work, and explained how to use F.O.R.M.  The Ryans have been set apart as special missionaries for this whole year and have not been able to accomplish their goal.  William got tears in his eyes he was so moved by the challenge and the possibilities.  Don’t we owe it to those tender souls who work so hard to do what is right to give them a vehicle to help make it happen?

     It CAN work!  I know you feel that it CAN work and I know you can believe in it.  With that belief and support, we truly can create a miracle in our ward this Christmas.  We can baptize 35 people between now and Christmas.  It won’t be easy, but it can be done.  And what if we shoot for 35 and baptize 3 ... how glorious it would be!

     In friendship and love,      Bro. P.