Reader comments
Referrals only go to the select

From a lazy member... | 12:40 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

Nice article. Thanks for sticking up for us.

RIGHT ON, CARD!!! | 6:34 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

"If we detect even a hint that the missionaries serving in our ward are working toward numerical goals, competing with other missionaries for baptisms, dropping investigators who aren't instantly ready for the water, pushing for commitments the investigators are not yet willing to make, and ignorant of the gospel they are supposed to teach, you can be sure we will not waste what may be our only opportunity with dear friends by showing them that kind of missionary!

We will wait for the missionaries who love the gospel and the people, who care nothing for stats, goals and other motivational devices. We will wait for missionaries who know the gospel and are excited about what it means for Saints to take upon them the name of Christ. Missionaries who will be patient and sensitive with our friends and not try to bring them along faster than they are willing to go."

COMPLETELY WELL SAID!

(note to mission presidents: You do everyone involved a terrible DISSERVICE when you constantly push and harp on GOALS and NUMBERS. Back off, for heaven's sake!

Hit the Nail on the Head | 7:18 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

I don't often agree with everything Orson Scott Card writes, but in this case: 100% agreed. Excellent article. I hope some mission presidents have the foresight to share these insights with their missionaries.

Granted, missionaries are young and still learning. I was one myself, of course. But I've met a few now and again serving in my ward who did various things that lost my trust with my friends--things I would never have done, even *before* my mission.

No laundry list necessary, but #1 case in point: The missionary who made racist jokes in front of me and other church members, even while I was hoping to be able to share the Gospel with a Black friend. No referral THERE, definitely!

Part of mission success is flat-out PEOPLE SKILLS. The most important ingredient: Genuinely know people, genuinely love people. NOT the same as "sales skills" AT ALL. Genuine love and charity are what ultimately determine missionary success, even above and beyond obedience to the *letter* of the mission rules. CHARITY includes obedience to the *spirit* of mission rules.

Very good.

Comments continue below

Life-long missionary | 9:26 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

I really hope that somehow this article gets into the hands of mission presidents and missionaries the world over. I could not possibly agree more with an article. I LOVE missionary work, and I love supporting new members and people learing about the gospel, but I can't stand dealing with incompetent missionaries.

I recently spoke with one missionary in my Northern California town who mentioned that his mission president had chided them in a zone conference, and the content of this good president's talk was similar to what Mr. Card's article stated. It was a moment of hope for me.

Go Michigan | 9:30 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

this is a fantastic piece of writing because of its truth and clarity. i can't really say much else.

Missionaries still learning | 9:32 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

The Mormon missionaries have always been very polite and nice,I lived near a Mormon Church and I have been sharing the Christian faith(Biblical) with them for over twenty years. I have tried to teach a little Greek to them so they can truly understand the the richness of God's word. On several occasions they have returned to study basic Greek.

message more than messenger | 10:48 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

Whether by the Lord's voice or by the voice of His servants, it is the same. (D&C 1). First principle of gospel is faith. We do not pick and choose our general authorities. I heard mission president last week say we can trust the elders. True one elder every once in a while has a bad day, isn't the most sharp and that is why they go around in 2 by 2. Have faith, not fear. Gospel has always been growing, if gospel not true, the elders would have messed up the plan a long time ago.

weak things of the world | 10:55 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

Will teach the earth. To join the church it says in 3 Nephi 12 you need to come down into "depths of humility." We are all under commandment to be better teachers.

Richard Saunders | 10:55 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

I have to disagree with Mr. Card on several points. Some of the most number-crazed mission companions I had were the ones who got the most referrals. I also noticed that missionaries who cared little for the rules but instead spent large blocks of time hanging out with members got referrals. I know these are just my personal experiences, but this article basically sounds like one long excuse for not inviting people to the gospel. I understand that there are some members who are truly willing to introduce friends to the gospel if the right missonaries come along, (like the story told by Elder Bednar and the not so obedient missonaries who asked him for a referral) but I'm guessing the majority of church members (me included of course) aren't at the spiritual level of Elder Bednar and the reason we don't introduce people to the gospel is FEAR. Simple as that.

Be careful what you wish for | 11:06 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

If I understand correctly, Mr. Card is saying that members invite friends to the gospel only because the purest of motives and the righteousness of their lives, while some (not all) missionaries do it only for love of numbers and to meet goals. It sounds like Mr. Card thinks members can do a lot better than the missionaries at missionary work, but be careful how you speak of those called by prophets. It would be interesting to know the numbers of baptisms in wards and stakes that have no full time missionaries, because there the sincere and pure-hearted members would do all the work by themselves and much better. Isn't that right, Mr. Card?

Pride goeth before the fall | 11:14 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

"My dear, young friends, we aren't lazy. On the contrary, we are good husbandmen in the Lord's orchard"

Let's leave it to the Lord to decide whether we really are doing all we can.

"We're going to regard you as trees that need a bit of weeding before they're ready to bear any fruit."

I have read few statements by a member full of more arrogance and condescension than this one. Though Mr. Card doesn't care to admit it, there are whole entire regions of the church where the members generally take no thought of missionary work and do very little to help the missionaries.

On the flip side | 11:22 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

For me, it's been a short time since the full-time mission, so I offer a few requests on behalf of the missionaries to the members:

Don't get up in sacrament meeting and complain about other members when investigators are there. (something I saw happen several times)

Don't refuse to give a referral just because you trust a native speaker more than a new missionary struggling to learn the language (something that happens a lot)

Don't criticize the missionaries plans or activities, they are entitled to revelation for every person who is not a member within their area

Be a good example (more than twenty times on my mission we met people who said they would have interest, but they knew so-and-so, who is a member and did such-and-such to them

Let's go to the scriptures | 11:25 a.m. Sept. 3, 2009

Sure, there are Corianton missionaries who are hard to trust but just as damaging to the church are examples of members.

Alma 4:10
"the wickedness of the church was a great stumbling-block to those who did not belong to the church; and thus the church began to fail in its progress."

waiting for perfect elder? | 12:01 p.m. Sept. 3, 2009

You'll wait a long time, same as if you wait for a perfect marriage partner. One myth of sharing the gospel is we think we have to be best friends and buddy-buddy with people before they can believe us.

One Point | 12:07 p.m. Sept. 3, 2009

As an active member of the church, I can't help but wonder: Do other churches fret and worry over sharing their religious views with others? I just don't think they do. They invite anyone to their Christmas pageant. They invite anyone to their Sunday night service ("the band is awesome, dude"). They just go out and do it because they naturally want to share.

Us? We give a talk about it. We have a family home evening about it. We pray about it. We make a list. We mow their yard. We bring cookies.

AND THEN...We sheepishly say, "Ummm....do you want to...you know...come to (insert activity here). We're as awkward as an 8th grade boy at his first school dance.

We have a complex about it.

Weird.

Chris D.

Anonymous | 1:08 p.m. Sept. 3, 2009

I disagree with this story. A large part of LDS inspiration these days comes from a marketing firm named Edelman on Madison Avenue in NYC. Seriously folks. The Mormons are trying to play catch-up with the Evangelicals, who for years have been using relatively sophisticated marketing tools, and largely as a result, far outperform the Mormons in terms of conversions. Perhaps mormon's are getten to lazy these days?.

re: Anonymous at 1:08 p.m. | 1:55 p.m. Sept. 3, 2009

I seriously doubt you read the story. This article is about members introducing friends to missionaries, not about proselyting in general. Please read the article and then comment

Utah gentile | 2:33 p.m. Sept. 3, 2009

“The key is that when an investigator already has good friends inside the church, he is much more likely to join the church and remain active for life.”

Isn’t it a good idea then, for Mormons to be friendly to outsiders, instead of making nonmembers feel inferior and shunned?

Bryce | 3:03 p.m. Sept. 3, 2009

Everything Orson said would remain absolutely true if you took out the references to the Church and missionaries and substituted any number of MLM "opportunities" and their salespeople!

I guess Mormons are really just a social club afterall, and everyone knows it!

Random | 3:57 p.m. Sept. 3, 2009

Ask any investigator which one they prefer -- the missionary who allowed them to ask questions and learn or the one pressing for baptism after a twenty minute discussion. It took my husband six sets of elders before he chose to get baptized. The first couple sets, even before he took the discussions, dropped him because he wasn't showing promise. After we got married, we had a great group of friends who fellowshipped him into the gospel. Bro. Card is right on.

An Active convert. | 5:32 p.m. Sept. 3, 2009

I was once a convert. As to sharing the Gospel the best example in my life was a good friend and her family. They did their best by being good examples, they lived it every day. When I finally was ready after she yelled at me that it was about flipping time she then told me that she never felt comfortable trying to share the gospel with me because I was a good bit older than she was. I told her that her and her families actions spoke more than words could. Now as a member for almost 10 years I can tell you that one bad member can do more harm than five good ones can. Be a true friend and be a true follower of Christ every minute of every day and you will share the Gospel.

RE: One Point | 12:07 p.m. | 6:54 p.m. Sept. 3, 2009

LOL, loved the comment. But that's where the genuine friendship comes in. You DON'T hesitate to share with your best friends. Besides, you don't make the friendship contingent on their acceptance of the Gospel, either. You've shared, you still value your friends, you understand each other, you let them make their own choice regardless.

We get hung up all too often thinking we have to SELL the gospel to others. Counterproductive and fake. The answer's genuine love. No substitute.

Bill | 11:53 a.m. Sept. 4, 2009

As President David O McKay said 50 years ago, "EVERY MEMBER A MISSIONARY". We should never go out with the intent to baptize everyone. We should go out to befriend everyone we meet. Each of us has made a mistake or two and thus probably showed our worst side to someone. They will probably never be converted because of that. The great thing is we can all be forgiven because of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

If we go into a friendship based on converting them we have missed the message. We should go into a friendship because it is our duty to do so. Sometimes we teach strickly by example and that speaks volumes. When investigators come to Church we should introduce ourselves and let them know we appreciate them in our midst. When we as ward members are friendly to others then the numbers will take care of themselves. When we are doing missionary work for the right reasons, the numbers and referrals will take care of themselves. We most learn, patience, love, humility and never be overbearing or prideful. Once that is done, then the lines of people waiting to be baptized will be overflowing.

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