Home Teaching Changes are they more then just our Stake?

[LDSVALLEY]

Over the last few months the Stake has talked about major changes to how we Home Teach. It is now getting to the final stages in our Ward and will be implemented next month I believe. Someone mentioned yesterday it was not from our Stake but from Salt Lake City.

I just wanted to know if any other Stakes - Wards have been told to do this because many in our Ward myself included have lots of issue with this.

The purpose of the changes are to try and make sure that all our Home and Visit teaching resources go to those most in need.

Any Sister or any families considered "strong" are being removed from Home and Visit Teaching lists.

So the only people on the lists will be those who are "weak" in the gospel, have welfare needs, are less active or inactive. Widows or single parent families or part member families.

Most of the ones who are active Home or Visit teachers are those who will no longer have Home or Visit teachers. But they will then be given those "weak" etc ones to go and visit.

Is this happening in any of your Wards or Stakes?

[miztrniceguy]

It makes sense to me,but I don't know if it is going on anywhere other than your area. If I was in charge,tho i never will be, I'd do it that way.

[Guest mormonmusic]

Nothing has come down the Pipe here in the Southern States that I'm aware of.

I'm glad they are thinking about the home teaching program and its effectiveness. However, I think those changes you describe here will only reduce the number of active/willing home teachers out there.

[Dravin]

Someone mentioned yesterday it was not from our Stake but from Salt Lake City.

While Salt Lake does do pilot programs and so all changes and experiments are not universal unless I heard it was from SLC from an Area Authority, Stake President, member of the Bishopric, Elder's Quorum or Relief Society President I'd be highly skeptical. In all honestly even if I did hear it from that list I'd probably still have some level of skepticism until I heard it from the Stake President or Area Authority (or announced under their banner).

I'm glad they are thinking about the home teaching program and its effectiveness. However, I think those changes you describe here will only reduce the number of active/willing home teachers out there.

I imagine the sentiment of, "I never see visiting/home teachers why should I visit/home teach?" will develop moreso than it does now.

[Gwen]

we do something similar here (small branch in alabama). our branch covers about an hour drive from one end to the other. if you assign all the families to the ppl that will do it you can have a vt list of about 8-10 ppl. sometimes more for the brethren. it would get frustrating to try and do the vt because i would go to sister X's house to vt and then a week later she would come to my house to do the same lesson. got to be pretty pointless. now we pair the strong/active ppl up and they have smaller lists of weaker/inactive sisters. we aren't running on top of each other anymore, and it's less overwhelming. they also try to give you ppl that consolidate work. like there is an inactive sister in the branch that always calls me first when she needs something, so it makes my life a lot easier if i'm her vt. things like that are great considerations when placing a work load on someone. the rs pres makes sure and touches base with the vt so if they need anything they have been "visited". i prefer it and like it better this way.

oh and we've been doing it this way for about a yr now.

[pam]

So how do they determine who is "weak in the gospel?" Wouldn't that be a matter of perception and could cause hard feelings?

[Gwen]

lol the ppl that won't come regular or turn down callings usually fit and they know it. and if they aren't active enough to be a vt then they won't be in any meetings to know how the decisions are being made to begin with. the ppl with 2 or more callings are safe to call actives. lol there is also a lot of prayer by those issuing the callings. sometimes the actives are given vt as well as being one. like the sisters from primary who may feel disconnected from rs and need the fellowship more than those of us who are in rs every sunday.

[LDSVALLEY]

While Salt Lake does do pilot programs and so all changes and experiments are not universal unless I heard it was from SLC from an Area Authority, Stake President, member of the Bishopric, Elder's Quorum or Relief Society President I'd be highly skeptical. In all honestly even if I did hear it from that list I'd probably still have some level of skepticism until I heard it from the Stake President or Area Authority (or announced under their banner).

I imagine the sentiment of, "I never see visiting/home teachers why should I visit/home teach?" will develop moreso than it does now.

My original Ward tried this several years ago and it was a horrible failure which took years to bounce back from.

I can understand the desire and the goal that the Stake or whoever is launching this has. But in goes counter to what the Lord tells us how to Home and Visit Teach therefore it can not work. Common sense also tells me it can not achieve the goals they want.

Here are some of the concerns expressed in our Ward. They are not all mine by the way, both the EQ and RS Leaderships have severe reservations about it as do others.

- We are instructed to teach all members that we might guard against back biting, evil speaking. Look after the needs of each other. Provide the eyes and ears for the Bishop and other leaders. Etc.

- Who determines who is strong or weak in the Ward? The Bishop based on information from what source? Sacrament attendance? Tithing settlement? Personal Interviews with each member on a regular bases?

- As Halifax found out it creates a social division and lets everyone in the ward know who is weak or strong! People left the gospel from being deemed one or the other.

- Putting someone on the list after being off it tells everyone there is issues in the home.

- Where do you send new or not strong Home or Visit Teachers to go teach? Should we really send a new convert who is trying to change a life style into a home of a less active or someone with major issues?

-How does this encourage semi active home or visit teachers to go out when they don't get any in.

-In generates more negative response when a Home Teacher is willing to go out. At least with a blend of strong and weaker teams who were willing could get in some visits each month.

-We reduce member contact with members.

-I disagree with the Stake saying leaders, Bishops etc don't need Home Teachers anyway. Those who give heavily of their time and resource are most in need of the visits from Home or Visit Teachers. They are the ones who must to some degree neglect family members to help ward members.

- We learn most from example, no matter how long a member what example to we see when no one comes to visit? What reminders to we Priesthood holders have to do our duty when we see nothing done for us.

-Minor issues that used to be dealt with by Home or Visit teachers will now add to the burden of the Auxiliary leaders and Bishopric.

-There are always members who appear strong but are only a short step from inactivity. Many people leave because they feel they are not noticed. Now the leaders will be telling them they are purposely being ignored for the squeaky wheel.

These are the main ones, there are more.

[pam]

In thinking this over, those were many of the concerns that popped into my mind as well. I honestly think, more hard feelings could come of this than good. Perhaps there is good reasoning or inspiration for these kinds of changes. Would be interesting to see how this plays out.

[john doe]

I have heard this tactic used in various places. I'm not a fan, for many of the reasons already stated. The question I have is who gets to decide who isn't strong in the gospel? Just because someone goes to church every week doesn't mean they don't need home teachers. Do I have to go inactive to get a home teacher? It seems to me that taking away an important part of someone's support structure would weaken them. I would think that a strong core group slowly expanding would be better than a weak core group which loses its support system as soon as they are deemed by someone else to be strong.

BTW, I am in my EQP and we have not heard of this concept being thrust upon us. Maybe it's an experiment in your area. We have a hard enough time getting our elders to visit the active members, the numbers will only go down if they take the active families out of the equation.

[Gwen]

i agree it may not be for every location and probably not for most. i do know here for me it's been a good thing. one day hopefully it won't be that way. it think it also has a lot to do with how it's implemented and how the members receive it. i know the traditional method (and yes i've been rs pres before so i know exactly how it was) was a burden for me. the whole point of the program is to lift the members not push them away.

[LDSVALLEY]

When Halifax tried this, just with Home Teaching, the percentage of Home Teaching visits of those assigned took a nose dive. I believe they said it reached the lowest percentage ever seen. Then it took a couple of years to get it turned around when they switched back to the "old way."

This is my second time as a councilor in EQ. My honest belief is since we have not organized Home Teaching in the manner the Lord has laid out for us we will NEVER have success. We need to run our auxiliaries as the Lord has told us, we need to organize Home Teaching his way. Then we need to endure and the Lord provides the rest. We need to stop trying to invent a new wheel and use the one the Lord gave us.

We need to keep the strong core strong, then direct that strength outward to the others. Not just through Home or Visit Teaching but in how we bring in and deal with those members or potential members in our Wards or Branches. We should insure that those who most need Home or Visit teachers have the best companion teams we can, but we should never exclude anyone who want and deserve Home or Visit Teachers.

As one Sister told my wife when she found out about this. ( She is one who will not have Home or Visit teachers since her and her husband are strong in the gospel.)" I have a new child at home, my husband is at work, as much as I love my child I looked forward to my Visiting teachers each month. It gave me other Women to talk to and get advice from. It is my support system and a big connection with the Gospel."

This from a strong second generation member with family on both sides of her new family in the Ward. So what happens to the family without the ties?

[Gwen]

As one Sister told my wife when she found out about this. ( She is one who will not have Home or Visit teachers since her and her husband are strong in the gospel.)" I have a new child at home, my husband is at work, as much as I love my child I looked forward to my Visiting teachers each month. It gave me other Women to talk to and get advice from. It is my support system and a big connection with the Gospel."

this is how i felt when they took away monthly enrichment meetings. i didn't care if i got a vt visit, in fact i would prefer not to but i loved the getting out of the house with hubby having the kids and getting to be with other women in a setting i didn't have to clean my house for.

We need to keep the strong core strong, then direct that strength outward to the others.

i agree. as i said for most areas such a program may not be right. but we do need to trust those in the callings to make these decisions. with nearly every guideline in the church handbook it ends with something to the effect that smaller units can make adjustments where needed. traditional vt/ht was hurting our strong core. it was too much weight. the stake was part of the decision, our meeting schedule was also reduced to a 2 hour block due to trying to unload some of the weight on the strong core so we could have the energy to build the others.

i don't think it's the preferred way to do ht/vt. i do think it's good for some areas as a stepping stone to the more traditional setup.

[LDSVALLEY]

The Irony is the statistics are already proving this won't work like the Stake hopes.

A few months ago it was mentioned that we were to concentrate on those who need Home or Visit Teachers the most. That the numbers were not important and that the Stake Visitors would no longer worry about Teaching Stats. Two months ago the Stake talked to our Ward during Ward Conference about this. Last month they mentioned off hand that Bishops etc didn't need Home Teaching at all. Now this month the Bishop is crossing dozens of names off the home and visit teaching lists.

During that time period the EQ Home Teaching statistics have been in a steep decline. It got so bad that only 5% of the companionships even reported the Stats to the EQ secretary for April or May. I PPI'd the EQ teams we have and found that over the last two months that over 1/2 of the teams did not do any home teaching. Only one team in the last two months even managed to get 100% in any month.

When I tried to get some encouragement about June one EQ member said why bother. He knew the change is coming, all his families are "strong" so why waste the time this month when he loses them next month.

People don't stop and think okay since I only have "weak" families I have to put more effort in. They see that it is not important since not everyone needs it therefore unless they are very strong they are less inclined to Home Teach not more.

I'm actually debating requesting not to be assigned as a Home Teacher when the change is implemented and find someone like minded to go with me and teach as many of the "Strong" members as I could manage. On the other hand if the Leadership see's and feels the effects in their homes and in the Ward maybe they will rethink the scheme. So I haven't decided yet.

[Gwen]

ok so as i've been thinking about this, why such a disaster for some but so successful for us. i think the size and closeness of the core strong members might have a lot to do with it. our branch is small. most the members do not have family nearby. when something comes up we turn to each other. we hang around after church and visit, we are small enough that you don't have to stay very long to say hello and exchange a few words with everyone. we may not see each other outside of church every month but when someone needs something we rally together really well. our core strong have a bond and we are there as i think the saints should be, by choice not assignment. because of that closeness i don't feel abandoned or like i'm missing something if i don't get a vt or ht visit. i know if i need something i can call a handful of ppl and those that can be will be there.

i will say the timing of this thread for me is great. lol we got new vt assignments today and it's good for me to really evaluate what i'm doing and not doing and what is working and not.

[Guest mormonmusic]

When I read your OP, I was hoping they were going to ease up on the reporting and requirements for what constitutes a "visit", and make it easier to be a hometeacher. There are two sides to hometeaching -- the families hometaught, and the people who must do the home teaching.

The second group's needs are always left out of the equation entirely, and I think that's why the program is in so much trouble in so many wards.

Edited June 7, 2010 by mormonmusic

[Hemidakota]

Strong families should already be self-governed. It is the weaker families that the church is gearing for.

[rameumptom]

We had Elder Christofferson teach our stake presidents in the area for 4 hours in February, and such concepts were a part of this. SLC wants to change Home Teachers to Home Ministers.

We are now reviewing in our ward how to implement it better. I'm the HPGL, so I'm knee deep in this.

One issue I have is I don't want to potentially lose strong members because no one is watching over them. Also, the youth in those families could potentially need a good HT, as well. So it becomes an issue of lots of prayer and pondering on how to implement it.

I think it is more of an issue of ROI: return on investment. I'm not only looking at who to stop sending HT to (members of the stake presidency, and myself, for instance), but also which less active to not waste time upon (Do Not Contacts, those who avoid HTers, etc). At the same time, the parable of the 99 and 1 sheep continually runs through my mind....

I was in a ward in Alabama, where to assign all the families meant each HT companionship had 15 families. There's no way to visit all in a month AND ensure a strong program. Even 5 families can be a major challenge for many HT. As it is, some of my HTers will visit actives, but not interested in the bigger challenge of visiting less actives - especially those who are not interested.

Gwen, which branch in Alabama are you in? I traveled the Montgomery stake for years in various callings, and know many of the branches throughout the state.

[Gwen]

I was in a ward in Alabama, where to assign all the families meant each HT companionship had 15 families. There's no way to visit all in a month AND ensure a strong program. Even 5 families can be a major challenge for many HT. As it is, some of my HTers will visit actives, but not interested in the bigger challenge of visiting less actives - especially those who are not interested.

Gwen, which branch in Alabama are you in? I traveled the Montgomery stake for years in various callings, and know many of the branches throughout the state.

that's is what it's like for us. you just can't do that many ppl and it's better to focus on the ppl that need it most.

as for where i'm at i answered in a private message.

[MarginOfError]

I'm not privy to whatever pilot programs the Church is running, but the only time I've ever seen leaders pick and choose who will be home taught and who won't, it's been to pick and choose which inactive families will receive home teachers. Usually, the families that seem most likely to benefit or come back into activity are chosen.

Regarding the comments that we have to do home teaching in the way the Lord has outlined, if this change comes from Church headquarters, then it has binding authority.

I would be surprised to see that active and strong families are simply being crossed of the list. That doesn't seem like the Church's style. I'd believe it more if we were told that we only needed to visit some families quarterly. With the description that's been given, I can't help but wonder if the details aren't yet fully understood.

[Guest mormonmusic]

The idea of administering home teaching the way LDSVAlley has mentioned is consistent with the handbook of instructions as I remember it back when I had a copy.

I remember the phrase "hometeachers should be assigned to the families who need them the most" or similar. Local leaders may have intepreted this to mean people who are less active as the people who have the greatest needs. So, this change to home teaching may well be consistent with current policy.

Perhaps the leaders think they are being questioned too much about it, and are pulling the Salt Lake card to stop any opposition they might experience to the idea? I speculate.

[MarginOfError]

You can speculate a lot, but keep in mind that the Church is getting ready to release a new version of the Church Handbook of Instructions. From things I've gathered around the internet, there may be some noticeable changes to how we approach some Church programs. For instance, I've heard of areas in the Church where they have been instructed to discontinue ward welfare committee meetings. Instead, these topics are supposed to be open to discussion at all meetings (this is to reflect the addition of a fourth mission of the Church).

It isn't at all uncommon for the Church to pilot and test new programs in some areas. It's really just a focus group to see what works well and what doesn't. What happens in these focus groups are theoretical ideas being put into practice. If the theory translates into positive outcomes, it is expanded. If it doesn't, it is abandoned. We don't yet know what will come of this.

[miztrniceguy]

quote

"We had Elder Christofferson teach our stake presidents in the area for 4 hours in February, and such concepts were a part of this. SLC wants to change Home Teachers to Home Ministers."

Rameumptom, care to elaborate?

[LDSVALLEY]

I'm not privy to whatever pilot programs the Church is running, but the only time I've ever seen leaders pick and choose who will be home taught and who won't, it's been to pick and choose which inactive families will receive home teachers. Usually, the families that seem most likely to benefit or come back into activity are chosen.

Regarding the comments that we have to do home teaching in the way the Lord has outlined, if this change comes from Church headquarters, then it has binding authority.

I would be surprised to see that active and strong families are simply being crossed of the list. That doesn't seem like the Church's style. I'd believe it more if we were told that we only needed to visit some families quarterly. With the description that's been given, I can't help but wonder if the details aren't yet fully understood.

I was told directly by the Bishop that he had taken a marker and crossed off every "strong" family in the Ward and all Sisters in 'strong families" He said anyone with both a husband and wife active members who are not new members have been taken off the list.

My wife is involved with organizing Visiting Teaching and she said her lists had lots and lots of black marker lines on it.

As an aside the EQ President did say the Bishop said those "strong" families were not to be ignored but since they are not part of the Home Teaching Program the Leaders are going to have to pick up the slack somehow.

If the changes are from the Prophet then yes they are binding. That was my point in trying to find out if it is or not.

[LDSVALLEY]

ok so as i've been thinking about this, why such a disaster for some but so successful for us. i think the size and closeness of the core strong members might have a lot to do with it. our branch is small. most the members do not have family nearby. when something comes up we turn to each other. we hang around after church and visit, we are small enough that you don't have to stay very long to say hello and exchange a few words with everyone. we may not see each other outside of church every month but when someone needs something we rally together really well. our core strong have a bond and we are there as i think the saints should be, by choice not assignment. because of that closeness i don't feel abandoned or like i'm missing something if i don't get a vt or ht visit. i know if i need something i can call a handful of ppl and those that can be will be there.

i will say the timing of this thread for me is great. lol we got new vt assignments today and it's good for me to really evaluate what i'm doing and not doing and what is working and not.

Our Ward area is around 80miles (120km) by 50 miles (80km) in size. We have around 100 active members and 300 on the ward list (many of whom are not actually around). Both groups include children as well.

Most people show up 10 min. or less before service and everyone leaves immediately after. We rely on a core of about 50 members to keep things running.

We tend to be a group of several clicks bundled together in a ward. Geographically we are really 3 Wards based on territory and member-population distribution.

From 2006 until 2009 our baptism rate was 10-12, 2009 down to 8 and so far this year 0. Our retention rate went from 25% in 2006 up to 80-90% for 2007-2008 but now is down to around 40%.

Halifax a few years ago was the same situation but more fluid with lots of move in and outs due to high military percentage and university students.

Often people stop coming for weeks before anyone notices. Because we don't follow how we are supposed to set up Home Teaching we have mostly HP HT EQ and vise versa or many mixed teaching teams. For example the EQ provides 40% of the manpower in companionships but only has 25% of the reporting teams since so many are mixed.

This means it is hard to get Home Teachers to check up on an EQ member who has not appeared for a few weeks since often the teachers are in HP and don't notice. So it falls on the leadership who are very busy to notice.

For a small close knit branch you are doing a manner of Home and Visit teaching, you have limited resources so you should make exceptions. Just as all home teaching require some exception to the norm for local conditions. It's just bad when doing it the way it should be done is the exception.