Visiting teaching/missionary work

[Sunday21]

Have you heard about the new policy on visiting teaching? Less actives and investigators are now the priorities for those we visit. Initially I was horrified as I do not have a companion and I was scared about visiting anyone less known to the church by myself. I am coming round to the idea. Now I will be able to do regularly scheduled missionary work with a less active or investigating sister and ... I don't have to go find her! I can always take another sister along for the first few visits just to make sure the situation is safe. So yeah! Prearranged missionary work! Less guilt. What do you think? Are they pursuing the same approach in your area?

[Palerider]

Hastening the Work.......

[Sunday21]

I think this is a good approach. We have long had the policy of pairing an active teacher with a less active companion. This approach often works great if the less active is wiling because the less active is in a nurturing role that many women respond well to...but If the less active is not willing it is very frustrating. The active sister has set up an appointment and is calling and calling a companion who is ignoring her calls. Very tedious. It is for this reason that I teach without a companion.

[pam]

Honestly it's something we should have been doing all along. Whether it was policy or not.  

[Traveler]

I have pondered callings in the Church and realized that callings are not because of righteousness (too many examples of people with major hangups getting callings - including myself).  Callings are not because of talent (this is way to obvious).  Callings are not for developing new talents (if it was it would be a miserable failure).  The only consistent reason I can see that callings are inspired by G-d and extended to so many members -- is because for the most part we LDS, without a calling, otherwise, would not make the effort to do much of anything at all.

 

Thus it is my theory that if in your area special callings are extended to visit the less active it is only because without such nudging most of the less actives would be completely ignored.

[Guest]

This has been in our ward ever since I converted long ago... I've always been assigned at least 1 inactive woman to VT.

 

I'm a ward missionary now and part of my assignment is to get the HT and VT reports and list all members (active or inactive) who have not been contacted in 3 months and are not in the DNC list and give the list to the missionaries to visit.

[The Folk Prophet]

callings are not because of righteousness 

 

...sometimes...

 

 

Callings are not because of talent 

 

...sometimes...

 

 

Callings are not for developing new talents

 

...sometimes.

 

Point being, sometimes callings are, definitely, related to these reasons.

[Sunday21]

This has been in our ward ever since I converted long ago... I've always been assigned at least 1 inactive woman to VT.

 

I'm a ward missionary now and part of my assignment is to get the HT and VT reports and list all members (active or inactive) who have not been contacted in 3 months and are not in the DNC list and give the list to the missionaries to visit.

This is a good idea. I bet that this practice will reap dividends.

[Sunday21]

I am actually pretty keen on this new policy. I have prayed a lot for opportunities to share the gospel. I have had some pretty cool things happen. For example, I was reading the ensign in a doctor's waiting room and the receptionist took the ensign out of my hand. She was attracted by the art work. The artwork was pretty amazing-it was the Easter edition. Mainly though, I have not had that many opportunities. Now, perhaps, some luck?

[Traveler]

...sometimes...

 

 

 

...sometimes...

 

 

 

...sometimes.

 

Point being, sometimes callings are, definitely, related to these reasons.

 

Hmmmmmmmm.   The rhetorical logic to which I hold -- a single counter example disproves a positive premise. 

 

Point being - if there seems to be relationships then it is incidental.  Unless there is something about the pre-existence concerning these matters to which we do not have metric access that has bearing.

[Sunday21]

Honestly it's something we should have been doing all along. Whether it was policy or not.

I guess the difference is that less active and investigators now get priority. So if there are not enough sisters to go around- and there are not-active sisters will do without. Active sisters will be sad-and many do complain here because they do not get a visit-like me...but perhaps we will soon have more sisters?

[The Folk Prophet]

I guess the difference is that less active and investigators now get priority. So if there are not enough sisters to go around- and there are not-active sisters will do without. Active sisters will be sad-and many do complain here because they do not get a visit-like me...but perhaps we will soon have more sisters?

 

Yeah...I think if this is being claimed as an official policy that it best be sourced as such.

 

Unquestionably we need to be visiting the inactive sisters (and brethren) and investigators. That in no way diminishes the need to visit active folk as well.

 

I would contend that writing off active people as less in need of succor is blatantly mistaken. How many active people are suffering in some manner or another and need these visits?

[Sunday21]

Yeah...I think if this is being claimed as an official policy that it best be sourced as such.

 

Unquestionably we need to be visiting the inactive sisters (and brethren) and investigators. That in no way diminishes the need to visit active folk as well.

 

I would contend that writing off active people as less in need of succor is blatantly mistaken. How many active people are suffering in some manner or another and need these visits?

We had a video message from the relief society general presidency telling us that less actives and investigators had priority. I guess this is part of hastening the work-new policy. I imagine that there are more sisters to go around in Utah but in small town Canada we are always struggling. Everyone has a calling here-many have two-some have three!

[The Folk Prophet]

I wonder if the message really was to make them priority (as in higher priority) or whether it was to make the equal priority. Interesting.

[Sunday21]

I wonder if the message really was to make them priority (as in higher priority) or whether it was to make the equal priority. Interesting.

Had not thought of that. Sounds right. Especially as a stake relief society president once told us to serve the active sisters first...so maybe a shift from less important to equal importance.