Why do you think the Lord sends full-time missionaries to areas that have ward/branch missionaries?


moonman239
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I was just called as an assistant ward mission leader in preparation for my full-time mission. The way I understand it, ward missionaries work with, but do not take the place of, the full-time missionaries. They can sometimes be more effective than full-time missionaries. As residents of the local area, they likely have friends whom they can convince to go to church activities and to talk to the full-time missionaries.

Which makes me wonder: If the Lord can send a ward missionary to a non-member's house, why would He assign a full-time missionary companionship to the area?

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I've wondered this kind of thing from time to time as well. As the system currently stands, they kind of just play different roles. As you have said, ward missionaries (and any other members) are generally much better suited for lasting support and for making initial invitations to nonmembers. The full-time missionaries are there more in the roles of teaching and calling to repentance. I feel like the latter in particular would generally be more difficult for a ward missionary. Sometimes as a full-time missionary you have to say what needs to be said, and there's a certain benefit to not having known the person beforehand, and knowing you'll be transferred within a few months.  ^_^ 

 

I can also say from personal experience that a full-time mission is as much for the missionary as it is for those they teach. If you're willing to serve well, it's a life-changing experience at worst and an eternity-changing experience at best. You'll see what I mean soon.  ;)

 

Still, it's an interesting question to consider. Maybe one day this system will be changed when the time is right and when we're ready for it. Even now, if all happened as it should, the missionaries would do nothing but teach and baptize because we would be doing 100% of the finding. I guess we'll see.

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Guest LiterateParakeet

The first thought that comes to my mind is that full-time missionaries are just that....full-time.  Ward missionaries are quite often people who contribute as much time as they can spare from their own employment, family etc.  Both kinds of missionaries are needed.  

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I used to be a Ward Missionary in my ward.

 

Ward Missionaries have different responsibilities than Full-time Missionaries.  Ward Missionaries don't go door to door to proselyte.  That's the job of the Full-time Missionary.  A Full-time Missionary only stay in one area for a short period of time.  It may take an investigator to go through the  investigation process longer than the full-time missionary is in the area and it gets quite frustrating for an investigator to get comfortable with a new set of missionaries to continue with his learning.

 

So, this is where ward missionaries come into the picture.  When the full-time missionaries start the lessons with an investigator, the ward missionary accompanies them.  This gives the investigator a familiar face to talk to and get to know.  The full-time missionary can get transferred in the middle of the discussions but the ward missionary is there to assure the investigator that the lessons continue as usual.  The Ward Missionary may seek the help of the auxiliary leadership - for example, if the investigator is a woman, then the ward missionary talks to the RS presidency so that the investigator can then be included in Church activities, etc.

 

In addition, Ward Missionaries are also in charge of re-activation of inactive members.  He may ask the full-time missionary to assist him in his duties - such us scheduling for the missionary to visit them at the member's convenient time as well as offer service time that ward missionaries may not have the time to do.  But, the primary responsibility of enacting a plan to re-activate membership rests on the shoulders of the Ward Missionaries.

 

Also, Ward Missionaries are in charge of new member discussions for investigators.  After an investigator gets baptized, the full-time missionaries usually "drop off" from the picture.  When the ward missionaries are not doing their jobs, the newly baptized may find that they just lost a "friend" or a "familiar face in the crowd" and start to feel lost in the ward.  The ward missionaries make sure this doesn't happen by continuing with the new member discussions, introductions to Home/Visit teachers etc., until the new member gets into the groove of things and become comfortable in the ward as the activities of the auxiliary programs start to take over.

 

So, basically, the Ward Mission Leader is in charge of the missionary efforts in the Ward.  The full-time missionaries AND the ward missionaries are his "doers" that do the work needed for the harvest.  The full-time missionaries go out to the field to prepare people for harvest and to pick people ready for harvest, and the ward missionaries harvest.

Edited by anatess
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Thank you all for the new insights! I feel like I now understand why the Lord calls full-time missionaries and Ward missionaries. Just as sports players can only do so much - and so need to work with other players to win - there is only so much a ward or full-time missionary can do, so He sends both for maximum effectiveness.

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The understanding we seek begins with an understanding of the keys of the priesthood. “Priesthood keys are the authority God has given to priesthood [holders] to direct, control, and govern the use of His priesthood on earth.”4 Every act or ordinance performed in the Church is done under the direct or indirect authorization of one holding the keys for that function. As Elder M. Russell Ballard has explained, “Those who have priesthood keys … literally make it possible for all who serve faithfully under their direction to exercise priesthood authority and have access to priesthood power.”5 

Dallin H Oaks

 

Another reason is that is just how the church is set up right now, Mission Presidents have certain keys that Stake Presidents and Bishops don't have. A Bishop can't authorize a convert baptism. So right now, that is the main reason why we need full-time missionaries all over the world.

 

But mainly I agree with everything else mentioned, full-time work is hard to do with having a family and job also, plus missions help the missionary almost more the the work they do.

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I was just called as an assistant ward mission leader in preparation for my full-time mission. The way I understand it, ward missionaries work with, but do not take the place of, the full-time missionaries. They can sometimes be more effective than full-time missionaries. As residents of the local area, they likely have friends whom they can convince to go to church activities and to talk to the full-time missionaries.

Which makes me wonder: If the Lord can send a ward missionary to a non-member's house, why would He assign a full-time missionary companionship to the area?

 

Missionary work should be done on the local level by member missionaries. The full-time missionaries are set apart specifically to teach the gospel and to baptize. Ideally, they should never spend a moment in finding people to teach; that's your job. I realize the reality is very different, but that's what your calling is: To find people for the missionaries to teach and them help them in their teaching.

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