NO MORE HOME/VISITING TEACHING!


skippy740
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Okay, it's "Ministering" - which is the better way to view.  Rather than "let's get in by the 31st, teach a First Presidency Message (which won't be monthly anymore anyway), and just 'go through the motions'."  It's just checking in and seeing what can be done to serve other people's needs - on an as needed/wanted basis.

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I'm interested in what "ministering" will look like.  I was really looking forward to being a Home Teacher.  Interestingly, only council members can currently see the details.  Will it be a calling?  Is it a request to everyone?  It looks like there is reporting involved quarterly, but who does it?

Edited by Grunt
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Sounds to me that Ministering will be what we were always taught that Home and Visiting Teaching Should be.  So those celebrating its demise could very well find themselves in for a rude awakening.

And I predict that those who wouldn't make Home or Visiting teaching work will not make Ministering work either.

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Guest LiterateParakeet
48 minutes ago, Grunt said:

I'm interested in what "ministering" will look like.  I was really looking forward to being a Home Teacher.  Interestingly, only council members can currently see the details.  Will it be a calling?  Is it a request to everyone?  It looks like there is reporting involved quarterly, but who does it?

The way I understood it is that you will still be asked to "home teach" but they are asking us to step up. Rather than visiting (or not visiting) to check a box, or give a report---but to lengthen our stride to learn to truly love and serve. 

Instead of making one obligatory visit per month we will prayerfully consider how to serve each month. They are trying to prepare us to be the kind of Christlike people who can receive the Lord when he comes. 

I am celebrating!  What a wonderful charge! 

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Doing it for the report and doing it on time to report it back... sometimes just feels like it's about "looking good" and achieving "100% home teaching".  Statistics over numbers/message.

Plus, sometimes the message isn't always tailored to whomever is being taught.  

Anyway, every person's experience can be different, and I've seen it done on a true connection level with families, and those who are just going through the motions.  They might've been new or nervous, but you can't go wrong by simply caring, asking questions, sharing stories & testimony, and listening.

 

And I have more going on in my life than to entertain home teachers so they can check off a box.  I don't entertain missionaries so they can "practice" either.  Yes, that's how I can feel about it.

Edited by skippy740
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1 hour ago, skippy740 said:

One LESS area of Pharisaical law in the Church!  I am SO in favor of this!

I'm in favor of it too. But calling home teaching, a program given by a prophet of the Lord, Pharisaical is nonsense.

Were there Pharisaical applications of it? Sure. The program itself, was not.

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16 minutes ago, skippy740 said:

Doing it for the report and doing it on time to report it back... sometimes just feels like it's about "looking good" and achieving "100% home teaching".  Statistics over numbers/message.

Plus, sometimes the message isn't always tailored to whomever is being taught.  

Anyway, every person's experience can be different, and I've seen it done on a true connection level with families, and those who are just going through the motions.  They might've been new or nervous, but you can't go wrong by simply caring, asking questions, sharing stories & testimony, and listening.

 

And I have more going on in my life than to entertain home teachers so they can check off a box.  I don't entertain missionaries so they can "practice" either.  Yes, that's how I can feel about it.

I understand. There is one couple I home teacher (or I guess use to) that are 50 years older than me and VERY active. No health problems or really any struggles. Hard to develop a social connections, can’t do much to help either. My visits have two goals. 1, build trust so if an issue does arise, they will know they can call me. 2, get that check mark.

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24 minutes ago, skippy740 said:

Doing it for the report and doing it on time to report it back... sometimes just feels like it's about "looking good" and achieving "100% home teaching".  Statistics over numbers/message.

Plus, sometimes the message isn't always tailored to whomever is being taught.  

Anyway, every person's experience can be different, and I've seen it done on a true connection level with families, and those who are just going through the motions.  They might've been new or nervous, but you can't go wrong by simply caring, asking questions, sharing stories & testimony, and listening.

 

And I have more going on in my life than to entertain home teachers so they can check off a box.  I don't entertain missionaries so they can "practice" either.  Yes, that's how I can feel about it.

I've never heard from a Home Teacher.

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3 hours ago, skippy740 said:

Okay, it's "Ministering" - which is the better way to view.  Rather than "let's get in by the 31st, teach a First Presidency Message (which won't be monthly anymore anyway), and just 'go through the motions'."  It's just checking in and seeing what can be done to serve other people's needs - on an as needed/wanted basis.

I really don't see the difference.  I've always had a good relationship with all my home teachers.  And I've always had a good relationship with all those in my stewardship.  The once a month thing was a formality only.  We had a relationship.

I don't know of a real situation that didn't involve hostile inactives that could be considered other than a good relationship.

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I hope we live up to the ministerial ideal the Brethren have set.  

Organizationally, it seems many institutions see-saw between more centralized control, versus more individual empowerment.  I fully expect that today’s announcement reflect the word and will of the Lord for us.  I would also expect that the new policy will work well for a while, but that after a few decades the Church membership as a whole will tend to slack off and we’ll be inspired to return to a more regimented, return-and-report system to ensure that the work actually gets done.  And back and forth we’ll go until the Lord returns.  

Much of the pleasure of being on the good ship Zion, involves seeing how the deck crew decides when it’s time to alter course. This is a good time to be alive.

Edited by Just_A_Guy
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5 hours ago, skippy740 said:

It'll still be a form of "planned and assigned friendship" in one form or another.  :)

I sort of agree, except itll be more genuine in regard to approaching it the way each individual chooses and not be forced to do it in some scripted manner. One size does not fit all.

Its getting away from the Robot behavior and allow us the freedom to be ourselves. For example when I was a missionary in the 90's we were told to follow the lessons word for word, no deviating off track. Now the missionarys have no set outline and allow the interaction to be guided by the spirit.

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Guest MormonGator
28 minutes ago, priesthoodpower said:

Its getting away from the Robot behavior and allow us the freedom to be ourselves.

My thoughts as well. It's a welcome change. 

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1 hour ago, Just_A_Guy said:

we’ll be inspired to return to a more regimented, return-and-report system to ensure that the work actually gets done.

The new system is still 'return and report'.  Under the new system, quorum presidencies will be required to report if they have had a 'Ministering Interview' so to speak with each home teacher/companionship.  So the individual home teacher is still going to be required to report face to face to a quorum leader, and the quorum leader will be required to report that the face to face interview actually occurred.  I imagine that if quorum presidencies fulfill their duty, this will be even more than previous, because now each minister will be asked to give an account of their assigned families during the meeting.  Of course they could lie, I suppose.

Edit:  With the exception that we still have used the normal HT reporting system, my (now disbanded) HPG has essentially been following the new program for nearly a year already.  In terms of my personal HT efforts, almost nothing will change other than the fact that I will be released from my calling and may end up reporting only and not having others report to me for interviews.

Edited by person0
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1. My stake averaged about 20% HT rate the past 15yrs and its slowly gone down to about 8% this year, the only persistent members were the older generation. Maybe because they have more time on their hands where as younger folks like myself are working 6-7days a week with 2 jobs. My personal experience is that HT really is a powerful program but its being altered partly because of disobedience but mostly because of generational changes in society.

2. Cell phones are a major contributing factor to our changes in communication. My father, brother, sister etc..dont even enter my home gate unless they text me to let me know they are coming over and I respond "ok". Since my wife went inactive 6 yrs ago the relief society and primary presidencys and also missionaries started to make efforts to visit us at our home, sadly they would just show up unexpectedly standing in our doorstep. My wife and myself were furious that they didnt even try to text us to give us a heads up. My wife made me tell the bishop to put us on the "Do not call/contact/visit list".

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We will see how this new program works out. As for the old one, well quotas, stats, numbers, "the other ward is better than  us" etc just doesnt work. It is no different than a workplace quota. Once you start mandating a level of production and then punish, reassign chastise or whatever for failure to meet that stat; people get turned off. Esp when they start telling you just a phone call, a hallway chat or just dropping off a treat suffice. That just let's us know the actual visit isn't really all that important. People just start doing whatever it takes to get the stat because all that  is important is that we get the boxes checked so the eq and bp presidents dont get chewed out.

I had not had a ht  visit for almost three yrs. Didn't even know who they were and frankly didn't care. Was asked one time how I liked my HTs  and I replied I didn't know who they were.  Found out they had not missed a visit in a couple years..the ones prior who I didn't know either apparently visited us about 75% of time. Lol. I'm sure there are more like that.

Will see what the new one is all about.

Edited by paracaidista508
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10 minutes ago, paracaidista508 said:

Was asked one time how I liked my HTs  and I replied I didn't know who they were.  Found out they had not missed a visit in a couple years..the ones prior who I didn't know either apparently visited us about 75% of time.

So they thought Home Teaching was a Merit Badge?

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