27 Mar 2020
It’s Not a Reformation, It’s a Restoration
Could there possibly be anything worse for the missionary work than this coronavirus? We have been heartbroken to see our mission dismantled, missionary by missionary. We have felt like “what was the use?” We worked so hard here in the DR to get along with the members, to help the missionaries be bold and have courage in their contacting, to teach with the spirit, obey all the rules. We created a culture of obedience with pure motives, of humility, of immediate repentance, of seeking personal revelation, of consecration. None of that will be passed on to another generation of missionaries because all of our missionaries are gone (or are leaving). We have felt like someone mandated that we whitewash an area because the work was ineffective. We have felt like we were being deemed failures. But then we realized that the missionary work in the entire world is being whitewashed, not just in the DR. And I started wondering, what shall we do? How can we bring the gospel to all the world?
Social Media the Cure?
I have long been suspicious of social media (ever since my first article on Meridian “Why I’m Wary of Facebook” caused such a stir). I totally agreed with my friend Alicia Hamilton who called Facebook “A Shrine Unto Oneself.” I saw people gathering “friends” only for the purpose selling something or of bragging about how many friends they had. It seemed exceedingly self-serving.
I didn’t really approve of social media because it hampered people’s ability to interact in person, because it was ripe for abuse because people could bully one another, because people started on-line affairs that led to real affairs, because it so often became an addiction, because too often “humble-brags” led to feelings of inadequacy in others. Plus, when social media first became a “thing”and nobody knew the rules or the etiquette, I got burned. So, I have been pretty skeptical.
Now the world is in isolation. The coronavirus has forced everyone to stay in their casa and the only way to interact is through social media. Ever since we first had to sequester our missionaries (11 days now—since the 17th of March) I have been hoping that we could return to the normal way of working. I saw our missionaries as being in limbo, wasting time.
I didn’t feel effective as a Mission Leader because the missionaries weren’t doing missionary work, and so what was there for me to do? We’ve been busy buying plane tickets, and re-assigning companions, but I wanted to teach my missionaries the gospel, like they wanted to teach investigators the gospel. I was quite discouraged.
The “Ah, Ah”
I started praying to have hope, to see purpose in our being here. I also prayed to find an effective way to do missionary work. Yesterday a sister missionary called me because her companion was going crazy trapped in the casa and unable to teach. She is a missionary with little hope of going home soon. The borders of her country are closed, even to citizens. I realized I needed to help her find a long-term solution.
While I was talking to her, I received the inspiration to let her teach! I told her to consider my proposal: Instead of visiting the church twice a week for an hour each time just to talk to her family on the ward clerk’s computer, she needed to visit the church every single day and find people she could teach on-line. This may seem like an obvious solution, but we have been told to keep our missionaries in their casas and allow them to leave only twice a week to use the internet. But I looked at President, who heard my conversation and he nodded his head, indicating I could continue with this plan.
I invited the sisters to do something a district leader had done once when I was in a district meeting. We sang a hymn, three verses, and during the time we were singing this hymn, we were supposed to think of people who needed the gospel in their lives. Then we were supposed to write the names down. I don’t know many non-members here, so I thought of non-members I know from home. Lots of people came to my mind that I hadn’t even consider sharing the gospel with before.
I encouraged the sister and her companion to do the same. Then through an app the missionaries use called “hangout,” I gave them permission to contact, via internet, the people on their list. I invited to tell these people they were anxious to do what they had been called to do—teach the gospel. I suggested they invite the people on the list to help them do what they were called to do, and let them teach the missionary lessons via internet. The majority of the people we teach here in the DR don’t have the technology to be taught on-line, but many of the people in other countries have this technology. It didn’t matter where in the world the people on their list lived, they could still be missionaries and teach the gospel, which is what they really wanted to do.
The motive of these sister missionaries was not to have the highest baptisms in their zone, or in the mission, or to please their district leader or zone leader, because we don’t even have district leaders or zone leaders now. Their motive was to bring souls unto Christ. I loved the idea of continuing to teach the gospel in this way because it keeps my missionaries happy and it brings converts to Christ.
Expanded Vision
Actually, in the wee hours of the morning this morning, (when I frequently receive personal revelation) I had a vision of senior couples all over the world, too old, too frail to go on missions, but not too frail to use the internet. Couples with decades of experience in the church could be called as missionaries from their homes, if only to teach for a couple hours a day. We could have millions of missionaries. This could literally be the way we carry the gospel to all the world.
All of the sudden, it was a good thing to have 1000 “friends” on Facebook. It was a large of pool of potential investigators, and friends have friends, the referrals could be overwhelming! In addition, shy people, or people with just a little interest who are afraid to commit to a lesson in person, might be comfortable talking online. This may be what technology missions already know, but I received a testimony of it.
I started thinking of what our purpose would be as mission president and companion at this time in our mission. I got excited about “chatting” with our remaining missionaries. Perhaps we can find a way to do a giant “zoom” or something, and we could teach them just like we used to at zone conference. This is technology the area presidency already uses to communicate with mission presidents in the smaller islands. The mission presidents in the smaller islands use the technology to communicate with their missionaries scattered over all the islands in their missions. We just need to learn to use it.
We have been really against tablets or smart phones here in the mission because of the risk of attacks. Our missionaries already get robbed all the time just when they carry these tiny $20 phones that barely work. Imagine if the word got out that missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all carried smart phones?? Super dangerous. So, we have been strongly against this idea. However, if they stayed in their casas and used tablets to communicate and teach, that wouldn’t be so dangerous!
The Restoration
We may have to throw away a bunch of things we have done for years in preaching the gospel and do things an entirely new way. Door to door works here, but in few other places in the world. With the danger of robbers, and viruses, being out in the streets just might not be wise in the future. It truly may be safer and more effective to stay in casa, even in a place like the DR.
In addition, the members would have to take more responsibility for the converts. One of the biggest challenges we have had here is the war between the bishops and the missionaries. The bishops seriously resent the fact that they don’t get to choose who is worthy for baptism and who is not. We baptize whom we think is worthy and the bishop has the responsibility to ordain and fellowship and help this person grow. The members like us to baptize people that are “golden,” so their responsibility after the baptism isn’t so demanding. They don’t like us to baptize people who need a lot of ministering. However, if the missionaries are just responsible for the teaching, and the members do the baptizing, confirming, ordaining and fellowshipping, the responsibilities change. The missionaries grow their own testimonies by teaching. The people learn the gospel, and the members better know the investigators so they have more of a desire to minister.
The Future
Where will the missionaries serve in the future? Will there even be a need to gather? They already are having virtual MTCs. Will missionaries even need to move to a new country? If technology reaches the whole globe, do they need to leave their homes? If missionaries accepted calls in the past just so they could have an adventure in a new country, that motive would disappear. They would truly accept their call because they wanted to bring souls unto Christ. That could be a very good thing.
This coronavirus could be a blessing in disguise. First because people are being called to repentance, and hopefully they recognize this and respond. Secondly, because we are truly learning to bring the gospel to all the world. If the coronavirus can touch everybody in the world, so can the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I no longer think missionary work will be compromised. I think it will be better than ever.
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