The Problem with the Missionary Program isn't the Missionaries

I read something the other day that really hit home. It was from the New Order Mormon forum, and reposted on reddit. New Order Mormons, or NOMs, are members of the LDS church who are aware of some of the troubling issues that cause people to leave/question/doubt, but have sufficiently resolved the problem for themselves. They may be staying for family or occupational reasons, and often will pick and choose which parts of the doctrine/church programs to follow. So for example, one NOM might ignore the Word of Wisdom and Tithing but still attend services and accept a calling. Another NOM might adhere to everything said by Joseph Smith and not so much to teachings by later presidents. Sometimes they are called, "Cafeteria Mormons" because they only follow the pieces they like instead of all of it.

Anyway, on the topic of why the missionary program seems like it has been stagnating recently, someone hit the nail on the head. He/She posted the thoughts (presumably) with the intent that hopefully someone who works at the Church Office Building (COB) might see these and recognize that these are valid concerns, while realizing that the chance of this happening to be very small. This is pretty much how I thought and felt while a member but was unable to articulate it so eloquently, and I was too nervous to say them aloud out of fear of being labeled an apostate. Anyway, here it is. 


Link to the original post: http://forum.newordermormon.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=46646
Comment made by user: "Lostinmiddlemormonism" about halfway down the page.


I believe I could help the church out considerably with their missionary work endeavors, but I fear they are not really interested in real improvement.

However, for all of our friends in the church office building that are reading this, I shall offer some feedback, without even charging for the consulting provided.
Let us start by talking about what the problems in missionary work are not:

• 1. It is NOT a lack of missionaries out in the "mission field"
• 2. It is NOT a lack of money and resources devoted to the program
• 3. It is NOT that the members are "slacking" or unmotivated
• 4. It is NOT that the missionaries are "unworthy"
• 5. It is NOT that the missionaries need to work harder
• 6. It is NOT that there needs to be a new program
• 7. It is NOT a problem with the approach
• 8. It is NOT a problem of language or communication
• 9. It is NOT that members don't have non-member friends
• 10. Nor is it that the members are scared to talk to their friends about the church.

Here it is in a nutshell - The problem is the product. The problem is that the members wouldn't wish the church on their worst enemies let alone their friends.
Most members - even the active ones - do not leave church on Sunday feeling measurably better than when they went in. They are not "uplifted." They are frustrated, saddened, and upset. Nearly everything is done half-assed.

The EQ President is only doing his calling because he was guilted into it. The Cub Master doesn't want to be in Scouts, but feels obligated because his son is in the program. The RS President is trying to be a funeral organizer, guidance counselor, principal, mother, wife, and welfare consultant all rolled into one and wonders why she isn't "good enough." The YW have a budget that wouldn't run a lemonade stand, and the idea of a fun ward activity is a potluck dinner in a smelly gymnasium that hasn't been cleaned effectively because the members are supposed to do that too, in their spare time.

The Home Teachers and Visiting Teachers (a.k.a. all the adults in the ward) are spending 3 evenings a month chasing down people that don't want to be visited. Not to mention the lies that they are forced to tell themselves in order to fit into this supposed ward family. They can't tell the truth that they find the temple weird, that they support gay marriage, or that they really don't want to spend two years of their life pushing religion on people that are perfectly happy without it for fear of being labeled a social pariah.

The problem is most ethical and moral human beings wouldn't wish the church on anyone. They intrinsically recognize that the church is to religion what McDonald's is to a fine dining experience. It is bland, it is cheap, it is mass produced, and it is barely functional. The average member, even if they don't recognize it consciously, understands the truism that, "What is good in Mormonism is not unique, and what is unique is not very good." When individuals do "share the gospel," what happens? Research your own experience and that of your friends. Someone posts a pro-LDS thought to Twitter, or Facebook. Who likes it? Other members! That's it! No one else, and the majority of those members only "like" it because they feel obligated to do so.

Give the average member the choice of attending the temple or a recently released movie (like Star Wars) and most will pick the latter every time. This is especially true if they aren't trying to demonstrate to the questioner how righteous they are. Why is this? Because, they get more fulfillment out of the movie at the local Cinemark than they do from the movie at the International House of Handshakes. Give members a choice of an early summer boat trip on the first Saturday of April or watching General Conference and what will most pick? Why?

The problem isn't the sales force folks. The problem is that the product does not work as advertised. If the membership of the church was actually getting out of their church experience what they say they are getting out of it, then you wouldn't be able to stop them from dragging their friends in the door, and more importantly, their friends would quickly recognize it. Why does everyone have an iPhone or an Android in their pocket? Because they work. Because they add value to their life. Because there is a real and measurable benefit. Why is the missionary program stagnant? Because it doesn't deliver what it promises.

And so my friends in the COB, until you fix this very fundamental problem, it won't matter what you do with the missionary effort or what cool new program you try. Until you fix that flaw, anything else is doomed to failure, and to make matters worse, putting this repetitively on the members only exacerbates the problem.



The only thing that I disagree with in my own personal case is the Cub Master bit (I loved doing that). But everything else is spot on. 

(Posted by Joseph using Anne's account)