Emphasize your right to free speech.
Most Christians agree with the Mormon's The Family: A Proclamation to the World. The gay and lesbian community do not. Regardless of your position, emphasize and support both parties right to free speech—a right shared by every American. Today when liberties are being challenged and disassembled, every article whether pro or con should mention, "We disagree but support their right to free speech."
Publish, The United States Constitution: A Proclamation to the World.
No religious faith believes God raised up and inspired America's Founding Fathers more than Mormons, and now that the United States Constitution is hanging by a thread, Habeas Corpus is suspended, and the Bill of Rights is replaced with post 9/11 bills and presidential signings, Church leaders have gone silent and will support whatever form of government rules the United States. Church members are told to support and uphold their government wherever they live, even if it is socialism.
To repeat the phrase in LDS commercials, "Isn't it about time?"
Teach the principles of freedom and liberty at church.
America's Founding Fathers used church buildings to educate and alarm the public of tyranny and rally them to the cause of freedom. LDS Church members are told repeatedly to get involved in politics but not at church. They are told to defend freedom and liberty but not at church. Members in the United States are told to be on the lookout for conspiracies that will undermine the Constitution and the Bill of Rights but not at church.
The result? Most Church members don't get involed in politics and would rather wait for their leaders to take a stand publically, which they will probably never do.
I'm not proposing that the LDS Church change its position on political neutrality, nor that meeting houses be used for political purposes. If they can be used for Boy Scout Meetings they certainly can be used to educate members and the public in principles of liberty and freedom.
Tract with a shovel and broom, not scriptures.
Tracting is when missionaries go door to door trying to set up religious meetings.
Said Jesus as recorded in Matthew 7:12:
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
Mark records in Mark 16:15:
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Today's missionaries hate tracting. People hate it, as do most Mormons when missionaries from other faiths knock on their door. So why should missionaries tract when they wouldn't want anyone doing it to them?
Wrote Gordon B. Hinckley, the fifteenth president of the Mormon Church:
So many of us look upon missionary work as simply tracting. Everyone who is familiar with this work knows there is a better way...When you are not working on referrals of members, you must be developing those referrals yourselves through tracting and related means.
Missionaries, if people accept your service, they may be more willing to hear your message.
For more information, read How Americans View Mormonism—Seven Steps to Improve our Image by Dr. Gary C. Lawrence.
Train LDS missionaries to recruit and manage volunteers for public service projects.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said he wanted more Mormon leaders in business and government. Young Mormons are taught leadership skills in athletics, Boy Scouts, Aaronic Priesthood Quorums and Sunday School. Excellence by leading local volunteer service efforts will warm the hearts of residents, set a new precedence in community excellence and open the hearts of many to receive your gospel messages.
BYU's MBA Professors Rhoads, Whitlark and Swenson's upcoming book Boom Start Leadership will be an excellent guide for leadership training.
Let Church members personally distribute a portion of their donations.
When disaster strikes and the human family is in peril, huge humanitarian bulk shipments are sent by Mormons, often from Salt Lake City. But few Mormons will ever distribute charitable donations, nor will they meet its beneficiaries.
This practice of vicarious charity is highly efficient and cost effective. It enables swift, large-scale assistance all around the globe, but it also has repercussions. Although opportunities abound to work at Church canneries, for most members not personally being able to distribute even a portion of the funds they donate is probably indirectly tied to discontent and inactivity.
In other words, institutional giving by Church members desensitizes the individual giver.
I propose that a portion of an individual's donations, perhaps a tenth, be held in reserve so he or she can personally, and ideally anomomously, bless the lives of others in times of need.
This is in line with a statement made by Church founder Joseph Smith on charity, “When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what power it has over my mind, while the opposite course has a tendency to harrow up all the harsh feelings and depress the human mind.”
Offer Christmas Eve Services.
It is a special time when people from all faiths attend their worship service, and often attracts visitors and those who come only once a year. The LDS Church broadcasts their First Presidency Christmas Devotional on TV in early December and makes it available on the Internet. Although LDS Church Leaders encourage Church members to stay home with their families on Christmas Eve, they are missing out on a great community opportunity of goodwill, even though weekly Sunday worship is open to the public. As an entrepreneurial marketing best practice, Christmas Eve Services are outstanding marketing events.
Let women speak last more often.
The LDS Church has a lay clergy, meaning unpaid Church members are assigned to give talks (sermons), prayers and lessons. In Sacrament Meeting, the last talk is usually given by a man. Whether it is a cordial, "Girls First" or men are gallantly required to fill up the remainder of the time, it can be viewed that Mormons think men are more important.
Embrace Girl Scouts.
Almost every young man is enrolled in Boy Scouts. In fact, 80% of the 2009 incoming male freshman at Church-owned Brigham Young Unversity were eagle scouts. Church meeting houses are used for pack meetings and award ceremonies. Young girls sit through these meetings and often feel left out. Church members say other Church programs meet the needs of girls but they aren't the same.
Address youth inactivity:
50% of Utah Mormon high school graduates fall into inactivity. That may seem low for most churches, but compare that statistic to the 80% or greater retention rate of Amish youth, according to Thomas J. Meyers, Professor of Sociology at Goshen College.
Create shorter missions for youth:
Nineteen year old men are expected to serve a Church mission for two years at their own expense if they are found worthy. Twenty-one year old single women may serve too if found worthy. A few years ago, Church leaders raised the bar so only the most worthy may serve. In fact, girls are told to set their sights high—to marry only worthy returned missionaries in the temple.
No wonder 50% of Mormon youth go inactive. The stress and expectations must be enormous! How many remain active if they don't go? There is just no place in Christianity for an in-the-flesh "Judgment Day" at age nineteen, whether mental or in person.
Why not offer three-, six- and one-year service or ecclesiastical missions? If they have a good experience, wouldn't they want to stay longer? And wouldn't completing shorter missions improve self and peer acceptance?
Hire youth.
Principles of thift, tithing, excercise and self reliance may contribute to why men do their own yardwork and odd jobs. When I was a teen growing up in Maryland, I had an impressive list of customers that kept me busy mowing lawns and raking leaves. Not so in Utah—youth jobs are scarce. Whether or not you adults can do your own minimum-wage-paying jobs yourselves, isn't it time to employ your neighbor's children?
Be a friend when it isn't your church calling.
Families are visited once a month by male home teachers, and women by female visiting teachers. Church members fill all ecclesiastical positions without monetary compensation. But who hasn't noticed the personal friendship when members are assigned to you or your family, that suddenly ends when they are no longer assigned?
Return to calling adults by their first names.
In the early days of the LDS Church, men were called Brother Joseph, Brother Brigham or Brother or Sister (whatever their first name was). Today last names are used. First names are personal and promote friendship—Last names are impersonal and do not.
Train the lay speaker.
In Protestantism, the minister is the authority. In Mormonism, the General Authorities including the prophet, his counselors, twelve apostles, and quorums of seventy govern and speak with authority. They are heard from twice a year at General Conference which is broadcasted worldwide by satellite, and sometimes at other special occasions. This command structure is logical, advantageous to maintain order & doctrine, but unintentionally creates adverse consequences.
Although speaking in Church can be frightening, most Church members are given public speaking opportunities even in their youth. Speaking assignments offer educational and self-improvement opportunities for Church members (not to mention humility and the need for divine guidance).
Since regular Church members prepare and deliver Sacrament talks, they feel inadequate using biblical chapters as their text, or adding new doctrinal or personal insights. Few have public speaking training. The result? Most Church members just quote their leaders from Church magazines or recite personal stories, and their talks are often of little value to the not spiritually-in-tune listener.
One of the miracles of Mormonism was that God raised up an educated farm boy to usher in a new religious dispensation. That unrighteously created some antagonism among converts for uninspired, educated public speakers because they rarely spoke with the Spirit of God.
Perhaps it is time for the pendulum to swing back part way—Why not offer public speaking training for regular Church members? Can't the Spirit of God also influence better trained speakers?
Ask not just what is right, but what is wrong.
I attended a Sunday School where the teacher asked what can be done to retain more youth after high school graduation. All the answers but mine echoed best practices that retain the 50%. The presiding leader mentioned that other churches would love to retain so many youth.
Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
How can re-emphasizing caring for the sheep retain the 50% that stray? If a different plan isn't presented for the soon-to-be-lost sheep, how can retention be increased? And if only the comments of faithful optimists be considered, how can different viewpoints be fairly presented?
Conduct focus groups.
Religious decisions are often made when inspiration is given or the presiding authority speaks, or after a course of action is sustained by members or those in authority.
In business, decisions are often made when the prevailing arguer wins, whether or not he or she is right or wrong. Contrast that to smart entrepreneurial marketers who forget their biases and conduct focus groups.
I recommend that all decision makers read Six Thinking Hats
. In the case above, wayward youth would be interviewed, their comments logged and a focus group conducted that approached the problem from six angles such as facts & figures, optimism, emotion, etc.
Let young missionaries phone home more than twice a year.
Senior missionaries are treated like adults. Many have weekends off. Visiting with or speaking to family members is certainly permitted. Aren't 19-year old men and 21-year old women missionaries adults?
This is the Church that promotes families. Fathers, mothers, and especially younger siblings would benefit from an occasional phone call.
Not only is this a family issue, it is a marketing and recruitment problem. Most 19-year men have never been away from home more than a couple of weeks before their missions. Permitting phone calls only on Christmas and Mother's Day is another large barrier to serving a mission for all perspective young missionaries and their families, and I see little value in it than to keep young minds away from calling their sweethearts, and focused on their work.
I'd like to mention that keeping in touch with my oldest son by phone, and weekend visits from college time to time has had a very positive effect on his younger siblings, my wife and I. Faces light up and good feelings prevail, before, during and after visits. Everyone benefits and the pain of waiting to our next communication is softened.
I served an 18-month Church mission in my youth. My parents who were of another faith felt betrayed, and the anger and resentment never seemed to subside. I believe weekly phone calls in addition to my weekly letters would have made all the difference.
Encourage civil weddings immediately before temple weddings to be sensitive to family members of other faiths. Only worthy Church members with temple recommends are permitted to attend temple weddings. The wedding sealing rooms are beautiful and hold two to three dozen Church members. Invitations are few so guests must be carefully selected. Not only does this limit worthy members who can attend, younger siblings under eighteen are not permitted.
Loved ones of other faiths wait outside of the temple with friends and family. Why not encourage two weddings—a ceremony marrying for time in an LDS chapel where everyone can attend, immediately followed by a ceremony for eternity in the temple?
Why not encourage this to promote the best of feelings among friends, neighbors and relatives—especially those of other faiths who travel great distances just to find themselves waiting outside?
Couples are free to make their own decisions but often it is only years later that they realize the extent of hurt feelings. Again, the purpose of the temple is to build families.
I can see why this may not appeal to young people, but I also know that the good it may do may outweigh the hassle of two back-to-back wedding ceremonies.
Advertise Utah's strict liquor laws as an attractive benefit.
Thomas Jefferson said the U.S. Constitution was set up so people could vote with their feet, or move to whatever state they pleased offering the laws they favored. If citizens of Salt Lake or any other city prefer strict liquor laws, promote them as benefits.
Millions of concerned parents and non drinkers stand behind you as your love group. Salt Lake City, one of cleanest and safest cities in the United States, has many things to boast about. Don't let the whiners bully you. They have feet too.
Focus on your love group.
Three seasoned BYU marketing professors recently wrote a book called Boom Start: Super Laws of Successful Entrepreneurs that raises the question, "Which group should entrepreneurs and marketers focus on—love, swing or hate?" The swing group is those who may become your customers with a little persuasion. The percent breakdown between the groups are usually 20/60/20.
To summarize their findings, ignore your hate group. No matter what you do or say, they probably will never change their opinions. Conduct focus groups with the love group. Identify what they love about your religion and Church programs. Market those benefits to the swing group through the eyes of the love group.
I strongly recommend that every LDS leader read Boom Start: Super Laws of Successful Entrepreneurs—almost a century of combined best-practice observations that can be applied in countless ways for good.
Show youth extreme contrast.
If you want your children to go to BYU, take them on a tour of the campus, and then campuses of lesser colleges. If you want your children to commit to not smoke, show them pictures of smokers' lungs, and take them to places where people smoke.
Ironically, Mormons know and practice this concept very well by sending out missionaries to teach people a better way, but often fail to show their children contrast.
Discuss openly and in detail the short- and long-term effects of decisions. By showing extreme contrast to impressionable minds, more will determine to achieve high ideals and virtues.
Often extreme contrast is necessary to persuade youth. Once they decide, they will govern themselves.
When demonstrating extreme contrast, show the good first.
Or should you demonstrate the bad first? The answer may be found in Matthew 4—Having finished forty days of fasting and prayer, which one cannot do without learning from the Holy Ghost and feasting in the goodness of God, Jesus would not be tempted by Satan for anything of lesser value.
If we show the bad first, children may find comfort in it and may not be willing to go the extra mile.
Briefly explain the benefits of a lay clergy at the start of Sacrament Meeting.
Many if not most talks delivered by Church members are boring, so explain why members give talks. While this is the Church of Jesus Christ, the focus is not sorely on Him. It is about us learning about Jesus and becoming like Him.
Once members and non-members see the benefits of becoming like Jesus, they will more likely be patient, and support those asked to deliver talks, teach classes or serve in callings.
Some never understand this concept of service resulting in individual improvement. Without that perspective it would be easy to become disaffected.
End Career Church Employment.
Release photographs to the public.
Church History Archives are filled with scanned and boxed early photographs of people and places including Church historical sites. Unless they are immoral (which I doubt the Church would archive), why are they restricted and not available to the public? Why can't the public enjoy them? Can't more good come from sharing such pictures as long as due credit is given?
Stop ignoring the poor beggars outside your temples
Stand outside the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City and count how many Mormons walk past beggars holding cups and signs.
Stop and talk to those beggars, hear their stories and feel their pain. The Jesus I read about in the New Testament didn't ignore beggars. Prophets in the Book of Mormon were outraged by those who do not help the poor. In addition to the cost of clothing rental, bring extra money to the temple. Without individual charity we are nothing.
Allow private opposition of sustaining votes.
Sustaining people in their callings or Church work assignments is a common practice. Nearly every Latter-day Saint has heard the words, “All in favor, please signify by the uplifted hand.” This is a time to show support and to commit to help that person succeed.
I have personally sat in thousands of such meetings but have never once heard a single dissenting vote. What percentage of the members would cast a dissenting vote in public and embarrass him- or herself and family? Because unanimity is the norm, leaders often conducting the vote won't look up to see if anyone had cast an opposing vote.
To dissent, according to Church doctrine, a person would not trust the inspired decisions of his of her leaders. If a dissenting vote then puts the shame and blame upon the dissenter, then why solicit them?
Why not ask for dissenting votes to be presented in private unless they would be come, and are really not welcomed?
Help the widow without being asked.
A woman whose husband is serving in Afghanistan came to our garage sale on August 21, 2010. I asked if my boys and I could help her in any way. She declined until I said, "Well, why don't we just show up with brooms and shovels?" She responded, "I could find things for you to do."
Copyright © 2009-2010 Robert Stevens. All rights reserved.
This article was commenced on December 6, 2009. Last update: August 22, 2010.
