"Getting It Done", Percentages, and the Real Needs of Children of our Heavenly Father

While preparing for a talk I gave in church today, I came across the following words in a talk from W. Grant Bangerter in the October 1975 General Conference, entitled The Power of the Priesthood:

"I would like to ask tonight, 'What kind of a testimony do you have concerning the power of the priesthood?'

"How many brethren here are home teachers? Would you please raise your hands. Those of you who are listening in may also raise your hands. Now since we have just closed out the month of September, how many of you home teachers 'got your home teaching done?' Well, brethren, that’s a catch phrase. You know, the devil taught us to say those words: 'Did you get your home teaching done?' That is a very poor way to refer to the comprehensive mission embodied in home teaching. By getting us to ask 'Did you get your home teaching done?' the devil destroys 90 percent of our effectiveness. All that question implies is a quick visit the last day of the month so that we can send in the report."  (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1975/10/the-power-of-the-priesthood?lang=eng&query=teach+in+home)

 

It strikes me that I've often heard the same language in reference to home teaching--"getting it done".  Before today it had never struck me that the devil had taught us those words.  I understand the attitude, though.  It's faulty to be concerned with whether or not someone made a perfunctory visit to someone's house during a given 28-, 30-, or 31-day period.

 

Part of the inadequacy of the "get your home teaching done" attitude comes when we ask the question, "Is there anything we can do for you?"  The answer, more often than not, will be something like, "No, we're fine."  I've found that it's much more helpful to appropriately probe a bit with specific questions.  "How is your car running?"  "Do you have plenty of food in your fridge?"  "Are you in need of a priesthood blessing?"  "How is your health?"  These sorts of questions allow us to A) show that we actually care, and B) serve as the eyes and ears of the elders quorum president (or high priests group leader) and bishop, who really shouldn't be the first people to hear about someone's needs.

 

We also talk about home teaching percentages and I think we often fail to inspire ourselves and others properly to perform one of the most important priesthood duties we have.  Here again, we miss the mark.  When it comes to percentages, the following are true: 1) The percentage of families visited by home teachers is an important part of quarterly reporting so that Church leaders can have a sense of how well the priesthood holders of a given unit are fulfilling their duties.  2) Having a high reported home-teaching percentage (and thus projecting an image of obedience) should not be our goal.  3) Any percentage below 100 indicates that families we know and love (or should love, at least) are being neglected.

 

Instead of setting percentages as our goals, what should we focus on?  People.  Real people.  Real children of our Heavenly Father, with real needs.  The underlying facts beneath some percentage of home teaching being conducted are that Brother X doesn't understand his responsibilities as a leader and teacher in his home or how to accomplish them; Sister Y is struggling financially and is critically losing faith; and the Z Family is passing year by year without any reason to believe that the Church of Jesus Christ inspires anyone, because no one from the Church cares enough to even stop by!  Home teaching is a vital priesthood service for both spiritual and temporal reasons, and is often the key to families resuming activity in the Gospel and in the Church.  Even if a given family has few evident needs during some month, we are still negligent as priesthood holders if we are not dedicating time to care for that family in their home.

 

Last thoughts for now:

It's perhaps easy for me to speak of home teaching mistakes we make in general when I haven't been assigned as a home teacher for months.  All the same, I know how important these assignments are, and I don't want to be found negligent by my God when reviewing my life with Him.  I don't want others to miss the blessings of the Gospel and of salvation because I failed to care.  I don't want to just "get my home teaching done".  The Gospel is about love, and if I am to show love to my fellow members of the Church I'll take the time to visit them and attend to their real needs.

“I should not call any man common or unclean”

(written 21 Aug 11)

Those words were spoken by the apostle Peter after he had gained crucial spiritual insight (in Acts 10:28). He considered the Gentiles to be unworthy of his spiritual attention until God showed him otherwise in a dream. Peter wasn’t solely to blame; after he taught and baptized a group of Gentiles the other disciples of Christ were incredulous until he gave them a full explanation. It was something built into their culture—they perceived some people as just being different. Even though Cornelius was a “devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway” (Acts 10:2), Peter would have ignored this spiritual devotion just because of circumstances. But, after being enlightened by God, Peter learned that He “is no respecter of persons; But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”

Yes, I know that there is only one true and living church on the earth. Yes, I know that no one outside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds the Priesthood. We can know these things because they are true. Sometimes, though, we miss the mark and run risks with the children of our Heavenly Father who are in such great need of our help. Sometimes we alienate others who are doing their best to follow Christ.

I don’t always know how to speak with others when I want to share the restored Gospel with them. Should I testify right now? Should I just listen? Should I offer explanations? Should I distance myself from disrespectful words? I think though, that when I show respect and acknowledge others’ spiritual devotion that they’ll be more likely to recognize mine. I think that Heavenly Father appreciates their good desires and spiritual learning, even if they aren’t blessed enough yet to have been properly inspired and invited to follow Christ through the restored gospel in the restored Church. God doesn’t think we’re better than them; I doubt He sees the same “us” and “them” that we do. When a man studies scripture, even if he doesn’t understand it all, God is pleased by it. When a man prays sincerely and then goes out to do good in the world simply out of the love of his heart or the desire to obey God, God is pleased by it.

As Peter came to ask, I ask myself: “What [am] I, that I could withstand God?” (Acts 11:17) “God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”

Last thoughts for now:
I need to value the spiritual insight others have just as I hope they value mine. Even if I know they misunderstand some things, and even if I know that the wholly reliable source of truth is elsewhere (in the Church), I have gained understanding and perspective from people who aren’t members of the Church. I hope that they feel my love. I hope that they see in me a good example; I hope that by speaking with me they gain a better understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. I hope I can see everyone as God sees them. And I hope that when all is said and done that He does not call me “common or unclean”.

Incorrect Teachings Among the Saints

There have been times in my past where I missed the mark a bit when trying to help others to be righteous. I think it has tended to be when I was reaching beyond the scope of my stewardship, and that I was being overzealous. There have been other times when I have heard others share incorrect of skewed doctrines. It feels a bit strange when this happens; if we're listening to the Holy Ghost, He tells us very clearly that something isn't right, just as He testifies to us when we hear and speak truth.

It can be uncomfortable though when someone misses the mark, particularly when we know that the person is genuinely trying to be a true disciple of Christ. However, in simple terms this is really just another mistake, of which we make many.

We read in 3 Nephi 1:24 that after Christ was born, some Nephites attempted "to prove by the scriptures that it was no more expedient to observe the law of Moses." Note that they were using the scriptures; that much is to their credit. As we read further in the same verse and also verse 25, "Now in this thing they did err, having not understood the scriptures. But it came to pass that they soon became converted, and were convinced of the error which they were in...therefore in this same year were they brought to a knowledge of their error and did confess their faults." Put simply, they misunderstood something, tried to teach something false, and were corrected.

Having made and witnessed mistakes, I have gained a desire to not repeat them. In this case, I try to be careful to only state truth when state something as if it were truth. When I state something about which I'm uncertain, I say as much. Sometimes it's a very good thing to share good ideas that are unverifiable, as long as it's clear that the ideas are not purported to be verified doctrine.

When people do teach something incorrect, it's important to simply love them and help them, just like in any other circumstance. Here, that means correcting them with as little awkwardness or embarrassment as possible.

Last thoughts for now:
Truth is a joy to those who seek to be righteous. We all make mistakes sometimes. We can all learn and get past those mistakes, and we can all help others to do the same.