Submitted by Amira
The LDS Church’s missionary program is quite different from other Evangelical Christians’ missionary work. One major difference is that entire families will often go to various parts of the world to do missionary work of all types. I’ve had a chance to meet some of these missionary families, especially in Israel and Kyrgyzstan, and they do some good work. We don’t do anything like this and haven’t for a long time (I can only think of a few examples in early Church history). Mission presidents might count, but it’s not quite the same thing.
As I’ve traveled in the Middle East and Central Asia, areas where there are very few Church members, I’ve seen the value of expatriate LDS families living in these places.
I want to make it clear that I do not think that overseas branches require Americans to function. I think local leadership wherever it is available is essential. But small branches like I’ve seen in Central Asia and the Middle East can be greatly strengthened by simply having a family there who has a little experience.
Couple missionaries rarely speak the language of the country they’re serving in; younger elders and sisters simply don’t have much experience. Families would be much better able to learn the language and are likely to have quite a bit of experience. I’ve also discovered that we have very different opportunities as a family- we associate with different people. Families might be able to fill some gaps.
I am sure there are many reasons that we don’t have family missions. Obviously a family’s situation would be quite different. For example, they would need to stay in one place, especially if the children were attending school. Economics is obviously a major factor; it would take quite a bit of planning for a family to be able to do something like this. But there are ways to get around those economic issues; many other Christians have. Is there something more that stops us from having family missionaries?
You might argue that the need is being met already by families like ours who choose to live overseas. There are families who do this, but they have to go to where the jobs or grants are, usually in big cities. Often they end up in places where there are established wards. The really out-of-the-way places like small towns and villages (and most of Central Asia, for that matter) are often missed.
I often hear people touting the benefits of living outside of Utah, but it always seems to be in favor of living somewhere else in the US. Rarely do I hear anyone say that we ought to move overseas. And isn’t the need there greater in many cases?
Amira currently lives in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where she homeschools her two children. Her husband is teaching constitutional and development law as a Fulbright Scholar this year. Amira and her husband both studied Arabic in the Middle East, and she has a degree in International Relations and Near Eastern Studies.
I lived in several countries while growing up, but, like you said, they were in larger cities. It is definitely a great experience and many wards and branches benefit from experienced members.
I see a few problems with family missions. Mission presidents bring their families, but they are a limited number. More families would be problematic.
1. Teenagers – need I say more? Younger children can easily follow their parents. As children get older you expect them to make more decisions. They need to decide to be baptized. They need to decide to live the commandments. At a certain point, they would need to be involved in making a decision…if you want them to benefit from the sacrifice. Is it really fair to ask a 13 year old if she wants to serve the Lord or stay at home? I think it is fair to ask her to be honest, to go to church, to clean her room….but not all 13 year olds have the maturity or testimony to sacrifice everything in their life.
A family consists of many individuals. A missionary needs to be willing to give his/her time to the Lord. At what age is a child old enough that you take their feelings into account. Or their needs.
It is different than moving for a job. Dad’s new job is in another city. We have to move. End of story. I would happily move anywhere for a job. But how could parents choose to take a whole family on a mission if everyone isn’t ready to put their papers in.
I would also happily “move to Missouri” with the whole family if the call came. But I think the difficulties of family missions are too difficult to be worth it for the church. Its going to stay singles and older couples.
2. Role of mothers – As a mother of 3, I know that my primary responsibility is taking care of my children. It becomes difficult to have many responsibilities outside of the home. I can imagine being a RS president, but moving my whole family to serve a mission…I’m not sure exactly what I could accomplish besides just living there.
3. Economics and careers – couples go when they are older and financially can usually retire and make arrangements for their home. Younger families who are just starting out in their financial life have an obligation to provide for their families. They might have a high mortgage payment because they have just bought a home, etc., and face greater financial risk if they leave. Also, returning to their career might be extremely difficult. Fathers are required to provide, and so the church tries to get them to serve missions before their career, or after their career. Interrupting a career is rarely a good thing.
” Economics is obviously a major factor; it would take quite a bit of planning for a family to be able to do something like this. But there are ways to get around those economic issues; many other Christians have.”
They way they’ve gotten around it is by, essentially, paying those families. I don’t see that as a major problem but lots of other Mormons do.
Providing an economic incentive to live in a foreign country–aka a job–is tricky for the reason Adam points out, but worth thinking about. There might be still other ways to approach it. If the Church can’t by itself increase the number of American Mormons living abroad for a year or more, it could still try to influence the ones that are already going to think of their time as a quasi-missionary experience. The local wards and branches in foreign countries already provide American Mormons with a unique and invaluable network of local contacts. In return for having a dozen or a hundred friendly faces in a foreign town, it’s not too much to ask American Mormons abroad to do whatever they can to serve in the Church.
If the Church wanted to formalize the calling and offer some of its expertise, how about a summer “MTC” for families? We’ve got a great deal of real-world expertise in language and culture training. A summer immersion course aimed at children, teenagers, and married couples, especially in less commonly taught languages, would provide a service that most families probably couldn’t get anywhere else.
Lower the tithing for those who go abroad!! Just another incentive…
In evangelical churches they have a missionary fund and it supports the missionary families when they on their “missions” Its really the only way to do it. I went to baptist church and looked at the doonation enveloped recently and it was a prominent part of the asked for offerings. Little fliers with “support the Smiths in Spain”
The problem is the family finances. Its a great idea though and would really boost baptisms. Being taught the gospel by a 35 year old married couple with children would bring legit. to the church in the eyes of many older investigators.
Much easier to do would be self-selected missions to areas where the church needs building up in the good ol’ USA. Perhaps a family could move to an inner-city ward or small town branch where the father could still be in commuting distance to work.
Our inner-city ward has 3 local couples from the suburbs assigned to us as service missionaries (black name tag, but not full-time missionaries), to help build up and strengthen. There are about 120-150 in attendance at sac meeting, but 420-450 on the roster.
The other inner-city ward in town and the spanish branch have service missionaries too.
I think such missions would be a great idea. But they would be expensive since few families could afford to do it on their own. You’re basically doing the equivalent of calling hundreds if not thousands of CES instructors.
Clark,
What I’m envisioning is a couple, not necessarily retired, but whose kids are all moved out, or college age, and who currently live in a ward where things are running smoothly. They go to their Stake President, and/or neighboring stake presidents, and make an offer and ask for a “suggestion” from the Stake Pres.
Given that Brother X works at a certain location, he and his wife make a list of wards and branches that are within reasonable commuting distance to his place of work, and where they are willing to reside.
He and his wife take that list to their (and/or neighboring) Stake President(s), and say: “(Behold,) We like to be uplifting and want to contribute more of ourselves. Our ward is running smoothly, and we’re willing to move to certain places that may have greater needs than where we’re at now. Here are some wards/branches that are within commuting distance that we could move to. Are you aware of any needs in these units where the Lord would like to utilize our talents?”
Granted, the couple doesn’t need the Stake President’s authorization to move anywhere they want. They could study it out on their own, seek inspiration, and take their decision to the Lord on their own for confirmation. But by going to the Stake Pres they could gain more information, and there might be things already going on at the stake level.
The couple could look at it either as a temporary thing, renting an apartment to live in while renting out their house, or just considering it another move. There could lots of factors for them to consider. I suggested couples whose children are moved out so that changing schools wouldn’t be a factor, but maybe the children would like to change schools, or be engaged in the decision-making. I realize many parents decide what neighborhood to live in based on factors involving their children and schools.
People should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and bring about righteousness on their own, not always waiting for a calling before doing something good.
I understand your concern JKS. I have two children and they are my first responsibility. But that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been able to be involved in missionary work or other types of service as a mother. Discussions could be taught in LDS family’s home. There are many service opportunities that can involve families. I don’t think it would have to be any more time-consuming than being a RS President.
Another LDS Fulbright family who is in Albania right now actually went to Welfare Services and got training. They certainly are looking at their time as a missionary experience for their family. That wasn’t really feasible for us since the Church doesn’t function in any way in Kyrgyzstan, but this idea of a “quasi-mission” is a good one.
That would be a lot easier (and I’d love to see it happen), but I still think the real need is in some of the tiny overseas branches. Ones where there is literally no one else to help. I’ve been in those branches, and I’ve been in struggling inner-city wards. While both have their difficulties, there really is no comparison.
JKS has hit the nail on the head as to why the church just does not do this in our day. Perhaps one daye they will go back to requiring fathers to go on missions at the drop of a hat, but [erha[ps not also as there are young men and women capable of doing this work anyways.
I am also sure that if it was required by the Lord right now in the history of the church that the Prophet would make family missions a part of our lives, but it doesn’t seem to me in the history of the modern day church that this request, with the exception of mission presidents, has ever been made of families and mainly for the reasons that JKS has explained above.
No need for this, change the topic already…
The most recent family missionaries I know of are my brother-in-law’s parents. His father, Larson Caldwell, was a bit older when he married in the mid 1950s, and was soon called to serve in Tahiti. At one point Brother Caldwell found himself assigned to office work and complained to the mission president that he had a wife at home who could be doing that stuff. So she was called too. Their oldest daughter was born during their mission together.
Our marriage to lucrative careers seems like the biggest obstacle to serious missionary effort. If it was really a priority, then every man in a well established stake of the Church would expect every few years a call to leave home for several months. His quorum would support him and his family. This is pretty tricky when it takes several months to reestablish employment each time it’s interrupted. It seems like a two master problem.
In Baltimore, I remember a roofer whose daughter became quite sick. His boss didn’t like him taking off so much time to attend to his family, so the roofer quit the job. A few weeks later when his girl was better, he took another similar job. A while after that there was a death in the extended family that caused him and his wife to decide they should move to Ohio. So they did, with little complication. The man’s job was just a way to earn money, a way that he could exchange at will. People earning two or three times as much as he did seldom show as much independent control of their lives.
Tradesmen seem better prepared to build Zion than professionals. When the home teachers ask if there is anything they can do to help, that question is more meaningful coming from a plumber and a mechanic than from a scientist and an administrator. If the kingdom of God ever needs someone to do what I do for a living, it can hire a Gentile. It can’t hire missionaries.
Amira, you make me proud to be a Mormon.
Interesting to note that in this day and age you hardly need to be in the same office to do your job, let alone the same city or continent. “Telecommuting” is growing rapidly (and I think energy prices will contribute to it increase as well). No reason why those professionals can’t take a few months, a year, whatever and still do their job.
But seriously, I believe someone mentioned being anxiously engaged already, but, there is no reason why any of us need a formal call to do this. Seek employment outside of the US, or in a new city or area where the church is small. Put in roots and get to work. We are already supposed to have sharing the gospel and uplifting the saints as our goal anyway.
I’m not sure its just a marriage to lucrative careers. I think it is hard to do the family mission thing given the economic realities of our economies. I suspect even among Evangelicals there are limits on what kind of families and their jobs allow missionaries. My experience is that those who’ve gone on missions for Evangelicals tend to go on a lot of them. The Protestant view of pastorialship being a job really provides more opportunities for them in certain ways. The closest equivalent for us is CES instructors.
Even the prophets and missionaries of the Book of Mormon “labored with their own hands” so it’s possible for people with full-time jobs to do member-missionary work, especially if they don’t have children at home.
Given Elder Bednar’s talk at the last conference (Oct 2005), “Every member a missionary at all times and in all places”, there’s no reason why someone can’t hold a full-time job, or be a full-time student, and consider themselves on a mission.
I wish more people could think outside of the box like Another Julie and Amira.
Too many members are strait-jacketed in their thinking that “church work” can only be done if/when: 1) you have a specific calling for that task, and 2) you do it only in the way that everyone else does it.
I offered a member in another stake a Chinese Book of Mormon because he said he liked to go to Chinese restaurants. The first thing he said was: “I’ll give this to the missionaries.” I was frustrated, because I thought it was HIS job to FIND people for his ward’s missionaries to teach.
Opportunities for finding people and planting seeds abound. Every time you’re in line at a store or gas station. Every time you go out to eat. Every time you have an opportunity to engage in conversation while in public.
Every place you go you have an opportunity to talk to the cashier, or the person who is waiting on you: grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, the pizza delivery person, shoe stores, dry cleaners, drug store, department store. Literally EVERYWHERE. Granted, not every outing will result in a contact. If you are out and about during peak times, the cashiers/clerks will be busy and won’t have time for chit-chat. But if you’re in a situation where there are no other customers in line, people don’t mind talking. And, if it is busy, and the line is long, you have more opportunity for talking to other customers in line.
John Mansfield, I really like your comment.
I appreciate the comments. I know that this wouldn’t even be a viable option for most families, but I can’t think of any other way to get experienced families to very isolated branches. I guess couples are the best option for now. I just wish more of them could learn the language.
Amira,
Can we switch places? You and your husband have a background in Arabic and are living in a Russian-speaking country, while my husband and I have a background in Russian and are living in an Arabic-speaking country!
Seriously, though, this is a good discussion. Many of the LDS expats here choose to come (or stay) because they view the experience as an unofficial mission of sorts. But like you said, all of them are in the big cities.
I’d love to chat with you about your experiences–my email is oceancrew at yahoo dot com.