The title here is a bit provocative: I know why many people don’t do their home teaching (HT) and visiting teaching (VT). Anybody who has served in a leadership role in an adult priesthood or relief society quorum has heard all of the reasons: I’m too busy, I couldn’t reach my companion, the family wasn’t home, etc. Usually it’s just: I couldn’t get around to it.
All of this makes me thinks that when it comes to HT and VT we Latter-day Saints are becoming like Catholics.
What I mean by this is that there is a huge disconnect between what everybody in the leadership says (“you should do your home teaching”) and what the members actually do (“I couldn’t get around to it”). I mean, it seems like we get lectures in priesthood meetings at least once a month on the importance of home teaching, but yet it still doesn’t get done. I can tell you that on a stake level this is a huge issue — members on the high council sit around a lot pondering how to get members to do their HT and VT. And, yes, at least in my stake, the stake leaders actually do their home teaching (I know you were wondering).
Of course in the Catholic church, you’ve got leadership preaching against birth control and of course very few people pay any attention. You’ve got priests and nuns who can’t get married, and every Catholic I know says that’s a very bad idea and it should be changed. Yet, there is no movement to change basic Catholic doctrine.
Of course there are lots of things the LDS Church says you should do, yet members don’t follow the guidance. You should go to the temple regularly — people don’t do it. Not to mention other areas, such as chastity and the word of wisdom. But, in my experience, active members have fewer problems going to the temple (if it is nearby and convenient) and keeping the laws of chastity and WoW than they do with home teaching and visiting teaching. I don’t know what it is about HT and VT — members just don’t seem to like to do it.
I will admit that my ward is special in this regard. Those of you who live in Utah and can walk from house to house doing your HT and VT don’t know how good you have it. My ward in Miami is 80 miles long and 15 miles wide. With traffic, it could easily take you two hours to drive from one end to the other. Luckily, my home teaching families are all within 15 minutes of my house. But we do have members who have to drive a half-hour to do their home teaching.
So, is our experience down here unique: are people doing their HT and VT elsewhere? If not, what is it about HT and VT that makes it difficult for people to fulfill their duties? Any suggestions for us down in 20 percent home teaching land?