https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865691424/LDS-Church-plans-to-decrease-missions-utilize-tech-savviness-to-locate-religious-minded-people.html


The LDS Church announced plans Friday, Oct. 20, to trim its number of missions, to replace the use of tablets in missions with smartphones and to increase the use of technology to help find people interested in religion. This will impact missionaries across the globe, including those receiving instruction at the Provo Missionary Training Center, above.

Using high tech to find people who are low tech...

Exactly my thought.

They also released a new set of questions about the missionary's mental health. It's no secret they have large number of people coming back home cause of anxiety and depression.

So....how do you go from a missionary with a smartphone to a person who typed a query into Google? Technology? What technology?

I have an elderly relative who was reasonably high in the church.

Long ago he told me, and this was within the range of his competence, that the reason the church tried the 18 month missions for men was because there was not enough interest around the world to sustain all the young missionaries for two years. 18 months would reduce the size of the mission force and ensure that missionaries had better experiences and faced less rejection. The problem that later materialized was that missionaries are most effective in their last several months, so the church went back to two years.

The same relative told me that Hinckley's "raising the bar" was another attempt to shrink the missionary force so that the supply of missionaries was closer to the level of demand. My relative regretted that decision because he thought that people who had made big mistakes earlier in life often made the best missionaries. But the higher "bar" was again an attempt to deal with oversupply.

What you describe here would, if it plays out, be the same sort of policy. I'm told that a lot of missionaries today spend too much time sitting around with nothing to do. Shrinking the missionary force and relying more on electronic media would make sense given that there aren't enough people around the world who want to know about Mormonism to keep the present workforce busy.

The next question, though, is how exactly the church is going to reduce their missionary numbers. We were all taught that missions are critical to salvation (thanks, Spence) or at least prominence in the church, so it may be hard to deny aspiring youngsters the chance. And we know that kids who go directly from high school to college without the intervening two-year indoctrination process often drift away.

This may well be a lose-lose proposition for the church.

Lot's Wife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm told that a lot of
> missionaries today spend too much time sitting
> around with nothing to do.

I run into the mishies at our local library on a regular basis. They're not only there on p-day, but on Saturdays as well.

I always say hello. They always ask if I'm interested in the church (when they're new and don't know me). I always let them know I'm an RM and an ex-mo and have zero interest.

And even after they know that, *every single time* I see them they ask me -- no, plead with me -- if I have some work around the property they can do. Anything. Pick oranges, pull weeds, move stuff, ANYTHING! They're so desperate for something to do it's sad.

I've only taken 'em up on it once, had 'em come over and do some minor mowing, then fed 'em a big hearty bbq lunch of burgers & dogs. But now and then I'll let somebody in town who needs some young manly help to get in touch with 'em. They love it, even though nobody converts, 'cause they're not sitting around with nothing to do.

>The next question, though, is how exactly the church is going to reduce their missionary numbers. We were all taught that missions are critical to salvation (thanks, Spence) or at least prominence in the church, so it may be hard to deny aspiring youngsters the chance. And we know that kids who go directly from high school to college without the intervening two-year indoctrination process often drift away.

Wait for TSCC to announce the establishment of a new type of service mission for young adults - cleaning temples, wardhouses, and other church properties. This absorbs the surplus missionaries and gets the Corporation more free labor.

anything to make them "productive" to the corporation ... things a lot of senior "missionaries" do already

How are they going to do this? Look up blogs on religious matters and take a chance on which ones are serious? Snoop on people's Facebook pages? You can meet nuts on the internet too. If people find out about this,they'll be all kinds of people just wanting to play jokes at the missionaries expense or having them set up tone robbed orkilled

During my mission to CA, Los Angeles in 92-93, we would go on splits a lot with members. My first companion was a party animal and she fudged stats every month. She'd go hang out at a inactive member's home, sit by their pool and chill.

(sigh) Fudging stats! Sometimes the competition was fierce, trying to fudge a lot, but not too much... Oh, the memories!

It's the basic function of a mission, for all involved: looking good on paper!

I never, ever fudged stats on my mission!*











* the above statement is fudged

I was ill with the flu. We didn't go out for 3 days. We had zero interactions with investigators/contacts. Then my companion got sick as I began to recover. My companion went down for 4 days. We actually stayed home on Sunday and everyone (other missionaries with church vehicles) was happy that they didn't have to waste their miles to pick us up for church and take us back to our apartment. During Sunday evening, the ZL called me up to complain that I hadn't called in the the weekly stats. I reminded him that we hadn't been out the entire week. I actually told him that an amoeba understands the concept of zero, so why don't zone leaders get it (I had a long standing feud with this dweeb). He became so angry that he started making up stats. He kept pleading, "C'mon Goop. You live across the street from the town's main grocery store. You must have talked to someone when you went to buy food and medicines. I'm going to put you down for a fisrt discussion for every day. And you probably mentioned the savior's atonement a couple of times to all those checkers. So I'm going to add those in as well, but I will make a note that they're undecided about baptisms."

I became frustrated with the ZL and told him. "I am hanging up the phone now. What you're doing is not truthful, but I guess you're okay with it." Click, I hanged up on him.

lol

"...increase the use of technology to help find people interested in religion."

Liars!!

Interested in getting future TITHE PAYERS.

"‘How can I find peace in my life?’ or ‘Is there a God?’ There tends to be a pattern for people who are asking,” Crittenden said. “In a world of 7.4 billion people, many online are involved in that search. They look at the same kinds of websites and seek the same kind of information. And it’s possible for us then, because they’ve asked that question, to put content in front of them that might be of interest to them. We are able to reach those who are actually searching for the truth.”

Holy frikkin' crap--that's the biggest load I've read in a long time. TBM's who believe that really have had their brains washed, put in the rinse cycle, dried with a fabric softener sheet, folded and neatly put on a shelf with the other TBM's who are exactly like them.

I love watching the MormonCult try this and that and that and this to attempt to fool the members into thinking that this is where the trouble lies....not in the message.

Okay, first: How can I find peace in my life? I know! I know! read a good book and go to bed! Especially on the weekend!

Second: what they apparently are *not* going to do: decrease the expectation for every LDS boy and girl to give up two of the most defining years of their lives to try to recruit more members to an institution that promises so much with no evidence, just warm feelings.

Technology is just an excuse to downsize without the appearance of failure. The mission is now a joke. Most of the kids don't really want to go in the first place and then when they get there they find they have nothing to do except for be celibate and bored for the duration because the world is not interested and they are considered either a joke or an annoyance. The only time people want to see Mormon missionaries is in the new Mormon Porn.

So this new technology thingie is giving the old goats an opportunity to downsize while appearing to upgrade. Or, their usual M.O. in other words.

I was thinking along the same lines. Also, too many MP's have promised way too many blessings of success, when the reality is that people can look up the Mormon hoopla for themselves. Both the world and missionaries have become wiser than when I served 25 years ago. The church and its leaders not so much.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2017 03:56PM by messygoop.

Does anyone else think that the church has wanted to return to their previous missionary total of 50,000?

It must be a huge drain on their dwindling dividends.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2017 04:01PM by messygoop.

Large corporations often put out news releases on Friday's when they don't have good news to report. The hope is that the news will get buried over the weekend with something new. My guess is that LD$ Inc. does not want TBMs to think the missionary program is shrinking.

Most U.S. based missionaries spend most of their time doing service projects to keep busy. My two state bound nephews were in rural areas helping TBMs on their farms. Neither had a baptism in two years.

Missions are a net loss for the cult. Mission President's salary (and other perks like free BYU for MP's offspring), staff salaries, and rents all take a huge toll. Factor in that the missionaries are not producing the number of new converts to offset the costs so it seems natural to downsize. This will only lead to a slow, steady shrinkage of the cult. The mormon moment has passed and now they are just trying to shore up what remains of their dwindling organization.

Maybe it's a function of what you're pointing out, the financial losses?

If they bail on 1st world countries, with all their 1st world expenses, then the monthly money they collect from/for each missionary will cover more of the church's expenses. Better to be renting apartments in Mozambique, compared to Tokyo or Los Angeles.

I'm waiting for them to start calling mission leaders who live in the particular mission and then just having a little office space where the MP can do interviews and store whatever records they have to preserve, and the dart board they use to assign companions.

Fewer missions=fewer mission homes=fewer mission president families to support=less money out the door.

Is the TSCC cutting back, or are kids nowadays refusing to go?

Is TSCC saying they quit when they were really fired?

Those who have swallowed mo'ism, hook, line & sinker, are still eager to go. My daughter showed me a post she'd 'liked' on her Fakebook wall, from her youngest son. It's a meme, where you plug in your serious-face Sunday photo (suit & tie) and under your photo it reads (something like):

"I have a particular set of skills, so I will search for you, I will find you, I will teach you and I will baptize you!"

So sure, there are lots of kids who aren't going, but there still are lots of kids who go, willingly, or just to keep the peace. I'd like to think that those who go just to keep the peace have read stuff online (that I and those like me have written) so that they know they can get away with a whole lot of shit. With many people, you can jail the body, but you can't jail the soul. (Of coursed only free men utter this tripe.)

think this is just a head fake by the church? Declining missionary force because nobody wants to go? Presto-Chango "We have consulted with God and through his divine guidance and direction have decided to reduce the number of missions."

Smartphones are cheaper than tablets. The brethren can skim more off the top for malls or whatever.

Supply is coming in from volunteers that are apparently dropping off; the "missionary surge" is over and they are losing teens who have access to technology at younger ages and thus more access to the truth about the lies of Joseph Smith. They are also more likely to be sympathetic to LGBTQ issues and thus more critical of LDS, Inc and their hardline stance.

It is like the coal industry saying they are reducing shipments instead of admitting there is less demand for coal-fired electricity.

Smart phones instead of tablets? I don't get that; seems like most businesses are going the other direction. Cheaper?

@ Lot's Wife ( ) It is absolutely sicking how the church can play so easily with peoples lives, yeah even the very innocent, young and impressionable. How many young men and women have committed suicide in the name of "Not Worthy to Serve"? I hate the church leadership. Nothing less than seeing all of them rott in jail in a 3rd world country would be justice.

What is the real reason for sending kids on missions? Would you say it is to ensure that those RMs that stay active are really converted? Could the church have worked out that their loss rate of young people is reduced if they go in missions? Perhaps converting new members is just the secondary purpose?

I suspect that keeping 19 to 20 year olds away from dating for two years greatly increases the odds that they will get married to another member. Now the TSCC can play them against each other with guilt and encourage them to have as many children as possible to plant the field of more tithe payers.
Call it a mission, or whatever, just indoctrinate them for 2 years and keep them away from the other sex. Even if only 50% are retained they sustain their tithe revenues.
A "mission" is not a tough sell to young kids who have been attending time wasting meetings their entire lives. What is a little more time wasting to ensure you don't lose credit for all the time wasting previously done.

I'll bet the switch to smart phones is so that the mission president can keep track of the missionaries with those aps that identify their location to make sure they're not staying in their apartments all day long.

I think many missions are closing, especially in Europe, because the baptism rate is so low. Switzerland shut down because missionaries from the US were no longer issued the visas required to live in Switzerland.

More countries should practice, for the benefit of their citizens, this type of freedom from religion!

IIRC, Switzerland started to classify missionaries as employees, so missionaries have to follow the same rules that other immigrant workers follow.

I would bet this has more to do with money than anything else. Sending out kids has gotten too expensive. Members who buy into their perceived holy and altruistic explanations are simply idiots through and through.

The cult could have kids stay home and set them apart as stake missionaries, part-time assigned to a stake mission president. Every member a miss. This way they still get a labor force without the huge overhead costs.

Most of the many doors opened to us in Queensland in the goodldays were due to something the contacts referred to as "our charm."

I doubt that old-time feeling could ever compare to a ring from the Cult's proposed Tracting SmartFart Phone.

With such a lame new plan, young elders and eldresses can plan on spending their boring sentences on their asses.

One thing that stands out to me with these questions is how the cult is attempting to weed out any trouble beforehand....as in mental health issues, health issues, etc.

I believe the cult has been hit by the 18 year olds acting as well, 18 year old teens. Could be that the increase in these problems, the money it has caused the cult to spend, the amount of time to handle the problems has proven to be a HUGE HEADACHE AND MONEY ACHE for the cult.

What did they expect from these young people? The cult certainly did not do their research as to what 18 year olds developmentally look and act like. The cult, in my opinion, is guilty of nothing less than child abuse for their youth missionary program and this is a prime example of their treatment of youth.

We have many, many examples of companies (and be honest, this so-called 'religion' is nothing but a company) that are failing, try and re-brand their product to no avail.

Sometimes, if the product sucks like the recent Soylent examples, they will change the formulation. Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't (new coke). In the case of the LDS church, they can only do so much before their product turns into something completely different. They've painted themselves into a corner and now they're stuck.

Heinous Anus cookies would sell better than Joseph's Myth.

So who pays for the smart phones? Do the missionaries bring their own? They're not cheap and phone plans aren't either unless LDS,Inc. has a special rate for missionaries. Is LDS, Inc. thinking of buying T-Mobile or Sprint?

As a missionary I'd have my own, or a second phone minus church apps, so I could play Candy Crush, call my significant other, phone the parents, or just watch Netflix. Who knows, there might be some educational flicks available to earn credit during those mostly wasted two years!

The questions about mental and physical health did not surprise me given recent stories we've heard about missionaries returning home early due to various issues.

What did surprise me was the phrase about missionaries looking for people who are "interested in religion." That implies that the numbers of people who are not interested in religion are increasing. It seems to me that Mormon missionaries used to mainly rely on converting fellow Christians. But interest in Christianity is declining in the first world, making the missionaries' job that much tougher.

Mental health questions were asked for years. Missionaries lie if they are happy to get away from a highly dysfunctional home. I had a companion who was raped repeatedly by her father for years, had to walk to school in the snow with no boots, starved and was bi-polar. None of the sister missionaries wanted anything to do with her. I called the mission home and told the MP her story. He had no idea. She got therapy for the rest of her mission. I went home before she did, but heard later she finished her mission honorably and got married once she got home.

Didn't Holland or Oaks insist there wasn't a temporary surge and go on to claim they would have 100,000 missionaries by now? Wasn't that the reason for the recent expansion of the MTC in Provo?

bing to the O

I had forgotten that 100,000 number, but yes, I do now remember that number being thrown around!

LOL

"The LDS Church expects to have more missionaries than ever in its global proselytizing force by 2019, according to a top Mormon leader.
"We're projecting out probably within four years," apostle Jeffrey R. Holland told a radio interviewer, "the base-line number for the missionary force will be something around 100,000."

"Those that are interested in religion"
What happened to spreading the word of the True and Restored Gospel?
So, a slight shift in the mission statement, with a caveat of using smart phones to accomplish the goal. What you wanna bet, the kids will probably have to buy those from the church at reduced cost of course.
So, now the TSSC is going to be telemarketing using it's youth in a call center

Ummmm....I think we’ve won!

:)

I think people often don't get how insanely disproportionate the Mormon missionary effort really is. And now, it has also reached the limits of its effectiveness. Time to re-think the MLM-strategy that the Church has employed for the past 50 years.

http://www.mormonism101.com/2017/10/the-disproportionate-mormon-missionary.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2017 09:19AM by rt.

I guess Joseph Smith's statement in the Wentworth letter is meaningless now. You know, "The standard of truth has been erected...go forth nobly...penetrate every continent...sound in every ear, etc."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2017 11:43PM by Gd.

LET THE Morg. IMPLOSION BEGIN !!!!!!!!

I think the first major blow will be when a Temple is closed and they will spin it like they always do.

The local Channel 4 news reported on the changes in the missionary rules - the new questions, the new emphasis on technology - and completely ignored the fact that there were going to be missions closures. This was on either the 5:00 or 10:00 - I can't remember which but I was watching to see if they said how many or which missions were slated to close and they ignored it completely. And this isn't even the Mormon-owned channel.

I think one of the reasons for all the questions is that many more missionaries are leaving early for reasons like anxiety and depression - something you didn't see 20 plus years ago when I was a missionary. Going home was a cause of shame for you and your family for any reason. I wonder if the church isn't worried that being allowed to go home early is becoming accepted and will cause more missionaries to leave early - not to mention the missionaries who don't stay out long enough must cost the church more - airfare and MTC training, even if the church gets the missionaries to absorb most of the cost of their mission. I see this as a cost cutting measure, making sure they only allow missionaries to go who are worth the money - not as a serious concern for the mental health of their youth.

Businesses (and the church is a business) do not reduce their activities unless something isn't working for them the way things are. Can anyone imagine Bill Gates in the early 1980s, announcing that Microsoft is going to reduce their number of distributors and sales locations, in hopes to only sell their operating system to people who are already interested in computers?

The whole surge thing and sending out missionaries at an earlier age was a mistake. A part of the repair process is to better vet the missionaries, and to reduce volume while trying to figure out what went wrong. What went wrong is that they're running a cult, that can't adapt to changes in society. More use of technology isn't going to help in any meaningful way.