I was reading Stucks post about tying money to the church budgets according to the percentage of HT. What this has to do in relation to each other I don't know. I still believe the RICH wards will get more money than the POOR wards if that is the case. I think it's an excuse for MORE MONEY to be kept centrally to pay for that fiasco in downtown Salt Lake, ie. The Mall (if it's true)

Anywhoo...

In church today we were told there would be NO more LETTER ROUTES. I guess because of the number of less-actives they were sending letters out to the ones that weren't showing. NO MORE. Instead, they are going to greatly expand our current routes.

So where we had like 3 or 4 families to visit, we will have 10 to 15....

which, now that I think about it is pretty clever, because the percentages will go down, thus causing LESS money to be sent to our ward, if Stuck's EQ President is correct.

Ya know, you now get 2 out of 4 maybe, now it will be 3 out of 15. I figure they will get the same percentage from me as they do every month...0%, as I have never seen the PURPOSE of hometeaching other than assigning friends to people who would be there if they really wanted to be friends.

dogshit. You are teaching the people who already go to church. It doesn't benefit them at all. The people who "need" hometeaching know that they don't "need" hometeaching.

Whoever came up with the program was an idiot. And that TSCC stands by it, isn't a surprise because I swear that their motto at this point is, "if it isn't broke, then we aren't going to use it."

They decided that we had to visit every single family, including those on the 'Bishops List', which meant that I had to assign everyone up to 15 families. And the Stake actually expected us to visit them all.Regularly.

One Priesthood meeting someone stood up and said there's no way we can do all these, we just can't. Someone else said they were overwhelmed. And I told them, I know, I can't do it either.

I decided that we would go out and only visit people we did not know and then if they balked, we'd clear them off our lists. I told the Bishop that it was an impossible task, and I was upbraided for not having enough faith or influence. Yeah, definitely my fault.

Anyway, like a half dozen failed Missionary experiments this too failed and was cast aside.

Everybody hates doing it, and everybody hates receiving it. Great evidence that the church is NOT lead by god or Jesus. I hated home teaching. Hated. Did I mention that I HATED home teaching.

And I HATED-HATED-HATED visiting teaching. Very seldom went. One time it was pretty fun. A mom of 10-very self righteous with dentist husband and her own business. She spent an hour telling us what a jerk her husband was. Yelling at us,while her kids walked in and out of the room. Next week at church,there she is all snuggled up with dh and the 7 kids still at home.Once her kids leave home they never come back. Woman doesn't get it.

I did not visit teach once. NOT one time. I finally just told the RS lady in charge of VT in one ward outright, "Look, I don't visit teach so I would feel bad if you assigned me women who are only going to be neglected." That didn't go over well, but I didn't care.

It's just awkward. I've moved, let's see... 6 times in my eleven years of marriage. I would never know any of the sisters on my list. Most of the time, I would be assigned sisters who didn't come. Clue #1: If they aren't coming, it's because they don't want to be there!

As a child, I liked exactly one of our HTs. I can tell you that when it was announced in my home that the HTs were coming it was groans all around, including the parents.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2011 12:24AM by Queen of Denial.

I think historically, HT was used as a method to spy on members to see which ones were following the dictatorial mandates of Brigham Young and others. If the members were starting to do or speak apostate anything they were watched more closely.

If they we not living up the the temple covenants...guess what? They had their throats slit and property confiscated such as happen to the Parrish family. Members spying on members, was intrinsically what it was really all about.

& leadership meetings are nothing more than gossip sessions with dessert.

Primus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was reading Stucks post about tying money to the
> church budgets according to the percentage of HT.
> What this has to do in relation to each other I
> don't know. I still believe the RICH wards will
> get more money than the POOR wards if that is the
> case. I think it's an excuse for MORE MONEY to be
> kept centrally to pay for that fiasco in downtown
> Salt Lake, ie. The Mall (if it's true)

I totally agree. 'Rich' wards are far more active in general, & they also tend to shun 'poorer' wards as well.

since the other thread on hometeaching being tied to ward budget is closed, i will respond to this similar thread.

A week or so before Christmas, it was reported to us in ward council that the church is going to a new system of doling out ward budget funds. We were told that the money would be doled out to the ward on a quarterly basis (as opposed to a lump sum for the whole year received in January of every year) and would be tied to the quarterly report that the ward clerk is supposed to have turned in by the 15th of January, April, July and October. Nothing about the amount of the funds being tied directly or specifically to hometeaching percentages was mentioned. I am not saying the original poster was wrong, but that EQP that reported that could have been inferring that the amount of money would be tied to the report. On the other hand, I may not have been told the whole story yet either. I will find out in the next few weeks.

So I guess this is another confirmation that the way funds are being doled out is changing, I just don't know the particulars quite yet. I will post once I know for sure.

If wards are going to suffer financially if their HT & VT numbers are low perhaps it will encourage them to increase removal of inactives.
There are two ways to increase your visit percentage.
1. Do more visits
2. Reduce the number of people requiring a visit

The Wards that are prepared to be 'creative' will be the ones getting the dosh!

Budgets are based upon attendance. Moving to a system based on HT/VT percentages would not work well.

I had only one family assigned to me during my last days as an active mormon. There was a new EQP assigned, and in his infinite wisdom and zeal, he wanted to fix that.... (hello! you think that was an oversight? Maybe there was a reason?!) So, he gives me three more families.

"Cool, I say. You can assign me as many as you want. I'm not going to visit them."

"Huh?"

"I said, you can assign me as many families as you want. I'm not going to visit them."

So, no more families for me! And he had that "oh, crap, what am I going to do now?" look on his face.

Some of my most treasured moments as a mormon was seeing the reaction of leaders after I told them "no." Most were shocked.... though one guy thanked me for my honesty, and replied that most just say "yes," and then not do it.

But then don't feel an OBLIGATION to provide funds to run those ward organizations? When the members contribute AMPLY for wards to be self-sufficient?

When I was in the RS presidency, probably 15 years ago, we had an shoestring budget (I believe it was in the neighborhood of 600-800 dollars a year but it has been so long that I cant' accurately remember . . . anybody else got a more current amount)?

We were supposed to put on a homemaking meeting EVERY month for all the women in a very active Utah ward. And that often was to include a dinner, classes, and childcare. It wasn't easy, and we often ran out of food because we were cutting it so close. Frankly, it was maddening to me. Plus that had to pay for anything ELSE the RS did (service projects, or whatever).

The church should have plenty of money, and if they don't it's because of mismanagement or abuse of funds.

I don't know if this thing about the link between funds and VT/HT is legit, but if it is, it just further demonstrates how the church operates: work members to the bone, demand unnecessary sacrifice, provide VERY little in return, and NO ACCOUNTABILITY for its use of funds.

from HT and VT --- it was so redundant and unnecessary. Good Grief, most of us that did those routes were at church two and three times a week and saw our HT and VT anyhow. And most of us all ready had the messages -- either gave them ourselves, or read them.

At one time, I told the RS presy that I did not need to impose on anyone's time -- no need for VT to make appointments and come to my home. I see them regularly, if I need anything, have an emergency, I know who to call.

That worked for a few years. Then one new RS pres asked if I would accept a VT. When the person came and sat in my living room and read the VT message, I told her, I could read it, had read it, and it was not necessary to READ it TO me!
She was offended! LOL
I guess I was not cut out to be a VT drone!

If they wanted to meet for a walk or lunch, OK. I was up for that.


I do think a HT or VT route is good for Emergencies though.
But that's about it.

I told my bishop three years ago I would no longer H.T. After fifty years, I consider it a failed program. He thanked me for my service. For two years, no problem. This year a letter comes assigning me three families and asking for me to report by the end of the month. Three days later the HP group leader actually called. I told him I would not H.T. I thought it strange after two years that no one talked to me about it. He was speechless, but finally said "fine."

Home teaching is fine as long as you make it a social visit. I refuse to give a canned lesson or have my home teacher do the same. Uggg!

Home teaching and VTing are NOT fine.

You can't just impose "social visits" on busy people either.

Also, there is no way 10-15 families can be visited in 4 weekends, unless you require no personal time at all.

People have jobs, they often have to commute, and they need some time off to spend with their OWN families.

The old geezers in SLC need to be told to stuff it.
There is just no end to their unrealistic demands.