Pie in the sky dream # 1: Restructuring The Mission Program

[_Mercury]

Heres the thing...if the LDS church is a business then better management decisions would certainly be an effective way at turning around a very bad ten years.

The internet is here to stay and what better method of improving the dismal view of Mormonism in the US than a guerrilla marketing campaign.

The time when mission work was geographically based is over. The approach of mission/zone/district/area separation has outlived its usefulness. Model it after the Peace Corps (but without Masters degrees) and provide service to the third world. Turn the MTC into even more of an extension of BYU and bring in educators to enlighten the missionary in areas other than Mormonism. Impementation and enforcement of educational limitations for certain specialties and become a real "army of god".

In short, mobilize Mormonism and start making good on the bull they have been slinging for over 50 years.

PS: this plan would fail.

[_Boaz & Lidia]

At the end of the day, LDS Inc will find the new members that they will retain best will be found in the same places that other religions find their best retained members, from the wombs of its believing females.

For LDS Inc this is a problem as grow is slowing not only on the new member baptisms but women are choosing to have fewer children.

[_karl61]

They should pattern it on that different levels thingy - You get your Book of Mormon and PGP way later on in life - kids, teenagers and young adults just get an easy to read Bible and stay there until they are 50. Any mind games with missionary service, the temple endowment and so on should be at an age and location where you can have easy access to alcohol and heroin.

[_Some Schmo]

They should just scrap the missionary program altogether.

If they really wanted to grow the church, they'd make it enjoyable. Increase the membership base by attraction rather than promotion. From what I remember, church was boring as hell. The best time of the week was always the moment I walked through the door coming home from church, because that was the longest possible time until I had to go back.

I've often thought if I were ever to go back to church, it's be to one of those black southern churches with the band and the killer female singers. I mean, from TV and movies, those church meetings always looked really appealing to me, like a rock concert. Everyone's standing up, dancing and clapping... it's like a party. If church were fun, I could see going for the entertainment, but never under the pretense that I believed anything they said.

Meh... I couldn't even be bothered to do that. I'll stick to my own religion, the New Found Light ™ (the NFL).

[_Mercury]

At the end of the day, LDS Inc will find the new members that they will retain best will be found in the same places that other religions find their best retained members, from the wombs of its believing females.

For LDS Inc this is a problem as grow is slowing not only on the new member baptisms but women are choosing to have fewer children.

Looks like that reality based approach is starting to sink in. If the Mormon corporation is promoting the idea of conformity to what is thought of as mainstream why can't the members as well conform to modern thinking in areas such as parenting practices?

this is another point I would like to make, is growth in times of decline. As we dip deeper into a time of recession the Mormon church has an opportunity to establish outreach centers in urban areas of decline. If they recalled five missionaries in suburban areas and pooled the cash spent housing and feeding them they could send two companionships, one in an RV and another in a "mission house", feeding and providing employment services to the needy.

Its time they started being compassionate instead of greedy sonsabitches.

[_Mercury]

They should pattern it on that different levels thingy - You get your Book of Mormon and PGP way later on in life - kids, teenagers and young adults just get an easy to read Bible and stay there until they are 50. Any mind games with missionary service, the temple endowment and so on should be at an age and location where you can have easy access to alcohol and heroin.

So make it like a REAL secret society?

Why am I reminded of the Hashishin in your reply?

[_Mercury]

They should just scrap the missionary program altogether.

If they really wanted to grow the church, they'd make it enjoyable. Increase the membership base by attraction rather than promotion. From what I remember, church was boring as hell. The best time of the week was always the moment I walked through the door coming home from church, because that was the longest possible time until I had to go back.

I've often thought if I were ever to go back to church, it's be to one of those black southern churches with the band and the killer female singers. I mean, from TV and movies, those church meetings always looked really appealing to me, like a rock concert. Everyone's standing up, dancing and clapping... it's like a party. If church were fun, I could see going for the entertainment, but never under the pretense that I believed anything they said.

Meh... I couldn't even be bothered to do that. I'll stick to my own religion, the New Found Light ™ (the NFL).

My interpretation of sundays as a child were of a boring morning or afternoon where I wore ill fitting clothes and had to learn the same thing over and over again, sing the same songs and promise to do the same old things over and over again. It was the monotonous repetition that killed me. Eventually I just started bringing Heinlein spliced into my triple.