Thoughts on giving emphasis to the work of salvation in our stake

1 April 2019

Bishops and Branch Presidents,

The first paragraph of Handbook 2, Chapter 5 reads:

"Members of the Church of Jesus Christ are sent forth 'to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men' (Doctrine and Covenants 138:56). This work of salvation includes member missionary work, convert retention, activation of less-active members, temple and family history work, and teaching the gospel. The bishopric directs this work in the ward, assisted by other members of the ward council.”

I have felt a desire for our stake to find ways for more members—not just leaders—to become engaged in the Lord’s work of salvation, as described in Chapter 5. Furthermore, I have felt the Brethren are trying to focus us on two of the key areas of this work: (1) member missionary work and (2) temple and family history work.

Attached are several documents that may help that happen in your ward or branch:

• A 6-page letter that was delivered today by High Councilors to your Elders Quorum and Relief Society presidents;

• A 2-page list of ideas on how to help more members become engaged in member missionary work;

• A 1-page list of ideas on how to help more members become engaged in temple and family history work.

These are NOT directives, but helps on how elders quorum presidencies, with the assistance of Relief Society presidencies, can more effectively fulfill their new responsibility, delegated by you, to take the lead in the ward or branch efforts in (1) member missionary work, and (2) temple and family history work.

Thank you for giving this your consideration as you discuss this as a ward council. Feel free to share this with your ward or branch council.

President Lewis and the Stake Presidency

A Letter to Relief Society & Elders Quorum Presidents

Dear…Presidents Newell and Hansen (D), Presidents Richards and Bevers (E),

            Presidents Glazier and Ellinger (MH-YSA), Presidents Brown and Araya (P),

            Presidents Paxson and Krein (PV), Presidents Smith and Hokanson (SR),

            Presidents Howes and Stephenson (TC), and Presidents Hall and Ricker (WH)…

Thank you for the outstanding work all of you are doing to embrace the many changes we’ve seen in the past 12 months and for shouldering so much new responsibility as Relief Society (RS) and Elders Quorum (EQ) presidents.

This is going to be a little different message than what you normally receive from me. I’m going to share with you more background than I normally do, even some personal feelings. I hope you’ll find it helpful.

FEEL NO OBLIGATION

Before I say any more, let me establish at the outset that even though I’m sharing this with you as your stake president, I DO NOT WANT YOU TO FEEL OBLIGATED to implement what I’m about to tell you. If it resonates with you, then run with it. If it’s too ambitious, please know I won’t be offended if you choose otherwise.

Each of us is seeking the Lord’s will in our callings and I believe there can be multiple approaches to moving forward His work within the guidance we’ve received.

ARE THE BRETHREN TRYING TO FOCUS US?

Over the past six months, I have felt a desire for us to focus our efforts in two key areas of the work of salvation—for several reasons:

·      President Nelson declares often that we are “to help gather Israel on both sides of the veil.”

·      On October 6, 2018, in what I consider a landmark announcement, the Brethren issued a policy authorizing the bishop to delegate responsibility to the elders quorum president for missionary work and temple and family history work.

·      In that same announcement, the elders quorum president was authorized to delegate those assignments to his counselors and for the Relief Society to “follow the pattern of the elders quorum,” with counselors assigned to the same areas.

All of this said to me the Brethren want us to focus on those two key areas of the work of salvation: (1) member missionary work and (2) temple and family history work.

WRESTLING WITH QUESTIONS

As background, I confess that for the past six months I have wrestled with how do we effectively implement the many policy changes coming from the Brethren and keep a focus on the work of salvation as directed in Handbook 2, chapter 5?

For instance:

·      How do we raise the stature of your counselors to feel the full weight of their new responsibility and authority, if delegated by those holding priesthood keys—the bishop and elders quorum president?

·      How do we help more sisters take a leadership role in these two key areas, which in the past have been considered solely priesthood duties?

·      How do we help more members feel engaged, even assume a level of ownership, of these two key areas of the work of salvation?

·      How do we raise the stature of the “new” ward temple and family history leader as well as the ward mission leader—the latter possibly feeling he’s been  “demoted” when he was removed as a permanent member of the ward council?

·      How do we make committees that many of you have already created effective and sustainable so they lighten the load on your presidencies, just as the ward councils have lifted a load from the bishoprics so they can focus on the youth?

These questions, and more, were answered in my mind while watching the RootsTech 2019 Leadership Training broadcast on February 28 with Elders Bednar, Renlund and Stevenson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

As you’ll recall they clarified, with more specifics than we’d seen before, how temple and family history work should be organized at the ward level. During that presentation, answers to my questions above came clearly to my mind as to how wards can focus on those two elements of the work of salvation so more members, possibly the entire ward, can become more engaged in one or both areas.

I immediately drafted what I saw in my mind and put it into the 4-page document, titled “Our Emphasis in the Work of Salvation,” which was delivered to you on March 3.

You likely noticed that I made a few deviations to what we saw in the Feb. 28 leadership presentation, which Elder Renlund suggested may be appropriate to do.

DEVIATIONS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

There were three major deviations that I felt would help us move forward the work even more effectively in our stake:

·      TWO WARD COMMITTEES: Under your direction and with the approval of the bishop and ward council, the elders quorum and the Relief Society would create a Ward Temple Family History Committee and a Ward Missionary Committee, each with members—possibly many members—from the Relief Society, the elders quorum and, with approval from the bishopric and parents, youth in the Young Men and Young Women programs.

·      COUNSELORS LEAD THE COMMITTEES: Both committees would be presided over by the elders quorum counselor (assisted by the Relief Society counselor), who would also conduct the committee meetings. The ward council would task both committees to develop a proposed ward plan consisting of no more than two or three targets or goals to accomplish that year.

·      IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN: The ward mission leader and the ward temple and family history leader would not oversee the committees nor conduct the committee meetings, but assume a role similar to an “executive director” to guide the implementation of the committee’s plan. These two leaders also would be responsible for conducting the regular coordination meetings—(1) the ward temple and family history leader meeting regularly with the ward temple and family history consultants and (2) the ward mission leader meeting weekly with the full-time and ward missionaries, as they do now.

How many would serve on these two committees? If it were practical, I wish every adult (and some youth) not in a major leadership calling would serve on one of these two committees so nearly every household is focused on one or both of these two areas of emphasis from the Brethren.

Of course, that’s not practical. But attached is a document describing how to make even a large committee effective in preparing and implementing a simple plan. Also attached are documents with ideas on how to involve members in both areas of emphasis that may be helpful in drafting or implementing each committee’s plan.

I realize this is ambitious. It goes beyond the guidance found in Handbook 2, chapter 5 (for instance, there is no reference to committees in the handbook). My hope is that it does not go beyond the spirit of the direction we’ve received from the Brethren and that it will be beneficial to you in your pondering and planning on how to fulfill your new responsibility (as delegated to you by the bishop or branch president) to oversee temple and family history work and member missionary work in your ward or branch.

President Lewis and the Stake Presidency

Making Even a Large Committee Effective

In 2018 when Melchizedek Priesthood holders were consolidated into one quorum and the Relief Society (RS) and Elders Quorum (EQ) began to coordinate ministering efforts, the creation of RS and EQ committees became a natural outgrowth.

Committees were encouraged because they: (1) help share the load of the RS and EQ presidencies; (2) allow more members to participate, even take ownership, in setting and meeting goals; (3) provide expanded opportunities for members to serve; and (4) give focus to the most important aspects of the work of salvation.

Committees can be effective and sustainable when they: (1) have a specific purpose or mission; (2) are led by those with authority; and (3) are accountable.

Therefore, the Mount Hood Stake Presidency makes the following recommendations with the hope that even more members will become engaged in the work of salvation (Handbook 2, Chapter 5) through a systematic approach to focusing our efforts.

TWO KEY COMMITTEES

If the Relief Society and Elders Quorum choose to organize committees, with approval of the bishop,we recommend that they give priority to creating two ward committees aligned with the two key elements of the work of salvation emphasized by the Brethren, namely Temple and Family History and Member Missionary. The committees would consist of members from the  Relief Society, elders quorum and, with the approval of the bishopric and parents, youth in the Young Men and Young Women.

We further recommend:

• Both committees be chaired by a counselor in the EQ presidency, assisted by a counselor in the RS presidency;

• The EQ counselor (assisted by the RS counselor) conducts regular committee meetings, maybe quarterly, and assign the ward temple and family history leader and ward mission leader to conduct the regular coordinating meetings as needed, preferably weekly for the missionary coordinating meeting, as they do now;

• The committee meetings are held at a time other than immediately after Sunday services and can be conducted in person or via teleconference (brief coordinating meetings may be held after Sunday services);
  
• The ward council, under the bishop’s direction, tasks the committees with: (1) creating a proposed ward (branch) plan and, once approved, (2) executing the plan.

COORDINATING MEETINGS

Using the approved plan as a guide and under the direction of the committee chair, the Ward Mission Leader (WML) and Ward Temple and Family History Leader (TFHL) should be    assigned to conduct more frequent coordinating meetings with a few key committee members, specifically ward and full-time missionaries with the WML; and ward temple and family history consultants with the TFHL.

HOW TO SIMPLIFY AND FOCUS A LARGE COMMITTEE

Involving as many members as possible in these two committees is a wonderful way to help more members take ownership of these two key areas of the work of salvation in the ward or branch. But a large committee also can be unwieldy and therefore ineffective.

Here is an idea on how to help a large committee to become effective:

• First, the committee drafts a plan, preferably a very simple plan with no more than two or  three targets or goals for the year;

• Second, they submit the plan to the bishop and ward council for approval;

• Once a plan is approved, they divide their committee into two or three smaller sub-committees each tasked with working on one element of the committee’s plan.

THE POWER OF SUB-COMMITTEES THAT MATCH THE PLAN

For instance, let’s say the Ward Missionary Committee comes up with the following Ward Mission Plan that is approved by the bishop and ward council:

1. Encourage all members to invite someone to quarterly Invitation Sundays in 2019.
2. Have a member participate in 80% of all lessons taught by the full-time missionaries.
3. Hold a quarterly activity for members to invite friends to attend with them.

Now that the Mission Plan is in place, the RS and EQ counselors organize two or three sub-committees—one for each of the three goals listed above.

For the theoretical Mission Plan above, for example, the sub-committees might be:

1. Invitation sub-committee
2. Lesson Support sub-committee
3. Activity sub-committee

The sub-committees would be tasked with creating their own, simple plan, such as:

1. Invitation sub-committee plan
1. Coordinate with the bishopric and then promote four Invitation Sundays in the year
2. Use the full-time and ward missionaries to encourage members and teach them how to invite their friends to attend worship services or an activity
3. Coordinate with the Activity sub-committee and encourage inviting friends to these events
   
2. Lesson Support sub-committee plan
1. Create a “pool” of members (especially ward missionaries) who are willing and able to attend missionary lessons and who could be called on fairly short notice at different times of the day
2. Teach members in this “pool” about their role as a member when attending a missionary lesson and how to help with the fellowshipping of the investigator

3. Activity sub-committee plan
1. Organize simple, maybe even small, gatherings—like a potluck in someone’s home—to which  members can invite friends to attend with them
2. Develop ideas for other organizations in the ward, like Primary or YMYW, on activities that are especially good for inviting friends to participate

Ideas for a Ward Temple and Family History Plan might include:

• Involving 10- and 11-year-old children in family history work
• Helping youth and new converts obtain limited-use recommends to attend the temple
• Encouraging members to enter 4 generations of their family tree on FamilySearch.org
• Inspiring members to attend the temple more often without establishing a quota
• Encouraging all members to download and use the Family Tree app

The sub-committees would meet as often as they feel is needed to accomplish their plan

Once sub-committees are functioning it means the overall committee only needs to meet occasionally (maybe quarterly or less). And committee meetings can be relatively brief—maybe as  brief as 30 minutes, long enough for each sub-committee to report progress on their part of the plan and to discuss any new directions or assignments the committee may want to consider.

In the end, working through these committees, the hope is that (1) we can involve more members than ever before in the work of salvation, (2) move forward the work with greater focus, and (3) yet not burden members with too many extra meetings.

Teaching the principle of giving support in the classroom to the independent learning at home

20 March 2019

Brethren,

My wife Vivienne teaches the Adult Sunday School class in our ward. Usually when I ask her about how her class went when I come home she responds with: “It went OK, but I wish I had remembered this” or “I wish I would have done such and such.”

Last Sunday I found her giddy with excitement about her SS class experience that day. It was no more “I wish…I hope…I forgot” (it was not about her), but about how the class took over the lesson. I encouraged her to share her feelings with the ward SS president. I found her email so compelling (I promise, I didn’t prompt or direct her) that I feel to share it with others—if I can make it so it doesn’t appear to be boasting, a set up or "Lewis conspiracy.” So I need your guidance on this, if approved at all.

The last time I introduced the subject of smaller classes to you, your reaction was pretty strong that the Adult SS classes are better than ever…that teachers are really catching the vision…the increased size of the class was enhancing the discussion. It was all about the quality of teaching and improvement in discussion, which is wonderful.

But ever since the Brethren introduced to us the principle that the Church is to become “Family Centered, Church Supported” my heart has turned from how to improve teaching to how to improve learning and deepen conversion.

Will you please review the attached 2-page document and give consideration to what I’m asking that we teach. 

I still want us to have the discussion on how do we become a “Church supporting” stake--more supportive of the independent learning at home. But when I heard that the Stake SS presidency was going to conduct a training meeting on April 4, I felt an urgency to address this one area of their calling and help guide the SS presidency to teach this principle, among other things, in their training.

I also wanted to get this to Paul before he leaves town so he can ponder it while traveling, if he chooses. 

I would appreciate you giving me your feedback, counsel, suggestions by this Saturday or sooner so we can approach the Stake SS presidency and give them plenty of time to respond before their training meeting. 

I was going to suggest we discuss this document in presidency meeting next Tuesday, but I have another matter that I will be sending you later this week that I would prefer we discuss in our meeting.

I appreciate you giving this your attention as soon as you can. This is not in stone so I welcome your thoughts.

Thanks,

Crismon

Supporting Home-Centered Learning in the Classroom

Dear Brethren,

We are gratified by the increased number of members who now come prepared to share during Sunday School what they’re learning at home. Adult Sunday School teachers report that class discussions have never been more vibrant and meaningful.

While class discussion is wonderful, it’s not our most important objective.

For us to fulfill the mandate to become “Home Centered and Church Supported,” we ask that we consider the scriptural instruction found in D&C 88:122:

“Appoint among yourselves a teacher, and let not all be spokesmen at once; but let one speak at a time and let all listen unto his sayings, that when all have spoken that every man may have an equal privilege.”

In other words, a very important objective is to help everyone participate in some way in the second-hour class to validate their independent learning at home and, in so doing, deepen their conversion (i.e., why we have a monthly Testimony Meeting). Participation may include sharing an insight learned at home, recounting a personal experience, reading a scripture, bearing testimony, offering the closing prayer, etc.

It is extremely difficult to accomplish this objective when classes are so large that there’s no way to involve everyone. Therefore, will you please consider creating multiple adult classes where possible so each class has a maximum of 15-20 students?

As the “Come, Follow Me” teacher’s manual states: “The essential purpose of gospel learning is to change lives.”

Please prayerfully ponder and counsel together on how classes in Sunday School can become more effective in helping to change the lives of all who attend.

A TEACHER’S EXPERIENCE: On the backside is a letter from an Adult Sunday School teacher, who earlier in March found her Sunday School class so large it was difficult for her to make eye contact with everyone. Afterwards, she asked the ward Sunday School president (with no prompting from her husband, the stake president) if ward leaders would consider dividing the class. It was discussed and approved by the ward council. Two weeks later she taught a much smaller class of 11 adults in the High Council room. On page 2 (or backside) is the email follow-up report she wrote to her Sunday School president.

A Teacher’s Experience in a Small Class

The following is an email from Sunday School teacher Vivienne Lewis to Walters Hill Ward Sunday School President Travis Brown about her experience in teaching a smaller class after their Adult Sunday School class was divided.

I thought I’d share my thoughts on how the first lesson went for me with the Adult Sunday School class being divided.

·      There was a more intimate feeling in the class. There was a powerful experience shared by Brother Williams that was a spiritual experience he had had in seeing Elder Neil L. Anderson in the SLC airport. He was emotionally touched as he shared, and I think that probably wouldn’t have happened in a classroom packed with other members. It seemed more appropriate to share in a small group.

·      I was so happy that finally everyone in my class participated in some way. Most shared their own insights or experiences, and a few that didn’t share their thoughts participated by reading scriptures. I noticed that some who typically don’t share in a large group, shared in this smaller class.

·      At the beginning of the class I was sitting on my stool at the front of the High Council room. Soon I had the feeling to just sit down in a chair with everyone else seated around the table. I had the feeling come over me that “this was their lesson” and not “Sister Lewis’ lesson.”

·      There were some really good insights that were shared, and good discussion. I couldn’t help sharing at the end of class that “I think this is what the Brethren want to happen in our Sunday School class each time.” I told them how I learned from them, and they really helped teach this lesson.

·      I received several comments afterwards from my class, and from members of the other class in the Relief Society room as I passed them in the hall, that they really liked dividing the class. It seemed to make it more comfortable for people to share, and not so intimidating to walk into a classroom that was so packed that it’s sometimes hard to find a seat.

·      As a teacher I loved the fact that I could look at and connect personally with each member of the class. I had a much better idea of who was not there, and I could reach out to them later by text, email, or other means.

Overall, as a teacher I loved the smaller class and the opportunities it opened up for others to be more willing to share.

Follow up letter to a couple who are struggling with their testimony due to concerns about Joseph Smith

Dear (Names of coupl)…

Thank you deeply for giving me so much of your time last night. I appreciated how you were very candid and open about your feelings, your concerns and your desires.

As I mentioned you are not alone. We live in day when there’s a growing amount of subtle (not murderous) persecution that has “filled the world with confusion” (D&C 123:7). Verse 12 describes it as a “subtle craftiness of men." I’m not suggesting you’re being deceived or possessed, but only offer a reminder that while questioning your faith is not inappropriate, it's risky making us vulnerable to outside influences. So know you’re not alone and we don’t judge you or look down on you. We only want to help you navigate the prickly journey you’ve chosen.

Fortunately, in anticipation of this day and every age when confusion has reigned, the Lord has given us ways to sort it all out—to determine absolute truths.

Luke 6:43-45 explains well that the fruit will consistently tell us about its tree and establishes that we’ll never find good fruit from a corrupt tree. It’s a law of nature. So that’s one way to determine truth.

Moroni declares the same thing, suggesting we can know truth by tasting water whether it came from a good or bad fountain (Moroni 7:11). Nature is a wonderful instructor.

In other words, we don’t have to accept others’ opinions or beliefs. We have the confidence from our God, who is full of integrity and does not vary yesterday, today or forever, that we can know truth for ourselves with absolute assurance.

Furthermore, Moroni cautions us not to “judge wrongfully” but we can judge something by determining if it “inviteth and enticeth to do good continually.” While I find it difficult to understand some of Joseph Smith’s actions (if, in fact, they turn out to be true actions…it’s hard to be absolutely certain of anything nearly 200 years later), in my opinion the body of his teachings excels in the test provided in Moroni 7:13-19.

I was impressed, Kyle, how concerned you are knowing you are on the “brink of an abyss” of doctrines and traditions found in every other faith and church on the planet today. While it’s frightening to me, too, I think Michelle was right when she said, “It’s not an abyss.” There are so many good people and beautiful faiths out there that I don’t think it would be classified as an abyss of knowledge, darkness or confusion. Frankly, there are MANY people who enjoy very happy and satisfying lives without the gospel of Jesus Christ as we know it. 

The problem, in my opinion, is what the Lord describes in 3 Nephi 27:11 “…they have joy in their works for a season” but it’s not permanent. Only a lasting, eternal joy is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Church where His authority can provide the ordinances and covenants that bind us to that promise of eternal and lasting joy.

I hope this is helpful as you walk this difficult, sometimes confusing path in trying to find out what’s real and not real, what’s true and not true, what’s certain and not certain. I hope you’ll allow us to walk that path with you and not turn away from those who love and care about you both very much. The promise of Moroni 10:5 that by the power of the Holy Ghost we can "know the truth of all things" is real. Please pursue it as much or more than you pursue the opinions of others--including mine expressed in this email. The Holy Ghost will speak unmistakable truth to your heart.

Thank you for your friendship, your love, your examples of faithfulness and fidelity. We are so excited about your future and we look forward to witnessing the fruit of your life’s labors.

With great admiration and love,

Crismon Lewis

Background to the guidance given on emphasizing the two areas of the Work of Salvation--Missionary and Temple and Family History Work

Brother (Name),

Thank you for sharing your feelings a second time. Please know, and I hope no one ever thinks they are jeopardizing their standing in their church calling by expressing to the stake president candid feelings, even those questioning priesthood guidance.

Maybe the next time we should meet face to face, which I welcome as well, as emails some times don’t convey well the true feelings. I have failed in that area multiple times; and I worry, too, that this response may fall short, too. 

In hopes I don’t stumble over myself (again) through the written word, I’m taking the liberty of copying this to Bishop May, so he’s aware of this conversation, and Brother Howes, the HC assigned to Temple and FH, so he’ll know the background that led to the 4-page document that was shared with stake leaders last week.

You are right, I gave instructions that go beyond what we received in the Feb. 28 training. 

As you may remember, Elder Renlund, after showing the various leadership patterns, stated that “to deviate from this leadership pattern (the slides he showed) requires a good reason, concurrence of the stake president, and confirmation by the Holy Ghost." 

So why did I deviate from Elder Renlund’s instruction?

Several things (some I had been wrestling with for months) came together for me that evening as I watched the Feb. 28 presentation:

1. To me there was some ambiguity in the Oct. 6, 2018 instruction that issued responsibility and authority for missionary and temple and family history work to counselors in the EQ and RS presidencies. I had been wondering how were these counselors supposed to effectively exercise this new authority so it made a difference in these two key elements of the Work of Salvation (see chapter 5 of Handbook 2).

2. I noticed that EQ and RS presidencies were already creating committees—with the stake presidency’s encouragement and blessing—but with no real guidance as to how to make these committees effective or meaningful so they just don’t die due to lack of direction. I also worried that we were  creating more meetings when we’ve been instructed to “reduce and simplify.” Moreover, some wards were merging the EQ and RS committees to become ward committees and others were not. I didn’t know if it mattered.

3. I was wrestling with how do we help the Ward Mission Leader be effective when he no longer sits on the Ward Council and now reports to EQ and RS counselors instead of the bishop. And what is the role of this new position of Ward Temple and Family History Leader?

4. How do we, as stake leaders, help this all happen without burdening the bishoprics (who have been asked to focus on the youth and their families)  and, if possible, even lighten the load on the ward council members (the Oct. 6 instruction had already pushed the responsibility and authority to the EQ and RS counselors presumably to lighten the load off the EQ and RS presidents, who sit on the Ward Council).

5. I had attended recently a meeting with Elder Quentin L. Cook, of the Twelve, where he stressed the importance of involving the sisters more in Missionary work—something that has traditionally been assigned solely to holders of the Melchizedek Priesthood. So I’ve been wondering how do we get the sisters more engaged in this?

6. For a couple of years, under Mission President Craig Ballard, we stressed “Covenant Path” that placed responsibility on the Ward Council for missionary work—creating an expectation that each week a busy member of the ward council would go on splits with the full-time missionaries. We were turning a corner, it seemed, in our missionary efforts as we got more and more leaders feeling ownership for missionary work. That ended with the new mission president and then the Oct. 6 letter removed the WML altogether from the ward council. And then the new Area Presidency ended missionary dinners. While I fully support these new directions, there have been significant ramifications—we are struggling seriously in our missionary efforts as a stake.

With all of that and more rumbling around in my head for the past few months, I had a most remarkable experience as I watched the Feb. 28 presentation. Everything, it seemed, came together in my mind and heart. It was now all clear to me.

You may find fascinating that when I saw those Leadership Pattern slides Elder Renlund projected I saw the Ward T&FH Committee in the picture. The committee obviously wasn’t there, but that’s what I saw. The committee fit so nicely in the flow chart between the T&FH Leader and the FH Consultants—precisely where the Ward Missionary Committee fits nicely.

The diagram you saw in the document we sent to you came clearly to my mind as to how to organize the Missionary and Temple and Family History efforts in our stake so they mirrored each other (so it’s easy for everyone to understand how all the parts work together) and they both function under the direction of the Ward Council led by the bishop with priesthood keys.

I got very excited because I saw a number of benefits for both ward committees (Missionary and T&FH) such as: (1) they are led by those with authority (EQ-RS counselors) and have a responsibility so the committees become sustainable; (2) it allows even MORE members (not just the ward council) to take ownership of these two areas of major emphasis; (3) as more and more members come to understand and appreciate the importance of Missionary and Temple & FH, it will raise the stature of Ward Missionaries and Temple and Family History Consultants; and (4) by encouraging the EQ and RS to merge their Missionary and T&FH committees, we now get sisters even more engaged in these two vital priesthood duties.

Now, having said all of that, the ward council, under the direction of the bishop, can still decide if they want to follow this direction or not. I will not be hurt if they choose otherwise. Frankly, I wish my influence was as impactful as you suggested. You’d be surprised how often the stake president speaks and no one listens.

But we’ll just keep trying to move forward the Lord’s work. I hope the above is helpful in understanding why I’ve gone beyond Elder Renlund’s instruction and asked that we create Ward Missionary and Temple and Family History Committees and task them with the responsibility of drafting a ward plan to submit to the Ward Council for approval or correction. And then helping to move forward that plan in the ward through regular coordination meetings. The EQ - RS counselors chair those two committees (with the WML and T&FHL acting as “executive directors” to the committees) and  decide who is invited to attend and how often and how the committees are to meet. It would make sense that all ward missionaries and all temple and family history consultants would serve on these committees so they have “buy in” as to how they should fulfill their callings and why.

Thanks for your diligence and desire to serve the Lord as you do.

President Lewis

On Mar 9, 2019, at 8:26 PM, james lyle <ja_lyl@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi President Lewis,

Thanx for you explanation on the subjects I raised! 

Forgive me if I send off one more email to clarify my thoughts. Because I presently testify in court in defense of my employer and colleagues, words are very important to me. This is especially true when two church authorities, which I highly respect, send different messages.

Let me explain my concerns via bullet points:

1)      I fear you don’t recognize your influence.  I agree that a recommendation can be a suggestion, proposal or advice. But when it comes from the Stake Presidency on church letterhead, I believe that it implies more than a suggestion especially when words like….”works through”, “hold…. accountable to accomplish” or “help ….. prepare” are used

2)      The diagram you presented illustrating leadership wasn’t in the Feb 28^th Presentation. That presentation showed only 4 illustrations and none included a WARD TEMPLE & FH COMMITTEE. I don’t believe a Ward WT&FH Committee was mentioned at all.

3)      The Feb 28^th Presentation didn’t suggest that the Ward Council task any committee to draft the plan but the Feb 28^th presentation stated that Ward Council had the responsibility of developing the Ward’s T&FH plan. The discussion chaired by Elder Bednar was amongst Ward Council members with no T&FH committee present. Ward Councils have greater access and understanding of the special needs and circumstances of Ward members than committees do.

4)      My concern is that the Walters Hill T&FH committee was a volunteer effort organized by the EQ Presidency and was not a calling from the Bishopric. Its members were not presented to the Ward in Sacrament meeting or set apart (Therefore, what authority or inspiration do they have to draft a Ward Temple and Family History Plan.)

            5)     We do hope to use some of the Walters Hill EQ T&FH committee members to help the youth prepare 5 names for Temple Ordinances as part of the                 Trek but will ask them individually if they could help with that specific task. We anticipate diminishing their participation after this June.

            6)     I think that the Feb 28^th Presentation placed great emphasis on Family History Consultants and at this time that should be one of the top priorities             for each Ward in the Stake.

Forgive me for being so bold in my explanation and comments. I debated on drafting this email not wanting to jeopardize my standing in the Elders Quorum Presidency but I must be true to myself.

Sincerely,

Bro. Jim Lyle

P.S. I promise not to compose additional emails on this issue…………….

On Thursday, March 7, 2019, 5:01:59 PM PST, Crismon Lewis <president.mthood@gmail.com> wrote:

Brother Lyle,

My apologies for the delay in responding.

In answer to your concerns, this statement in the 4-page document we sent should be the guiding principle:

     The Ward or Branch Council, under the direction of the bishop or branch president, counsels together to determine to what extent they will follow the diagram above, recognizing they have the authority to simplify the organization, if they choose.

In other words, the ward leadership (bishopric and ward council) has total authority as to how you structure the organization in your ward and, in this case, who creates the Temple and Family History Plan. Everything in the stake document was a recommendation, not a mandate.

However, we remind you of one of the key principles the Brethren appear to be teaching us: move responsibility and authority down further than we’re used to. 

For instance, in my opinion, it was absolutely stunning when the Brethren announced on October 6, 2018 that Temple and Family History, along with Missionary work, may now be the responsibility and authority of the counselors in both the Elders quorum and Relief Society (if the bishop so chooses). We’ve never seen the Brethren pushing responsibility and authority to this specific level. 

In my opinion, the Ward Council has an opportunity to task the two committees, now co-chaired by RS and EQ counselors, to draft a plan for their respective responsibility for the ward council to approve. Now instead of just involving the ward council members in giving guidance, we have, in essence, doubled or tripled the number of members in the ward who are invited to take “ownership” of these two key elements of the Work of Salvation—Missionary and Temple and Family History work.

If you haven’t already, we think there’s merit in merging the EQ and RS committees into ward missionary and temple and family history committees so there are even more members involved and working together. Again, that’s a ward decision.

We hope to spend some time in upcoming High Council meetings brainstorming ideas on how to help both ward committees become even more effective in helping all ward members become engaged in some way (maybe as little as asking extra-busy members to index for 30 min each week) in temple and family history work.

I hope this is helpful. I appreciate your concerns, but please know we are not trying to dictate to you as to what you are to do going forward, we are simply trying to offer a recommendation as to a structure—scaffolding, if you will—that we believe will be effective in helping the wards expand the number of members they involved to give even greater emphasis to both of these very important elements of the Work of Salvation.

Thank you for taking it on,

President Lewis

On Mar 6, 2019, at 7:36 PM, james lyle <ja_lyl@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi President Lewis,

I’ve been asked by Jay Ricker to be the Elders Quorum counselor in the Walters Hill Ward that is involved with Temple and Family History. As such I was excited to see the special presentation on that subject presented by members of the 12 Apostles Feb 28^th  In fact I enjoyed it so much I watched it twice to understand the specific instructions 

I appreciate the communication sent out on that same subject by you and other members of the Stake Presidency yesterday Mar 5th. But I see some discrepancies in what I heard on the 28^th and what you sent on the 5th.

I liked your diagram that illustrated leadership but was taken back by the inclusion of the Ward Temple & FH Committee which wasn’t discussed in the Feb 28^th presentation.  The Stake is also suggesting that the Ward Temple & FH “committee counseling together” should develop the plan. I believe that the Feb 28^th instructions indicate that it is the responsibility of the Ward Council to develop the appropriate Temple & FH plan.

Walters Hill Elders Quorum does have a Temple and Family History Committee as well as six other volunteer committees. Our intention was to have these committees take on two or three assignments each year and not have a monthly assignment because these volunteers have other heavy Ward assignments i.e. Young Men’s President, Sunday School President, Primary teacher etc. They also hadn’t been specifically called by the Bishop and set apart.

I believe the Walters Hill EQ T&FH committee can help out in the short term.We do plan to use them this spring in helping the youth prepare 5 names for Temple Ordinances as part of the Trek but anticipate diminishing their participation after this June.

Sincerely,

Bro Jim Lyle

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: Crismon Lewis <noreply@ldschurch.org>

To: "ja_lyl@yahoo.com" <ja_lyl@yahoo.com>

Sent: Tuesday, March 5, 2019, 5:50:59 PM PST

Subject: Our Emphasis in the Work of Salvation

TO: Relief Society and Elders Quorum Presidencies, and Bishoprics

Dear Ward Leaders,

Following the leadership training presentations by several Apostles at RootsTech 2019 last week, we received clarification to the October 6, 2018 letter on the "Responsibilities of Elders Quorum and Relief Society Presidencies in Member Missionary and Temple and Family History Work."

Attached is a 4-page document with recommendations on how to fully implement in our stake the direction we received from Church headquarters.

If you haven't viewed it yet, we encourage you to watch and share the one-hour RootsTech Leadership Training presentation under the direction of Elder David A. Bednar, of the Quorum the Twelve Apostles, at https://www.rootstech.org/video/2019-temple-and-family-history-leadership-instruction It's very informative and inspiring.

Thank you for your faithful service in this essential work of "gathering Israel on both sides of the veil."

The Stake Presidency

In response to my counselor sharing concerns about us going in many directions

Steven,

Thank you for candidly sharing your feelings.

I’ll share my thoughts. My apology, too, as this may be long as well.

First, being a singe-message stake presidency is not realistic in today’s Church, in my opinion for two reasons:

1. With so many announcements from SLC, we have a lot of different messages and directions coming at us with the expectation that we’ll implement them effectively (5 elements of Work of Salvation, 9 key indicators on Quarterly Report) and at the same time efficiently (“reduce and simplify”)…yes, like Elder Ghent said, we don’t have to jump on all of them, but to focus on one and ride only that message for the length of time you’d like is not realistic or wise—again in my opinion;

2. Just a year ago, every ward had three key men (bishopric) who realistically had the responsibility and authority to move forward the work in that ward. In April, that changed to five people (bishopric + EQ - RS presidents). In October, it went to nine people (bishopric + EQ and RS presidencies). Who’s going to help and train them in their new responsibilities…and hold them accountable? If we expect the bishopric to do that, then we’re back to everything going through them. Because of the priesthood key relationship between the EQ presidency and stake presidency we are the ones who should take the additional  responsibility for conducting the training through the HC, as we’ve done in the past but now with more focus.

I feel we have done a good job in helping the bishoprics to focus on the rising generation and shift more responsibility to the EQ and RS presidencies. But it means we and the HC will need to step up.

As for the quick turnaround of the document I introduced in HC. My apologies for how quickly that came together. I’m sure I could have done a better job in slowing down that train. Please forgive me. 

I was somewhat weighed down by the vagueness of the Oct 6, 2018 letter. We all seemed to be a little uncertain how to implement that, evidenced by the bishops calling sisters to serve as the Ward Temple and Family History Leader. And we had done the same, too, it seems with Jodi Nelson’s calling. I was also struggling with the document I sent you the week earlier suggesting that the HC begin conducting quarterly training with EQ-RS counselors and WML. So when I watched the RootsTech Leadership presentation everything suddenly came together and cleared up in my mind. It was such clear and direct revelation that I didn’t even give a second thought about counseling with others. I just wanted to get it out as quickly as possible to dispel the five months of “confusion” we had all experienced.

It was not revealed to me exactly how we’re to engage the HC in this additional training. But at least we have the “scaffolding” in place—the structure for conducting the training—and I’m confident that through our counseling as a presidency and HC we’ll discover how to help the leaders become more effective in moving forward these two all-important elements of the Work of Salvation dealing with “gathering Israel.”

Let me return to your concerns about our jumping around to different training topics. 

I hope we are not a stake where unless the stake president is focusing on it, it doesn’t happen. That’s why a stake president (certainly in my case) is blessed with two mighty counselors and 14 wonderfully capable HC, clerk, and exec sec. So when I hand you and Steven the baton of a matter of that I feel is of great importance to the Lord, I appreciate you both (working through the HC and others) receiving those batons with as much fervor as I held initially. Just because my focus has changed does not mean we can’t keep moving the previous hot points along, too. We are capable of being more than a one-track stake. When we were called into the stake presidency, we were handed keys to a machine with 36+ moving parts (12 HC each with an average of 3 assignments). Fortunately, the Lord has given us these capable leaders who can focus on helping those moving parts become even more effective. It’s our job to help each of those HC to measure up.

I am not overly concerned that we’re moving too quickly or putting too much on ward councils. Hopefully they’re getting the message with what we’ve seen from the Brethren in the past 12 months that they must learn to delegate. How we’ve seen the Brethren move so much responsibility and authority down to the EQ and RS counselors has been stunning…but very telling of how the future of this growing Church looks. So it breaks my heart when we hear a bishop tell us that their ward council meetings are not needed weekly because they end up talking about the same people over and over. They haven’t caught the vision yet of where this Church is going. That is my failure.

Finally, let me remind us that we were not called to be “caretakers of this stake.” The parable of the talents tells us that the Lord expects us to move things forward, whether on one or many fronts. With the variety of fronts the Brethren are approaching…so very quickly…our role, in my opinion, is to follow their lead and help more leaders and members to step up and assume greater responsibility on as many different fronts as possible.

I hope this is helpful. I am so grateful for all that everyone in stake and ward leadership are doing. It is an honor to serve with you and the others in our presidency.

Crismon

Hi Everyone,

I mentioned in my other email that I'm feeling some worries about how fast and how often we're emphasizing something new for the wards to be doing.

Our turn-around on the meeting that was on Thursday was so fast that I don't know that they have had time to think about what that should look like in their wards. I worry that when we do all of the work and interpreting and explaining to them that they either come to expect it all of the time from us or stop thinking for themselves and just sort of do what we say to do. With the turn-around on the meeting from Thursday, we didn't give Brother Howes any time to ponder and reflect and counsel with us. I'd like to talk about this some more on Sunday in our meeting.

I'm worried that when we move from one thing to another to another that we're not consistently able to emphasize something to gain considerable traction in something. I know that President Lewis felt strongly about having everyone in the Stake do the Self-Reliance class. I think that's stalled some because we focus our attention on other things that pop up, like the Temple and Family History and like Gospel Teaching in Sunday School and like Missionary Work.

Likewise, Just Serve--President has felt very strongly about getting members to serve more often. But then, it doesn't go as well as it could because ward leaders are being pulled in many different directions from all of the different big things that want them to emphasize. So I worry that everything gets done a little (some people do service, some people do Self-Reliance, some people do family history, some people consistently do missionary work, some leaders focus on the youth, etc.) I know that I am pulled in many different directions--I'm sure it's only magnified even more on a ward level.

I'm sure some of this is incoherent, as I'm writing it in my cold car as I wait for Violet's dance lesson to be done, but I guess what I'm possibly proposing (if I'm really proposing something) is that we settle on what it is we'd really like to emphasize/focus on and stick with that and not get away from that idea. If we feel like the temple and family history and missionary work "vein" is the direction we'd like to focus on, then we can focus on that and ask the ward councils to spend their time on that instead of self reliance and Just Serve. Or do we feel like we want Bishoprics to spend time focusing on the youth, so we shouldn't push them to concentrate on temple and family history and missionary work until they've got the youth all figured out? Or have the Bishoprics spend time with their SS Presidencies to focus on good 2nd hour teaching? Even though we can help train SS Presidencies, it's still going to come down to Bishoprics working with them to have solid teaching. I do think that it's still a matter of what the Bishoprics/Ward Councils spend their time on that work well in the ward. (I also worry that a 1-hour meeting once a week isn't enough time to try to focus on more than 1 thing at a time, but that's another long email.)

All things to mull over and discuss if anyone else feels like me right now.

Steven