Direction for full-time missionary involvement during period of limited Church participation

14 March 2020

Bishops and Branch Presidents,

Following our meeting this morning, I had a phone visit with President Bullen, of the Oregon Portland Mission.

There were some key take-aways that are important for stake and ward leaders to know:

1. Missionary work goes forward as it always has.

2. Full-time missionaries will be allowed to meet each Sunday to hold a brief, missionary-only sacrament meeting, as directed by the Area Presidency. There will be two meetings in our zone: the South district will meet in the Sandy building and the North district will meet in the stake center. The South district leader will contact Bsp Conklin (agent bishop for the Sandy building) for permission to administer the sacrament and the North district leader will seek authorization from Bsp Miller (agent bishop for the stake center).

BTW…we support this Area Presidency authorization for missionaries to hold weekly sacrament meetings. We have stressed with the zone leaders we very much need the full-time missionaries going into as many member homes as possible during this time of no meetings and activities and they are (1) to take the spirit of the sacrament covenant into every home, and (2) to deliver a gospel message each time they visit. 

2. The missionaries will begin on March 22 to meet weekly for a full-time missionary-only sacrament meeting, which they will conduct and the elders will administer the sacrament with the bishop’s authorization and under the direction of the district leader. 

3. Exceptions will be the following:

A) On March 29, which has been designated as “Sacrament Sunday” by our Area Seventy, the missionaries are to meet in a home in their assigned ward or branch and partake of the sacrament with a member family;

B) General Conference weekend, no sacrament administered;

C) On those occasions, when they have an investigator(s), the missionaries are to arrange with the Ward Mission Leader to assign a fellowshipping family or individual; once designated, the missionaries are to invite the investigator to attend a sacrament meeting in the home of the fellowshipping family or individual where the bishop or one of his counselors will be asked to attend and oversee the administration of the sacrament in the home. We hope this will help the bishopric member get acquainted with the investigator (a key element of helping interested persons desire to join the Church) and the bishopric member will take the opportunity to teach the investigator(s) during the home sacrament meeting about the purpose and blessing of the sacrament and covenants.

To recap…

...the missionaries will not meet for sacrament meeting tomorrow (March 15). 

…they will begin meeting March 22. 

…they will not meet on March 29, but attend a sacrament meeting in the home of a member family in their ward.

...If members complain that they’re not able to partake of the sacrament weekly, leaders can encourage them to invite a friend to be taught by the missionaries and then have them to their home the next Sunday for a home sacrament meeting with a member of the bishopric.

We appreciate your support of this direction going forward during this period of limited Church participation.

President Lewis and the Stake Presidency

Message to the Mount Hood Stake Members following the announcement that all Church meetings and activities were suspended

COVER EMAIL:

Dear Mount Hood Stake Members,

As we enter this new temporary period of no Church gatherings (meetings and activities), please read the attached letter with our encouragement on how this can become a blessing and opportunity.

Also, don't miss this inspiring video the Church produced in 2016 on how the Saints in Ghana lived the gospel at home when their meetings were banned by the government for 18 months.

We love you and look forward to hearing how "home centered, church supported" takes on new meaning for you in your household.

Stake Presidency

13 March 2020

TO: All Members of the Mount Hood Stake

Adjusting to the Suspension of Church Gatherings

Dears Brothers and Sisters,

This will be a time never to be forgotten! As we contemplate the coming weeks, and maybe months, of having all Church meetings and activities temporarily suspended, we now have the opportunity to apply, as never imagined, the principles of being “home centered and church supported.” 

Gratefully, the Lord, through his prophets, has put into place everything we need for the work to move forward: Come, Follow Me home study, ministering assignments, priesthood organization, home-centered youth initiative, etc. along with the technology that allows us to receive real-time guidance from our leaders and stay connected as caring, covenant friends.

Your bishop or branch president will share with you details and ideas on how the Church and living the gospel in the home will continue to be an important part of our lives going forward.

Additionally, please consider the following:

• Contact those to whom you’ve been assigned to minister and make sure they’re aware of the suspension of meetings and have received a copy of this letter;
• Ponder and discuss what more you can do to make the Sabbath a “delight” in your home;
• Visit often the Church website churchofjesuschrist.org with its many resources to bless our lives;
• View the inspiring videos on the Church website about “How Saints Have Navigated Suspended Sacrament Meetings Before.”

Finally, we have been authorized to administer the sacrament in our homes on Sunday, March 2. Your bishop or branch president will give you more details. That date is also our Fast Sunday for April. We invite you to fast that day for a minimizing of the coronavirus pandemic so we can meet again soon. You may also want to have your own family testimony meeting that day.

Thank you for your good lives and for embracing these adjustments with faith that the Lord is aware of us and will sustain each one of us as we remain on the Covenant Path and keep His commandments.

Faithfully yours,

Stake Presidency

Counsel to our stake patriarch Kenneth Hardy

12 March 2020

Dear Brother Ken,

After our visit on Tuesday evening, I’ve had a feeling settle on my heart that I feel I need to share with you.

If I remember right, you shared with me some time ago that you didn’t feel you could, or even should, attend the temple without Lori. And with her health condition such, it has caused you to not attend personally for over a year.

I feel to tell you that is not what the Lord would have you do. It’s a wonderful gesture of loyalty, but it’s not the right approach.

You and she both need the blessings of the temple in your home. She is unable to receive them unless you go to the temple and, in essence, bring those blessings home to her through your regular attendance.

Please look at temple attendance as not abandoning your wife, but on an errand for the Lord to lift and bless her—especially at a time when she desperately needs the Lord's blessings. As you exercise your faith through temple attendance, you will see the same miracles you both have acknowledged when you give and she transcribes a patriarchal blessing.

I hope this doesn’t offend. I love you both and am so grateful for your mighty—though lonely—service. You are a giant in our stake, for which we are all most grateful.

President Lewis

Instructions to a bishop on working with a young man who returned early from his mission

18 February 2020

Bishop (Name),

I don’t know if you were aware, but Elder (Name) has returned early from his mission to South Africa for some serious infractions of the mission rules. He was released this afternoon.

Fortunately, the infractions were not serious that disciplinary action will be required. In fact, there is every indication he will be allowed to return to the mission field after completing the repentance process. No time frame has been given yet by the Missionary Department.

Upon his return I also learned (not surprisingly, it’s often one of the root causes when missionaries struggle with the rules) there was a delayed confession that needs to be addressed with you, too.

(Name) is not distraught and wants to repent. I’m hopeful he’ll want to return and finish his 10 months remaining in his commitment to serve the Lord full-time. Time will tell.

Will you please meet with (Name) regularly and and help him along the repentance path? He will be attending the family ward; not the YSA Branch for now. That could change, but for now please retain his records in your ward.

Some terms that we discussed:

1. He’s not to partake of the sacrament right now. You and he are to make the determination of when he can partake of the sacrament; I recommend soon after stake conference, if he’s faithfully walking the repentance path.

2. He’s not to give a public report (speak) about his mission, either in sacrament meeting or High Council, in hopes he’ll finish his mission later. And then we’ll have him give his “homecoming” report.

3. Do not call or sustain him to a calling until he’s partaking again of the sacrament. But I told him I would recommend to his bishop that he be invited to help with the YM in the ward and accept assignments to help encourage them on how to prepare to serve missions.

4. (Name) is to attend Institute consistently and help his brother, and others, to attend missionary preparation.

5. He is to serve. While he is not worthy to be offered to finish his mission as a service missionary, he is to find ways to serve, including:

a) Make visits with the missionaries to help fellowship (please notify Todd S);

b) Fulfill every assignment and more at home, including chores, actively participate in family prayers and scripture study, help in the kitchen, get up with the family (i.e. not sleep in) and help everyone get out the door,  etc.

c) Consistently have personal scripture study and personal prayer;

d) Serve a LOT in the community such the Bishops Storehouse, DI, Catholic Charities, his ffather's school (where (Name) serves each day), etc.

e) Respond to every service assignment from his EQ presidency. (Will you please alert the EQ presidency that he’s available?)

Once his temple recommend is restored, hopefully he’ll be able to serve in the temple, too. That may be a couple of months yet. We’ll see how he’s doing and how you and I feel.

While it’s appropriate for him to get into college, I encouraged (Name) and his parents to focus on helping (Name) serve in the community and prepare to return to the mission field (I am hopeful the Missionary Dept will allow him to return in 6 months).

Thank you again for helping this great young man regain his footing on the covenant path and for helping him gain enthusiasm to finish his mission,

Thx
PrL

Helping bishops reduce their interview load with instruction to the executive secretary

13 February 2020

Bishops and Branch Presidents…

In our training last Tuesday we gave you a statement that your executive secretary can use to help divert your appointments to the RS or EQ presidents.

There are two concerns:

1. That the reference to worthiness will frighten away those who truly do need to see the bishop—for fear they will be “labeled” by sitting, waiting for the bishop.

2. That executive secretaries may feel obligated to use the wording precisely as was presented in the training.

Below are a few ways your executive secretary may approach this new direction. Please feel free to have him draw from any of these statements or feel free to come up with your own. We share only in an effort to help you as to how to communicate this new instruction:

• Is this interview such that can only be talked about with the Bishop, or can the RS or EQ president meet with you first?"

• As you may have heard, the RS and EQ presidents are now meeting with most members to help address their concerns or needs. Is this interview concerning something that they can help with?"

• As you've heard, the Bishop now delegates most interviews to the RS and EQ presidencies. Can I help you schedule an appointment with them for this interview?"

• “So he and his counselors can focus on the youth, as instructed by Church leaders, the bishop now delegates to the Relief Society and Elders Quorum presidents almost all of his  interviews except those that he must do. Can I help you schedule an interview with either the Relief Society or Elders Quorum president?”

Brethren, please know that we trust your judgement and recognize that you’ll know best how to re-route interviews when appropriate. On the other hand, we want you to know how strongly the Brethren feel about this, that your interview load is to be reduced significantly so you can spend more time with your own family and with the youth of your ward or branch.

So, in the next few weeks or months if you find your interview load is not decreasing, please re-evaluate how your executive secretary is approaching this. For the sake of future bishops, please help change the culture in what members traditionally expect of bishops and branch presidents.

Gratefully,

President Lewis

Counsel to bishops on preparing young men who want to serve a mission soon after graduating from high school

4 February 2020

Bishops and Branch Presidents…

As I continue to visit with HS seniors, I’ve been pleased to meet several who say they’d like to leave on their mission soon after graduating from HS.

This is wonderful!

I just wanted to remind you that if you have such a young man in your priest quorum right now, please open an online missionary recommendation folder for him immediately. He needs to be completing right now his paper work and setting appointments for his medical and dental exams. 

In case you’re not aware, we can submit a missionary recommendation even before the young man is ordained an elder. Frankly, missionary recommendations being submitted in March or April will probably not depart until July or August anyway, at the earliest. He, of course, can set his availability date to whenever he wants, though typically they are given a departure a month or so beyond that date. 

Departure and release dates can now be calculated on the missionary recommendation website so young people can plan their departure and return.

We remind you that we hold our annual Stake Priesthood meeting on May 12 specifically so we can sustain the worthy and desiring male HS seniors to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. Please remind parents of their responsibility to prepare their sons to be ordained. That ordination can occur when a young man is (1) found worthy and desirous of receiving the covenant of the priesthood, (2) sustained in a stake priesthood meeting (May 12) or in a stake conference and (3) turn 18 years of age.

Once a young man has been (1) ordained, (2) graduated from HS and (3) has a mission call in hand, he can then be endowed.

Finally, we feel strongly young men make better missionaries when they have earned all or part of their missionary support funds ($400 per month, $500/month beginning July 1, 2020). However, there are cases where he simply wasn’t able to work a job or needed to help support his family. Please know there are surplus missionary funds in every ward that can be used to help support these young people who desire to serve.

Thank you for helping the youth of our stake desire and prepare to dedicate a “tithe” of their life to serve the Lord with all their heart, mind and strength.

Gratefully,

President Lewis

Updating the 2020 Stake Budget with the increased income from families; $50 to $75 per youth

27 January 2020

Presidents Dobson and Newell and the stake presidency…

The stake presidency decided yesterday to increase the summer camp fee from $50 to $75 per youth to align with the $75 fee per youth that will be charged by the Church for FSY next year.

The increased revenue raises the budget for the Stake AP Camp from $9,800 to $12,175. 

The Stake YW Camp budget increases from $11,000 to $13,500.

As you can see by the attached updated 2020 stake budget, the total YW budget is now $13,600, significantly more than the $12,475 for the YM. However, we need to remember that the YW are serving a projected 100 young women, who consistently attend Stake YW Camp. While we don’t have a track record for the number of young men who will attend a Stake AP Camp, the projected 85 is based on the number of young men who participated in our 2019 stake trek (95 YW, 85 YM).

Based on the projected attendance (100 YW, 85 YM) our summer camp “investment" is:

$12,175 / 85 YM = $143.25 per boy

$13,500 / 100 YW = $135.00 per girl

I hope this is helpful and gives both the YW and YM more “breathing room” in budgeting their camps this summer.

As a reminder, this is a draft. Feel free to respond and challenge.

Thanks,

President Lewis

P.S. We have a much bigger decision looming for us in 2021. It’s very difficult, if not impossible, for us to fund a Stake YW and/or AP Camp without family contributions ($75/youth). Next year the Church will charge us $75 for each youth who attends FSY. We can still have Stake YW and AP Camps that summer, but we will either need to: (1) cancel stake youth camps, (2) ask families to pay $75 for FSY and $50-$75 for stake camps; or possibly (3) ask wards—or the stake—to host a multi-day camp for the 12-13 year old youth, those not invited to attend FSY and cancel the traditional summer camps. Please be pondering how we should address this in the coming months.

In response to the Stake Young Men's president regarding summer camp funding

21 January 2020

Brother Matt (copy to April Dobson and President Hansen),

In response to the latter part of your email, let me first clarify about FOS. Yes, it was fundraising, but it was a totally different type of fundraising than what the Handbook is talking about. 

The FOS was more of an “offering” from families in support of Scouting. To President Monson it was an “investment” in all young men in America, most of whom were not members of the Church. That, of course, has ended.

The fundraising the Handbook addresses is where youth are raising money through Christmas tree sales, spaghetti dinners and other service-type projects. The Handbook repeatedly allows fundraising for one summer camp only as a last resort only after exhausting budget funds and family contributions.

There are several key principles the Church follows in regard to funding of summer camps and other activities:

1. Budget funds should cover all expenses for all activities, including summer camps, if possible. 

2. Church-sponsored activities should be simple and not extravagant. All should have a priesthood purpose or Church-related objective.

3. Families should not be burdened with admission fees or fees of any sort to participate in activities (exception is one summer camp per year, families can be asked to contribute toward the cost of the camp).

4. Summer camp funding is to be by: (1) budget funds, (2) family contributions and, if still not enough, (3) fundraising.

One of the first things I noticed, soon after being called, was how much fundraising was going on while the stake was sitting on a huge surplus (understandably we saving up for a trek in 2013, but we had twice what we needed).

What bothered me most was that we had all of these youth leaders, who were leaving their families to teach other parents' children how to market products or services or, in some cases, how to “beg” for money. This is not the role of the Church to teach children how to be entrepreneurs or “money collectors.” Youth leaders and teachers are to focus on teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the parents’ responsibility to teach their children how to work and earn money.

So we immediately did the following:

1. Suspended all fundraising;

2. Took extra funding from SLC earmarked for youth (that most wards were just rolling into their annual budgets) and applied it to stake summer camps;

3. Standardized summer camp fees for families (similar to standardized missionary funding) at $100 per youth so families could plan and hopefully parents would teach their children how to raise the $100; 

4. Took surplus ward budget funds at the end of each year and methodically, over the past 7 years, began to drive down the standardized summer camp fee from $100 to $50 per youth.

So what that means…

If the Stake YM Presidency feel they are going to be short of funds for the Stake AP Camp in July, we can raise additional funds simply by asking families to pay $75 each instead of $50. That will raise an additional $2,250 (90 YM @ $25 = $2,250). The $75 is what families will pay next year for the FSY experience.

However, before we raise the youth fee, we would need some budget projections and cost justification from the Stake YM and Stake YW presidencies as to why you both need extra funds than what’s already budgeted. We very much want to keep the financial burden on families at a minimum, if we can. All of you have youth in your home so I’m sure you can appreciate the blessing of a $50 fee instead of $75 per youth fee.

I hope this is helpful in understanding how we fund stake summer camps and the principles we try to follow. I’ll be happy to visit with all of you about this further. In the meantime, I’ll hold off on sending the letter announcing the summer camp fees until you and April have had a chance to discuss this further and make a new recommendation, if you feel it’s needed.

Thank you both for the wonderful work you are doing to bless the youth of our stake.

Gratefully,

President Lewis

An explanation as to why I try to interview high school seniors before they graduate

21 January 2020

Bishops and Branch Presidents…

It occurs to me that I may not have ever explained to you why I’m visiting with high school seniors, as you may have heard.

I want you to know that I’ve been doing this, as much as they’ll meet with me, for years in hoping to just get acquainted with them. I don’t conduct a worthiness interview, I leave that for you.

I mostly visit with them about…

1) what was their HS experience like for them?

2) did Seminary play a role?

3) what kind of personal devotion habits (prayer, scriptures, etc) do they have now going into the rest of their lives?

4) is college and/or a mission on the radar? If so, when?

5) do they have plans to attend the YSA branch (we need you!)?

6) sometimes I’ll check to see if they’ve received a patriarchal blessing…and…

7) mostly, how much does the gospel mean in their lives as they enter adulthood?

Please know I am not trying to be intrusive, overstep you in your role as their priesthood leader or checking on how you, parents and ward leaders have done. I simply want to see what’s happening in the heads and hearts of the young members of our stake as they transition into adulthood.

In case you were wondering…

Thx

PrL

In response to an email from Dr. Doug Rial, of the High Council, about clarifying why we don't fundraise for summer camps even though the Handbook permits it

20 January 2019

Thank you, Dr. Doug, for pointing this out. As you suggest, maybe we would be more accurate in saying, “As we follow the intent of the Church Handbook” which notes on several occasions that “Stake and ward budget funds should be used to pay for all activities, programs, and supplies” (13.2.8). Only when there are not enough budget funds, Church leaders are authorized to turn to families for summer camps...and then, if that is not enough, fundraising is allowed. So fundraising should be the last resort. 

Interestingly, even without fundraising, almost all the wards in our stake consistently, over the past 6-7 years, have had lots of funds at the end of each year—sometimes as much as $2,000-$3,000 surplus. When we consistently have surpluses like that then we’re not justified in fundraising. That’s what was happening, bishoprics and youth leaders were assuming they wouldn’t have enough money at the end of the year so they turned to fundraising, but it later became obvious there were plenty of budget funds along with family contributions ($50-$100) to cover all summer camp costs.

Maybe the best solution is to avoid any reference to the Handbook. I’ll update the letter accordingly.

Thanks again for sharing your concern.

PrL

P.S. As all of you have seen (in our desire to be totally transparent), we have an annual stake budget of about $38,000 and $30,000 is earmarked for youth/children summer camps. That’s 78% of our annual budget. So we appreciate you budgeting and spending wisely when planning summer camps in our stake. We also appreciate you staying within budget so we don’t have to charge families more or, as a last resort, fundraise.

Resolving a conflict over the use of what used to be the Stake Family History Center

13 January 2020

President Hansen,

Will you please work with Brothers Howes, Eldredge, Malan, President Ibarra and Bishop Miller, the agent bishop for the stake center,  to resolve this matter?

I know this may be painful, but I would think the room formerly used as the Family History Center is no longer a FH Center, but is now an extra-large classroom to be used by those teaching and training in Family History. (We may need to get a new or additional sign for the door. Is the door now kept unlocked like other classrooms?)

I would think it can also serve as a “permanent” Primary room for the Pioneer Branch, trying to grow in their quest to become a ward (as you know, a high priority of the Area Presidency). Once the branch becomes independent enough to enter a meeting rotation, this room will no longer be needed for their Primary.

I assume the attached note was written by Doug Yates, who I’m sure feels ownership of this room due to the room’s original purpose. We deeply appreciate Brother Yates taking the initiative to clear out the room and make it available for use by others. The timeliness of its availability for use by the expanding Pioneer Branch is a tremendous blessing and certainly not a coincidence. Doug was truly inspired!

Thank you for counseling together to arrive at a resolution. I look forward to your report.

Thanks,

President Lewis

Buenas noches Presidente,

Not sure how to address the following but the purpose is to communicate and counsel with you as to what would be the best steps to take. We have started the primary program in the branch. Primary President sister Reyna is working very hard to assured that all is in order and according to the children’s handbook. However, we are encountering a small challenge. We were assigned the Family History room as the primary room for the branch. Recently we encounter a small challenge which we are willing to cooperate but it requires for our primary leaders to put down primary decorations/themes every Sunday.  Attached, a letter that was posted in the Family History Room with instructions and a reminder to be respectful to others that also share the room. My request is if there is a possibility that we are allowed for the classroom attached to the family history lab to have a primary theme/decoration as other primary classrooms. It is a bit challenging to re-arrange every Sunday meeting. In my effort to be concise in this message, there are no decorations posted in the computer lab. Only in the classroom or what is known as the Family History classroom. 

Kindly, president any suggestions or approval on being allowed to leave the primary theme/decorations in the classroom. We are fine with moving the chairs and tables as we already do with a different classroom, this being the Relief Society room. Of which we put chairs and tables back when we finished with our sacrament meeting. 

I look forward to your comments. 

Un abrazo, 

Pte. Ibarra 

P.S.

One item I failed to include and mentioned was that the letter posted on the Family History room may be rooted to an overlapping of activities. This past Wednesday sister Reyna planned a Primary activity, she forgot to check the calendar to see which classroom was available. She went ahead and decorated the branch primary room thinking that no one else uses and was using this room. This happened to be the evening where members from the stake meet and do their family history. As such, this is understandable, as she had to removed some of the decorations, writing, and pictures she had posted for the activity. She moved to a different classroom and held the activity there.

I was at the activity, but nothing was addressed to me that day. The letter was posted later in the week. Sister Reyna shared that she had to put everything down as requested. However, we understand about being respectful and sharing. All we are asking is that we are allowed to leave primary decorations in the Family History classroom. We will plan for primary activities a different day. A different classroom if this is the case.

Please, accept our apologies for the inconvenience. We wish to make this work and await for your response as to what best next step to take.

Muchas gracias Presidente.
Pte. Ibarra

Helping bishops encourage parents in creating vision boards at home

10 January 2020

Bishops and Branch Presidents…

As children and youth begin to identify goals as part of the new initiative, you may want to encourage parents to help their children create a vision board. 

It can be as simple as folding a blank 8.5x11 sheet of paper into quadrants and inviting the child to use marking pens to “decorate” each quadrant that speaks to his or her goals. A more ambitious approach, of course, is using poster board and cutting out pictures in magazines.

I recently saw the attached photos of a nephew’s daughters (not in our stake) during their FHE activity and thought you might want to share with parents in helping them recognize there’s something they can do right now to get the family engaged in the Church's new Children and Youth Initiative. Children can then stick their vision board on a bedroom wall as a constant reminder of their goals.

Parents, leaders and families are also encouraged to create vision boards. Families, classes and quorum members can visit together and create vision boards for their family, class or quorum.

Thank you for encouraging everyone on ways to embrace this wonderful new initiative to help strengthen the rising generation as President Nelson has asked us to do.

Please feel free to share this with others.

President Lewis

In response to confessions of illegal actions

9 January 2020

Bishops and Branch Presidents,

This news article about a woman in the Salem area suing the Church is very sad:

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/477418-woman-sues-lds-church-for-reporting-husbands-confession-of-child-sex

I’m confident the bishop handled this correctly and the Church will stand behind the bishop and fight this. However, it is a good reminder that before accepting a full confession of this sort, it is important that as judges we immediately help the person understand that full repentance must include addressing matters with the law, if the action is also illegal. And that bishops are instructed to call the Church abuse hotline for guidance as to our obligation as clergy..

Just a reminder for all of us to review the procedures in Handbook 1, 17.3.2.

Thank you,

President Lewis

Ideas to help bishoprics focus on strengthening the rising generation

6 January 2020

Bishops and Branch Presidents…

It is expected that all of you have visited with parents, youth and children about the new Children and Youth Initiative. I look forward to visiting with you in our upcoming Stewardship Interview for January about how it is unfolding for your ward or branch.

Do you have any questions that we can try to get answers for you? (Besides the new app the Church is producing, I really don’t think we’re going to get much more, if any, instructions from Church headquarters on the new program.)

We appreciate how each of you have been delegating more and more duties of the Work of Salvation (see chapter 5 of Handbook 2) to your Relief Society and Elders Quorum presidencies. Hopefully you’ve already seen a measurable difference in your work load and time demand.

As you turn from those other duties, attached is a 2-page document drafted by stake leaders with ideas on how a bishopric can use their time even more effectively to focus on strengthening the rising generation.

We will discuss these further in our SI this month. In the meantime, we hope you and your counselors will consider these ideas as you plan to give, as Elder Quentin L. Cook described, “laser-like focus on our youth.”

Gratefully,

President Lewis and the Stake Presidency

P.S. As a reminder, the attached checklist, sent to you a month ago, hopefully will continue to be a helpful guide on important actions to take in launching the new initiative in your ward or branch.

How Bishoprics Can Focus on Youth

As bishoprics delegate the responsibilities of the Work of Salvation to Relief Society and Elders Quorum presidencies, hopefully it will free them to focus their time and energy on the youth.

Below are some ways bishoprics and branch presidencies can become even more effective in strengthening the rising generation:

CONNECT WITH SEMINARY TEACHERS: Meet or communicate regularly with the Seminary instructors, who are teaching the youth in your ward, for their observations about the youth’s day-to-day gospel engagement.

MEET WITH PARENTS AND YOUTH: Schedule regular times to meet with the parents (and, if you desire, the youth at the same time) to review their children’s hopes, dreams and goals and discuss how the bishopric can be supportive of the family.

TRAIN ALL YOUTH PRESIDENCIES: Use the Aaronic Priesthood Quorum and Young Women Class Presidency Orientation form to personally and regularly conduct training sessions with each youth presidency. 

YOUTH AS MINISTERS: Work closely with the Relief Society and Elders Quorum presidencies to ensure all youth, 14 years and older (or turning 14), are assigned as ministering companions. And help them have success in their assignment.

REGULAR YOUTH INTERVIEWS: Give high priority to conducting regular interviews with each young person, including occasional interviews with older Primary-age children. Focus on making sure all youth 12 years of age (or turning 12-years of age) and older hold and use a current limited-use temple recommend.

WARD YOUTH COUNCIL MEETINGS: Conduct regular Ward Youth Council meetings and  schedule, plan, and review all monthly combined youth activities (Handbook 2, 8.13.1.3). Also emphasize leadership training by drawing from the presidency orientation form or the leadership lessons available at AaronicPriesthoodQuorums.ChurchofJesusChrist.org and at YoungWomen.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

INVOLVE ADULT LEADERS: Coordinate efforts to help youth and/or their family with the Relief Society and Elders Quorum presidents so they can provide additional support through the ministering brothers and sisters.

BE WITH THEM: Set up a schedule in advance (possibly up to a year) listing where each member of the bishopric is to go each Sunday to make sure a bishopric member is regularly visiting the Primary and Young Women classes...and to make sure there is double adult coverage in all children and youth classes and weekday activities.

QUORUM PRESIDENCY MEETINGS: Make sure presidency meetings happen regularly and that youth presidencies are trained in how to create and follow an agenda. See Handbook 2, 8.9.3 for agenda guidance.

FOLLOW THE SPIRIT: Seek guidance as to what the Lord wants you to do to strengthen and lift each of the children and youth in your ward.

PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS: Meet regularly with the parents of children and youth teaching them about their role in support of the Children and Youth Initiative and explaining the expectations of parents to prepare their children for the ordinances and milestones in a young person’s gospel journey (use 4-page “Letter to Parents” from the stake presidency).

STEWARDSHIP INTERVIEWS: Conduct regular interviews with Primary, Young Women and Aaronic Priesthood adult leaders to make sure they’re working closely with parents in helping the children and youth to create their plans and fulfill their goals.

How families can continue the Scouting tradition in their homes

4 January 2020

Bishops and Branch Presidents,

It has come to our attention that a group of parents in the Gresham Stake are wanting to start a Cub Scout pack and Scout troop. They have invited members of the Mount Hood Stake, who may be interested.

As you know, the Church no longer sponsors Scouting effective January 1. However, we recognize that after a century of Scouting in the Church, there are families who want to continue the Scouting tradition in their home.

One of my personal concerns, as families look for Scouting opportunities outside the Church, is that most troops and packs, not affiliated with a faith, do not reverence the Sabbath day, which can create a conflict for member families.

Will you please share this email with those in your ward or branch who may be interested in continuing the Scouting tradition? Please do not make any announcements; simply forward this email to the parents of those families you think are still interested in Scouting.

For those interested, they can attend a troop and pack information meeting this Thursday, Jan. 9, from 6 to 7 pm at the Stark Street meetinghouse, 22801 SE Stark St, Gresham.

I hope this is helpful to those interested. Please know that this email does not suggest any type of endorsement by the Church or the stake presidency. This is the only time we will share this information. All future communication to families will come from Brothers Miller or Weitz.

Thank you for sharing this with those who may be interested.

President Lewis

A reminder of the importance of gospel learning in the home due to conferences

4 January 2020

Bishops and Branch Presidents,

As we enter the “season” of conferences—ward, stake and general conference—class and quorum teachers discover that there may be times when they only teach one time during the entire month.

That prompts a timely reminder of the importance of gospel learning in the home—“home-centered,” as the Brethren call it.

Below is a list of the upcoming conferences in 2020.

Will you please make sure ward leaders and teachers are aware of conference dates that will preempt the second hour instruction in your ward or branch?

And please take the opportunity to encourage members to faithfully continue their regular Come, Follow Me curriculum study at home even though there may not be a class at church.

Gratefully,

President Lewis