Some Thoughts About the Outreach Efforts of Church Leaders to Minority Groups

Hello again, everyone! Earlier today, I posted a comment to the LDS Church Growth Blog about the ongoing conversation regarding what the Church could or should do better or differently in their outreach to those various groups of individuals who may constitute somewhat of a minority in the Church. I have felt a need to duplicate that comment here as a post for the benefit of those who may read it in both places. A copy of that comment follows. That does it for this post. Any comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best, and pray that the Lord will bless you all in all that you do.

If I may, I would like to comment here about something that has been on my mind a lot lately, and which relates to some of the things that have been discussed here on this thread in recent comments. I would ask that you all bear with me as I try to say what I have felt a need to in this comment.

I know that it is easy for me to wonder at times why certain individuals have been called to certain positions, especially when something they have done or are not doing makes it harder for me to do what the Lord needs me to do. And I think that would be amplified even further regarding problems we see that appear to any of us as though they are not being properly addressed by anyone on any level of Church leadership. It may be easy for us to try and solve these problems, or to suggest that more should be done in certain ways about certain things.

But in such cases, I have found it useful to remember, where I know of it, the background of the individuals involved in such decisions. In my study of our current group of apostles, I have discovered some interesting things. For example, President Eyring was one who was not able to get married until he was 29. Because of that, he is no stranger to how YSAs, and by extension, older Single Adults in the Church, feel about the programs and practices of the Church that affect the outreach to them.

Also, among the 14 apostles, we have at least two of which I know that are fluent in more than one foreign language, and as such, have served in leadership among several minority groups of the Church. So the problem of outreach to such individuals is not a foreign issue to the general leadership of the Church.

Additionally, just recently, we have seen modern revelation at work in terms of how General Conference will be simplified, how missionary safety has been evaluated (including how the number of missions will be adjusted to enable greater missionary safety by providing greater strength in numbers for problematic area, and by cutting the number of missionaries needed in areas where the safety and security is too problematic to safely allow missionary work to continue), how the Church will be embracing modern technology on a greater scale to move the missionary program into more of an effort to find religiously-minded individuals worldwide.

So I for one do not spend time pontificating about what the Church could or should do differently in terms of areas I might otherwise consider a problem. The Brethren, like all of us, are not perfect, but because of their background and experience, to say nothing of their worldwide ministry to Church members, have a unique understanding of all such issues, including factors of which we, as individual members considering such things, may not be fully aware. I instead choose to trust that, in the Lord's way and time, He will reveal the answers needed to those who have the authority to receive such direction, and that those solutions will be what is needed at that time, if not necessarily what any one or all of us think it should be. That is one of many reasons why the Lord has directed the calls of each of these Brethren at the times those calls have come to them. And that is also why the Brethren have in turn directed and approved the calls of those serving in area presidencies, as general and area seventies, as mission, stake, and district presidencies, as bishopric and branch presidency members, and on down to the home teachers and Aaronic Priesthood leaders of each congregation. None of us are perfect, and we won't ever be during our mortal sojourn, but we don't have to be. As long as we keep trying and continue in patience until we are perfected, the Lord will compensate for whatever we (or He) feels we lack. Just wanted to share these thoughts, for what they may be worth to any of you.