tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083883760117575042.post2255623237098246246..comments2023-09-04T04:38:19.868-07:00Comments on Conservative Cake & Liberal Icing: GoalsCarson Calderwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10714621901178413233noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083883760117575042.post-62497742770039069572008-08-20T13:00:00.000-07:002008-08-20T13:00:00.000-07:00carson,i didn't see much of a contradiction. i thi...carson,<BR/><BR/>i didn't see much of a contradiction. i think there is a huge difference between reporting results and setting numerical goals. however, i think that when we begin to conflate the two that problems begin.<BR/><BR/>i had a mission companion who had a goal to have 40 baptisms (which was very high for hawaii). with less than a week left of his mission he was at 39. i knew a former investigator that i had dropped before he came into the area because she didn't care about getting baptized (or anything else really), but would if we told her to. so i called her up and we baptized her a few days later.<BR/><BR/>my companion went home with 40 baptisms and she never showed up to church again to be confirmed.the narratorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10774503436545764912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083883760117575042.post-62582270997238297282008-08-20T08:36:00.000-07:002008-08-20T08:36:00.000-07:00Narrator,I went back and reread the comments and s...Narrator,<BR/>I went back and reread the comments and saw that mine was in direct opposition to yours. It wasn't intended as such, even though I do think we shouldn't avoid setting goals...I didn't post that to directly contradict you and your experience.Carson Calderwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10714621901178413233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083883760117575042.post-67768316431495163332008-08-20T08:30:00.000-07:002008-08-20T08:30:00.000-07:00Another quote I wish I had, but can't find for the...Another quote I wish I had, but can't find for the life of me is from President Monson. He describes the importance of tracking numbers and the importance of reporting. The need is for accountability and effort/progress measurement. Without it we can't do the above. We just can't lose sight of the purpose or let the possibility of losing sight keep us from doing it at all. IOW, don't look beyond the mark or fall short of it...my personal motto.<BR/><BR/>I'll look through some old mission papers I recently found tonight and hopefully find it.Carson Calderwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10714621901178413233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083883760117575042.post-20132782511046373462008-08-20T08:16:00.000-07:002008-08-20T08:16:00.000-07:00I completely agree with Elder Oaks and your statem...I completely agree with Elder Oaks and your statements about agency. I however don't think that means we should altogether quit making goals for number of baptisms. We should still make reasonable goals so that we can push ourselves to knock a few more doors, talk to a few more people and pass out a few more books. As Brian said, if we don't fulfil that goal for the month, we shouldn't beat ourselves up, but should understand the role of agency. As long as the missionary knows that he/she was obedient to all the mission rules and tried to attain the goal by working hard, they can feel great knowing that they did what they could to meet that goal. That in fact is how I received my greatest spiritual confirmation from the Lord during my mission that what I did was pleasing to him. Not because of the families or priesthood members I had brought to the church, or the missionaries I had trained, but rather because of my obedience and efforts.<BR/>I know for me personally, goals help push me to go further and do more than I would have otherwise.<BR/>On a side note, I also knew many missionaries that tried to use this as an excuse for their lack of success, when in my opinion they didn't experience success because of a lack of spiritual guidance stemming from their disobedience and desire to truly convert people (to clarify, I'm not saying that all missionaries who experience low conversion rates are guilty of disobedience). It's a fine line to navigate between understanding that a lack of baptisms is due to the role of agency and excusing our poor efforts on the investigators agency. It's difficult to find that middle ground.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083883760117575042.post-10425012479872370572008-08-19T23:00:00.000-07:002008-08-19T23:00:00.000-07:00during my last seven months of my mission, i decid...during my last seven months of my mission, i decided that i was not going to set any more quantifiable goals. period. even if they were not dependent on others, i found that setting numerical goals shut off occasions where the spirit was trying to tell me to do otherwise.<BR/><BR/>i told my zone leaders they could either tell the mission president that i wasn't going to report any goals, or they could make them up. they made them up.<BR/><BR/>not only were those months the ones where i felt like i was being guided by the spirit the most, the happened to also be the most 'successful.'the narratorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10774503436545764912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9083883760117575042.post-35010460440030262202008-08-19T21:28:00.000-07:002008-08-19T21:28:00.000-07:00I am glad you posted this. I always had this attit...I am glad you posted this. I always had this attitude during my mission and I tried to pass it on to the 5 "greenies" I trained. When sitting in our weekly district or zone meeting I remember the companionships reporting their accomplishments and some of the dissapointments some felt because they didn't reach their goal. I never felt bad when our goal wasn't met. I knew we were working hard and thought maybe we were planting more seeds than actually harvesting. I always knew it took more people than a missionary with a goal to achieve that goal. Agency is a beautiful blessing and I am thankful I had this understanding during my mission and even now. <BR/>Viva Argentina!Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13762893785766619030noreply@blogger.com