LDS leader pitches soft-sell approach in missionary work
By: JAMES CURRAN - Staff Writer
Murrieta faithful concerned about looking pushy while helping needy | ∞
MURRIETA ---- Pleasantries and tips on bug repellent aside, it was time to get to the heart of the matter about missionary work Tuesday night.
"So, I'd like to ask you," said Larry Slusser, second counselor to the Temecula Stake president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Is there any plan to teach them about Jesus Christ?"
A small gathering from United Church of the Valley appeared uncomfortable at the suggestion. Members of the church in Murrieta were preparing for their first mission, and had made the unusual step of appealing to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ---- a faith that has a profoundly different approach to the life of Jesus, but is known for its worldwide humanitarian outreach ---- for help.
Members of United Church of the Valley leave Southwest County later this month on a trip to Nicaragua to build two houses for the impoverished.
As for proselytizing, some of the admittedly liberal bunch replied they thought that engaging the needy in a discussion of Christianity was abhorrent and pushy.
Slusser paused.
"I'd like to plant that seed (with you)," he said. "(Christianity) is life-changing, to give them peace of mind, direction ... ."
Slusser and two missionaries from LDS were summoned to a house-turned-community center on Washington Avenue that night to discuss how to have a successful mission. The event marked an admission from another local Christian leader ---- that differences of opinion regarding the life of Jesus should be shelved in order to serve the destitute.
Prior to the get-together, the Rev. Randy Leisey, pastor of United Church of the Valley, was more interested in good works. He had been curious about the Latter-day Saints' missionary work since he heard Gordon B. Hinckley, the church president who died earlier this year, give a speech at The Forum in Inglewood.
"He said 'You 77 million baby boomers, don't get a motor home. Go on mission,'" Leisey said. "I thought, 'Wow, wouldn't that change the world?'"
Leisey and Slusser referred to each other as friends during the meeting.
Slusser and the missionaries said that talking about Jesus to the people they are helping need not come off as a high-pressure sales pitch. Instead of swiftly presenting a Bible ---- or in LDS' case, a Book of Mormon ---- Slusser suggested being pen pals with the people they help, bringing videos to watch or holding prework devotionals.
After his talk, Slusser said he was glad that LDS has been recognized for effective missionary work. He also recognized that his church had more resources than the smaller United Church of the Valley and tailored the talk away from the LDS method.
Leisey said that some of his members were deeply concerned about coming off as pushy Bible-punchers. One woman lamented during the discussion that "Christians have gotten a lousy reputation ... for being self-righteous."
"The task of missionary work used to be to make them like you," Leisey said. "But if you get intellectual about it, you realize how egocentric that is. Our denomination and many denominations started rethinking what mission is all about ---- building relationships."
Leisey also said he learned something about LDS beyond the Book of Mormon.
"I had an assumption that as a younger church, they'd be beating people over the head with the Bible," he said. "But it's really about getting to know people by helping them out."
Slusser insisted that building housing for the poor, a noble endeavor, is only part of the purpose.
"The house is going to care for ... one or two generations," he said. "The faith affects many future generations."
Contact staff writer James Curran at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2627, or jcurran@californian.com.
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manaen wrote on Mar 7, 2008 10:39 AM:Thank you for this article. I hope the missionaries from the United Church of the Valley share both worldly and spiritual relief with the Nicaraguans. As an LDS missionary in Argentina, I came to love my Spanish-speaking siblings (and became one). Because we LDS believe in "Choose *you* this day whom ye will serve" (Josh 24:15) -- that part of this life's purpose is for each of us to freely choose what to believe and do -- it would be against our own beliefs to pressure someone to accept them. Instead, we offer what we have and then invite the listener to go ask God whether it is true. We believe that the responsibility for that answer is between the listener and God so there would be no point in us trying to own it. However, having something as valuable as knowledge of Christ’s atonement and the restoration of His gospel, it would be unChristianly unloving not to offer to share it with our brothers and sisters who lack it. I hope this approach satisfies the standard of not being "abhorrent and pushy" or "self-righteous."
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A minor clarification: LDS, of course, believe in and use the Bible as scripture. We use it for our Sunday School’s curriculum for two years in the revolving four-year cycle. We focus on The Book of Mormon in this part of the world because most people here already accept the Bible. However, we teach that the Bible is God's word when the listener hasn't yet learned that... Thank you again for this enjoyable article.
Chris Burningham wrote on Mar 9, 2008 6:13 PM:This is the first article I have read from the link of MormonTimes.com I was very interested in the entire article and enjoyed the excellent journalism. Thank you for your quotes and I especially appreciated the conclusion of your article. It mirrors the line "He ain't heavy, he's my brother." Life is more than bricks and mortar and being a neighbor is really all about being "eternal brothers". Kudos to the writer who brings us the real world and real life.
John S. wrote on Mar 28, 2008 6:09 AM:Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings hope to the recipients. And hope is what the impoverished nations need. Both the missionaries and the recipients are blessed.
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