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> I'm having a RS leadership training for the ward RS Presidents in which we are going to talk about retaining new converts. >
Hi Ethel, again!
I made a handout of quotes relating to helping new converts a while back. I know there has been even more emphasis given on this topic lately.
Ann
"With the ever increasing number of converts, we must make an increasingly substantial effort to assist them as they find their way. Every one of them needs three things: a friend, a responsibility, and nurturing with the ‘good word of God’ (Moro 6:4) It is our duty to provide these things."
President Gordon B. Hinckley,
May 1997 Ensign, page 47 quoted in the Fredericksburg Stake
Leaders’
Newsletter, September 1997
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"Every one of us has an obligation to fellowship those [converts], to put our arms around them, to bring them into the Church in full activity. It is not enough just to go to Church on Sundays, we must reach out each day. I wish with all my heart that in Costa Rica every man, woman, and child who was baptized would remain faithful and active. And that can happen if all of you make up your minds to reach out and help the new convert. There is no point in the missionaries baptizing people only to have them come into the Church for a little while and then drift off. You have remained faithful, and I thank you for that, but again urge that you make an extra effort to reach out to those who have recently been baptized. They cannot do it alone. They are not strong enough yet. They need your help. God bless you to fellowship the new convert. That is so very, very important. That is a principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Only as we reach out to help others are we truly Latter-day Saints." -
President Gordon B. Hinckley
From member fireside, San Jose, Costa Rica, Jan. 20, 1997
LDS Church News Archives,
Saturday, September 6, 1997
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``... falling away concerns me,''... ``My desire is to plead with our sisters to stop worrying about a phone call or a quarterly or monthly visit and whether that will do, and concentrate instead on nurturing tender souls. Our responsibility is to see that the gospel flame continues to burn brightly. Our charge is to find the lost sheep and help them feel our Savior's love."
Mary Ellen Smoot,
Relief Society General President
May 1997 Ensign, page 86
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President Hinckley challenged the members to do all they could to assist new converts to remain active in the Church. Like new blossoms that die in the frost, new members often struggle in their transition from their former way of life. ``They need a friend,'' he said. ``Someone they can talk to. Someone who will answer their questions. He said that testimony and faith ``are like the muscles of my arm; they are strengthened by being used.'' As he bore testimony of these principles, President Hinckley encouraged members never to lose sight of the importance of the individual member of the Church.
From a Regional Conference in Paraguay Aug. 10, 1997
LDS Church News Archives,
Saturday, August 23, 1997
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"What is the worth of a human soul?...It is its capacity to become as God."
President Thomas S. Monson
September 1997 Ensign, p. 2
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"Let us pay more attention to those who are new to our congregations. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught: "For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? . . . And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others?" (Matt. 5:4647). "In building the kingdom of God, every positive act, every friendly greeting, every warm smile, every thoughtful, kind note contributes to the strength of the whole. It is my prayer that we may be open and outgoing, friendly, and helpful to all who come among us. But let us give special care and concern for the new converts to the Church. When we detect a halting step or a stumble as they begin their journey on the gospel path, let us be there to lift and support with words of kindness and concern; let us be available to give gentle, loving counsel that will strengthen and sustain. Let us conscientiously look for occasions to show that love which the Savior admonished us to have when He said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another" (John 13:34)."
Elder Carl B. Pratt
November 1997 Ensign, page 11
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"We would hope that new converts would be given special attention by home teachers and visiting teachers. All assigned brothers and sisters may magnify their responsibilities to care for and nurture those to whom they are called to serve."
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
November 1997 Ensign, page 32
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"...there lies before us the duty to hold fast all those who are newly converted and baptized, rekindle the faith of those who have drifted away, and protect the budding devotion of our youth. Newly baptized converts make an abrupt departure from past habits and ways. They are frequently alone in the Church, without the support of family and familiar faces. They stand on a path that is strait, narrow, and true. It is also new and can be a bit baffling. "There are those who were once on this same path who have wandered away. Their faith has grown dim. To them, the prospect of full fellowship seems remote and perhaps unwanted. They "hide" from the Church and feel hidden from God. "Simultaneously with doctrinal conversion there must be a social transition. Friends, habits, customs, and traditions not in harmony with the life of a Latter-day Saint are abandoned, replaced by new friends and activities that support a new life. Of the two important changes that must occur in a convert's life—the gaining of a testimony, or doctrinal conversion, and learning how to live as a Latter-day Saint, or the social transition—the latter is the most difficult to achieve. It is best accomplished with the love and support of members. Your worthy example and caring support can lead them through each step required to learn to live as a Latter-day Saint. "This social transition requires careful nurturing and help to teach new patterns of life, to introduce new friends, and to assist the new converts to be obedient and begin to serve in the Church."
Elder Richard G. Scott
November 1997 Ensign, page 35
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"The Saints of God have always been under covenant to nourish each other spiritually, especially those tender in the gospel. We are blessed to live in a time when a great increase in that capacity to nourish new members of the Church must and therefore will be poured out upon the faithful Saints. That power has been given before among the Lord's people."
"The Lord through His living prophet has told us that He will preserve the bounteous harvest of new converts entering the waters of baptism across the earth. And the Lord will do it through us. So we can have confidence that by doing simple things, things that even a child can do, we will be granted soon greater power to nourish tender faith. "The place to start is with our own hearts. What we want with all our hearts will determine in large degree whether we can claim our right to the companionship of the Holy Ghost, without which there can be no spiritual nourishing. We can begin today to try to see those we are to nourish as our Heavenly Father sees them and so feel some of what He feels for them."
"It does not require a calling more than being a member to nourish by reaching out in kindness. And even those who have no calling to teach or to preach can nourish with the good word of God if we prepare for it. We can do it every time we speak with a new member and every time we participate in a class discussion. Every word we speak can strengthen or weaken faith. We need help from the Spirit to speak the words which will nourish and which will strengthen. "There are two great keys to inviting the Spirit to guide what words we speak as we feed others. They are the daily study of the scriptures and the prayer of faith. "The Holy Ghost will guide what we say if we study and ponder the scriptures every day. The words of the scriptures invite the Holy Spirit."
"Just as pondering the scriptures invites the Holy Ghost, so does daily pleading in prayer. If we do not ask in prayer, He will rarely come, and without our petition He is not likely to linger." "If the full requirements of their new membership are explained clearly and with love, if the opportunity to serve in the Church is extended wisely and their performance in that service judged with charity and nurtured with patient encouragement, they will be strengthened by the companionship of the Holy Ghost and then they will be nurtured by power beyond our own. "As they endure, even the gates of hell will not prevail against them."
"We can by simple obedience help the Lord to take the lambs, His lambs, into His hands and take them in His arms home to their Father and our Father. I know that God will pour out the powers of heaven upon us as we join in preserving that sacred harvest of souls."
Elder Henry B. Eyring
November 1997 Ensign, page 82
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"They come to our wards and branches feeling as though they are
strangers. "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Eph. 2:19).
We read in the scriptures about seeds and about the sower of seeds (see
Matt. 13; Alma 32). We are taught that a seed can grow, become a tree,
and bear fruit. But we have to have good soil to accept the good seed,
and that is one of our roles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints — that we provide the soil which nurtures the seed so it can grow
and bear fruit and that the fruit remains (see John 15:16). Many
are strong enough to endure to the end. Without receiving a warm hand of
fellowship, some become discouraged and unfortunately may lose the spirit
that brought them to the waters of baptism. What was once a centerpiece
in their existence is pushed aside for what they may perceive to be an
offense, more pressing matters of the day, or simply lost in the shuffle
of living. To labor for the conversion of one's self and others is a noble
and joyful task." Elder Robert D. Hales May 1997 Ensign, page 80
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Making new sisters feel welcomed in the ward is one of our presidency's big thrusts!
When a new sister shows up at a Relief Society Meeting, we hand her a clipboard with a sheet in bright yellow paper and a big bow tied across the top of the clipboard. The sheet is a form we prepared which asks basic questions such as her name, phone number, address.
Upon finding out a sister has moved in, our presidency makes a visit to her home. We have a "Getting to Know You Sheet" that we fill out as we talk to her, discovering her background, talents, and interests. We present her with a Relief Society directory so she has instant access to our ward. We usually take a treat, too.
Then, our "New Move-Ins" Compassionate Service Person" makes a separate visit to the new sister, presenting her with a pocket-folder packet we have assembled contained information about the ward (leaders, schedules, etc) and some about the community, including a map of the local area. She also takes along a treat and is responsible for keeping tabs on the new sisters for a couple of months while friendships are developed.
Every quarter, we have a New Sister Dinner Party. Our "New Move-Ins Compassionate Service Person" hosts a dinner and party at her home for every new sister that has moved in during the quarter. We picked the months of January, April, July, and October as they seem to work best (so far...). We play getting-to-know-you games and have a delicious dinner prepared by the Compassionate Service Person (which she insists upon doing herself because she loves to entertain...(Okay, we'll let you!!!)
Our presidency is ever aware of each new sister and we try to spot them
during our Sunday Meeting to be sure they are not sitting alone.
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