UNIFIED HOME & VISITING TEACHING STRATEGY “Brethren, home teaching is not just another program. It is the priesthood way of watching over the Saints and accomplishing the mission of the Church. Home teaching is not just an assignment. It is a sacred calling. Home teaching is not to be undertaken casually. A home teaching call is to be accepted as if extended to you personally by the Lord Jesus Christ.”
The priesthood forces in our units are usually small, often untrained, with very limited resources available at their disposal and faced with gigantic odds of inactivity to achieve the mission of “inviting all to come unto Christ.” (Moroni 10:32) I hope to make a modest contribution to these heroic men (and women) in helping them accomplish the Savior’s commandment of ‘watching over the flock’ utilizing creative methods and approaches that works. I fondly refer to this idea as the “guerrilla home teaching” concept in honor of the men in battle who are faced with overwhelming odds against their adversaries yet achieving their missions given very limited resources using non-conventional approaches. Guerrillas have no-nonsense, bottom-line, down-to earth approach in meeting their challenges. At the end of this article, I have narrated our experience in a small branch where we employed this tactic and the success they have accomplished while they used it. THE CHALLENGE
If you have already tried to organize home teaching, you probably already know by now that it takes a lot of time given the enormous task confronting you. Sometimes it’s just Pres. Ezra Taft Benson downright discouraging when you think of the overwhelming number of less active, new converts, and inactive members combined. When you match this against the limited human resource and talent you have in your unit, the challenge can be formidable. In our provinces I believe the challenge is compounded by the fact that many do not have the resources and time available compared to the more economically blessed parts of the country. When the odds become too much to bear, our tendency is to simply maintain the ‘status quo.’ These results to either not doing any home teaching or suffering from the paralysis of the tedious process of organizing. I am not proposing that home teaching be organized in some other way but I would like to present a flexible model where home teaching can be organized faster. In certain occasions where home teaching assignments are not yet completed, the home teaching visits can be happily rolling along and the brethren beginning to experience the wonderful spirit of home teaching. As Pres. Spencer W. Kimball often challenged us – DO IT! Let’s not allow the administrative part of home teaching encumber the more important work of ministering to the saints. (Please refer to the article on “Organizing Home Teaching Efficiently”).