|
|
Member and Missionary Conferences |
|
| The rest of an old story—My missionary journal isn’t an angry document, but I was furious when I wrote the entry for November 3, 1963. Now, 46 years later, I can still see red when reviewing those events. Dignitaries of supposedly-worldwide Church auxiliary organizations, acting in their official capacities, displayed provincial insensitivity beyond the power of charity to excuse, and they did a lot of damage to the work we were trying to do in France. |
|
As it turns out, I was present for a sequel that comes close to turning this episode into a happy story and that clarifies some painful issues.
Just five years later, in the fall of 1968, a similar meeting was convened in Paris, with my Pappy, President H. Duane Anderson, as host. As before, top people from the general Church auxiliaries were present, tasked to help local leaders to implement the coming year’s curriculum and activity programs. |
President H Duane Anderson |
|
President Pappy knew the story from 1963, and this time only a few local folks were asked to attend and to filter the word down the ranks.
As before, our visitors presented the new schedule and materials and then invited questions and comments. As before, local leaders raised questions about the specific application of Wasatch-front prescriptions to European people and conditions. But whereas in 1963 the answer had been, “This is an inspired progrum [sic], and you shall carry it out exactly as written!”, this time we got an entirely different response. I believe it was the same Florence Jacobsen of the YWMIA who smiled, leaned back, and said, “The auxiliaries operate under Priesthood direction. Please look to your local ecclesiastical leaders for specific guidance.” Everybody went home happy and empowered. The Church had learned and grown: an inspired thing called (however unfortunately) the “correlation program”1 had begun to take effect. The Lord, I believe, expects us to act as responsible sons and daughters, with guidance from a loving Father, not as puppets micromanaged from above. He lets us make mistakes in administering inspired programs, so that we can learn from them, correct them, and become better able to lead. Our job is to seek the guidance, to follow it, and to sustain our yokefellows who find themselves at other points in the same process. 1After the events of 1963, it was a saying among us that we would first convert the Jews, and then the antipodes, and finally the auxiliaries. ”Twould appear that the work closer to home moved right along… |
|
Back a Page (Leadership) |
Such a Life Contents |
Second Mission: section start |
Second Mission: page index |
(Next Topic) |
Next Page (Conferences) |
| Welcome | Stories | Sections | Such a Life | People | Places | Site Search | Do You Know? |
| Updated Jan 2014 | [8Miss23.htm] | Page 37-032 |