For the past two weeks we’ve had a little wooden guy in our family room. He’s called Aaron and is named after one of the Sons of Mosiah. The Sons of Mosiah were Book of Mormon missionaires who, rather than becoming king on the death of their father Mosiah, went on a seventeen-year mission to the Lamanites. The four sons were named Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni. 
Our Ward has four of these wooden figures, one representing each of the four sons. Aaron has been in our home for the past two weeks as a reminder to seek out opportunities to tell people about the Church. He’s "transferred" by the missionaries assigned to our Ward. The transfers happen on Sunday. Aaron came with a bag of missionary goodies (the bag can be seen at his feet). One item was an outline for a Family Home Evening to be held at the beginning of Aaron’s stay. Other items included videos, tracts, pass-along cards, and a Book of Mormon. Finally, the bag contained a small booklet for us to record our missionary experiences so that Aaron would have a missionary journal at the end if his missionary experience.
We were quite interested in having one of these guys. We’ve several folks who have expressed some interest in information about the Church but don’t really want to talk to the missionaries. That material is slowly being distributed. The missionaries came by this evening to pick Aaron up and transfer him to his new family.
This is a kind of a novel program put together by the Stake. Each ward was given a set of four figures representing the Sons of Mosiah along with instructions and training. The guys are to move around the Ward until everyone in the Ward has had an opportunity. I’ve found it to be a good experience. In thinking about it, I’ve a few observations:
- We always call it "the Church." Perhaps it’s because the name of the Church is so long: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Perhaps it’s because we consider the Church to be the only true church. Perhaps it’s just some ego, but never-the-less, that’s the name used by most members: the Church.
- Telling other people about the Church is important to us. If the Church is indeed the only true church, then it’s important for other people to know about it. The issue is, lots of other folks think they’ve already found "the true church." They want to tell me about it. They want me to become "a Christian." Consequently, it’s not easy for me to do much proselyting!
- The whole "Christian" idea is itself quite interesting. We certainly feel very strongly that we are Christian. Others certainly feel very strongly that we are not. It’s all a question of definition. We define a "Christian" as someone who believes that Jesus is the Christ and is trying to conform his life to Jesus’ teachings. Others have a much more narrow definition which rather than trying to be inclusive, is quite exclusive and we don’t fit their definition.
- The Church is very geographic. Each congregation (called a "Ward") has a specific geographic description. Living within the boundaries of a Ward means being a member of that Ward. Moving outside those boundaries automatically means becoming a member of a different Ward. Since there is no paid ministry, a Ward depends on its members for everything: Sunday School teachers, youth organizations, childrens organzations, and everything in between. Our recruiting is done by introducing people to the Church. In mature Wards, that is, Wards in an area without much turnover in residents, recruiting (read missionary work) is difficult. People have selected and settled into their own church and aren’t much interested in changing. New residents, however, haven’t yet settled in and are more interested in finding a church that meets their needs. We have very little turnover in our neighborhood, so our missionary opportunities are somewhat limited. Is that a good enough excuse?
Well, Aaron is off to a new missionary experience. Bradica (the dog) sniffed all around the space where Aaron used to be and decided that all was still well in Zion. It’s time for bed after a busy Sunday. Good Night!