knowyourneighbor

An "Opening the Door" Tradition

I suspect that anyone reading the article The Mormon Open-Door Tradition of Hosting Visitors will feel a surge of pride. Having attended the Olympics with my family in 2002, President Hinckley's conference address in which he said the church had joined together in a great expression of hospitality rang true.

So here's my question.

If it's a given that we are hospitable and generous to all that come within our midst, why is it that there are still so many that consider us to be clannish and closed?

As church members we are adept at welcoming dignitaries (whether heads of state or local planning boards) who seek us out.  We have been doing this well for over a hundred years, as the article points out.

But how do we do with people that don't seek us out?  My sense is that if we're not sought out, we don't seek, missionary work being the exception.  Remember the quiz -- of your last five social interactions, how many were with someone with whom the common ground is something other than religion?

With so many of us bruised by the negative PR in recent months, it is rather tempting to circle the wagons.  But what if we reframe what has happened saying -- we know we are good at hosting those who seek us out, now let's get good at seeking others out!

Why not look at the past year as a $100 million dollar boon, an expenditure that has brought the church out of obscurity so that the 'Lord can bless all the kindred of the earth' and ask ourselves what can we do to further lengthen this stride? 

Why not take our cue from Ammon, 'desiring to dwell amongst others and be their servant'?

In other words, why not add to our open-door tradition, an 'opening the door' tradition, one in which we pro-actively invite others into our home and hearts?

Thoughts?   

Related posts:

President Thomas S. Monson -- On Working with Others

Boston Globe Op-Ed:  Romney, Mormons and Me

Tabernacle on trial

What we can learn from Ann Romney

Do we need the community? 

Public Affairs Project: "Mormonism 101: A Secular Discussion" presented in town libraries

For those of our readers involved in Public Affairs, below is the first in a series of ideas for stake Public Affairs directors. Thank you to Jamie Larsen, the Boston Stake Director of Public Affairs, for her work on this project, as well as her willingness to share this best practice with other stakes and wards around the world.


Photo courtesy tilsonburg, istockphoto

Overview:
The Boston Massachusetts Stake is in the process of conducting informational meetings on Mormonism in our libraries. The goal is not to proselytize but put forth correct information about the faith in a neutral community setting that allows people to see Mormons up-close and ask questions. Our ward bishoprics have asked a husband and wife that live in the town of the library to prepare a Powerpoint presentation that gives an overview of the faith, our history and beliefs, and then conduct a Q & A at the end of the presentation. This is also not in anyway a political event, but with Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, it has thrust Mormonism into the public spotlight in a way that has generated numerous questions from friends and neighbors. We are simply seeking to answer those questions.

Publicity:
Publicity is a challenging aspect of this project. We have put event information in the town newspapers, posted information on town event list-serves, posted flyers and asked members to hand out flyers or invite people who might be interested. We also contacted and invited local clergy and interfaith groups and asked, where appropriate, for them to pass along the information.

Outcomes so far:
We have conducted these discussions in two libraries so far. In Maynard , Massachusetts ten people from the community attended. Two were invited by members and the other eight came because of other publicity. One couple came because they like Mitt Romney and plan to vote for him and can’t figure out why his Mormonism is such as issue. They also said that everywhere they turn lately it feels like Mormonism keeps coming up: with Mitt, with this library seminar and the missionaries knocked on their door this week. They wondered if we were stalking them? Our presenter confirmed that we were (smile). Two years ago we also did a library presentation in Brookline , Massachusetts . Eight people from the community came.

The Goals:
1. Advertise the event widely. From a marketing perspective, maybe the biggest bang from this event is the hundreds of people that read about it in the newspaper.
2. It provides an opportunity to reach out to clergy groups in many towns to just introduce ourselves and begin taking part in community discussions on religion and participating in community service. We have let the PA representative find the contact information for clergy groups then pass it to the bishop to make the call introducing himself, explaining our goal with this library program, asking for suggestions and volunteering to help in future community programs.
3. It provides an opportunity to distribute correct information about the church and allows people to meet a real Mormon and hopefully begin to build relationships of trust.

The Big Obstacle:
We advertise that this is not a proselytizing event and we must keep our word. We have felt this is not the right event to have missionaries attend. We also don’t ask people for their contact information or pass out literature. We do think that giving out the presenters’ contact information if anyone has further questions is a good idea and announcing that our church meetings are open to the public is a good idea. In Maynard, some members who attended asked people for contact information so they could send the missionaries, we are going to try to avoid this in the future.

Feedback:
The Maynard presentation focused on living a contemporary Mormon life, reviewed various programs, and gave an overview of a typical day for a Mormon family. The presenters did an excellent job of using humor and keeping the presentation very lighthearted (very much their personalities). They did talk about polygamy and some of our beliefs and history. One gentleman said he wanted to hear much more about the church’s history.

Event Description:
We think this event description worked very well and advise using something similar:
Contemporary Mormonism 101 at Maynard Public Library

Phil and Julie Berry of Maynard will present “Contemporary Mormonism 101: A Secular Discussion” Thursday, January 31, at 7 pm at the Maynard Public Library, 77 Nason Street .

A frank discussion of what it means to be a Mormon – and raise a Mormon family – in the 21st Century, and how to separate fact from fiction in the national conversation about the LDS Church . Do Mormons think and vote alike? Why the restrictive dietary rules? Do Mormons still practice polygamy? How do Mormons explain their Christianity?

Neither a proselytizing nor political event; all questions welcome.

Phil Berry, software entrepreneur, and Julie Berry, children’s book author, have lived in Maynard for nearly seven years, and are the parents of four school-age sons. For more information, email Jamie Larsen at jahelar@hotmail.com.

President Thomas S. Monson -- on working with others

Here is a KYN gem from the new President of the Church, Thomas S. Monson, as seen on lds.org:

Responding to a reporter’s question about the Church’s openness in working with other churches and groups, President Monson said:

“We should not be sequestered in a little cage. We should eliminate the weakness of the one standing alone and substitute it with the strength of working together to make this a better world.”

“I believe in that spirit,” he said.

I believe it too.

Related posts:

Do we Need the Community?

Think Outside the Cultural Hall

Tabernacle on Trial

I read a very thorough and searching piece in the Wall Street Journal tackling Latter-day Saints' feelings about being in the spotlight because of Mitt Romney's run for president.

Read it here: Tabernacle on Trial

Do you feel like Marvin Perkins, quoted in the article, who says, "It seems like open season on Mormons"?

The good, bad and ugly has come out on us.

Some truths, half truth and out right lies -- so much, it can seem overwhelming.

With Romney's suspension of his campaign, does the spotlight dim down, even turn off?

Personally, I think perceptions remain unchanged, regardless.

Every good public relations professional will tell you:

Negative perceptions are driven by hearsay;

positive perceptions by experience.

We know that studies back this up. Overwhelmingly people who know Latter-day Saints have a favorable opinion.

Has this season been for Latter-day Saints a wake-up call?

If so, how do we respond? Is "know your neighbor" the right response?

How do we want people to come to know us?  Through hearsay or experience? What is the way to drive home our story, to tell who we are?

We want to hear your opinions.

Boston Globe Op-Ed: Romney, Mormons and Me

As I watched Romney's candidacy, I found myself alternately thrilled and not. The below op-ed is an attempt to sort and sift through my two minds. Some of you will no doubt disagree. I would love to hear why. Regardless, after you read (or skim) the piece, will you ask yourselves the questions below?

If we were to become better at combining our secular and spiritual lives, would Noah Feldman's NY Times article have been written? Would people have been so deeply uncomfortable with Romney's Mormon-ness? Would we have needed Romney to be so perfect?

As we practice marrying our two lives, I would look to kids in high school. Though this is a terribly difficult time as they daily ask themselves the question 'assimilate - de-assimilate?', I think you'll find that they maintain this balance remarkably well.

In fact why not put my hypothesis to a test.

Next time you are in a meeting with adults and youth (like Bishop's Youth Council), take the Know Your Neighbor quiz: Of the last five people you interacted with socially, how many in 5 do you have something in common with other than religion?

Though there are bound to be exceptions, especially within the Mormon corridor, odds are that the youth will score higher than the adults.

What are your thoughts?

President Gordon B. Hinckley -- Friend of the Media

Moregood Foundation has encouraged us to take opportunities in blogs and in chat rooms to talk about President Gordon B. Hinckley.

His passing is creating interest on the web.

So here is my remembrance about how he taught me to reach out to my neighbors:

You may remember President Hinckley’s announcement at General Conference in April 1996 that he would be on the CBS's 60 Minutes.

This was quite a big deal. Not too many Presidents of the Church have been on such a high profile show. Especially significant is that the reporter, Mike Wallace, was not known for being soft on those he interviews.

President Hinckley expressed his trepidation about being interviewed. He weighed carefully the invitation and decided to lean into the stiff winds of opportunity, as he put it, rather than hunker down and do nothing.

This was perfect timing for me. At the time, I was directing the media effort for an event for Bangkok, Thailand stake. I was not a media relations veteran in any sense of the word, and felt very inadequate. One press release I had sent was maliciously edited to poke fun at and malign our missionaries serving in Thailand.

It hurt.

I never wanted to work with the press again, because I feared doing more harm than good for the church. I feared being mis-quoted or caught off-guard. I felt particularly vulnerable because of my lack of experience.  Since I couldn’t control the outcome, I didn’t want to try anymore.

When I saw that President Hinckley was willing to take a risk to work with the media despite some concern for the outcome, I took great comfort. I decided I would not let a bad experience keep me from taking the opportunity to tell our story.

Good thing.

Since that time I have had wonderful experiences with the media. Many editors and reporters have become close friends of mine. We know that Mike Wallace became a close friend of President Hinckley.

President Hinckley reminded me that reporters and editors are real people too. We can tend to paint them with a broad brush, characterizing them as only wanting to create a sensational story without interest for the truth. I have found this is most often not the case.

President Hinckley taught me not to fear my neighbor, but to take a risk and reach out.

So many people confirm that President Hinckley was by nature a shy man. I believe he overcame any natural shyness, in part, by his love and devotion to God and His children.

I have been blessed a hundred fold for his example.

My heart is full, I will miss this great leader, but his example will be my beacon forever.

(photo at right: President Hinckley was often interviewed by CNN's Larry King)