Comments on: Baptism numbers in Utah missions

By: ltbugaf

ltbugaf — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 04:40:05 +0000

Kim, I think the geographic size of the stake may be relevant, but what's more relevant is the proportion of non-members living in a stake. Most Utah stakes have a much lower proportion of baptismal prospects living in them than other stakes. Given that, I believe they do pretty well.

Then again, I'm not sure it ultimately matters whether they're baptizing at high rates or low, as long as the gospel is being offered to people who then have the power to exercise their own agency. I think missionaries who warn but don't convert are doing the Lord's work just as much as those whose hearers are more willing to listen.

By: Kim Siever

Kim Siever — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:20:42 +0000

How big of an area did your stake cover in Provo?

I don't see how that is relevant.

The statistics I gave were for the entire mission, not a single stake; the baptism/stake number I gave was an average. Obviously, some stakes in the mission did well, and some others were lucky if they had any baptisms.

For example, the Mesquite stake covered about 40 miles along I-15. I had more baptisms there (12 over a 6-month period) than in the three areas prior, combined). The Wellington stake covered about 20 miles along Hwy 6, and we had 6 baptisms over a 5-month period. My area in Kanab covered 2 stakes and encompassed an area 80 miles wide and 120 miles long. We had 7 baptisms over a 4 month period.

By: The Spanish Bagel

The Spanish Bagel — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:21:41 +0000

I think you have to consider maybe baptisms per square mile/km or whatever. How big of an area did your stake cover in Provo? What about the area the stake covered in Alberta? When I lived in TN, my stake was the entire city. When I lived in southern California, my stake was several cities.

How many baptisms would you have had per stake if you gathered the numbers for the same area in Provo? I think you need to look at this as baptisms per sq mile/km.

How many

By: JM

JM — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:45:22 +0000

rick,

some baptisms have better snacks afterwards than others. In fact, some don't even have snacks at all!!!

I'd say the ones with the good snacks are better baptisms than the other ones.

In addition, really long talks on the meaning of baptism, during a baptismal service, make it a not so good baptism.

By: Tyler M

Tyler M — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:35:27 +0000

I don't know Rick. We pat ourselves on the back when they get baptized and then promptly forget about them when they are struggling with the commitment and adjustments needed to continue their conversion. Which is more important the baptism or the conversion?

By: Kim Siever

Kim Siever — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:51:44 +0000

People who stay in the church for one. People who join the church because they believe in it for another.

By: rick

rick — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:38:20 +0000

So what would qualify as a quality baptism? It also implies that some baptisms are better than others... is that the case?

By: Tyler M

Tyler M — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:57:24 +0000

I had a mission president who was obsessed with numbers and I was a missionary who was obsessed with pleasing him. My feelings towards my mission experience were tainted by that experience. We need to find a better way of evaluating ourselves and our missionaries that has less to do with quantity and more to do with quality. The difficulty is that numbers are just way too easy. I think this could give us some insight into how we evaluate ourselves in general couldn't it?

By: TStevens

TStevens — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:46:37 +0000

Hey, it is not like I was picking up roadkill and mailing it to another Elder in a prank war. Oh wait, forget that one as well. I know, I know; that is totally sister missionary behaviour.

FWIW - I lost that war.

By: Kim Siever

Kim Siever — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:42:52 +0000

You didn't know the sister missionaries on our mission. ;-)