If you were to ask someone who isn't a church member what their first impression is when they think about the Mormons, you would probably find many whose first response goes something like this: “Aren't they those young guys who go around knocking on doors, trying to talk about religion?”
This process of “knocking on doors” has an official name – tracting. While known by other names as well (bloc-knocking in Romania was my favorite), the action is the same. Missionaries fill their time going from door-to-door, seeking anybody who might be willing to listen to what they have to say.
I'll cut right to the chase. In most cases, tracting is a complete waste of time. In many cases, it may end up being more detrimental than helpful to missionary work.
True, in some cultures, it isn't strange to invite in a stranger who has come to your door, no matter their reason. Many former missionaries who served in parts of Latin America, or in nations close to the Middle East which have been heavily influenced by the well-known above-and-beyond hospitality of the Arab world, know this to be the case.
Others have been in places where there is no door-to-door culture whatsoever, such as in Russia, where I was a missionary. There, nobody comes to the door unexpectedly. Moreover, the Communist history has fostered an understandable distrust for strange men in suits who suddenly appear at one's door. Nine times out of ten, the door wouldn't even open. Individuals would simply peek through the peephole, then slip back into their home without a word.
So, as I was saying, in most places of the world, I believe tracting is all but useless. Moreover, if you read official missionary literature distributed by Church leaders, you'll find that they too have counseled against excessive tracting. In a satellite broadcast in 1999, President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “So many of us look upon missionary work as simply tracting. Everyone who is familiar with this work knows there is a better way.” As a tool for finding people who are interested in religion, tracting is simply a statistically ineffective method.
Why is it so ineffective? I'll let the master of human behavior, Jerry Seinfeld, explain that one. Remember that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry gets a sales call, then offers to call the salesperson back at home? “We're not allowed to do that,” the salesperson says. “Oh, I guess don't want people calling you at home?” Jerry replies. “No,” the salesman says. Then comes Seinfeld's infamous comeback: “Well now you know how I feel.” People don't feel control over the situation when somebody comes into their personal space unasked and tries to impose their opinions on them, no matter how sincere the intent.
Yet, there are still many missionaries who tract hours upon hours each day. Some missions even have rules that missionaries must tract a certain number of hours per day or per week. Such a notion makes little sense to me.
Giving thought to tracting over the years, I have determined that there are only one really valuable result that comes from it. Tracting can be a great way to help build confidence in young missionaries. I only tracted a handful of times as a missionary, most during my first few months. This practice did indeed help me conquer certain fears. Nevertheless, it didn't take tracting hours out of every day of my mission to get the desired effect.
Some missionaries who are “super-tracters” feel that their hours of tracting translates into diligence. This too, I believe, is a fallacy of the mind. While they may be harder workers than the missionary who does nothing, I feel that tracting itself is usually becomes a subtle form of laziness itself, disguised as hard work. One feels diligent while tracting, but truly, this repetitive action doesn't take much mental effort once you get into the rhythm of how it is done. A short introduction is memorized, and recited at every door. Missionaries learn quickly to brush off rejection, and it becomes the expected outcome. As a result, missionaries spend hours feeling they are hard at work but without accomplishing anything at all, except perhaps annoying people. Does tracting really help spread the Gospel?
In the long run, I suggest that an effort be made to encourage missionaries to see tracting as an optional activity, only to be used in special circumstances. I suggest that an effort be made to help missionaries disassociate tracting as being the “default” method of missionary work. This will encourage missionaries to focus on more effective methods of missionary work, as well as improve the overall image of the Church.
Any thoughts on the matter? And while we're discussing, be sure to share any hilarious tracting stories.
10 comments:
I'll start just to get the ball rolling. I remember my very first "tract" in Russia. It was in the sweltering hot summer (I had always thought Siberia was supposed to be cold year round). I was with a zone leader who took me into a building. He did the first few doors, with no success. Finally, he handed the reins to me. I rang the doorbell, and the door actually opened. An old shriveled man, probably in his late sixties, opened the door, standing only in his briefs. "Zdrazvuyte" (hello) was all I managed to get out. He looked at me for about two seconds, somewhat quizzically, then said "da sveedanya" (goodbye) while shutting the door. I couldn't have had a more classic first experience.
Then there was another time when we were actually invited in to a home, where the lady was drunk beyond all recognition, and insisted that her plants helped her communicate directly with God.
True, most of the times we were invited in were because: 1) The person was quite drunk, 2) They were members of another religion that wanted to share their thoughts, or 3) A combination of the two (surprisingly common).
I grew to love teaching English classes.
I think engaging in public service activities was useful.
While I was on my mission in Brazil we spent a lot of time with Church members to cultivate a relationship of trust through which we could cooperate to find people they know whom we could teach.
I also started two radio shows on my mission - we played some inspirational music and shared uplifting thoughts, stories, scriptures, etc. - it was a great outreach effort!
love the Seinfeld clip :)
It was always interesting bloc-knocking in Moldova. My companion spoke russian, and I spoke romanian, so every time someone answered the door in russian, I "owed" my companion a door. If we had done bloc-knocking more than twice, I'd have been pretty far in debt, since almost everybody answered in russian :)
one of my first times bloc-knocking, in Ploiesti, we were going back to a lady we had talked to the week before. Her husband was home this time (and pretty drunk), and grabbed me by the arm, refusing to let me go. He was about twice my size, drunk, and holding me so tight I could barely move. It took both his kids, the neighbors, and my companion to get him off, and then he chased us down 3 flights of stairs and down the street, threatening to call the police and / or kill us.
Good times :)
Nils, I think that this is a brilliant post. Even when I was an active member, tracting was offensive to me. What a "tracter" is essentailly saying to the "tractee" is, "I have something you NEED." Most folks don't appreciate personal introductions when the scale is already tipped in one direction, and your direction ain't the "favorable" one.
Another awfully transparent and misguided missionary technique (one I've personally experienced on more than one occasion) is the unannounced visit to the home of an "inactive" member where one of the missionaries might ask if I know any "inactive members" with whom they could share their message. Um, I wasn't born yesterday. :) I know that they were specifically sent our way, and it's a game I'm not interested in playing. If you are going to visit me, be upfront about the purpose of your visit.
Thanks Nils for this topic.
I think knocking at peoples doors you will only be successful when there is already a predisposition to be taught or some curiosity. I would appreciate someone knocking at my door, but only because I have read bits and pieces of the Book of Mormon, got some questions, but cannot get around to see someone about it. However, if someone came to brief me on a book I had not read I do not think I would let them in to chat.
Michaela.
L. Tom Perry's comments from the April 09 Conference talk about the role of missionaries was very well-put. Missionaries are, first and foremost, teachers, not finders. Nils, you and I both know how much more effective things like English lessons or grammar arguments on buses could be :)
As for your comments on diligence, I know tracting is a more diligent use of time than sitting at home talking about random stuff. But I always felt it was more effective and diligent, if we were at home, to plan on more effective means than just to go tracting for the sake of something to do.
Personally, I think the missionaries would have a far better chance of developing personal relationships if they knocked on the door and said something like, "Hi, we're missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and part of our mission is to learn to serve people. We're out today looking for people who need any kind of service done - yard work, house work, anything that you need done that you believe we could do. It won't cost you anything, but we'd appreciate the opportunity to be of service. Do you have anything we could do, or perhaps know of a neighbor who does?"
If it turns out that the job is more than can be done immediately, then schedule an appointment, round up additional missionaries, and come back in force.
Then, do the job, thank them for the opportunity. On your way out, leave a card with a phone number. "If there's ever anything we can do for you, please don't hesitate to call."
Then smile, and LEAVE. Do not "offer a spiritual thought", do not preach, do not offer a Book of Mormon - UNLESS THEY ASK.
I think this totally unexpected selfless approach would open a lot more hearts and minds than tracting.
Nils, I can see that your personal experiences with ineffective tracting have colored your lenses.
I served state-side and I found tracting to be less-effective, sure, but I found a lot of value in it still.
1) Like you said, it builds character and conquers fear.
2) It is a voice of warning. Those people that looked through the peep-hole can't tell God He didn't send anyone.
3) With the proper attitude (and I concede that most tracting isn't done with the proper attitude), it shows the Lord you have faith in Him and that you rely on Him.
4) It motivated me and my companions to fill our time with other more-effective appointments and service opportunities.
5) We couldn't teach English classes.
We had a visit one day from Elder Mickelson of the Seventy who showed us how to approach someone's door with love. It wasn't just a gimmick or memorized lines, it was much more. I wish I could convey the excitement his training produced in us. After the conference, several of us were going to gather for dinner at the Chinese buffet, but one companionship declined the offer saying, "Naw, I'm jazzed about this approach and I want to try it out right away."
For weeks afterward, we were invited into houses everywhere. Where once we would knock a few houses when we had an extra 15 minutes, we'd hesitate to try because we thought we'd actually get let in and be late for our next appointment.
Thanks for your thoughts. I agree with Jonathan and Bill M's suggestions of using service as a better way of building relationships with people, either with or without tracting as a tool.
Michaela, I think any missionary who knocks on your door is going to have his day made.
I think Janet and Thaddeus have touched on an important key to anything that a missionary does (or as Janet points out, a home teacher as well). That is, there must be genuine concern on the part of those offering. One of the difficulties to this problem is that you usually don't know the people you are visiting or tracting into, therefore it is difficult for many to have any sort of connection to them or genuine concern for their well
being right off the bat.
Moreover, with missionaries tracting, it is very easy to lose any hint of love or concern for these strangers that may exist if one is being rejected continually.
Nevertheless, Thaddeus, I am glad your brought up positive experiences as well. I agree that tracting, if done in an appropriate manner, can at times result in more of a positive outcome than a negative outcome. However, I believe that the problem is that many missionaries make tracting their "default" finding tool. Rather than using it effectively and sparingly, they do it out of habit or because the feel that "tracting is what a missionary is supposed to do."
Usually (note not always), when this mindset is taken, one of two negative consequences emerge. Either they hate it and suffer through it, or the grow calloused and care little about the effectiveness of their efforts, just going from door-to-door in a more mindless pattern. If it gets to one of these two points, then it is probably time to stop and re-evaluate before tracting again, as it may end up causing more harm than good.
Once I was asked by the zone leaders to take a younger missionary out tracting to try and help him "come out of his shell." He was very reserved around others, including other missionaries. The thought was, in his case, that tracting would help him break the barriers of his introvert-ness. After tracting through half of a stairwell in an apartment building, it became evident to me that he was hating it. He had no desire to connect with people, felt forced into speaking with them, and being thrown in the deep end was probably just making it worse, both for himself and for general public relations of the Church. Therefore, we quit on the spot.
Tracting coupled with negative emotion is a dangerous threat to sustainable missionary enthusiasm.
Anyway, I don't advocate that tracting should be done away with completely, I simply think it should be consciously moved down the list in the minds of missionaries as to what they can do to be most effective. Also, I think IF missionaries are to tract, they should be prepared mentally and spiritually, and have excitement and enthusiasm (both members of the companionship) about tracting. And, ultimately, it should still be done in moderation.
Knowing my personable and humanist nature, the Lord was good enough to send me to the Dominican Republic, where people don't just let you in, they buy you a soda pop or make you a glass of juice with oatmeal in it. Not only that, but the weather was always nice (though hot and sweaty), and people were usually home (unemployed).
For that reason, tracting for me was somewhat enjoyable and successful.
I admit that we weren't always pure in our motives. We once tracted into the son of a mean old Catholic lady who had twice interrupted previous discussions we were having on her neighbors' porches. "You're just listening to them because they have pretty faces and white skin," she would say, among other less agreeable phrases. Well, when we found out where she lived, we knew we had to get her on tape. So we returned the next day with a hidden tape recorder and provoked her with all sorts of questions. As expected, she got all riled up and provided some great audio that I still have to this day.
Every once in a while we would sing into the people's homes instead of knocking on their doors. But it wasn't hymns or primary songs. We sang our own tune with lyrics similar to this: "We are the Mormons! We have come to your door! Is anybody in there? We can tell you are home!"
Thanks for jump-starting the memories Nils.
-Tyler Peterson
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