I began this post at the beginning of June of this year, 2014, contemplating the number of baptisms that the LDS Chilean missions (like where I served in the 1990s) were able to undertake from the 1960s to the 1990s. Things seemed to slow down considerably after 2000. Adding commentaries to an interesting blog site called LDS Church Growth (http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/), I reflected more and more about the incredible number of chilenos that were baptized. It has taken a lot of my thought and conceptualization over the years. So many would enter the waters of baptism with us elders and sisters! And many never stuck around... Sometimes I compare it to a romantic fling, not meant to last but poignantly sweet while it transpired. And it happened time and again. Perhaps it was contagious, or infectious. Chileans would see neighbors or cousins join the faith and wonder: what is the allure?
In my Concepcion Mission in the 1990s, we had a significant number of native Chilean Elders and Sisters. Elders from Chile made up approximately 40 % of the men, while chilenas possibly made up about 70 percent of the females, who composed 10-20 % of the overall missionary force (which ranged from a high of 240 missionaries to 180, during a lot of my time there). We had a few elderly married couples who tended to be US persons, but their overall numbers were quite small.
I found it more successful to be with a Chilean natives while teaching new investigators of the faith, rather than being with other North American ones. Maybe that is how I was with a fellow countryman in this foreign environment, or that is how it worked out with me in my time there by coincidence when I happened to be joined up with American companions. I remember feeling more confident baptizing people that I knew would be within a day's bus ride or so from those that taught and baptized them, as opposed to me and another US guy who may never make our way back down there...
It is tricky. I commented on the Growth Blog about a young man named Claudio Orlate who requested being baptized in a short period of time, which my missionary trainer Elder Cabrera and I facilitated and undertook based on the fact that he qualified to be baptized and wanted to do so. What he did after officially joining was up to him. He confessed to a Catholic priest that he had done our baptism and confirmation, and he seemed to change his mind, or "repent" of his decision, thus reverting to his original faith although listed on our rolls. Others that we taught and baptized eventually stopped coming or were going to other churches, too.
But in my previous post, just recently written (Chile 3 Times, 3 Things about Chile...Tres y tres son Seis), my observations indicated that Chileans were culturally or sociologically ready to do this.
Go figure.
So do we blame the elders and sisters, the mission presidents and the LDS church at large for the huge number of convert baptisms and the consequent loss of those attending? Or do we attribute it to the Chileans themselves?
Ultimately, there is no cut and dry answer for us to understand for sure, but each individual will account to God or others what caused them to make decisions and either stick to or not keep with those commitments. Peer pressure? Opportunity? An emotional crush or flirtation, as such? Real feelings turned sour or bitter, or apathetic? Other socio-economic factors?
We shall see.
Blog it, EMC.
In my Concepcion Mission in the 1990s, we had a significant number of native Chilean Elders and Sisters. Elders from Chile made up approximately 40 % of the men, while chilenas possibly made up about 70 percent of the females, who composed 10-20 % of the overall missionary force (which ranged from a high of 240 missionaries to 180, during a lot of my time there). We had a few elderly married couples who tended to be US persons, but their overall numbers were quite small.
I found it more successful to be with a Chilean natives while teaching new investigators of the faith, rather than being with other North American ones. Maybe that is how I was with a fellow countryman in this foreign environment, or that is how it worked out with me in my time there by coincidence when I happened to be joined up with American companions. I remember feeling more confident baptizing people that I knew would be within a day's bus ride or so from those that taught and baptized them, as opposed to me and another US guy who may never make our way back down there...
It is tricky. I commented on the Growth Blog about a young man named Claudio Orlate who requested being baptized in a short period of time, which my missionary trainer Elder Cabrera and I facilitated and undertook based on the fact that he qualified to be baptized and wanted to do so. What he did after officially joining was up to him. He confessed to a Catholic priest that he had done our baptism and confirmation, and he seemed to change his mind, or "repent" of his decision, thus reverting to his original faith although listed on our rolls. Others that we taught and baptized eventually stopped coming or were going to other churches, too.
But in my previous post, just recently written (Chile 3 Times, 3 Things about Chile...Tres y tres son Seis), my observations indicated that Chileans were culturally or sociologically ready to do this.
Go figure.
So do we blame the elders and sisters, the mission presidents and the LDS church at large for the huge number of convert baptisms and the consequent loss of those attending? Or do we attribute it to the Chileans themselves?
Ultimately, there is no cut and dry answer for us to understand for sure, but each individual will account to God or others what caused them to make decisions and either stick to or not keep with those commitments. Peer pressure? Opportunity? An emotional crush or flirtation, as such? Real feelings turned sour or bitter, or apathetic? Other socio-economic factors?
We shall see.
Blog it, EMC.
No comments:
Post a Comment