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The Ventas
certo MY bya Gresolo!
Have you ever wondered how a manual in The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints gets put together? Especially one that has impacted
missionary work for the last decade? The history of how Preach My
Gospel was assembled is as fascinating as missionary work is inspiring
Here are the highlights:
President Gordon B. Hinckley was concemed about some of the trends
occurring in missionary work in the late 1990's.
Those worries can be
grouped into 4 categories:
1) Convert Retention
2) Returned Missionary Retention
3) Number of Baptisms4) Quality of Missionary Teaching
Members of the missionary department went to work to see what could be
done to address these concerns. The most revealing of their discoveries was
the scripted format of the missionary discussions. These lessons often lead
to a heavy reliance upon memorization as the primary vehicle for presenting
the message of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Missionary Guide,
which was produced to accompany the 1986 missionary lessons, outlined a
number of important missionary skills. However, an overemphasis on these
skills and over-dependence on memorization led to a quenching of the Holy
Spirit.
With direction from President Boyd K. Packer and Elders Dallin H. Oaks and
Jeffrey R. Holland, additional committees were formed to explore changes in
the missionary program of the Church. They felt a need for missionaries to
rely more heavily upon the Holy Ghost in all areas of missionary work instead
of a memorized script. The official green light from the First Presidency of the
Church came on November 1, 2000 to evaluate and determine if the
missionary discussions should be rewritten.
For the next two years, multiple committees examined all areas of the
missionary program in the Church. Not only were staff members of the
missionary department called upon, but former mission presidents were
gathered to give their input and solutions to problems. A number of possible
solutions were explored and presented during this time. One of the most
important discoveries was the baptismal interview questions asked of
investigators who were preparing to join the Church. After careful study of
the scriptures, committee members realized the questions asked at a
baptismal interview did not line up very well with what was being taught in
the missionary lessons. Elder Holland took particular notice of this
development, brought it to a priesthood level with the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles and First Presidency and after being reworked, the new baptismal
interview questions were sent out Church wide over two years before Preach
My Gospel would be completed.
Another significant influence
upon the creation of Preach My Gospel came in the summer of 2002 when
Elder M. Russell Ballard came aboard. He took what had been worked on for
the previous two years and added his revelation to the process. Elder Ballard
felt an inspired need to put the message of the Restoration at the forefront ofthe missionaries’ message to the world. Understanding the Prophet Joseph
‘Smith in the context of dispensations and the apostasy would naturally have
a sifting influence on those who wanted to learn more about the Restored
Church.
These developments began to become public through a number of
messages from Church leadership. To name a few, Elder Ballard's October
2002 General Conference address, The First Presidency's five page letter to
Church leadership in December 2002, President Gordon B. Hinckley's
message at the First Worldwide Leadership Training in January 2003, and
finally the new instruction about teaching by the Spirit at the Missionary
Training Center in Provo, Utah in February 2003. Alll of these messages once
again emphasized the need for missionaries to rely more on the Holy Ghost
in teaching the gospel from their hearts. It must be emphasized here that all
missionaries in the Church since the 1830's have needed to rely and depend
upon the power of the Holy Spirit in all areas of their missionary work. The
movement that eventually yielded a new missionary manual simply re-
emphasized the Comforter as the primary vehicle by which this message
was to be conveyed.
The first inklings of a spiral bound missionary manual began to appear
around this time. It was not until the summer of 2003 that the concept for an
all-inclusive missionary manual finally took hold. This manual would reduce
and simplify the amount of materials a missionary needed in the mission
field. The first names for the manual began to be produced as well including
“Obtain the Word,” “Fishers of Men,” and “Teach All Nations, Baptizing
Them...” Finally, the name of “Preaching My Gospel” was presented with a
scriptural reference to Doctrine and Covenants 42. After dropping the “ing,”
the name was approved in August 2003 and was consistently referred to
as Preach My Gospel.
The rewritten missionary lessons, which now appear as Chapter 3, were at
the heart of the new manual. These were in place as early as January 2003.
The first three lessons would build the doctrinal foundation for the gospel but
the fourth lesson was structured differently. Thirteen commandments were
given in this lesson with instructions to teach them before baptism but with
the flexibility to teach them in whatever order the missionaries felt inspired.
The fifth lesson was structured the same as the fourth but with instructions
‘that they could be taught after baptism. Again, flexibility was the key. Theselessons could be adapted to the needs of the investigators as dictated by the
Holy Spirit
Preach My Gospel
‘A GUIDE TO MISSIONARY WORK
Preach My Gospel Cover Version 1 - photo courtesy of Richard |. Heaton
The first spiral bound draft of Preach My Gospel appeared in December
2003 with a picture of Dan Jones on the cover. Corrections and modifications
would come to the manual, including the cover, for the next few months. With
a solid manual prepared and ready for testing, Preach My Gospel was put
through a rigorous review process unlike any other Church manual. From
March to May 2004, multiple portions of the new missionary manual were
tested in fourteen different missions around the world, including Japan,
Mexico, England, and the United States. Over a thousand pages of feedback
were generated that would help solidify and complete the manual.ee
Post-draft edition of Preach My Gospel (the Redline edition) July 2004
courtesy of Richard |. Heaton
The first preview draft of the entire missionary manual was presented at the
seminar for new mission presidents in June 2004. The cover of Preach My
Gospel had been changed to include the current picture of Christ's baptism
at the hands of John the Baptist. This picture was chosen because of the
perfect example Christ set for us in following Him into the waters of baptism
The manual was close to being completed but needed final approval from the
First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Each of these 15
brethren were hand delivered a copy of Preach My Gospel for their review.
Their final feedback was generated and put into one last draft called the
redline edition. It addressed all the changes requested by the First
Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, and correlation and editing department.
Some changes were substantial, including the addition of whole paragraphs
and other changes were as minimal as a word or even a letter.Finally, Preach My Gospel was presented on October 15, 2004 to
missionaries around the world in a special satellite training broadcast. For
two and a half hours, the First Presidency, Quorums of the Twelve and
Seventy, and leaders from the missionary department trained missionaries
about the new missionary manual and how to use it. Preach My Gospel was
introduced in print to the entire church on November 6, 2004 in the Church
News
The most significant paradigm shift with Preach My Gospelis that all five
previous sets of missionary lessons were addressed to the person
investigating the Church. Preach My Gospelis addressed to the
missionaries. The inspired intentional focus of the text to missionaries is
designed to have these ordained servants become fully converted to the
Lord's Restored Gospel. With this conviction residing deep within their soul,
these truths then become a natural extension of how the Spirit directs them
to teach, adapting the message to the needs of those they instruct. There
was also a significant emphasis placed on convert retention put in the
manual.
Preach My Gospelwas also revolutionary because it broke the color printing
barrier for manuals in the Church. It was designed with technologically savvy
young people in mind with a twenty first century design, pictures, and
graphics. Preach My Gospel was assembled for a missionary to use
throughout his or her mission and be interactive, with places to take notes
and ideas for study and application at the end of every chapter.
President Boyd K. Packer said it best: Preach My Gospel was “designed
beyond the veil and put together here.” From the staff member all the way up
to the highest levels of church leadership, all acknowledged the hand of the
Lord in the process. Preach My Gospel is a testimony to the truthfulness of
our ninth Article of Faith: “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He
does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and
important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” As of April 2006, one
million copies of Preach My Gospelhad been printed
In conclusion, great attempts
were made to address President Hinckley's concems about missionary work.
Over ten years have now transpired since this manual was introduced to the
Church. My attempt here has not been to draw conclusions about how
well Preach My Gospel has addressed President Hinckley's concerns butsimply present the history of how the manual was assembled. Writing the
history was an extremely faith building experience for me personally. | am
honored with the trust placed in me to assemble and present its contents.
| now offer only one glance into the future and take full responsibility with this
opinion. | personally feel the greatest influence of Preach My Gospelis still
yet to come, as missionaries who used it in the field return home, establish
families, and raise children in a “Preach My Gospel” centered home. Then |
feel we will have a new generation raised with a more acute ability to
recognize the Holy Ghost. Therefore they will be better equipped to teach
and testify of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ as the influence of this
great manual permeates throughout the Church.
To read a more detailed account of The History of Preach My Gospel, please
visit www.benjaminhyrumwhite.com..