Oppression from unrighteous dominion is why we are inactive in our stake. Since there is no oversight committee and our stake is run like a “good ol’ boy’s club” we no longer wish to participate.
Sexism, like racism, becomes even more disturbing as a society transitions to a more rational and equitable way of treating a group subject to prejudice. Can our LDS Church learn ethics, line upon line.

I think the idea of having bishops conduct investigator baptism interviews is a great one. About what issues missionaries should discuss and what they shouldn’t, it’s a tough call. Ultimately, a new convert’s faithfulness to the Gospel after finding out about difficult doctrines will depend on their own sprouting testimony – something that is difficult to measure. If we really know the Gospel is true by the power of the Holy Ghost, and are willing to follow those feelings, there should be no issue big enough to shake us. Again, it’s a tough call – there are things that would make almost anyone, even the prophet (think of Joseph Smith and polygamy), really take the time to ponder, wonder, and assess the strength of their testimony before obeying.

I’ve heard of what an apostle called ‘nightmarish numbers’ before in another mission in the country I served in: 5,000 baptisms for the year, and a reduction in church attendance. I feel blessed to have served under a president that never emphasized numbers, or hardly even brought them up in mission conference. It allowed us to work for love, not fear or pride. Our baptisms were a fraction of the number listed above, but church attendance went up each year. I think emphasis on fellowshipping, retention, and cultivating testimony should replace numbers. I also agree that all members are imperfect and, I for one, have plenty of faults. When certain people make it difficult to go to church or to grow our testimonies, sometimes the only One who can help us overcome our challenges is our Father in Heaven.

Very occasionally I heard specific counsel to think of everyone I saw as a sinner in need of the good news of Jesus Christ and then the saving ordinances.

The majority of the time, though, the message I received from local leaders, mission leaders, and visiting authorities was to look for people in our contacting who could be expected to show up to meetings on time, take legible notes, and behave (Elder Maxwell called this “the priesthood style.”)

It depends on the branch of Judaism. Because the idea of converting to Judaism was always viewed as a bit suspious by the leadership, a vetting process has been used to make sure that the convert knows what they are getting themselves into.

To become an Orthodox Jew requires a complete change of lifestyle for most people, not unlike becoming a Latter-day Saint. The biggest change is in keeping kosher. The home must be thoroughly cleaned, ovens must be purified and a significant change in food preparation and eating must come about. Much more so than observing the word of wisdom.

The doctrine and laws are one thing, I think the lifestyle change can be more dramatic for a new Orthodox convert.

I thought this was rather interesting. Perhaps less emphasis on gaining new converts is less important right now then trying to strengthen the members that are already there?

One of the most frustrating things being in Ward leadership was when you saw investigators who were unlikely to suceed at church be baptized by the missionaries and then “dumped” on the Ward. So I think the Bishop should have at least a say in whether to accept a person for baptism. The missionaries move on, notch their belt and give a good talk at their homecoming about who they baptized.

Now, one another problem which I do think exists at the ward level is when someone is brought to church that is “different” from most ward members. Either race, ethnity, economic level, etc. It is hard for ward members to embrace those people. Some members try really hard and really display Christ-like love for the person. But it can be a problem for them to me the only_________ in the ward.

I’m not in favor of the full disclosure in the missionary discussions idea, but I do personally think that people with little familiarity with the church who don’t know any church members, etc., really need the friendship and fellowship of members they can connect with personally to answer & discuss those types of issues, possibly before baptism or at least soon thereafter. Church history (peep stones & mountain meadows) seems largely irrelevant to me in terms of spiritual conversion, but temple concepts (including garments) are pretty central. Yet I don’t think having 19 year old boys telling people of all ages and sexes about underwear is practical or ideal either. The priesthood ban is unseemly IMHO, but it is also not doctrinal. Take it how you will, but I wouldn’t trust anyone over 45 to explain it in terms that are understandable or acceptable to the rest of us. I think it’s worth mentioning to converts, but again with a strong member who can discuss these issues as a fellow member. I also like the bishop interviewing idea vs. the missionaries, although in many new areas of the church this would not be feasible. In several areas of my mission, missionaries had to lead the branches because there were not enough members yet.

The only thing that was a real surprise to me was when we ent through the temple and told about certain symbols that we wear. I didn’t even know they were there until that point. I should have been more prpared than that.

But again, a surprise, but to me, no big deal.

I think perhaps a preparation for people to encounter and deal with weird issues could go a long way. By that I mean talking about how we have a personal responsibility to understand and own our own beliefs, and for our choices and actions to be guided by the Spirit’s inspiration to us, not just doing what we are told by others. Of course, for that to happen, the leadership would have to believe that kind of Liahona approach is good for us, and I don’t think they do. I get the impression that they want us to follow the Spirit as long as the Spirit is confirming the direction of leadership as if there is any scriptural basis for the idea that the two are always in sync.

I am not quite sure about the so-called “full disclosure” rule. ‘Cause I don’t know where it would end.

Such as:

1. And then there will be people who dominate Gospel Doctrine class because they think they know it all.
2. And, if you have a beard, you can’t work in the temple or teach seminary or at BYU.
3. BTW, on Fast and Testimony some people will: preach at you, tell a travel story, thank everyone in the ward for one thing or another, or just give the talk they were never asked to give.
4. If you play church sports, wear a cup! and hold your ears.
5. Sometimes, when members give talks in sacrament, they teach false doctrine. But don’t worry, no one will correct them.
6. If you are the Ward activity director and you have an activity, some people will say they will help, but then don’t. Or, they sign up to attend, but end up watching Brady Bunch reruns at home leaving you with a ton of leftovers.
7. Some folks let there kids run in the aisles during sacrament meeting.
8. Some people talk all the way through church making it hard to hear and or feel the spirit.

I could go on.

One other thing that came to me after I posted it was the fact that the more successful converts usually were identified by members versus being tracted out or contacted by the missionaries. In that process, friends can see a lot more about how Mormons live and conduct themselves as well as ask questions of their member friends.

That is what we are asked to do. Find people for the missionaries to teach. But that can also be a double-edged swoard. Some friends and aquaintances will just say no to the invitation, some will be intersted in hearing about the Church and others will just do it to be polite. Sometimes, those friends doing it to be polite find themselves down a slippery slope toward baptism because they are “too nice” to say “not intersted.” I’ve seen that be a problem and it ending badly for all parties.

Nick – I agree; we should stop selling soap entirely. We are not soap. I would change the analogy to selling oven cleaner, and what we should really be selling is how to convert your existing oven to a self-cleaning oven. Soaps are good; soaps will improve the oven’s cleanliness. But if you could have a self-cleaning oven, why wouldn’t you have that instead?

Actually, I think the LDS church is behaving like a company selling soap, which decides that the way to increase soap sales is to make their soap as much as possible like all the other soap brands on the market. As they’ve succeeded in this, the “consumers” end up seeing very little that the company’s soap has to offer, that isn’t already offered by every other soap, and interest plummets. The “protestantization” of LDS-ism over the past decade and a half or so has been accompanied by a decrease in baptisms, because the church is dead set on not being “weird,” as Hinckley once put it.

I agree with this to a point. Missionaries should not have to be mind readers.

However, I do think that there are some ‘big dot’ issues that seem obvious and should be discussed. What kind of underwear you are expected to wear for the rest of your life does seem relevant to discuss with a prospective convert. Maybe not in the first discussion, but perhaps some other time pre-baptism.

Not discussing these types of topics out of fear that a person might not get baptized seems counterproductive when it comes to long term activity rates. I do not think it would be difficult for the church to come up with a short list of big issues and incorporate them into the investigation process if the church had a desire to do so.

Or as Jeff suggests in the OP, if investigators were required to attend church for a longer period of time before baptism, maybe these issues would tend to come up on their own, and not be as shocking down the line.

And as far as what Heather Martin said about issues with garments, black and the priesthood, etc. there is no way missionaries are going to solve everyone’s ocncerns, because you never know what concerns a person will have unless they tell you. I recommend that missionaries ask their potential converts to study out the Church on their own by going online. They could recommend some websites that discuss potential thorny issues without making a mockery. The person can also google on their own and do some searching. The missionaries should then be taught how to lovingly overcome concerns. I used to use the Internet as a missionary to help people solve their own problems, especially when I didn’t know the exact answer to their concerns. This can be like throwing gasoline on the fire, but we have to learn to trust people’s instincts and that the Spirit will guide those that are truly ready.