Oh boy! Sometimes my outspoken mind gets me in a bit of trouble. I wrote the following post and only kept it up for a day or two. Only to discover someone got a hold of it and it's posted on the internet forever. After re-reading it, I decided to give it a permanent home here.
Please note I have no authority to assess, consult with, or speak for the LDS Church as a whole and my opinion and observations come from a limited perspective...from someone on the ground. The following are my words alone, they are an opinion based on my understanding at this point in my life, so please take them with a grain of salt.
*****
June 2014
I got a letter this morning from a sister who was complaining about the Church growing too fast and the detached, unattended wards and stakes coming apart at the seams.
She made some good points, and I know she wasn't trying to be critical - she offered several suggestions of ways the problem could be solved.
She was candid and I was candid. While I don't have permission to publicize her letter - I will post my response:
Dear Melissa (name changed),
I agree with several of your sentiments. The Church is experiencing growing pains and there is too wide of a gap between outlying wards/stakes and SLC. A lot of members are falling into the vacuum in between and going inactive. Stakes and wards are sometimes not run the way SLC intended and the religious experience in "ward land" can be far less than the ideal.
We're great at missionary work, but not so great at retaining members once they get here. The declining quality of the church experience at a ward level really needs to be looked into.
With an out-of-reach Church leadership in SLC, otherwise good and faithful people have no where to turn when matters get mismanaged or difficult. And with no real checks and balances for stake leaders (who are simply humans with learning curves) - and with no available way to report and resolve and mediate missteps, mistakes and abuses, they get frustrated and disheartened and go inactive.
To be balanced and fair - it's a logistical problem for SLC - those few leaders cannot maintain personable contact with 15,000,000 members. Not too many decades ago, they kept a more direct finger on the individual stakes - but they can't anymore.
Our faithful side wants to lay the blame entirely at the inactive's feet - for lack of faith and weak testimonies. But realistically, and too often - D&C 121 (many called, few chosen) is in full play and claims its victims. It's a growing trend.
My amateur theory from the ground level is we need lots more localized, regional general authorities available. I don't think it would be very hard to do either. Like an additional leadership layer or another couple of seventies quorums in between the current Area presidencies/regional reps and the detached stakes to fill the sizable gap. Perhaps these could be appointed councils of former stake presidents and mission presidents - who are knowledgeable and accessible - that members can turn to when things go wrong and can't be resolved first on a stake level.
Who would also offer the much needed checks and balances for outlying, stake leadership as well as regular, more frequent, live training sessions for stake leadership just like bishops and high priests get.
Most people step up to the plate a little better, and are more careful when they know someone is actually watching - even if it's just occasionally. I know it would have helped tremendously here. This more hands-on, frequent contact would prove invaluable because of the trickle-down affect it would have on the wards and branches (i.e and on small folk like us) as the regular training and collective knowledge base of resolved issues are passed on down.
And think of what wonderful bishops and stake presidents these more local regional authorities would make themselves once their tenure was up! They would have experienced, discussed and addressed so many real-life challenges through the regional councils they served on.
We don't need and are not asking for direct access to SLC, just more reasonable access to someone who represents SLC. Who is somewhere in the chain of authority (even if several layers removed), when it's time to resolve issues the stake can't resolve on it's own, or time to identify stakes' collective blind spots, deviations and learning curves which really need to be helped along sooner rather then later (or never). And more importantly, someone who can keep a direct finger on what really goes on out here on the ground.
I guess it's the Jethro principle.
Nonetheless, Christ is in charge and through inspiration and revelation, however this problem needs to be solved - it will eventually come to pass.
Thank you for your candor and for your brain-storming.
Meanwhile it is up to you and I to help push the Kingdom of God along and do our best to make it more like Zion for those around us. Sometimes the Kingdom of God is still in the wilderness, but nonetheless - Jesus is still the Christ and the Church is still His. We owe Him every loyalty and every bit of being we have.
Kind regards,
Shawnie