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Problem or situation. The weekly cycles helped the missionaries increase their productivity. Several individual companion sets began to have weekly baptisms. They began to achieve previously unheard-of monthly results of four and five converts in a month. In May of 1979, the mission broke through the 100 convert baptism barrier and achieved 117 convert baptisms. Five different companion sets had five converts each that month while many more had three and four. Some of the missionaries were beginning to reach out and lengthen their strides. I felt I needed to recognize and reinforce what they were doing.

In re-listening to the tape recordings of the mission presidents' seminars, I paid particular attention to the words of Elder Thomas S. Monson as he explained that missionaries had recently come from various teenage activities of school, sports, music, etc. He suggested that mission presidents take advantage of the "Rah! Rah!" to motivate in their missions. He said:

One thing you must remember, these are nineteen year old young men and twenty-one year old young women. And they respond at a motivational level a little less than you do--quite a bit less than you do. There's a lot of the Rah! Rah! in these 19 year old missionaries. And if you can capture that enthusiasm in behalf of their particular mission, you'll find that you'll have the spirit which Henry Ford mentioned "Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right" (Monson, 1978).

President Benson (1976) had also counseled mission presidents to continually recognize and congratulate missionaries on their accomplishments:

When a person has a good self-image, he can accomplish great things. Help your missionaries develop a good self-image. Help them to have good experiences. Continually build them up and congratulate them on their achievements (p. 4).

I found many references to reaching out and doing more in President Kimball's words (Kikuchi, 1981): "Can you see yourself as the number one man in your mission setting that part of the world on fire?" (p. 138).

We seem to remember that Wilford Woodruff baptized 2,000 people on his mission in England in a short few months and that Heber C. Kimball baptized 1,800 in a few months and there are hundreds of other brethren who have baptized tens and fifties and hundreds during their missions. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT EACH OF YOU COULD DEVELOP SOME WILFORD WOODRUFFS AND BRIGHAM YOUNGS WHO COULD BAPTIZED HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS? CAN WE RAISE OUR SIGHTS? (p. 96).

It seemed clear to me that I needed to recognize those who were beginning to reach for that mission vision. The missionaries needed the courage and confidence these models and examples brought, for as President Kimball (Kikuchi, 1981) had said:

It doesn't matter how many people don't do a thing; it's the one who does it who proves we all have the ability (p. 44).

The mission song added some of this "rah, rah" feeling, but it was too general. I needed something to recognize and reinforce specific accomplishments, particularly of those missionaries who were reaching out to new levels of achievement.

The tapes from the mission presidents' seminar, President Kimball's words, Elder Kikuchi's suggestions and recommendations, and others gave me various ideas of ways to recognize highly productive missionaries.

Action taken. (6-79) RECOGNIZE TOP MISSIONARIES (LETTERS, CERTIFICATES, PLAQUES, CHALLENGES, ETC. (Productivity label: Motivational.)

In addition to the weekly and monthly reports on baptisms, which in a sense recognized productive missionaries, I sent congratulatory letters to missionaries each time they reached a milestone in convert baptisms. For example, after a missionary had

baptized five new converts, I sent him a letter of congratulations; after ten, another letter; after 25, another letter, and so forth.

I also had plaques for the highest numbers of baptisms for the month for companion sets and for zones. I recognized missionaries who had made new breakthroughs--accomplished things that had not been done before--with certificates which I called "Ensign Certificates." I personally presented these certificates to the missionaries at the zone or mission conferences.

Up to this point no one had achieved ten baptisms in a single month--five was the highest--but I made a blank plaque upon which to write the names of those missionaries who would some day achieve ten or more convert baptisms in a single month. It was a goal--a challenge--for them to reach for. I tied all of these things into the new vision which was continuously emphasized in the words of President Kimball through our area supervisor, Elder Kikuchi.

Results of the action. There was increased determination to reach and stretch, to do more, to lengthen strides and demonstrate what could be done. Other missions around the world were demonstrating that these great conversion miracles could happen today. Our missionaries were determined to demonstrate that it could happen in Japan as well. As a missionary wrote me the following month:

One year has passed by today since the mission opened last July 1. It is unreal to note the great progress we have made. I never would have dreamed of seeing success like this a year ago, and now it is right here in front of us. There never was any sudden huge jump-up, but we sure have steadily climbed. The greatest change is in attitude and desire. We have the attitude of success because we know we can baptize many people each month, and our desire is to baptize and save our brothers and sisters like it should be. Also we have the creativity and knowledge to do what works, not just the same things everybody does. Our teaching has improved 100 times. Finally we can really say we are doing what we came to do. President Groberg, I wish to express my thanks with the rest of the mission for changing our lives and teaching us how to do the things we really wanted to do .It is like you said before, "Japan or the people haven't changed, but the missionaries are doing what they're really supposed to." Well, President Groberg, it is you that taught us to be achievers and not to be satisfied with the normal results that would come about anyway. You've taught us to give our ultimate effort, to set high goals, and give it all we have to achieve. This will probably be one of the greatest lessons of my life and I thank you for it always (Missionary Letters, 1978-1981).

The next month, June 1979, one companion set had seven baptisms. Within three months another companion set had broken through the ten-per-month barrier and initiated the new plaque. By the end of 1979 eight missionaries had broken through the ten-per-month barrier. A new model and confidence had been established. My missionaries were beginning to believe it could be done in Japan, today, by many missionaries.

As the top moved higher, the middle and bottom rose as well. Three, four, and five baptisms in a month was becoming normal for a companion set. As individual missionaries and companion sets increased their productivity, the productivity of the mission increased. During December of that year the mission achieved a new breakthrough of 252 baptisms.

The mission made solid, though not spectacular, progress during this second six-month period. The missionaries had improved their contacting and teaching skills to the point that they were finding many more investigators and teaching many more lessons, as the table below shows (Mission Statistics, 1978-1981).

Continual reinforcing of the proselyting skills and the new vision helped increase convert baptism results, too. The baptismal results for the mission for this six-month period were:

We were now among the top producing missions in the Japan/Korea area, though not at the top. Our consistency put us near the top in totals for the six-month period. The six-month period summary for the area showed the following (Missionary Department Statistical Report, 1978-1981):

NAME OF MISSION	BAPTISMS (JAN-JUN)	NO PER MISSIONARY
Japan Fukuoka	343	1.8
Japan Kobe	539	2.7
Japan Nagoya	134	0.7
Japan Okayama	364	2.5
Japan Sapporo	348	2.2
Japan Sendai	89	0.6
Japan Tokyo North	192	1.1
Japan Tokyo South	543	3.4
Korea Pusan	617	3.8
Korea Seoul	595	3.8

In addition to increased convert baptism results, something else was happening that was perhaps even more significant. Because many missionaries were achieving better results, our mission vision was becoming more believable. Their skills at finding and teaching had improved and were continuing to improve. Individual missionaries were demonstrating what could be done. Many showed that two, three, or four baptisms each and every month was very possible. Other missionaries broke through old barriers. During June a single companion set had baptized seven new converts, almost as many as the whole mission had had a year earlier. The senior companion in the set described his feelings about it in a letter to me (see letter page 151).

But to have one companion set do this was not our vision. Not even close. In fact, the ones doing it proved that it was possible and, to me, only accentuated the many who were not doing it. How could I get all, or at least most, of the missionaries doing it? I pondered this problem as I wrote in my journal toward the end of this period:

Looking at our mission from the outside, it might appear that we are really doing well, but from the inside--from my viewpoint--it seems that we just can't get it going! I just can't get on top of it. It's almost as if the mission just runs itself. Elder McConkie said "Missionaries will do what a mission president gets them to do." I sometimes think that it would be more accurate to say "Missionaries will do what they will do" (Groberg, 1978-1981).