メリディアン・日本語

Problem or situation. It is Church policy in missionary work that if a person is not of legal age, he or she must have permission of their parent(s) or guardian(s) in order to receive baptism (Mission President's Handbook, 1978). In Japan, there is an "Adulthood Day" when all those who have turned 20 that year are considered to be adults. Thus, 20 had long been considered the legal age for baptism in Japan.

Since we were now working more with younger-aged investigators (normally university students), it was often necessary to obtain parental permission before a baptism could take place.

When the missionaries were able to talk with the parents, they were often successful in obtaining the necessary permission and even sparking an interest in the parents themselves. The problem was that the majority of students were at school, and their parents lived outside the bounds of the mission. In these cases the missionaries were unable to talk to the parents, leaving the investigator to try by phone or letter to get permission. These investigators were usually asked to wait until they came home for vacation to discuss it. Failure to obtain parental permission was becoming a common reason for expected baptisms to fall through.

Action taken. (11-79) LEGAL AGE "DISCOVERED" TO BE 18 FOR NO PERMISSION. (Productivity label: Break down barriers.)

More than a specific action, what occurred here was an observation. I noticed that while the "Adulthood Day" was an official Japanese holiday for 20-year-olds, people two years younger--18-year-olds--seemed to have all the legal rights of adults. They could legally drink, they could legally smoke, they could legally sign notes (I don't know about voting). I began to wonder what the significance of "Adulthood Day" was. There seemed to be a real inconsistency somewhere.

I discussed this matter with Elder Kikuchi and the Church-retained attorney in Tokyo. Elder Kikuchi had the Church attorney look into it. They discovered that the legal age was, in fact, 18 rather than 20 and that "Adulthood Day" had little or nothing to do with the legal age. Eighteen-year-olds were considered adults under the law.

Results of the action. This discovery helped immensely. Almost all of the university students with whom we were working were 18 or older and of legal age. Parental permission was no longer required as a condition of receiving baptism. Suddenly a major barrier had been removed. It was not that parents wouldn't give permission once the benefits were explained to them, but rather that they were not available for the explanation. Since the majority of students were not living at home, they were unable to introduce their parents to the missionaries to obtain permission. This single discovery of something that had been misunderstood for years greatly facilitated our work among the university students.

29. Removing Some of the Physical and Procedural Difficulties in Performing Baptisms

Problem or situation. The mission was progressing in many ways, including the productivity of convert baptisms. For the past five months the number of convert baptisms had ranged from between 140 and 180 a month. Many changes had converged to facilitate this increase. The mission vision was stronger than ever. Through the help of their carefully selected companions, new missionaries were quickly grasping the mission vision and the skills needed to carry it out. The emphasis on university-age contacts, improved teaching skills, and goal setting were all enhancing the work. The proselyting posts, street contacting, small units, small zones, and now the discovery about the legal age of adults were converging and working together to help increase the number of converts.

But with the increased numbers of new converts came new challenges. One of the most immediate and pressing challenges was one I would never have anticipated: that of the physical and procedural arrangements for actually performing "baptisms. There was a shortage of baptismal fonts. The only fonts available for our use were those in the six Church-built chapels and four makeshift fonts in the larger rented spaces used by wards or branches. My missionaries were now working in 60 different units of the Church. Thirty-four of these units were new Small Units meeting in office/apartments. None of them had baptismal facilities. Many of the regular branches within the stakes were without fonts as well.

The 10 fonts that were available were well used. Missionaries in nearby wards, branches, and Small Units often converged on a single font to hold their baptismal services. At one time as many as 16 different Church units were using the same font at one of the chapels. There were sometimes as many as 40 or 50 missionaries relying on one font. When there had been only 10 to 20 baptisms a month, there were no problems. But as the number and frequency of baptisms began to increase, several problems began to emerge. I categorized these problems into four types: time problems, cost problems, coordination problems, and psychological/motivational problems.

Time problems: The increased number of baptisms caused problems with missionaries' time, investigators' time, and members' time. The missionaries were intensely involved in contacting new people, introducing them to the gospel, and teaching them the lessons. Their time was precious to them. To travel a considerable distance to where the font was, making several connections on trains, and then often having to spend time to fill the font and make the other necessary arrangements for the baptismal service could take half a day or more of their time. Doing this once a month was okay, but some missionaries were now baptizing as often as two and three times a week. The time used for the actual baptisms was beginning to rival all of their other proselyting time.

Investigators also had time problems. Where they had been meeting with the missionaries and attending Church at the Small Unit, now they had to make a long trek to a new location, often at times that were difficult or impossible for them. Even when it was possible for the investigator, it was often impossible for a friend or member of their family whom they wanted to invite.

Also, because the buildings which had fonts were being used by two and three different wards for their regular meetings, there were many time restrictions on their use. Very few periods could be used on Sunday, and several other evenings during the week were restricted because of meeting conflicts.

Cost problems: I would never have supposed that the cost of baptisms could become a problem, but it had. When as many as 40 or 50 missionaries began holding baptismal services, often at different times, the cost of water and heating for these large fonts became substantial. Because the host ward (the one where the font was located) had to bear the burden of these costs, they understandably wanted the baptisms coordinated so they all occurred at the same time once or twice a month. This was fine for baptisms of children of members, but it was too limiting for convert baptisms. And it was not the program for converts. Convert baptisms were to occur under the jurisdiction of the missionaries, as often as required (General Missionary Handbook, 1978).

Coordination problems: Initially, the missionaries did attempt to coordinate their baptismal services to reduce the number of times the fonts were used. But this seemed to cause problems rather than reduce them. First, because there were so many people involved-missionaries, members, baptismal candidates, other investigators, etc.--from so many different units, even the best intended arrangements often broke down. These various groups were asked to travel, usually by train, at times that were not always mutually convenient or even possible. Some arrived early; some were inevitably late. Some had to leave before others arrived. Through misunderstandings, some arrived after the font had been drained. And even though missionaries wanted unit members and other investigators to be in attendance at these baptisms as often as possible, with the distances, limited time availabilities, and other coordination problems, it was seldom possible at all.

Then there was the problem of having enough clean baptismal clothing for everyone and what to do with the wet clothing at the end. With so many considerations, attempting to coordinate the baptismal services with other missionaries, other wards, branches and units, became an overwhelming task.

Psychological/motivational problems: There were so many psychological motivational problems related to fonts that it is difficult to list them all. But I felt them and felt they were having a major impact on my missionaries and their work. With restrictions on the use of fonts, I noticed many subtle effects in many places. These subtleties affected missionaries, investigators, and members alike. A few examples are identified.

When the fonts were far away and inconvenient to get to, it was as though baptism itself was distant, not real, not likely. When the coordination problems associated with baptisms were overwhelming, something changed, and it became easier not to have the baptisms. When it became easier not to have them, the missionaries stopped working towards them. Knowing the difficulties a baptism would cause, they sometimes delayed bringing up baptism, taught another lesson, slowed their teaching pace, stalled in any way they could.

I discussed the problems of fonts with the local stake presidencies. They agreed that it was a problem and that something should be done to solve it. All that was required was "any body of water large enough to immerse the baptismal candidate" (General Missionary Handbook, 1978, p. 23). The local leaders investigated the possibility of buying large tanks that could be put in each and every unit. Unfortunately, the cost of what they found was prohibitive, and there was not sufficient space in many of the Small Units to accommodate them anyway.

Still, considering the great time and effort that went into finding, teaching, and preparing someone for baptism, it did not seem right that something physical--the lack of fonts--should be the determinant barrier. I was determined to solve the problem somehow.

Action taken. (12-79) BUILD OUR OWN COLLAPSIBLE BAPTISMAL FONTS AND INSTALL THEM IN EACH UNIT. (Productivity label: Physical.)

The missionaries and I designed and built our own collapsible fonts and supplied one to each unit in which missionaries were working. We began by building a prototype and testing it in one of the units. Then, over the next several months on preparation day, missionaries skilled in carpentry and woodworking built fonts for every unit. (See Figure 16.)

Results of the action. All of the problems listed --time problems, cost problems, coordination problems, and psychological/motivational problems--were either solved or alleviated by providing fonts for each of our units. Wasted travel time to fonts was almost completely cut out. Because our fonts were much smaller than the regular chapel fonts, the cost of heating the water was greatly reduced. And since each unit had its own font, the costs were spread over all of the units as they baptized instead of being a burden to anyone unit. With a font in each unit, coordination problems almost entirely disappeared. Baptisms could occur as often as needed at the times needed.

I felt the most significant results were the psychological/motivational ones. There was something very positive about having the font available right there in the unit. It constantly gave a positive message to both the missionaries and the investigators. It said, "Baptism is real. We do perform baptisms." The example of Philip and the Ethiopian illustrates this.

While traveling with a man in Ethiopia, the apostle Philip taught the man about the need for baptism:

As they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? (Acts 8:36)

The chariot was stopped, and the man was baptized right then and there. There was no waiting to plan and coordinate a large-group baptism with other units in some distant location.

Similarly, with baptismal fonts in each unit, baptism seemed to become more real, more expected. Missionaries and investigators alike were continuously reminded of baptism by the very presence of the fonts.

During December 1979, the month after we began building and installing these portable fonts in the units, the number of convert baptisms increased from the 140-180 level to 252. Not all of the increase was a result of the fonts, but I feel much of it was. The fonts saved time which could now be used for additional proselyting, they facilitated the coordination of baptisms, they reduced member/missionary friction over the use of the fonts, and they increased the motivation for baptism.

The mission continued to make gradual but steady progress during this third six-month period. As a mission, we discovered the power and beauty of smallness as we implemented the small unit program, reduced the size of zones and districts, reduced the time needed to communicate with the missionaries, and reduced the physical obstacles to baptism with small fonts in each unit.

I felt that each of these actions tended to reinforce the mission vision by enabling the missionaries to better carry it out. Thus the missionaries were better able to find more investigators and teach more lessons, as the table below shows (Mission Statistics, 1978-1981):

Numbers of convert baptisms continued to increase modestly (Mission Statistics, 1978-1981):

The whole Japan/Korea area was doing better, as the record shows (Missionary Department Annual Statistical Report, 1979):

NAME OF MISSION	BAPTISMS (JAN-JUN)	NO PER MISSIONARY
Japan Fukuoka	715	3.8
Japan Kobe	1,172	6.0
Japan Nagoya	405	2.2
Japan Okayama	1,681	10.5
Japan Sapporo	863	5.6
Japan Sendai	201	1.3
Japan Tokyo North	483	2.7
Japan Tokyo South	1,631	10.2
Korea Pusan	1,471	9.5
Korea Seoul	1,055	9.4
Korea Seoul West	355	4.2