— Good is bad? — January 1981 —
I had the opportunity to serve as Elders’ Quorum President in my student ward during my last year of medical school. It was a rich and rewarding experience. As a presidency, we set a goal of having a 95% or higher home teaching percentage every month, and we did reach this goal. The Relief Society had a similarly high goal and percentage for visiting teaching. I recall that in either January or February of 1981 we set a goal of 100% home teaching, just to see if we could achieve it. As we came to the end of the month, our presidency had to make a few last minute visits, but we achieved 100% (or so we thought). In our Ward Council meeting immediately following the end of the month, I reported that we had achieved 100% home teaching. A member of the Relief Society presidency that was in the meeting reported that her organization had achieved 99% visiting teaching. Immediately following the council meeting, this presidency member telephoned a minimally active member of the ward and asked him if he had been home taught. He said that he didn’t think that he had. This young woman promptly sought me out, and with thinly-veiled smugness, informed me that we did NOT achieve 100% home teaching, as we had missed the young man she had called. I responded that it had been reported to me that this young man had been home taught. I sought out his home teacher and he informed me that he had indeed visited with this young man during the month. I then sought out the young woman and, with thinly-veiled smugness, informed her that we DID achieve 100% home teaching. Not willing to let this matter rest, she stood to bear her testimony later that morning in our Fast and Testimony meeting, and stated that she would much rather achieve 99% than 100% visiting teaching because the Savior said to leave the 99 and seek out the 1 lost sheep. She waxed eloquent in defense of her 99%. I then felt compelled (probably not by the spirit but by indignation) to stand and express gratitude for our faithful and diligent home teachers, and for the fact that EVERY sheep in the Savior’s fold in our ward had been sought out and spiritually cared for. I shouldn’t have engaged in this trivial war of wills, but the lessons learned are poignant and worth recording: build up rather than tear down, encourage rather than denigrate, support rather than undermine.
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