Are Individual LDS Wards Free to Develop their Own Individual Mission and Vision Statements?

[bluebell]

2 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

Thanks. 
 

So not a Church-wide thing then. And where it does happen, it tends to be an in-house initiative among the ward council.
 

I was feeling rather flat footed when you asked me what our ward was doing about “yearly required goals” as though it were a ubiquitous institutional mandate. I was afraid I’d missed something obvious. 

Considering buckeye’s post, in conjunction with all the other people I know in wards across the country that do them, I am surprised you’ve not run in to them before. 

[mfbukowski]

13 hours ago, Navidad said:

Would a goal of "building bridges" to the community that did not involve proselytizing be something that might be considered, especially where damaged relationships exist? If so, would that be a ward, stake or area task, one that might be coordinated from SLC?

I already mentioned ESL classes, which we are doing

[Navidad]

2 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

I already mentioned ESL classes, which we are doing

That is a great example.

[Duncan]

In wards i've been in, ward and stake mission plans go nowhere. It seems ward goals and stake goals conflict with each other, as in say the stake wants to baptize 100 people but if you add up all the ward goals it doesn't add up to 100. The same goes for advancements in the priesthood and what is more there is Area Presidency goals, which don't coincide with ward, stake, and mission goals. Everybody is running around doing their own thing. I remember years ago now we had our WMP but somehow it got superseded with this "Nauvoo Commitment" and when asked what that is nobody knew exactly, "some mission thing"

[Scott Lloyd]

On 2/7/2023 at 9:22 PM, Buckeye said:

Every ward I’ve lived in since leaving byu has had annual ward goals - Chicago, Ohio, Colorado. My wards growing up probably did too I just never paid attention.  Usually the goals track the church missions (now four-fold but previously three). I’d guess 25% of the years the bishopric has printed the goals and handed out copies to members, typically around ward conference. Usually the metrics are not tracked well except maybe baptisms. 

I’m totally fine with goal setting (I’ve said as much here) and I have no doubt it is common in local Church units. 
 

I do, however, see a distinction between said goal setting and what I take to be the gist of what is contemplated in the OP, that is, formulating an overarching “mission statement” or “vision” for the individual Church unit. We already have that in the form of the Church’s list of four divinely appointed responsibilities. If a unit’s mission statement would align with or merely be a re-wording of that list, why not let the list itself be the mission statement on which the goals are based?

It seems to me a separate mission statement by a unit would at best be extraneous and at worst be prone to crowding out or shunting off to the side the Church’s outline of divinely appointed responsibilities in favor of what the unit deems to be its own focus. 

Edited February 9, 2023 by Scott Lloyd

[Scott Lloyd]

14 hours ago, bluebell said:

Considering buckeye’s post, in conjunction with all the other people I know in wards across the country that do them, I am surprised you’ve not run in to them before. 

I never said I had not run into them before. Please see my reply to Buckeye’s post.