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Fulcher Case Study — Teaching Notes

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The case, Sister Susan Fulcher, a description of how a missionary in the Massachusetts Boston Mission won the love and trust of the members of her ward and inspired them to become active and effective member missionaries. It is a true story, though some of the names, places and details in the case have been disguised. Its purpose is to help missionaries learn how to conduct themselves and interact with members in ways that inspire members to share the gospel with others, introducing some of those with whom they discuss the gospel to the missionaries.

The case is also a useful vehicle that ward mission leaders and ward missionaries can use to help the full-time missionaries do these things. While the training of missionaries is ultimately the responsibility of the mission president, ward mission leaders and ward missionaries actually have far more interaction with full-time missionaries than does their mission president. They therefore have more opportunities to help the elders and sisters learn how to win the love and trust of members in the wards and branches in which they serve.

It is imperative that all missionaries in the training session be given a copy of the case well in advance. To guide them in reading the case and preparing for the class discussion, they should simply be asked to prepare in note or outline form their answers to the assignment that President Donaldson gave to Sister Pingree at the end of the case.

The assignment Sister Pingree was given was to synthesize from her experience with Sister Fulcher what principles or beliefs seemed to be guiding Sister Fulcher as she did her work. She was then asked to identify specific techniques that Sister Fulcher used to put those principles and beliefs into practice. This yields a fairly simple teaching plan.

I recommend that instructors begin the class by reminding students of President Donaldson's assignment, and then asking a missionary to describe something Sister Fulcher did that he thinks was a stupendous idea -- something that made him think, "I ought to do that." Write this at mid-height on the board, and then ask the missionary, "What led Sister Fulcher to do this? What was the underlying belief or principle in her head and heart about how to work with and motivate people, that caused her to do this?" When the starter has articulated that principle, the instructor should write it at the top of the board, and then ask by a show of hands how many others in the audience reached a similar conclusion that this was a very important guiding belief. For a few minutes, the instructor can lead a discussion to be sure the essence of the principle is understood. He should then return to the starter and ask him or her to cite and discuss other specific instances in the case -- specific things that Sister Fulcher did that were tools or methods of implementing this belief in her work. When the starter has listed all of the tools he or she saw in the case, others can be invited to add to the list until the instructor is satisfied that the important methods have been highlighted.

With this on the board, I suggest that the instructor then shift gears in the discussion and ask, "Would any of you recommend to a companion that they not follow this principle or that any of Sister Fulcher's methods that we've listed here would actually hinder the work?" In my experience, there has never been disagreement. With this as background, the instructor should then ask, "Suppose you were a trainer, and had a junior companion who just didn't have the natural instinct to do these things, like Sister Fulcher seems to have had. What would you do to help that junior companion change, so that he or she really got good at doing these things?" The purpose of this indirect question is to get the missionaries to reflect on the extent to which they personally are or are not following this belief, and then to think through what they, as companions, district and zone leaders can do to help each other do these things. In other words, they need an action plan. Decisions to do some of the things on the board can be made on the spot. For others, it may require setting weekly companionship or district goals during planning time and district meetings, addressing the methods one by one. The action plan also needs to include methods for assessment and follow-up. This might involve, for example, a companionship session on Monday morning in which companions go down this list and give themselves grades for how well they did in the past week.

When this discussion is complete, the instructor should be sure the missionaries have written down each of the points on the board, and then erase the board. He should then ask another missionary to describe something else that Sister Fulcher did that had a high impact on Sister Fulcher's success, and repeat for that principle the same sequence of questions and discussion. I recommend taking about 15 minutes to discuss the first principle; and ten minutes for the subsequent principles. For these subsequent principles, it won't be necessary to repetitively develop an action plan for each list. I recommend instead that the instructor simply ensure that after ensuring that the missionaries have copied the list, he ask a single question: "Any really good ideas for what you might do to help you and your companion do one of these things better or more consistently?" There is so much material to cover in this discussion that the instructor's purpose in asking this question can only be to illustrate for the missionaries how they might develop and follow through on a personal plan for improvement -- and to inspire them to do so.

In the following sections, I list what I have gleaned from the case as the beliefs or principles that seem to have guided Sister Fulcher in her work. Under each principle, I have listed the specific tools or methods she employed to implement that belief, and the page number in the case, when relevant, where the specific event or comment is described. This is not an exhaustive set, and instructors should feel free to characterize them differently, based upon their own experience and perspective. Missionaries are also likely to see things in the case that are not listed here. It is impossible to predict, of course, which of these principles the missionaries will rank as more important.

1. The number of people you meet drives the number of teaching opportunities you'll have.
1. Give a priority to developing close relationships with members who have recently moved into the area, or who have recently joined the Church -- because they will be meeting far more new people than will members who have lived and worked in the same place for a long time. (p. 2)
2. I'd actually prefer riding public transportation than riding in a missionary car, even if it takes longer. "Who can you meet in a car?" (p.3)
3. Never sit with other missionaries in a meeting. Sit with members.
4. Attend Gospel Doctrine class. Let the members take care of investigators in Gospel Principles class.
5. Get to church early. It's the most productive time in the missionary's week. (p.5)
6. Get a ward missionary to actively manage the process for getting missionaries into members' homes for dinner, rather than passively accept the invitations of those who sign up on a list.

2. Members are motivated most powerfully by positive, complimentary comments, and by heartfelt expressions of love and gratitude.
1. Read together and discuss the way she introduced herself to Sister Palmisano at her first sacrament meeting in the ward (p.5).
2. In her first testimony, she praised the members for their support, even though they actually had not been supportive of past missionaries. She treated them as they could become, not as they were.
3. "Love" seems to have been the most common word in her vocabulary It was not contrived -- it was just a natural expression of her feelings. Read, for example, her testimony to the ward members on p. 5. She used the word "love" nine times -- roughly once every 11 seconds. During her remarks to the Muirs on p. 4, she used the word "love" four times -- roughly once every 11 seconds.
4. Her comment to Elder Terry (p. 5, bottom) that missionaries love investigators into the Church; and that members will change in response to the same feelings.
5. Her comment to Gary Crittenden on p. 9: "Don't you just love the members of this ward?"
6. Sent notes of thanks to members who had spoken, taught, and borne their testimonies at church.
7. Asked Primary children to teach the songs to her, as a way to help them feel good about themselves.
8. Her goal was to have everyone she met feel God's love for them emanating through her.

3. The example of fellow members is the most powerful mechanism for motivating members to share the gospel with others.
1. Whenever she taught someone in a member's home, she asked them to bear testimony about the experience at the next fast & testimony meeting. She asked this of John Muir, Gary Crittenden and Marv Slovacek.
2. Bore her own testimony about how grateful she was for the boldness and directness of her friend, Nancy Bittner.

4. God gave me free agency, to do many things of my own free will and choosing. Through my own initiative, I can become involved in members' lives. I can use loving initiative to make good things happen.
1. Volunteered to lead the music in Primary, to give Sister Huppi and Brother Cutler a break.
2. Volunteered to teach a Laurels' lesson, and then used that as an occasion to invite the girls to do the service activity with Sister Parnagian.
3. Get a ward missionary to arrange meals for us in the homes of inactive members and newly moved-in members.

5. Members will be flattered to learn that I cared enough about them to learn their names and other interesting information about them and their families.
1. Got a copy of the ward list on her first Sunday. Note how the prior sisters didn't even have an up-to-date ward directory in their apartment. Sister Fulcher sat with Sister Bowen to learn more sisters' names faster.
2. Asked ward mission leader for detail on each family. Clearly she wanted to memorize the information even before she met the family herself. That way, when she met them in person, she could say, "Oh -- you're the teacher's quorum adviser. I've heard so many wonderful things about you and your family."
3. Note how when she met with the Laurels' class, she knew each of the girls' names and addressed them by name. By contrast, note how the elders had to go around the room and ask the priests for their names. I bet that Sister Fulcher didn't know the Laurels' names the week before -- but she found time in the week to find out who they were.
4. Getting to church early and using the opportunity to meet people they didn't know was the most valuable time in the missionary's week.
5. In stark contrast, consider Elder Bennion's comment at the end of the case. The members (even the ward mission leader's wife) didn't know him. The very same members who supported Sister Fulcher with a stream of referrals, suddenly stopped giving referrals. Why did Camelot end?

6. I must never "wing it." All of my words and actions must exude preparation and competence. Otherwise the members won't trust me.
1. Contrast how the elders approached the riests' lesson, with how the sisters approached the Laurels' lesson.
2. They took time to go to the Bowens' home to practice for leading the music in Primary.
3. Sister Fulcher's comment in Gospel Doctrine class was masterful. Note what it contained:
4. A keen insight that made the members think differently than they otherwise might have done.
5. Enabled the members to know Sister Fulcher better, as she related her comment to her own life.
6. She bore her testimony.

This would be a good point to discuss with the missionaries -- possibly by asking how many of them feel confident that they could make a similar point in a Gospel Doctrine, Priesthood or Relief Society class. In all probability, few missionaries would have that spontaneous ability. But it need not be spontaneous. Missionaries could easily read the assigned chapters from the scriptures during the week prior to the lesson; and they can easily read the Priesthood/Relief Society lesson in advance. They can plan questions or comments that they would like to make, if the direction of the discussion in those classes gives them the opportunity to do so.

7. Never be afraid to ask people to help you. They actually become more committed to the work when they sacrifice for it, because they feel the Spirit when they serve.
1. Don't be afraid to ask members for rides.
2. Invite less active members to give dinner to the missionaries.
3. Asked Laurels to bring a friend. In fact, she created a situation where they girls essentially had to bring a friend.
4. Asked the Primary children to teach her how to sing the Primary songs.
5. By asking Brothers Muir, Crittenden and Slovacek to bear testimony, she enrolled them in the work of inspiring other members.

8. Members actuallywant to share the gospel. What restrains them is fear, and uncertainty about how to do it.
1. She tried to inspire members by bearing her personal testimony about her personal experiences and feelings. She didn't try to make members feel guilty, or to push or harangue them. Contrast the message Sister Pingree left with the Jacksons, with the message Sister Fulcher left with the Muirs.
2. Also examine how she raised this topic with the Laurels. She tried to inspire them with her own testimony based on her own experience. Then she tried to reduce their fear of bringing a friend to the Christmas tree event by promising just to be a friend.
3. She had taught the principles of member missionary work to Richard Anderson, as evidenced by his testimony.

9. Sharing the gospel makes you happy.
1. This was the theme of every testimony she bore. This conviction made her unafraid to ask members to share the gospel -- because she knew it would make them happy too.

This is a lot of insight to extract from a single-session discussion. The instructor should try to gauge the energy amongst the missionaries as the discussion progresses. If they appear to be saturated after getting four or five of the principles, I recommend stopping the discussion, possibly just making a summary statement about the other of Sister Fulcher's guiding beliefs that there isn't time to consider. The instructor should then challenge the zone and district leaders to bring out the case in every meeting, and pick from it particularly important principles and methods that they want to get the missionaries to focus upon. Follow-up such as this is very important, because the half-life of a good classroom experience is about four days.

Instructors should conclude by testifying that the principles that guided Sister Fulcher in her work with members are universally applicable -- and that all missionaries can win the love, trust and referrals from members if they will do these things. Testify that, as this case demonstrates, the pace of member missionary work is affected far more powerfully by who the full-time missionaries are and by their relationship with the members, than by any fluctuations in the desires and attitudes of members toward missionary work.