This is for encouragement, ideas, and support for people going through a faith transition no matter where you hope to end up. This is also the place to laugh, cry, and love together.
Summary for those of you who can't bring yourselves to read the article:
Member sends Elder Ballard a letter saying the "set a date" program doesn't work and therefore he is a false prophet. Not sure how the letter got through since they send all correspondence of that nature back to the letter writer's stake president, but whatever.
Elder Ballard boldly called the member up, only to discover that the member had set a date without actually talking to anybody.
After teaching the member the correct manner of following the "set a date” program, namely bugging random strangers everywhere you go in public, the member found someone who was baptized!
And they all lived happily ever after. See, Elder Ballard really is a prophet! Has there ever been a mightier prophecy than the "set a date program"? I really can't imagine what that might be.
Oh, yeah, and the article ended with some strange story about an attorney whose family set a date, and then in a rather unprofessional manner he pushed the gospel on a couple who came in for a divorce. And they were baptized, just like everyone always is in every story Elder Ballard ever tells.
Man, Mormons are weird.
"The truth is elegantly simple. The lie needs complex apologia. 4 simple words: Joe made it up. It answers everything with the perfect simplicity of Occam's Razor. Every convoluted excuse withers." - Some guy on Reddit called disposazelph
I remember that program. I was always embarrassed to pitch it to members as a missionary. There was one super user of the program who had brought many converts in and they taped a video about their unusual success rate. I don't recall it working very well for anyone else.
Oh Gods...This isn't even a crappy LDSLiving article. It's from a book. An actual book that he wrote.
I loved this gem:
The thought came to me: “I am not going to answer the letter in writing; I am going to call her on the telephone and talk to her.” So I tracked her down and got her on the phone. I said, “This is Elder Ballard.” And she said, “Who?” I said, “This is Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I am calling you about your letter.”
WTF? Track her down? Really? That's not creepy or pathetic.
And his sage advice:
Calling her by name, I said, “Would you set another date, only this time will you talk to the people in the grocery store, at the service station, in the beauty parlor? Everywhere you go, will you open your mouth and let the Lord help you be successful with this effort?” She was a good sport and said she would.
Grocery store, service station and beauty parlor? How long ago was this? Ballard's insights into the daily lives of women is so prophetic.
...walked eye-deep in hell
believing in old men’s lies...--Ezra Pound
"Set a Date" still comes up with local missionaries. This often happens when missionaries are visiting ward members looking for new investigators. I have not seen it recently, but my ward does have a new ward mission leader and I can see him being more active in this calling.
Enoch Witty wrote: ↑Tue Oct 31, 2017 1:02 pm
What is this "set a date" program? Some of us are Youngs!
It was a push for the members to increase new converts. You were supposed to prayerfully set a date for someone to be baptized, then look for that someone to share the gospel with. I think it was supposed to be guaranteed to work. I never put my heart in it, though, so never got any results (if I even prayed more than once about it).
There are 2 Gods. One who created us. The other you created. The God you made up is just like you-thrives on flattery-makes you live in fear.
Believe in the God who created us. And the God you created should be abolished.
PK
Enoch Witty wrote: ↑Tue Oct 31, 2017 1:02 pm
What is this "set a date" program? Some of us are Youngs!
It was a push for the members to increase new converts. You were supposed to prayerfully set a date for someone to be baptized, then look for that someone to share the gospel with. I think it was supposed to be guaranteed to work. I never put my heart in it, though, so never got any results (if I even prayed more than once about it).
Yep, as missionaries we used the story of Elijah and the Widow in 1st kings to pitch it to members. "See members, if you have faith like the starving widow, you too can bring thousands into the fold".
Random wrote: ↑Tue Oct 31, 2017 2:20 pm
It was a push for the members to increase new converts.
Thanks for the explanation. I was thinking Set a Date was a subroutine from the Calendar in Windows 10. Wouldn't expect Elder Ballard to know how to use that program. COB staff could take care of that for him.
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha
Yeah, my first thought was that it was like "set a date" to get married, even if you're not dating anyone, and it would definitely happen. Thanks for the clarification.
It the "set a date" program really worked, we should be seeing amazing numbers of convert baptisms. Geez, it was first introduced back in the 80s or 90s, it's been around a long time, we should have been absolutely flooded with new converts for the past couple of decades. Since we've haven't been, has it occurred to Elder Ballard it means one of two things:
He really is a false prophet and it doesn't work, or
The members don't care enough about missionary work to bother with it.
I think its both, actually.
"The truth is elegantly simple. The lie needs complex apologia. 4 simple words: Joe made it up. It answers everything with the perfect simplicity of Occam's Razor. Every convoluted excuse withers." - Some guy on Reddit called disposazelph
Not Buying It wrote: ↑Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:23 am
It the "set a date" program really worked, we should be seeing amazing numbers of convert baptisms. Geez, it was first introduced back in the 80s or 90s, it's been around a long time, we should have been absolutely flooded with new converts for the past couple of decades.
When I was a child I remember seeing filmstrips used to introduce this program. The accompanying recording was very peppy showing the members of a fresh faced family each happily thinking of ways to introduce the gospel to their friends. It was just a few steps away from "flirt to convert".
Not Buying It wrote: ↑Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:23 am
Since we've haven't been, has it occurred to Elder Ballard it means one of two things:
He really is a false prophet and it doesn't work, or
The members don't care enough about missionary work to bother with it.
I think its both, actually.
Yep, I also agree that it is both. I'm slightly jealous of Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and Shinto who happily just go about their lives with their self-confident beliefs. They simply hang out and think, "My faith is awesome. I'm not sharing it with any of you loser heretics unless you come to me with serious interest in my fascinating spirituality."
Enoch Witty wrote: ↑Wed Nov 01, 2017 7:19 am
Yeah, my first thought was that it was like "set a date" to get married, even if you're not dating anyone, and it would definitely happen. Thanks for the clarification.
If they had officially come up with that, I would not have been surprised. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some mission president somewhere taught that to his outgoing missionaries.
There are 2 Gods. One who created us. The other you created. The God you made up is just like you-thrives on flattery-makes you live in fear.
Believe in the God who created us. And the God you created should be abolished.
PK
Enoch Witty wrote: ↑Wed Nov 01, 2017 7:19 am
Yeah, my first thought was that it was like "set a date" to get married, even if you're not dating anyone, and it would definitely happen. Thanks for the clarification.
If they had officially come up with that, I would not have been surprised. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some mission president somewhere taught that to his outgoing missionaries.
Oh, I've heard plenty of stories of mission presidents saying "You need to be married within ___ months of returning home" during their "exit interviews". ___ Was usually 6 months in the stories I heard.
My mission pres. didn't do that, but as I said, I've heard many anecdotal stories of mission presidents who did.
Faith does not give you the answers, it just stops you asking the questions. -Frater Ravus
It's from a book. An actual book that he wrote. 
