In his address at the Regional Representatives Seminar, President Thomas S. Monson said often the question is asked, "What do you consider the greatest challenge facing the Church today?"
A simple answer will not suffice, said President Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency. "My personal thoughts, however, turn to the tragic losses which occur as young men journey along the Aaronic Priesthood path and the effect of such casualties on the lives of so many. When a boy is lost, a future missionary is lost, a temple marriage vanishes, and another is added to the swelling number of prospective elders."President Monson continued, "This problem needs to be addressed and now." The bishopric, he said, has no greater responsibility than to preside over the Aaronic Priesthood in the ward.
He said that as a bishop he had once gone on a Sunday morning to a garage and found one of his Aaronic Priesthood boys hiding in the grease pit. The boy's activity in the Church improved dramatically after that. The family subsequently moved away, and two years later, Bishop Monson received an invitation to the boy's missionary farewell. In his remarks, the boy said the turning point in his life was when his bishop found him hiding in a grease pit and committed him to attend his priesthood meetings.
"From this experience, I learned much," declared President Monson. "I learned that teaching is not always from the pulpit, nor is it always in the classroom. It can be found even in a grease pit on Sunday morning."
President Monson then spoke of a second challenge, the "ever-expanding numbers" of prospective elders.
"Their souls are precious and their future can be bright," President Monson continued. "At times redemptive efforts can appear fruitless and discouragement may result." He said that love "is the ingredient most needed as a catalyst to spur activity in the Church."
President Monson said as he has attended conferences throughout the world during his 25 years as a General Authority, he has cataloged four factors that contributed to success in reactivation efforts: The work was done at the ward level, the bishop was involved, inspired teaching was provided, and maximum effort was directed toward small groups.
Regarding doing the work at the ward level, President Monson said: "It is important to bring these brethren and their wives together as a group in surroundings which are somewhat familiar to them. The meetinghouse where their children were blessed, where they perform on the stage, is ideal. New surroundings, unfamiliar faces and a fear of the unknown can thwart progress and frustrate the best plans."
The involvement of the bishop is highly desirable, he said, because the majority of prospective elders hold offices in the Aaronic Priesthood and come under the responsibility of the bishopric.
"Perhaps the initial invitation that you extend to a prospective elder to attend a class or participate in a meeting will be the most important involvement you can provide," he suggested.
Regarding inspired teaching, President Monson recalled a statement of the late Elder Mark E. Petersen of the Council of the Twelve that if a testimony of the gospel could be developed in less-active brethren, their return would be rapid and would endure.
Concerning the fourth guideline, President Monson said an orderly effort to bring to activity a few at a time generally brings greater success.
Turning to temporal matters, President Monson urged the regional representatives to teach the law of the fast and emphasize principles of self-reliance, industry, thrift and the need of recipients of welfare aid to work for what is received.