Richard Lloyd Anderson and Worldwide Church Growth Richard O. Cowan My rst contact with the work of Richard Lloyd Anderson came when I had the privilege of serving a summer stake mission in Los Angeles as a high school youth. I was told about a remarkable new teaching outline that had been developed in the Northwestern States Mission and was encouraged to write for a copy. Presently I received in the mail a large envelope containing material in a black folder entitled “A Plan for Effective Missionary Work.” I was impressed with its persuasive use of scriptural passages to teach gospel concepts. Only in later years when I began studying recent Latter-day Saint history did I more fully appreciate the widespread impact of Anderson’s work. Earlier Antecedents During the church’s earlier decades, door-to-door “tracting” had been the primary method by which missionaries contacted people. The object was to leave a religious tract at every home, hoping for a possible discussion later if individuals had any questions from their reading. Often weeks would go by without any apparent results from the missionaries’ efforts. Not surprisingly, several twentieth-century mission presidents compiled materials to help missionaries be more effective in their work. Still, no organized missionary lesson plans were available. Many missionaries lled this vacuum by building their discussions around existing series of tracts. One popular series, “Rays of Living Light” by Charles W. Penrose, “presented the rst principles of the gospel [but] with little mention of Joseph Smith and the restoration.” Another series, Elder Brigham H. Roberts’s “Why Mormonism?” gave more emphasis to “the message of the restoration.”1 Another publication in 1937 was destined to have a long-lasting impact on Latter-day Saint missionary work. LeGrand Richards, a future presiding bishop and member of the Council of the Twelve, concluded his presidency of the Southern States Mission by leaving a copy of The Message of Mormonism with each missionary. This outline was prepared to assist the missionaries in their study and presentations of the gospel in a systematic and logical manner. In twenty-four weekly topics, a missionary could cover the restoration and basic doctrines of the gospel. Under each topic President Richards outlined key scriptures, listed tracts or other available reading matter, and suggested questions that should be answered in the discussion. The “major emphasis” was on teaching the gospel; “little mention was made of the need for the investigator to accept baptism at the hands of the elders.”2 During the next several years many other missions adopted this plan. Repeated requests for copies eventually led Elder Richards to enlarge his material and to publish it in book form under the title A Marvelous Work and a Wonder. This became one of the most popular Latter-day Saint doctrinal works of the twentieth century. The “Anderson Plan” Following the close of World War II, the church’s full-time missionary force soared from 477 in 1945 to 2,244 a year later. This meant that there were many new missionaries in the eld who lacked experience and who could prot from some assistance and direction. To help meet this need, various mission presidents compiled guidelines and suggestions that were distributed among their own missionaries and often in adjoining missions. Without question, the most widely circulated postwar proselyting outline was that prepared by Richard L. Anderson. Elder Anderson built on foundations others had laid. As a youth he was impressed by accounts of his father’s missionary experiences in Missouri at the time of World War I. The father and his missionary companion had challenged each other to memorize one hundred scriptures. After accomplishing this signicant goal, Elder Lloyd Anderson had an opportunity to employ his newly acquired arsenal while preaching on a street corner. After the discourse a bystander remarked: “I never have heard a person quote so many scriptures—and less said.” Still, hearing this comment would kindle in young Richard a love for the scriptures. Richard L. Anderson enlisted in the Navy during World War II. While stationed at Jacksonville, Florida, he enjoyed going out with the local missionaries. It was at this time that he met and was profoundly impressed by Reid E. Bankhead, an ensign who was also at the Jacksonville naval base. Bankhead gave a series of reside lectures on topics commonly discussed by the missionaries. Anderson was impressed with Bankhead’s ability to select key conversion topics and to present the scriptures effectively. This experience reinforced young Anderson’s determination to hone his own skills in using the scriptures to teach the gospel. While in the service, Anderson visited with many other missionaries to see what they were doing successfully. As he gathered this added perspective, the major features of his own future method took shape.3 In the fall of 1946, one year after the war ended, young Elder Anderson arrived in the Northwestern States Mission. He was now determined to build on the teaching concepts he had worked out while in the military service. Under this program, rather than merely handing out tracts at the door, the missionaries’ objective was to get inside the homes in order to present their message. “We would better understand our purpose in tracting if we termed it personal contacting,” Elder Anderson explained. “The Lord tells us to preach the gospel. Passing out literature is not effective tracting—the object is to get inside.”4 Another key feature gleaned from others’ experiences was emphasis on the Book of Mormon as a powerful teaching tool and key to conversion. Placing copies was a specic goal of the initial contact. “If the Book of Mormon is explained in a clear and distinct way,” Anderson afrmed, “any honest person should want to read it.”5 Fourteen doctrinal discussions, beginning with two on the Book of Mormon, were arranged in a logical sequence to bring conversion. The plan emphasized the need to secure commitments as teaching progressed. The rst major feature in each lesson was “Agreement to be reached.”6 “One topic should not be left until agreement is reached; it is pointless to ever hand out information without denite commitment on the part of the investigator.”7 The main body of each lesson was entitled “Material to discuss.”8 Emphasis was on a logical analysis of relevant scriptures. Open and direct questions allowed the investigator “to decide what each scripture meant, and then . to express his frank opinion after sufcient proof was presented.” Questions were designed to foster commitment and belief.9 “Arouse the prospect to active thinking and denite reaction on each point.”10 No dialogue was provided, but missionaries were to get the logical sequence of topics in mind and then present the material in their own words. They were urged to memorize scriptures. “Don’t let a day go by that you don’t memorize at least one passage.”11 A selection from the rst discussion, on the Book of Mormon, illustrates the plan’s structure and avor: Gen. 49:1, 8—10. Jacob prophesies what will befall each tribe. Judah receives the blessing of kingship—he will be the political leader. The point of reading this passage is to make clear the difference in the blessings given these two most important tribes, Judah and Joseph. (I Ch. 5:2 will often help here.) Gen. 49:22, 23 v. 26. What does the word “progenitors” mean? Who are Joseph’s progenitors? They inherited the denite area known as Palestine. If Joseph’s blessing prevails above their blessing, will he inherit a land of greater scope and extent?12 Still, a key step was missing. During his rst missionary assignment, at Bend, Oregon, Elder Anderson observed that though the people appeared to believe what was being taught, something more was needed “to get them out of their front rooms into church meetings.” Anderson wrote to his old friend, Reid Bankhead, who shared a baptismal challenge worked out by a missionary companion, Glen Pearson. Inserting this discussion brought dramatic results.13 Elder Anderson’s mission president, Joel Richards, had a background in the insurance business. He felt that his call to preside over the mission was divinely inspired, and he sensed an urgency to apply what he had learned in the business world. As he rode the train from Utah to mission headquarters in Portland, he pondered how missionary work could be structured to become more effective. Upon his arrival, he was excited to learn about what Elder Anderson and his companion were doing in Bend. “Sister Richards and I feel that [this] Missionary Plan has come in direct answer to prayer,” the new president later wrote, “and that Elder Richard L. Anderson was inspired in its preparation. Since receiving our call to preside over the Northwestern States Mission, we were very much concerned as to how we could best help the missionaries in their study and preparation, and in presenting the Gospel in a logical and convincing manner so as to actually get results. We talked about it and prayed about it and just couldn’t get it off our minds. When we arrived in the mission eld,” President Richards continued, “we saw Elder Anderson in action and achieving outstanding success, having baptized over thirty converts within a year. As we studied his method we were convinced that it was the answer to our prayer.” President Richards assigned Elder Anderson to teach his methods to missionaries in Corvallis, one of the larger districts, to see if the results would be the same. After three months “the results were so startling and the missionaries so enthusiastic,” the “Anderson Plan,” as it was coming to be called, was introduced throughout the mission in mid-1948.14 As these improved methods were adopted throughout the mission, the results were apparent.