Step One: Determine the “What”—Priesthood Objectives and Local Issues

In order to identify key opinion leaders, public affairs councils must first have a firm understanding of the issues and circumstances that make them key in the first place. Asking, “What are the objectives of our priesthood leadership for the Church in this area?” and “What are the issues facing the Church in this area?” is the first step toward understanding who the public affairs council should focus its attention toward. It will also help determine the types of activities that public affairs councils should sponsor or support in order to reach these individuals.

In determining the What, members of public affairs councils should not assume that priesthood leaders will have a predetermined list of objectives or local issues that directly apply to the specialized work of the council. And it should not be assumed that priesthood leaders will have a sufficient understanding of public affairs to always recognize how a public affairs council can be instrumental in the achievement of the objective.

To help identify priesthood objectives and local issues, your public affairs council could discuss the following questions:

• What do priesthood leaders feel are the greatest local needs facing the Church and its members today?
• How will those needs change in the next five years?
• What are priesthood leaders’ current initiatives or areas of emphasis?
• What local obstacles or threats are hindering the Church’s progress today?
• What are the emerging issues that may affect the local progress of the Church in the next five years?
• What are the major concerns of people in the community and how can the Church help address those concerns?

All of these questions, prayerfully considered, will help public affairs councils as they meet with priesthood leaders to ultimately define the ways that they can do the most good for the Church in the local area.

Once priesthood objectives and local issues are identified and thoroughly understood by the members of the public affairs council and approved by priesthood leaders, they should be reviewed in subsequent public affairs council meetings to keep attention focused on the Church’s most important needs in the area. All proposed council activities should be considered in light of the objectives to ensure that they are focused on providing the most good.

A Sample Priesthood Objective & Public Affairs Council Response

One example of a priesthood objective might be the building of a new chapel in the area. Clearly the public affairs council doesn’t design or build buildings, nor does it file for permits or draft legal documents related thereto. However, the public affairs council may well play a significant role in the overall building project.

For example, recognizing that large-scale building projects often present opportunities to promote the Church, but may also be accompanied by opposition, the public affairs council would identify possible opportunities and challenges presented by the project—all of which may be affected by the perceptions and beliefs of opinion leaders in the community.

A major responsibility of the public affairs council in this situation is to know who the key opinion leaders are. Members of the planning commission, the city council, the media, other churches, local neighborhood groups, and even vocal individuals acting on their own, could all raise objections that would affect the project. Conversely, members of any of these groups might also be willing to step forward to endorse or defend the Church’s plans, thereby improving perceptions of the Church in the area.

Once the issues/opportunities and key opinion leaders are identified, the public affairs council can prepare plans to mitigate any potential challenges to the project and use the building project to help the Church become better-known and understood in the community—both of which strongly suggest the need for well-established relationships with strategic opinion leaders.

Step Two: Identify the “Who”—Key Opinion Leaders

With actionable priesthood objectives and issues identified, the public affairs council is prepared to identify the key opinion leaders—in other words, those who are in a position to help or hinder the Church’s achievement of the objectives because they may share the same objectives or concerns.

It is probably best to limit the list of opinion leaders to a manageable size—as few as 5-10 individuals for stake councils and 10-15 individuals for multi-stake councils. This will help the public affairs council to prioritize by focusing on the most vital relationships. The list may change over time and other names may be added. But ultimately it is the quality and not the quantity of relationships that will make the most difference.

Keeping the list small will also help the council to be very disciplined in determining who should be on the list. Individuals should not be included simply because they occupy a position of authority or are prominent in the community. Likewise, individuals should not be included simply because a member of the council is acquainted with them or knows others who are acquainted with them. Rather, sufficient rationale should be presented before the council and council members should be willing to submit their names to the scrutiny of the council and priesthood leadership to ratify the inclusion of a given name.

The following questions may help the council to determine who might be included on a local opinion leader list:

• Is the person in his or her present position currently affecting the outcome of a decision or decisions that will positively or negatively impact the Church?
• Is the person specifically involved at present in the establishment of policies, laws, or decisions that are directly related to the identified priesthood objectives or issues that the Church is likely to face in the future?
• Is the person likely at some point in the future to have the necessary authority or influence to be specifically involved in the establishment of policies, laws, or decisions that are directly related to the identified priesthood objectives or issues that the Church is likely to face?
• Does the person share the same objective or concert? Will he or she benefit from the relationship?

Once opinion leaders are identified and agreed upon by the council and priesthood leaders, a member of the council should be assigned to oversee the relationship with each opinion leader. This person will help to define the “road map” to establishing a relationship with the individual, will monitor the progress of the relationship, and will help to keep a record of the relationship to ensure that it endures over time through changes in council personnel and priesthood leadership. The person assigned to oversee the relationship should also be aware as the influence of the opinion leader increases or wanes over time and bring that development to the attention of the council.

Step Three: Identify the “How”—Building the Road Map

The substance of a public affairs council’s annual project plan is its collection of “road maps” or action plans for building relationships with each opinion leader on the council’s list. Each road map identifies information about a single opinion leader, identifies the council member responsible for managing the relationship, and outlines a series of activities with an associated time line and responsible party. These activities are the council’s best attempt at identifying how it plans to create experiences for the opinion leader that will lead to the desired relationship.

Each road map should be tailored to the individual background, interests, opinions, and protocol considerations associated with each opinion leader. Defining the road map can be likened to mentally “stepping into the world of the opinion leader” in order to find common ground or interests that the opinion leader shares with the Church in general or with local Church leaders. Doing so will help council members and priesthood leaders to better understand how to be appropriate and relevant in their interactions with each opinion leader.

Note: It is important that each member of the public affairs council read and understand the Fundamentals of Relationship Building and Stepping into the World of Opinion Leaders before proposing steps in a road map.

Public affairs councils should expect a fully defined road map to require a significant amount of research, discussion, networking, and prayerful pondering. It should also be understood that road maps will likely evolve over time as new information is obtained or circumstances change.

Each road map should include:

• A statement indicating the reason for this relationship, including the relevant priesthood objective or local issue identified by the council (see Step 1).
• Name and contact information of the opinion leader identified (see Step 2).
• Road map research:
• Known background of any prior contact between the opinion leader and other Church members, including any prior attendance at Church-sponsored events or existing relationships with Church members (enter specifics).
• Background information relevant to the priesthood objective or local issue (a separate biographical sketch can be an attachment to the road map document).
• Personally written, spoken, or reported statements from the opinion leader that are relevant to the priesthood objective or local issue (include statements and references).
• Recent accomplishments or recognitions relevant to the priesthood objective or local issue (what and when).
• Statistics (from sources other than the opinion leader) relevant to what he or she said or believes about the objective or issue.
• A plan, indicating:
• The type(s) of contact(s) to be made with the opinion leader (for example, personal letter, one-on-one appointment, lunch or dinner with small group and speaker, stake conference, pre-event reception, open house, community service project, award ceremony, or other interaction).
• The names of public affairs council member(s) assigned to make the contact. (Note: Generally relationships should be established between the public affairs council’s priesthood adviser or other priesthood leaders and the opinion leader. However, public affairs council members can be very supportive by helping to prepare priesthood leaders and accompanying them to meetings or other activities with opinion leaders.)
• Target dates for planned contacts.
• Subsequent planned follow-up contacts, including who will be responsible for them along with target dates and frequency.

A brief record of each contact or interaction with the opinion leader should be recorded in an addendum to the road map.

Sometimes even the best attempts at defining a road map can leave a council uncertain as to how it will ultimately find a way to build the relationship with the opinion leader. At such times, the example of Nephi seeking to obtain the brass plates from Laban may prove instructive and comforting: “And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do” (1 Nephi 4:6).

Councils that are faced with similar circumstances should prayerfully decide on a first step and then rely on faith and inspiration for subsequent steps to become more apparent over time. Those who have done so have often found that the result far exceeded what was hoped for or imagined as possible.