...while others are at the whim of the "prophet" (missionary department), like all of the "young" missionaries are.

My aunt and uncle decided that Sweden Stockholm was where they wanted to go and sure enough that is where their calling is.

Is it because older couples don't need the inspiration of a so-caled Prophet to tell them where to go and some can decide for themselves (while others presumably cannot??)

It's not what you know, but who you know.

My son's mission president was very wealthy and influential. Every senior missionary couple in his mission was hand-picked by him. He would tell them to start their papers, then send a letter to the missionary department saying, essentially, "Be on the lookout for Brother and Sister Jones. I would really like them to be assigned to my mission."

Oh, and forget that prophet of god thing; A computer actually does the first round picking (based on some personal factors and which mission needs missionaries next), then a functionary looks it over, then a 70, then an apostle, then the prophet's signature machine signs it. Most of the time the prophet doesn't even see it.

My son's call had him reporting to the MTC on the day before finals began at BYU. He wasn't even 19 until he'd been in the MTC for 4 weeks! He put his availability date as May 10 (his birthday) and they put him in the MTC on April 14.

My SILs mom worked for the missionary dept. and when I complained to SIL she called her mom and said that if we wanted to wait, he could go in the next batch, but that would mean waiting 6 weeks and my son didn't want to do that because he wouldn't have a job or much of anything to do for that time. So, we drove to Provo for Spring Break (ours, not theirs; they don't get one) and bought all his missionary gear in two days and off he went. He came home on a Friday night, spoke in church on Sunday, got set apart Sunday and we left on Tuesday to go back to Provo.

You pay for your senior mission. England and Paris are most expensive, Africa is cheapest. Look it up on LDS.org.

Don - actually, you pay not matter where you go or what your age. For those out of the North America, you pay th equalized amount (currently $400). While this may be nice for those going to London or Tokyo, it sucks for those going to Peru.

Are you sure about that--the senior missions? I have a friend who went on a senior mission and how much they could afford each month determined where they went.

Also--how long they could stay out determined where they went.

They were supposed to be gone 2 years, but came home 6 months early. She has never told me why.

Because they only select those that are financially sound and the more sound you are the more say you have in where you go. End of story.

Ron

It's the senior missionary "Mormon Royalty" association. If you are descended from the scum that settled Utah, you are better than everyone else.

For a lay ministry, the LDS church sure has egalitarian policies.

And my TBM DH thinks I wsant to serve a senior mission with him?????

You can't "get jiggy wid it" while serving as a senior couple. Baptisms will drop precipitously. LOL

Ron

and they have usually been well-known mormon family names.

Briggy

My parents are currently serving in the Temple in Nauvoo...they requested that position while they were serving with some higher-ups at the Bountiful Temple...and thats what they got. There was some pressure to go to Europe as they can afford it.

They are insisting I visit this summer with my siblings...72 hours of Big Joe Worship....I think I will vomit regularly...

I want to restate that senior mission costs vary by location. London and Tokyo are far more expensive than South America and Africa. You pay for the vanity sites.

My mistake!! Seniors pay based on the location, which is posted in the blue flyer that is posted outside every Bishop's office. The younger set pay the equalized amount (currently $400/month).

Sorry for the confusion.

Animal Farm. Orwell.

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

no it isnt a level playing field in the LDS church
(a great lead in for the video)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IybKqL62mWY

When I went through this period in my life called "activity in the Mormon church," I explored going on a senior mission. They publish lists of places you can go, and you can just chose by qualifications you may have, or how much money you think you can afford, or by any other criterion. However, a large percentage of seniors just say, "I want to go where the Lawd wants to sen' me!" They let the church decide, and then end up wherever.

As for Africa being the cheapest, that's not necessarily true. There are several places in Africa that are among the church's most expensive senior missions. Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) is one of those, costing seniors around $4,000 per month. I knew a couple there that sold their house and took all the money to pay for their 18-month mission. They had decided they HAD to do this hair brained thing before retirement. The money ran out after a year, so relatives and church friends had to cough up money each month for the remainder of the time. When they got home, they had nothing--no house, no possessions, no jobs, no income. He got a job driving a big rig truck and they lived in the cab sleeper. Then she discovered she had cancer. I have no idea no what happened to them.

some places like Kinshasa defy the norm because there is no way to live even remotely like what you need unless you pay through the nose. In Kinshasa, apartments with a flush toilet costs a lot of money, and they take advantage of non-Africans, particularly white ones. All food is flown in. A box of dry cereal costs about $25, a 2-litre box of ice cream more than $30. Fresh fruits and vegetables are off the chart, but grubs and locusts are pretty cheap--unless you're white.

Some seniors are steered toward Cadillac missions like Frankfurt. The Frankfurt mission is/was staffed with probably a couple dozen very well-heeled senior couples who represent the church in "PR missions," where they go hobnob with government ministers and prominent businessmen in Eastern Europe and such in an effort to encourage things like getting around laws that stifle growth, being allowed to buy certain properties, etc. You can chose to apply for cool missions like the Nauvoo historical thing where you take care of horses, drive carriages, act in those goofy daily plays, and guide people through historical homes. You can go to a place where there is no LDS structure (like China or Sri Lanka) and teach English or teach women how to sew, all in the name of "humanitarian" efforts. Men and women with higher education are sometimes placed in high schools and colleges as teachers, professors, and administrators. (Friends of ours just came back from one of those in Samoa.)

It's not like being a young man or woman at all. If you want to go to a movie, you go to a movie. If you want to throw in the towel and go home, you can. But I know from being around them that they have to still put up with arrogant asshat mission presidents who still may treat them like he does his young guys. I knew a couple who told the MP where to stuff it, then stayed on and did their work. I thought they might have been sent home, but they weren't. I knew another couple where the guy wore sports jackets, slacks, and ties, sometimes with a striped shirt. He was wealthy and just blew off the suits thing. He told me, "Hey, I didn't wear suits back home, I'm not wearing them here. I did shave my mustache, though."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2011 09:40AM by cludgie.