Posted by:
spwdone
(
)
Date: September 13, 2013 05:49PM
Sorry this is long, but, you did ask.
Of course, it varied depending on who you were dealing with. I must say, we didn't get it nearly as badly from members as we did within the mission and there were some pretty cool elders as well. Not all of them bought into it and were great people. This is about the others.
I had two MP's. The first was pretty awesome, really sweet, loving and supportive man, his wife was really cool as well. Unfortunately he was done when I was 3 mos into my mission. The next one very firmly believed that women were supposed to be guided, as in completely directed in every action, by "The Priesthood." Basically, we had no say in anything. He, of course, called APs, ZLs and DLs who were in sync with his views, or, at least, bought into it at that point. Who knows what they think now.
During any group mission meeting, the sisters were expected to provide refreshments, set everything up and clean everything up afterwards. We were not allowed to contribute anything to any meetings or workshops in a non-physical-labor way and were not even allowed to participate in discussions unless it was to ask questions or share an experience. Doctrinal discussion was for priesthood holders only.
Our MP (and his disciples in positions of power) frequently quoted scripture and GA quotes about how women needed guidance. Most of them were out of context. It was infuriating and humiliating.
I spent a lot of time during that time saying "it's the people, it's not the Gospel," to help me get through it. Yes, this was a mistake, but, I was young and stupid and trying really, really hard to be a good LDS missionary, which meant, following and supporting your priesthood leaders.
The female missionaries were also given stricter guidelines by our MP on what we could/couldn't do. We had an earlier curfew (we were NOT in a violent or dangerous area) and were very limited in the interactions we could have with our investigators before we were required to bring our DL's or ZL's in on appointments, so that we didn't screw it up.
We were not credited with the baptisms, because, after all "they were baptized by Priesthood authority." Also, the MP's wife actually told me, "they need the numbers because when they go home how they did on their mission will help them get a good job so they can support their family."
The male missionaries were allowed a certain amount of TV hours, when they could watch sporting events at a members home on PDay. Female missionaries were not allowed any.
We also had two GA's visit while I was out. Before both, all the missionaries submitted questions and concerns for the GA to address. One, was actually pretty cool - really liked him, what he said made sense and he went out of his way to interact with the sisters and treated us like actual people. His name? George P. Lee. I think we all know what happened with his LDS career.
The other who visited spent lots of time with our MP's hand-picked disciples and didn't answer or address a single question or issue submitted by a sister (I'm hesitant to put in a name because I don't want to get sued, sorry. He's now dead, though, but he has family, some of whom I know.).
He also didn't have a conversation with one of us. There were only 14 of us in the mission, but still. It was very, very obvious and we were all upset about it and made this known.
Our being upset about it caused a special "sister's conference" to be held. During this, were were instructed about what a woman's duty was to uphold and support the Priesthood, both our leaders and, in time, our husbands. Our MP told us that it was more important that future priesthood leaders got the benefit of the GA's attention and inspiration, as they were the ones who would be molding the future of the church. It wasn't because we weren't as important. Right, that was obvious.
Later in my mission, I became very ill. My MP refused to let me go to the Dr., and told me I didn't have enough faith, because females are naturally more susceptible to the influence of the adversary, who was trying to keep me from my work. Finally, when my body totally shut down and an investigator called an ambulance, I was sent home. I was diagnosed with Lyme's Disease, which is almost 100% curable if treated when first contracted. I went for 10 months without treatment and ended up with permanent physical problems because of it. If I sound a little bitter about the fact that my body has never worked quite right since, it's because I am.
I could go on, but I think that's enough for now. Hope that answers your questions.