https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=E6EA191C93C5EE27!355&authkey=!AKB4yNUP-Ui_yxY&v=3&ithint=photo%2c.jpg

So I saw this on the way to my tbm bff. Made me kinda sick inside.

On our way back from sodas, i showed it to her.

We discussed and she finally admitted that this was rude. She thinks it's because of how many mishies are coming home early lately.

See, because of the lowered age, kids are going out before they are "ready" and because of this many are coming home because of depression, etc.

Her dh works for ROB (Riverton office building instead of COB) so it was quite interesting that she made that comment. Her teen is almost 18 and will most likely graduate early. I wonder if he is going right away next year?

So it seems people have to let eveyrone know their kid came home honorably!!! What a slap in the face!! Only in the morridor....

I didn't do the link right, so there is irl, but frankly I dont' care anymore. I hate windows 8!!!

My neighbors had a welcome home poster on her garage with pictures of her son and his baptisms! She even had yellow ribbons all over her yard and mason jars with candles lighting the whole street. That was a lot of mason jars!! I thought that was kind of weird.

I'm sorry but that is soooo fucked up!!!! Way to make the neighbors kid want to kill himself because he came home early or didn't have any baptisms!!

The current rate of missionaries returning home early is 10%. That means about 8,000 kids a year. The "return with honor" crap has to end. Utah already has the 5th highest suicide rate in the nation, and this kind of BS doesn't help.

Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.

Mormon arrogance at its finest.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2014 07:04PM by blueorchid.

Looks like that one was returned in the proverbial "box"!

Ok so I am going to be the dissenting voice here. "Return with Honor" has been a thing for a very long time. It seems like a pretty standard welcome home sign to me.

Also, it seems as though they clarify what they mean by "Returned with Honor" because it says "Healthy, happy and safe" not "Former AP, baptized a sh!t ton and never Jacked off."

If my son, for whatever insane reason, decided to serve I would only hope for the same thing upon his return; a happy, healthy and safe boy. JMO



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2014 07:15PM by michaelgbluth.

The banner was probably created/ordered before he was home, so how could they possibly know if he's happy and healthy?

I think the part that bugs me is that it's out there for all the world to see like a goddamn badge of honor. HE WASN'T IN THE FUCKING MILITARY!!!! A simple "welcome home, elder" would have been just fine.

Pretty sure the family could have received an email the week before talking about how he was happy. Also, I imagine he would have mentioned any health issues.

That's what I thought too. He wasn't in the military. Just a salesman for the morg for two years! Big deal! Its not he was protecting our nation!

I am active duty Navy. "Return with Honor" doesn't bother me.

I've lived here for 28 years and never ever seen a sign like this!!

Plus in light of the emphasis on missions and of coming home, with honor says more. The safety thing I also thought was funny in an ironic way in light of the missionary deaths.

Welcome home signs, yes, they had the name on the front of the house, but with honor? never seen it before this.

I have never seen or heard of "returned with honor" unless it was in the military context. That's weird that LDS are co-opting what seems to be a military term. Kind of like when it was implied by some Mormons during Romney's second failed run that doing an LDS mission was like doing military service, or that they were somewhat interchangeable.

They're not. Just FYI for anyone who is deluded about that.

But honor in this sense is kind of subjective, isn't it? A lot of the guys who did missions here talk about not exactly following the rules before, during or after their missions.

If her son had sinned while abroad or before, with a woman or himself, but never told anyone (especially his Bishop,) would he tell his mom? Would she still put up the sign, as long as no one else knew or found out? Is it a "don't ask don't tell" kind of thing, where what she doesn't know won't hurt her? Is it just fulfilling the time allotted to him that counts--not the quality of the service? A guy who did his time but never baptized a soul--does he get a banner, too?

And, if he came home early because he was desperately ill, or mentally ill and needed treatment--would we still be seeing that sign?

Interesting. Very interesting.

They have sold "Return with Honor" rings at Deseret book for a long time. Growing up in Sandy, Ut I was very familiar with the phrase. They even made a movie

http://deseretbook.com/Return-Honor-Excel-Entertainment/i/4993240

It means you didn't get caught doing anything inappropriate. You made it the whole freaking 2 years without disgracing your family. And that is all that matters.

When I looked at the image, the message I got was "Returned with HONOR!! (Oh, and he's happy, healthy, and safe too.)"

Gotta love those priorities. Return with honor first and foremost. Happy, healthy, and safe would be nice too as long as they don't keep you from returning with honor.

RWH has been a slogan in the church forever. And there is nothing wrong with being proud of a child who has accomplished something that is a big deal in your social circle, what ever that may be.

That is like being angry at a school for celebrating a championship of some kind because their celebration hurts the feelings of other schools who fell short of the mark.

Or saying that all the kids in the soccer league get the same trophy regardless of who won or lost.

It is utterly ridiculous to find any blame in this at all....

I did not serve a mission at all....Should this really hurt my feelings?

I 100% agree with the dissenters here. I lost my only son, and would give anything, I mean ANYTHING to have him come home that weekend long ago healthy, happy and safe. "With Honor" is a common phrase used in the church, and only one looking to be offended would be by those words.

These TBM mormons did NOT do this to hurt anyone's feelings. That is just a sign of their relief and gratitude to have him home at long last.

It is not easy to let your young son go on a mission, knowing you will not see him for two long years. This brings me tears to see that people on here can be so very resentful and mean toward a loving family's long awaited and joyful reunion.

This post is plain hurtful. And no, I long since stopped believing in or attending church, though I was once in the bishipric of my ward.

Colonel Moroni Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I 100% agree with the dissenters here. I lost my
> only son, and would give anything, I mean ANYTHING
> to have him come home that weekend long ago
> healthy, happy and safe. "With Honor" is a common
> phrase used in the church, and only one looking to
> be offended would be by those words.
>
> These TBM mormons did NOT do this to hurt anyone's
> feelings. That is just a sign of their relief and
> gratitude to have him home at long last.
>
> It is not easy to let your young son go on a
> mission, knowing you will not see him for two long
> years. This brings me tears to see that people on
> here can be so very resentful and mean toward a
> loving family's long awaited and joyful reunion.
>
> This post is plain hurtful. And no, I long since
> stopped believing in or attending church, though I
> was once in the bishipric of my ward.

That sign would be GREAT inside the house. A simple "welcome home, Elder!" is more appropriate for the damn garage.

It's nothing more than a "LOOK AT HOW HOLY MY KID IS AND HOW GREAT I WAS AS A PARENT" badge, and kind of tasteless, too.

What if you were the next door neighbor kid that came home early, sick, without finishing their mission? He probably already feels like a second class citizen, this is just rubbing it in.

I think it's absolutely obnoxious.

Or in other words "hey look at me" or something similar.

Olematty completely missed the point. Yes, return with honor has been a slogan in the church for a long time but it's never been used for a Welcome Home banner for a returned missionary. It's a huge slap in the face to someone whose child returned home early or battling depression or illness, like so many missionaries do. It's like saying "we are so wonderful - OUR son didn't have any problems. Our image is clean." It's heartless and unChristlike and I object to it, NOT because it hurt my feelings but because of the insensitivity to other peoples' feelings it displays. They may not have intentionally been trying to hurt anyone's feelings but Mormons are NOTORIOUS for being rude and insensitive - they SHOULD have realized it could be hurtful, not bumbled around like a bull in a china shop. Their failing isn't intentional - it comes from self-absorption and cluelessness and frankly, it's the sort of behavior that makes it impossible for most people to respect Mormons. Because so many are so clueless about common decency and consideration on so many levels, not just this one.

And your comparison is invalid. If my son won the State Spelling Bee (for example) throwing a celebration party with a Congratulations banner is appropriate. Having a banner that flaunts his return as a spelling hero where other kids failed wouldn't be. Bragging like that is ALWAYS vulgar. A simple "welcome home" banner is equal to "congratulations."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2014 09:31PM by CA girl.

"...but it's never been used for a Welcome Home banner for a returned missionary"

False

Also, how the hell would you know? Do you monitor the homes of every missionary coming home? Give me a break.

There are plenty of things to bitch about when it comes to the TSCC but this is juvenile.

Student of the month stickers....Might hurt the other students feelings...

No more "congratulations on your degree" banners....Might hurt college drop out feelings...

No more work bonuses... might hurt some one feelings who had a failed project....

Heaven forbid we should even have the National Honor Society...


What about trophies....I mean that just shouts out...I AM BETTER THAN YOU!

And don't park your Brand new Lexus on my street....It makes me feel inferior....


I get the point of the OP...It is ridiculous..

RWH Banners are very common in Mormon hoods....I have seen them hung across streets....I have seen them on a highway billboards....If someone dives into deep depression because of a simple banner like the one in the OP, they have much bigger issues with which to deal.

We learn our capabilities by our successes and our failures. We gain character by how we deal with those successes and failures.. If we can't admire or respect some one for their success and join them in celebration, their is something seriously wrong with us.....

Wow I'm glad my parents did not have to plaster a sign like that on my garage.

But I know, I confess I did not have enough faith. My stake president told me so, and that I was going to hell, and that I would never amount to anything.

I'm going home to Utah this weekend for a visit. I get to go pee on his grave.

What was wrong with <3 Welcome Home Elder X <3

My son comes home in six weeks. I'll be picking him up at LAX which is about two hours away. My TBM-ex is not going to the airport to greet him off of the plane, but instead staying at home preparing a welcome home party for him. So it will be GREAT that I will have him all for myself for the two hour drive back home.

I have NO DOUBT that when I drop him off at her house, she will have something stupid like this displayed. I'll just thank him for his time, tell him to stop by my place when he has a chance, and welcome him back to his mother's looney bin.

My ex has told my daughter that secretly she hopes my son will greet her like this elder did with his mom (skip to 2:00) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YJ4XaGtIrI

She won't get her wish. My son is not the "extended hug" type of kid. Haaa haaa.

Mr. Happy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My son comes home in six weeks. I'll be picking
> him up at LAX which is about two hours away. My
> TBM-ex is not going to the airport to greet him
> off of the plane, but instead staying at home
> preparing a welcome home party for him. So it
> will be GREAT that I will have him all for myself
> for the two hour drive back home.
>
> I have NO DOUBT that when I drop him off at her
> house, she will have something stupid like this
> displayed. I'll just thank him for his time, tell
> him to stop by my place when he has a chance, and
> welcome him back to his mother's looney bin.
>
> My ex has told my daughter that secretly she hopes
> my son will greet her like this elder did with his
> mom (skip to 2:00) -
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YJ4XaGtIrI
>
> She won't get her wish. My son is not the
> "extended hug" type of kid. Haaa haaa.


"Extended hug" is an understatement! I saw that video quite a few months ago. Yuck. I have two grown sons, never hugged them like that. Fast forward, I found a video of a relative meeting her returned missionary son at the airport and dang, it looked like she was copying the "scene" from the video you posted.

1:26 returned missionary is seen coming down airport stairs.
2:23 mom of missionary jumps up and wraps her legs around her son so she can strike a pose for the camera. I wonder how many missionary moms saw the video you posted and want to recreate it for when their missionary man comes home? I would bet a lot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUBjKzJsyR8

I don't know why a simple "Welcome Home XXXXXX" won't do or a "Happy To Have You Home". Why do they feel the need to "explain" the circumstances? It sounds boastful to me. I think they are trying to make sure everyone knows that their kid didn't screw up or have to come home due to illness and what is the point in that? They should be happy to have them home and leave it at that. In the minds of some they probably think that those that come home due to illness are weaker or not as elect as others. Same is true of those that are called to more exotic locations. They are better. It's all a status symbol and now even when/how they return home is one as well.

I've seen TBMs making waves about how they should be supportive of a missionary that comes home early. At least some people are starting to figure out that they shouldn't look down on or ridicule a person for not completing a full mission.

Formermollymormon - that's what I was trying to say but you said it more accurately and more concisely. Well said and exactly right!!!

Thank you CA girl. Sometimes I have a tough time saying what I mean. Nice to know that I made my point.

Michael Bluth, did you serve in El Salvador under pres. Jones? If you are the same person you were my ZL in Apopa, or were just visiting the area as an AP.

Sure did! I was just visiting as AP but also trained an elder in that zone during my last transfer. DO I HAVE A FELLOW EXMO MISSION BUDDY??? PLEASE PLEASE SAY YES!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2014 10:08PM by michaelgbluth.

Your zone leader at the time was Luis Elder Morales. My good friend and guero from Guatemala



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/03/2014 10:11PM by michaelgbluth.

Well yes and no. I'm still in for now because it's just easier.

Actually one of the main things I remember about you was when we were all walking as a group to one of the restaurants, you said something along the lines of "I prayed and prayed to know if the Book of Mormon was true, and nothing." I was quite taken back hearing the AP say that to the elders walking next to him but it makes sense now. Cheers bro.

If you feel like revealing yourself, shoot me an email at michaelgbluth@gmail.com -- I promise I won't "out" you to anyone


Also, I am sure you missed out on the ending of that story. At that point in my life, I hadn't received a "witness" from the spirit that the BofM was true. But, I had received a very strong witness that Joseph was a prophet.I was completely convinced. If JS was a prophet then the BofM was true. Of course, later on in life I learned about confirmation bias and reexamined my "feel good" epistemology and things changed.

Is that South Jordan?

so now if a missionary comes home early there will be honor killings ?