I made many friends on my mission and I'm considering attending a mission reunion just to catch up with some of them. Of course I would avoid all of the churchy-crap like praying and bearing testimony, etc. And if asked, I would make it perfectly clear that I've left the church and no longer believe any of its garbage (and hopefully plant some seeds in the process).

Have you or would you attend your mission reunion as open exmo?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2014 09:51PM by hangar18.

Will the reunion have an open bar?

Lol.. Only if you BYOB

Actually this isn't a bad idea. If more of us attended these things then mainstream TBMs would know that there are more RM exmo's than they ever realized.

I did about three years ago -- nobody even asked about my status. I would have told them, but didn't want to start preaching proactively.

I say go for it!

I'd be more likely to attend my mission reunion as an avenging angel.

I only went to one. It was actually a come and landscape the MP's new house party. I was completely ignored by MP and the first lady. No Jello until the lawn was done.

I did once. Nobody asked even though I am pretty sure others knew. Even mission pres probably knew as I talked to him and it still never came up.

"I am not religious much anymore". Works wonders

Not only have I attended as an open ex-mo, I've also made it clear that I'm gay and proud of it. If these people are really friends they'll accept you the way you are. I'm still very close to a couple of people from my mission. One is an old companion who is also an ex-mo. The other is a former sister missionary who is still very active. Both know I'm gay and have met my husband. Neither one of them care.

My mission president and his wife knew I'm gay and had no problem with it. But they were very unusual people - loving other people was much more important to them than religious dogma.

I'll never know for sure. On the alumni board for my mission, I entered the fact that I am no longer LDS as part of my updated information. Shortly afterward, I received an email from the person responsible for coordinating the upcoming reunion. I was asked not to attend the reunion, since my presence would be detrimental to the desired atmosphere.

Wow, talk about insular, though I can't say I'm surprised. Do you know if the person organizing the event was speaking on behalf of the mission president?

That e-mail would ensure that I WOULD attend, if I knew at least one "friendly" would also be there.

While there I would find the asshat who sent the email and call him a judgmental PRICK to his face--as well as distribute copies of his e-mail to other attenders, demonstrating what "detrimental" really means.

If nothing else it would be an interesting reunion. I love creating happy memories!

(Sending out an e-mail like that sounds like something a former APE would do.)

I would be surprised if the email didn't reflect the mission president's point of view. The MP hated me from the first words out of my mouth to him. I'm fairly sure he would see my leaving the LDS church as a further sign of my utterly useless nature.

The only reason I'd go to my mission reunion would be to celebrate my MP's ignominous end.

I attended one about a year after I got home. As a total TBM I thought it was a complete waste of time and effort. I saw all the same posturing and jockeying of the mission but now it was who has the most kids and who has the biggest calling in their ward. I lasted about 15 minutes then I was out the door.

Going as an apostate? If I knew there were other escapees going and we had some kind of identification thing worked out it could be fun. Booze on the sly? Now you've got my attention. Just to go and see old farts trying to relive the glory of mission life? I'd rather watch the Justin Beiber movie.

I have an idea. Go and wear a clerical collar and a necklace with a cross. Should be a good conversation starter. Say you have converted whole families to ......

I might. Besides, a lot of the guys I served with are exmo now, too.

I'd go just to see how I was treated. I've gotten some pretty terse comments from former companions in FB.

I'd love to, but my people are probably mostly all dead.

"all mostly dead."

*grin*

Geez, maybe that, too, now that I think about it.

I could not stand those reunions, even when I was a TBM RM.....I went once and left early. I can not imagine ever attending one again.

"Yo Bro", back slapping, livin' the good ol' days, everyone comparing spouses, jobs, $$......really a miserable experience.

Edited to add: I did reconnect with one old companion, the most rule breaking comp I ever had....once he found out I was no longer active, he ceased all contact. He had gone from a pagan missionary to an arrogant judgmental TBM in just a few short decades...he goes to the reunions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/2014 07:56PM by danboyle.

I would not attend a mission reunion under any conditions!!!!

Think how quickly it all changes. I went to my first about two years after I got back. Said hi to a few familiar people and heard our old MP speak. Went back a couple of years later and was disappointed to not see one familiar face. It was so awkward I had to just leave.

I posted this before. Years ago I was invited to a Finnish mission reunion organized by the wife of my first mission president. She wrote to me, "I know you are not a Mormon anymore, but I believe you are still a good person..." That was a great inducement to attend.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/2014 09:35PM by Eric K.