They want it run like a military, but really they have no real power over you, right? If you slack off a bit. See the sites, sleep in every so often, etc. Would you get away with it? or would they find a way to punish you?

Best way is never go on one in the first place.

Only if you are "blessed" with a companion who feels the same way, otherwise s/he will rat you out and sing like a canary to every other missionary.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2015 09:42AM by lapsed.

So, what happens if he sings? what does mission punishment look like?

Depends on your mission president. There was a guy on my mission that spent half his mission ditching his companions, making out with girls, etc... He probably got called into the MP's office every other month, but he never got sent home.

I've never heard of any kind of punishment on a mission for not doing the work. What are they going to do? Send you home?

Devoted Exmo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've never heard of any kind of punishment on a
> mission for not doing the work. What are they
> going to do? Send you home?

Applies to this and the one above it...

No, they don't send you home (usually). Part of the reason they don't is because that's what they think you WANT to have happen if you're slacking off, and MPs will be damned if they're going to give you what you want.

So they make you (if you're not already) a junior companion to some gung-ho type-A TBM salesman and rule Nazi. The kind of guy that will literally pull you out of bed onto the cold floor if you don't get up on time. The kind that will physically threaten you (and carry out the threats) if you don't keep up with him, or even walk too slowly to appointments. They publicly berate you at zone and mission conferences, holding you up *by name* as a bad example of being faithful and obedient.

They, in short, do their best to make your life a living hell (as if being on a mission isn't bad enough already). All done "in love," of course, because they're trying to "save your soul" from the "evil influence of Satan."

At least, that's what my MP did in '79-80 in France. And what stories say lots of others did and continue to do.

Certainly a WWJD moment! LOL!

Seriously though, that's awful.

My brother told me that they reassign you if it looks like you've had enough. That or they make you a zone leader. Someday I will write my brother's mission story. It is very, as we say, on topic.

Spend the money on college and be two years ahead of your TBM friends (and a lot saner/smarter).

Living two years of your life out of two suitcases...

If you're of a mind to have a good time on your mission, you first have to serve the apprenticeship that is being a junior companion.

A mormon mission can have periods of sustained good times, but if you're honest, those good times never make up for losing two years of real world time, except for language fluency. If you're going to make a good living out of having learned and mastered a new language, a mission might be justified.

There are two ways to interpret "not suck."

First is "have some fun somehow." Others have made it clear you can do that if you are willing to pay the possible price. You are still wasting two years.

The second meaning I would assign to "not suck" is be worthwhile.

Now that really seems impossible. But if there is any chance of the mission being worthwhile I would tell you that the parts of my mission that were worthwhile were learning a language, being immersed in a culture completely foreign to me--and appreciating it. I have read so many missionary letters that degrade the people they are around. Besides being disgustingly arrogant, it is a loss of opportunity. Many of my companions said disparaging things and put down the people of the country I was in. I hated that.

So do the opposite. Forget the baptisms. When you contact people just get to know them. Forget what you want to tell them. Find out who they are, what makes them tick. What is special and unique about their time and place. Be a student of life not a teacher of lies. It will enrich your life.

Make it your goal to baptize no one. Be a "double agent."Don't announce it. There are plenty of ways to let an investigator know that you don't believe without tipping off your companion. Don't tell them it's not true, just tell them where to look for the truth. Bend the rules of the mission mandate to the max.

At least 40% of my mission was worthwhile because of that.

But seriously, just don't go. Integrity is where it's at.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2015 11:46AM by blueorchid.

blueorchid Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There are two ways to interpret "not suck."
>
> First is "have some fun somehow." Others have made
> it clear you can do that if you are willing to pay
> the possible price. You are still wasting two
> years.
>
> The second meaning I would assign to "not suck" is
> be worthwhile.
>
> Now that really seems impossible. But if there is
> any chance of the mission being worthwhile I would
> tell you that the parts of my mission that were
> worthwhile were learning a language, being
> immersed in a culture completely foreign to
> me--and appreciating it. I have read so many
> missionary letters that degrade the people they
> are around. Besides being disgustingly arrogant,
> it is a loss of opportunity. Many of my companions
> said disparaging things and put down the people of
> the country I was in. I hated that.
>
> So do the opposite. Forget the baptisms. When you
> contact people just get to know them. Forget what
> you want to tell them. Find out who they are, what
> makes them tick. What is special and unique about
> their time and place. Be a student of life not a
> teacher of lies. It will enrich your life.
>
> Make it your goal to baptize no one. Be a "double
> agent."Don't announce it. There are plenty of ways
> to let an investigator know that you don't believe
> without tipping off your companion. Don't tell
> them it's not true, just tell them where to look
> for the truth. Bend the rules of the mission
> mandate to the max.
>
> At least 40% of my mission was worthwhile because
> of that.
>
> But seriously, just don't go. Integrity is where
> it's at.

This reminds me a bit of my mission. About eight weeks into it I knew I could no longer do the church's sales pitch to the impoverished people of the south American area to which I was assigned. My mission president was less a Nazi than some. He had served as a missionary under my dad. I thank my stars that my dad wasn't a complete asshole as a mission president and that the guy actually had liked him. My mission prez really didn't want to send me home because of who my dad was.

I and whatever companion who was assigned with me did physical labor - mostly roofing, but other carpentry as well. A few companions had a real problem with it, but there wasn't much they could do, and those who complained the most were the ones who most needed to genuinely serve others.

I came out of it fluent in Spanish, which has been most beneficial in my pursuit of practicing medicine in California. I have much more developed carpentry skills than I would have had otherwise. I suppose if I could have served with some organization like the Peace corps for the same amount of time in the same place it would have been even better, though I don't know all that much about the Peace Corps. I don't know the likelihood of being sent to a Spanish-speaking country.

If my parents had been willing to foot the bill for a two-year study trip to spain or to any other Spanish-speaking region, it would have been great, but they were not. I got the next best thing, and it worked out for me. I recognize that I had extremely fortuitous circumstances.

I had a real job before the mission. So not having to work for 2 years was something I greatly enjoyed. Missionary "work" was all too easy. Plus I didn't take the rules too seriously, while mastering the language quickly. All in all it was a pretty vood time, punctuated by meaningless meetings and stints with shitty companions.

strangeloop Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I had a real job before the mission. So not having
> to work for 2 years was something I greatly
> enjoyed. Missionary "work" was all too easy. Plus
> I didn't take the rules too seriously, while
> mastering the language quickly. All in all it was
> a pretty vood time, punctuated by meaningless
> meetings and stints with shitty companions.


I did, too. I think it made the work om a mission seem a bit less demanding. Even with doing the physical labor I did on my mission, I did it for eight hours a day while on my mission rather than the eight-plus-hour workday in addition to a minimum eighteen-unit course load at BYU. It just wasn't all that bad. It helped that my mission president would be considered liberal or at least moderate.

We had one missionary who used to post to RFM from his mission president's office.

And this has been verified as true as several of us met him in Birmingham and other get togethers after he quit his mission early.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/21/2015 02:12PM by matt.

stay home

It would be ok in Washington State, Washington D.C., Oregon, Colorado & Alaska.

Scratch that. It would never be ok, but you could make it fun anyway.

It is really no secret what going on a mission entails. If you are not willing to embrace that, sacrifice, and give 100%, then why go?

I was not thrilled when my son chose to go on his mission. Two things I told him was that it was A LOT easier to NOT go than to go and come home early, and that as long as he was out there he might as well give his best effort to the task at hand.

There's nothing the church can do to you except deny access to its little make believe privileges. If you don't want what they're selling, then they have no power over you. If you go on a mission and just goof off, they're the one in a bind, not you. They can send you home, but if you don't believe in Mormonism, then that's being let out of jail, not punished.