It's been a while since I posted here but I just got back from a nephews mission homecoming and noticed a change. I knew from before they changed it from a big family affair to just having the missionary speak.

But it's even worse now. My nephew giving his homecoming talk was giving a generic gospel topic by the bishop and encouraged to stick to the topic and discouraged to tell any stories or experiences from the mission. Fortunately my nephew mostly ignored his bishop and shared experiences from his mission. But my tbm family said this new rule just started a few months ago and most missionaries listen to their bishops and give homecoming talks without sharing anything about their mission. Even my die hard tbm family members hate this new rule.

I don't know if they're rule is a local thing or church wide. But it seems one more step in stripping the individuality from the missionaries and members. Can't have them sharing their own stories, just stick to the script that was written for them in the Ensign.

Rules, rules, rules. Lots of rules for the sheeple to follow. God forbid someone think a non-approved thought.

So much bullshit from such an inconsequential organization. It clearly defies logic.

Hey, the stupid cult is the one who decided a teenager was old enough to go on a mission so why in the hell isn't the cult allowing them to talk about their missions after they return?

Is it because they just might act like the very young person they still are and do a little bit of off-the-cuff talking and thinking they are still capable of INSPITE of all the cult indoctrination to mold their behavior to the opposite? Personally, I think this is the case, and I'll just bet that now and then they have had a missionary do this very thing and the cult, operating in the facist style in operates in, says NO MORE.

I predicted years ago that soon the cult would be handing out cult previously written talks for the members to get up and read line by line. It is almost to this point,



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2016 02:29PM by presleynfactsrock.

Why not pass out prepared "testimonies" before fast meeting? Almost all of them are rote anyway and have no basis in reality.

I'd frankly consider Mormonism to be one big joke, if it didn't do so much unforgivable damage to the well-being of others. Family first? What a crock.

Hey, the old boys realized they'd overlooked something that might be interesting. They had to get rid of that right away. Can't have anything going on that might wake someone up.

For several years (maybe more than five) in my part of the world, they've given talks on assigned topics incorporating stories of their mission in the talks. But they aren't called homecomings any more and have

I think it's great because it's going to accelerate the resignation rates for RM's.

It used to be interesting to hear how young people adjusted to different cultures and customs, but now it's generic talk just like the one the BP gives at funerals.

When our son was on his mission (more than 10 years ago), I always peppered my letters to him with endless questions about what was the area like? How was his Spanish coming along? Was the food interesting? Could he share any funny stories? (He used to tell hilarious stories; his mission apparently cured him of this.)

His letters home were totally devoid of personality. They were nothing but rehashed testimonies. He urged us to attend all meetings, pray, pay and obey, yada, yada.

We sent a funny, happy-go-lucky kid on his mission. The young man who came home to us was quiet, serious, and over-controlled. It was creepy. Over the years, he has come out of that Mo-shell a bit, but the mission didn't do anything good for him.

They know. They know how much doubt there is in the pews and if a young missionary comes up and talks (even innocently enough) about how many people cancelled appts, declined baptism, told them they were wrong, then that adds to the doubt and anxiety of those in the fold.

Bender

What was the generic gospel topic given to your nephew? Just curious.
Thanks

I don't know if it's a ward thing or stake or church thing.

Poor young kids.......
Sad

exmo-k

The topic he was given was temple work. He mostly stuck to it but found ways to bring in mission stories. I guess getting a gospel topic for the talk is not that new, but I was shocked that they said the bishop told them the talk was not to be used to share mission stories or experiences. My nephew said he just spent two years in service for the church so he was going share his experiences. The bishop didn't say anything to him afterwards so I guess it's not super strictly enforced. But my family has noticed the last few missionaries who came home have shared nothing about their missions in their talks.

How would this dumb rule affect bishops, stake high councilmen, stake president's children when they come back???

Who cares about the rules? The freakin' prophet told them, years ago, to stop showing up in throngs at the SLC airport for returning missionaries. The faithful have ignored him. It's a circus. SLC International is going through a huge expansion. The new terminal will have a designated area for all the families still showing up. Only in Utah.

Yet they still show up in throngs for missionary homecoming and farewells in Sacrement meetings...

I would have been perfectly happy to skip it. In fact, I was glad to be leaving for college so soon because the SP wanted me to speak at other ward sacrament meetings.

On second thought, I should have just skipped the entire mission thing, and the entire LDS thing altogether.

Reminds me of a J Golden Kimball story.

The stake president want Golden to talk about temple work. Golden didn't want to but the stake president still stood up and announced Golden would talk on temple work.

So Golden said "temple work is work for the dead fone by the halp dead." Then gave his talk.

It's terrible if they won't let missionaries talk about their mission including the places they went and people they met because the mishies need to tell it and the members love to hear about it.

Personally, I think the Morg would benefit from having scripts for members to read. There could be a script for homecomings, testimony meetings, Sunday school lessons, priesthood and Relief Society lessons. Oh, and let's add them to a Family Home Evenings.

The scripts would be written by the PR department and then field tested to find the most popular and problematic scripts. The Morg would only used popular scripts. Then the Correlation Department could insist that members used only the "authorized pattern" script. Anyone who messes up on the wording of the script would have to start over. The Boner.

From what I've seen missions haven't been to successful no ones baptising much and even less of quality converts who would make good leaders. So giving a talk of actual missionary experiences might not give the members the impression the work is going forward. Maybe it's just safer to have them give a generic talk that won't raise dissatisfaction or doubt.

It's not a new rule. Both my older sons have been back for 10 and 7 years. They too were told to speak on assigned talks. They both ignored it and spoke about their missions.