Although I find these numbers rather stunning, that is the result of the Next Mormons Survey, authored by Dr. Jana Reiss and Dr. Benjamin Knoll. Among Millennial Mormon missionaries, 35% of women and 29% of men are coming home early. According to a separate UVU study, the vast majority of those missionaries are coming home due to problems with mental or physical health.

"Sadly, a majority of ERMs did not have a loving welcome when they came home earlier than expected. Nearly six in ten respondents in the UVU study said their wards were unfriendly or indifferent, and nearly half said their local church leaders treated them poorly. (More happily, fewer than a third reported such a chilly reception in their own families.")

https://religionnews.com/2018/09/26/more-mormon-missionaries-are-coming-home-early-study-shows/

A trifecta of factors perhaps:

1) There is a vast difference in maturity levels between 18-19 and 19-21 for young adults

2) Generational differences. The much discussed factor of millennials being less likely to be duped, put up with poor conditions, or follow ineffective leadership.

3) The increasing availability of information that keeps people from joining the church. It was a hard sell even 30 years ago. We were not baptizing highly educated people even then. And the people we did baptize rarely stayed active. It must be brutal in today's environment. I often think about the zero growth in wards in the United States last year along with the declines in wards in Europe, Asia, and Mexico. Given the time it takes to plan consolidations and the slow response of the leadership to problems, I would guess the church peaked around 2013 and is now in steady decline.

had lowered the age to 18. Even 19 to 21 is too young (especially for guys to be going around calling themselves "elders").

Moreover, from what I've observed over the years, the trend in the younger generations is to have a much more prolonged adolescence compared to a few generations ago (due to various factors, including economics, prolonged coddling, etc), so the lowering of the missionary age makes even less sense when those social trends are taken into account.

I think the Mormon full-time missionary program is no longer serving any important purpose. It is exposing the youngest adult members to 2 years of intense counterarguments and rejection of their "faith" by thousands of people they meet outside of the safe confines of their faith community, so it's not helping with retention. It also is very wasteful of time and resources. The church could probably get 100 times better results by hosting really good musical programs and other events in local communities and bringing in people through a positive image. If they could find an updated version of the Osmonds, that alone would probably be as effective as 10,000 full-time missionaries in bringing people in. (Not saying that any such things would make the message any more true, but they would be much more effective at attracting people to the church.)

Mormon missionaries going around in twosomes, with their trademark black badges and white shirt and tie uniforms has become something of a funny meme to most people. It's essentially a symbol of wacky cult behavior. It actually probably does more net harm than good these days with respect to the LSD Church's efforts to recruit new members.

Wally Prince Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Even 19 to 21 is too young


Yes, I think they should have upped the age requirements, rather than lower them.

But of course they wouldn't do that, because it would mean they wouldn't be marrying as young as they'd like them to.

days.

For those too young to know about that concept, it meant going on your mission without any money and no support from home. The idea is that you would rely on the kindness of strangers and, in a pinch, earn your way doing odd jobs. The missions were also much longer, IIRC.

In those days, it was probably not as hard to get someone to let you sleep in their garage or spare room in exchange for doing yard work or helping out on the farm (and there were many more family farms to go to).

But still...I don't think I would have had the gumption to tough it out on one of those missions.

It was all for a ridiculous cause of course, but I still have to give my grandfather credit for his toughness and dedication. Different times make different kinds of people I guess.

Thanks summer. Nice to have these statistics for who knows what discussion that may arise. :)

I knew of one missionary in the whole two years of my mission that went home early. I'm not so sure its so much to do with the religion or that the missionaries were more dedicated. I think, it's that it "just wasn't done." We were for sure of a different mindset. If you went, you were going to do it no matter what.

Those figures seem high.

When I came home early, the members of my ward and local church leaders treated me great. It was my "loving" family who were bitches.

I wonder if some of this abandoning the project early has to do with a generation of young people that aren't learning how to cope with the real world? I see lots of helicopter parents who micromanage every aspect of their young ones life,
1) they drive them to soccer
2) they drive them to scouts
3) they have to be in every school activity
4) they have to constantly hang out with friends
5) they have to be on social media 24 hours a day.

Their parents discourage them from working but instead push them into doing fun things or endless studies in the University. There is this extreme emphasis in the public schools (in Utah this year) of "anti bullying." Forget letting kids solve their own problems by reasoning it out, now tattling to authority is the way to go. There is a rise in autism, in mass depression for some reason. ADHD has become a serious mental disorder.

In the broader society there is a rise in self indulgences and living to pleasure one's self constantly, trying to get out of working long hours for little pay, etc...

I'm of the opinion that quitting and coming home is an entirely appropriate way of coping with "the real world". The product they are selling is destructive, phony crap. Being forced to sell it corrodes the soul. Quitting makes a lot more sense and takes more courage than what I did, which was to stick it out, even though I was pretty sure it was all BS, not to mention racist.

They are coming home for "mental or physical health problems" because it is still socially unacceptable (even to themselves in many cases) to say that they think Mormonism is a crock.

Anono, you sound like an old fart yelling at kids to stay off your lawn. Of course, old farts have sounded like that for time immemorial. Welcome to the club. On the bright side, they are going to ignore both of us and leave us in the dust, as it should be.

Slainte.

The voice of reason, as usual. Endlessly banging one's head against a wall is not an indication of character or strength: it is a symptom of either individual or collective stupidity.

The younger generation is better informed than most of us, more realistic, and wiser than we were at that age. In many ways it will fall to them to rectify some of the many problems created by the strangely smug generations of people who are presently in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s.

Recognizing that the missionary program is but one of the illusory garments which adorn the imperial church is a great first step.

take what should be the obvious next step that you have suggested: recognizing that the missionary program is but one of the illusory garments of the church and recognizing that it's all phony.

The saddest situation is those who come back due to "mental health" or "physical health" reasons because they succumb to the pressure (external and internalized) to continue pretending that it's their fault and not the fault of the organization.

Just imagine going through a lifetime in the church with the stigma of having failed on the all-important "mission" due to "mental health" issues and accepting that label because you're not brave enough or honest enough to oneself to identify the real reason for leaving early. Unfortunately, a substantial percentage of them will do just that.

In my day you were going to burn in hell if you came home early.

Now it just means you don't have to go to BYU, because they won't take you. Easy choice.


I agree lots of kids today don't have the maturity to hack out a mission, but I don't think that is the real reason the numbers are so high.

The Millennials have also been busy protecting you over in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and other lovely watering holes around the world.

I just looked up the washout rate from basic training for the U.S. military, which roughly speaking ranges from 7-14% depending on the service. Why does the military have a much better retention rate than Mormon missions?

-Military members are paid
-They get material benefits, many of which continue after their service
-They are fed well, and given appropriate medical and dental care
-They are treated like adults
-They are not arbitrarily prohibited from contacting family and friends on their downtime
-They have actual downtime, and are not prohibited from normal entertainments that are available to them
-They have a sense of satisfaction for serving
-While having to function in a group, they do not need to have one person glued to them 24/7

etc.

The ET or Early Termination rate for the Peace Corps has been slowly rising, but is still only 11% as of 2016. This includes all reasons such as medical reasons. Peace Corp alumni on various message boards point out that sometimes ET is beyond a volunteer's control, such as a 100% ET rate for volunteers in the Ukraine, or a sometimes higher than normal rate due a disease breakout in Africa. One alum noted that in his program, the official turnover dates were in August and September, so it was not unusual for volunteers to resign in say, July, so they could start grad school in the fall term.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.peacecorps.gov/documents/open-government/FY2016_Peace_Corps_Global_Early_Termination_Report.pdf

So Millennial Peace Corp volunteers are doing rather well, and often under harsh circumstances. They are older and better educated than most young Mormon missionaries. They also have a choice about where they serve, a sense of deep satisfaction for helping people, and a solid stipend to help them resettle upon their return.

Summer, that is very interesting.
:)

Thank you, Brother Of Jerry. Anono insinuates that there must be something WRONG with a missionary that comes home early.

I agree that leaving is a good thing. Yes, this generation is less easily duped. Also, their parents aren't as brainwashed and ignorant as parents in Anono's older generation.

(I won't even acknowledge what Anono wrote about "tattling" on bullies...)

I'm going to get a cup of chamomile tea now.

The "tattling on bullies" part is the key to it all.

Institutions that treat people terribly tout the value of endurance, the importance of pain, the virtue of the stiff upper lip, and the need to be a "team player." Totalitarian governments embodied those "values," as does the Catholic church when it comes to the victims of ecclesiastical abuse and, in many ways, the LDS church.

Those who tell the truth are the friends of a free society, not its enemies. Bravo to those who have the honesty and self-respect to leave their missions: bravo also to those who support them when they return.

"Tattling on bullies" is the school equivalent of "reporting on criminals."

Don't know why that's considered a bad thing--by some. Unless they also think that calling the police about a criminal isn't fair play, or isn't "character building," or something else absurd.

These days we can see what happens when a youthful bully doesn't get "tattled on" and crushed so hard that he'll think thrice before ever doing it again--and turns into an old bully.

Thanks, summer, for these interesting results. As others have stated, it’s surely for a combination of reasons but it is heartening to know that a very small percentage of those responding to the survey reported a chilling reception by their families :)

Interesting thread. Thanks again :) I think Steele nailed it!

I came home 1 month early from my mission in the early 60s. I had nothing to do with it, my father arranged it because he wanted me home to help with harvest on our farm. He was financially strapped at the time and also wanted to stop the monthly support. Missionaries or their families paid the support in those days.
I had mixed feelings. I thought I should finish the two years but I was very happy to go home. Reception at the ward was as expected, I don't think most ward members even knew it was early. My family was happy to have me home.

The ones who remain tbm are T! B! M!

This is great news. I am sorry for the treatment these early returned missionaries are facing.

When I went to Finland in 1974, there were 7 in my group. Only 5 of us spent the full 2 years, which is coincidentally 28% drop out rate. Finland only had 40 baptisms in the entire country in 1975. It is just my opinion, and it has been stated above, that missions worldwide and in particular in more developed countries are now like Finland in the mid 1970's. Endless tracting (if done), continual rejection, and begging members or others for opportunities to do anything to alleviate the boredom etc. must be taking its toll. When I run into the missionaries again, I will let them know they have an option - they can quit. They will be certainly aware of the attrition within their own mission. I hope this will have a cascade effect on many more.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/2018 10:13PM by Eric K.

my ERM experience was very sad, a pair of Mishs in a fatal car wreck in Michigan, about 1968.

If I had been more curious/aware, I would have discretely inquired if ChurchCo paid any of the expenses.

I don't recall if 1 or both were killed, they were in a Romney Rocket before shoulder belts (& later airbags) were required...s

ChurchCo certainly has the resources to pay for health & life insurance for its salesforce!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/2018 11:40PM by GNPE.

People are getting smarter
And/ or acting on it...

I'm delighted that many are not wasting their time harassing people who deserve to be left alone.

Those who leave early can get on with their lives and they have that extra time to recover from the abuse the church people dished out on them while they were indentured.

Nicely put, and "indentured" is most apt.