I been thinking a lot about my mission lately, and had a thought about a specific experience which I feel now was an extreme guilt trip.

At one of our full missionary conferences (it was over Christmas time if I remember correctly) our mission president gave us all a newsletter. Along with the usual baptism stats, scripture quotes, etc, it contained a story of an unfortunate young woman who had recently taken her own life. This woman lived in the area of one of the chapels in a bigger city and was called "one of ours." The MP added - If only one of the missionaries had met her while she was going through such a bad time in her life, we could have taught her the gospel and brought her into the fold. She lived so close to the church, how was she missed? This is an important lesson on why we must be diligent with making investigator contacts and knocking on doors. Literal lives will be saved!

At the time, I'm sure I shed a tear and took the weight of this person's death on my already heavy shoulders. We must find these desperate individuals and give them true happiness! A death like this in our mission truly means that I have failed.

It's really awful now that I remember this manipulation. For a moment I thought, "Did I imagine this whole thing?" but I found the original newsletter still saved in my BOM carry case. Sadly it's very, very real.

When I was in my young twenties, I was assigned to be my father's home teaching companion. My father wasn't active, so this wasn't very likely to get very far.

Among our assignees was a couple where the husband worked at the same workplace as my father, but in a distant department. Also, one of the adult children was my age, and we had been in Scouts and YM together. For 2-3 months, we couldn't get around to see that family.

Then one day, out of nowhere, the husband came home, shot his wife fatally, and committed suicide.


Nothing we could have done could have prevented this. The husband's mental instability was a complete unknown to us. We, like everyone else, couldn't imagine him doing anything like that, they were such nice people, blah-blah-blah.


So, yeah, even if the missionaries had gotten her into the church, it doesn't mean anything. Your mission president was a horrible person to lay that on all of you.

Tyson



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2021 01:12PM by Tyson Dunn.

Mormonism MANIPULATES through guilt, pressure, superstition, lies (twisted stories), and any manner of coersion it can mustar because it can't simply lead by example, and BE HONEST and Up Front with everybody, member and investigator, regardless of the outcome.

It resorts to these tactics because, like any bully, master-manipulator, or conperson, it lacks a natural charm/ magnetism, beauty, and trustability, on its own.

It doesn't sound like the MP gave you any statistics on the number of depressed, young, gay Mormons who commit suicide because they cannot deal with the teachings Mormonism feeds them regarding sexual identity. If the suicide victim your MP referred to was gay, I doubt a visit from the missionaries would have helped. It more likely would have hastened their demise.

Yeah, but if he had those he might look at stats differently

Just right. The LDS church has a lot of blood on its hands.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/05/2021 06:19PM by Lot's Wife.

I never figured out how we as missionaries were supposed to take away someone's free agency to reject the church or make a very bad decision such as committing a crime or committing suicide. The older I get I realize that suicide in many cases may not be worst choice someone can make.

if I should marry my husband. They guilted me big time. Every one of the leaders who knew. My one "friend" gave me a blessing (with another guy) telling me that he would never leave me. Then afterwards he talked to me for a while and told me how would I feel if when I met my maker, he said to me, "I gave you this opportunity to save a soul and you turned your back on it."

I had another guy I was dating and my future husband was sure I'd marry him if he didn't hurry up and decide to get married. We had been seeing each other for about 2 years by then. They told me he was damned. It was up to me to save him.

He's still gay . . . as well all know. Not like I'd want him to change now. Back then he had to CHANGE to straight to be saved according to the leaders. They said not even 1 in 10 make it.

I'm sure the leaders don't feel guilty at all for what they did to my husband, our kids, and I. It is my fault--not even his. I wasn't righteous enough. (I know that's not true, but they still think this. I married him just over 37 years ago.)

When I was a young lad, maybe 10 years old or so, I answered a phone call from my elderly great aunt. All she said was to have my Dad call her back.

My folks weren't home and I didn't tell them until the next morning.

When my wicked step mother returned the call she found that my great uncle had died during the night.

Fulfilling her duties as a wicked TBM step mother, she told me that my great aunt had called to ask my father to give a priesthood blessing to my great uncle and because I didn't tell them until the next morning my great uncle died and it was my fault.

Yup ten years old and carrying the guilt of having killed someone because I didn't relay a message for a priesthood blessing.

Top that!

Everything is my fault. I accept full responsibility for everything.

The location that he choose says a lot.

https://www.deseret.com/platform/amp/2013/11/20/20459183/son-of-judge-killed-himself-in-las-vegas-lds-temple-courtyard