"I am so looking forward to talking to Samuel," (not real name). These words I heard uttered by a TBM parent Saturday, the day before Mother's Day.

It is so F***ing sickening and evil for the MormonCult to think it has the power to dictate that young youthful missionaries, beloved and dearly loved sons and daughters of their parents, are only allowed to call home two times a year, Mother's Day and Christmas.

What is the Cult afraid of? I know, but I want them to own up to what they are afraid of. How do they think that it is being "christian" and "family-adoring-and-loving" to indoctrinate these youth into thinking that this is a fine and dandy rule made in their best interest? And, a more potent question, how do they also manage to indoctrinate the parents into thinking such action is fine and dandy? To get them to sit back and nod their heads, oh yes master, oh yes.

Of course, the answer is that the MormonCult is slick and conniving and has been practicing and perfecting their actions for years and years. They know that if they rope in the missionaries, that if they convince them and indoctrinate them solidly while they hold them in BONDAGE for these two years, they will then have a much higher change of keeping them in bondage for life.

In this vein of evil-doing I want to list 5 other missionary demands given for youth to follow. These are just the tip of the iceberg, yet some of the most horrendous in my book of the abuse heaped on these young, eager, naive, trusting, and wonderful youth.

1. They are told they must hand over their passports to the mission president, not in all cases, but usually. Let's see?, these kids are old enough to leave home, be alienated from their families, live in a new location BUT they are not old enough to keep their passports? Gee, is it because they are being held captive so they can't up and leave when/if they want to skeedaddle from the slavery they are in?

2. The mishies are told not to spend any of their time keeping informed of what is going on, the latest news, in the area they are serving or in the world in general. The mission home will notify them when they need to know about such things, Really? How is this safe and exactly what is it teaching these youth? (follow us the cult and let us take care of you and do the thinking for you, as well as you are not really old enough to keep tract of such important matters yourself)

3. Read the scriptures, pray and read the scriptures and pray, and also read whatever else your mission tells you to read but stay away from all else! what else are they told? Well, the cult reminds them endlessly that they are privileged to be on a mission for the Morg and their time and energy needs to be spent ENTIRELY in preparation and serving.

4. The mishie is told that he and his companion must keep close at all times (except for bathroom privacy). They are to help each other, report to the MP "any and all" of companions missteps, and that they are "expected" to get along with this companion, praying for guidance and assistance continually.

5. Miracles, even unexpected miracles and BAPTISMS, will arrive if you keep the commandments and keep reaching to be the PERFECT MISSIONARY. You will be able to find those who are searching if you do these things. If things are slow, if you are not bringing sheep into the fold, reach higher and try harder. Did you hear that missionary? YOU are not trying hard enough!!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2017 06:11PM by presleynfactsrock.

I think the church is afraid they will get too homesick if they are allowed to call home more often, and thus, leave their mission early.

I so, so agree. You'de think, if the mission is the BEST TWO YEARS of a mishies life that this kind of thinking makes no sense in the least.

And they can tell by their voice, how they really are , or if they're just saying something , just to please others, or they know the calls are monitored, where they can't speak freely anyway. They might be able to pretend and pull it off , by only getting to talk twice a year, plus they will sound happy, not because they love what they're doing, but they're just happy to hear from family. If they call more often, probably harder to cover how they feel.
Most mothers can tell if their babies voice doesn't match up to what he's saying

Dang even prisoners get to see their family every week and call the daily if they want.

I'd like to know about the passport part...if the mission president is "holding on to them," he may be violating US laws. It's my understanding that citizens are always to be in possession of their passports when abroad. Any lawyers out there who can confirm this.

As for the Mothers' Day shit, I'll weigh in. I talked to my missionary yesterday. He was in a member's home, and the member monitored our conversation. Fuck that! I said, "I love you, I'm proud of you, and I'm looking forward to really talking with you when you get home." I let everyone else talk and walked out of the room. Fuck the Mormon church and its brainwashing mission techniques! The Missionary's EXMO Dad's Boner.

Boner I was told by a mishie at last 10 years ago that the mission where they are serving hangs on to their passport

What was the point of the member monitoring? So if your family told him to come home or it's all a lie she could cut off the conversation? Are there any other reasons?

You're a great father, Boner. You show love and support for your son, who's in a cult that you no longer believe in. If I was a young missionary, I'd be relieved to have a dad like you. Id know that you still support and love me, and if I ever wanted to get out or leave early, I wouldn't have to worry about shame and disgrace, you'd always be there for me. You'd even tell them off ,when the comments start coming

Oh yeah, you do suppose to have your passports with you at all times. When we were stationed in England though , we didn't , since we lived there temporarily ( that's military though).
When we visited another country, they told us to carry it with us all the time.

I think that the U S Dept of State issues cards that function like passports. It shows the mishie's photo, name, DOB, maybe the mission home address (like I said, I'm not sure) and it shows that the person has permission to be in the foreign country in the capacity of a clergy person. They are single, like a driver's license, and laminated.

Carrying this thing allows the mishie to prove that they are there legally, and if the local constabularies want to make an issue of it, they CAN see the actual passport. And maybe even talk to the MP, who hopefully will not behave like too much of a pompous equine nether orifice.

As far as the phone thing, I think I would buy and use a "burner" phone and use it when possible to sneak away from comp. Of course, this pre-supposes that your family and friends will not rat you out.

It seems to me that just knowing that you can contact your family or closest friends when you need to would help alleviate some of the desperate and frantic longing for home.

Some of the missions are in marvelous places. Maybe, if the urge to remain in contact with your family isn't so frantic, you can actually enjoy some of the culture and history around you.

Thanks Hockey Rat. I'll be honest, I get very depressed over how my life has been shaped by Mormonism. I've wondered if I've done the right thing by NOT confronting my children.

I'm resigned to the notion that late teens will fight with their parents over just about anything. I don't think anything I would say, or the evidence I could provide would convince them, at their ages, the church is a fraud,

Rightly or wrongly, I've taken the path to love them unconditionally and to try to lead a honest, happy life. But sometimes it's just hard.

I did get a warm smile yesterday when I said I couldn't wait to talk with him, as his Dad, when he got home. It just DO hard to have to listen to all the mission stuff.

Thanks again! Very best wishes!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2017 09:35PM by BYU Boner.

A TBM at my work had his mother die while he was on his mission overseas...


He did not come back for her funeral..

We've stayed friends over the years.

He knew that this mother was dying. He was on a stateside mission and while the immediately family had been forbidden to tell him how bad things were, his friends kept him informed.

He desperately wanted to call her on her birthday (early in December). He had a very bad feeling that she would not make it until Christmas, and his friends told him he was probably right. His mother believed too that she could not hang on until Christmas, and begged to be allowed to say goodbye to her boy.

I hope the bishop and MP burn in Hell. The phone call was not permitted. Just a few days before Christmas, the mish's father was "allowed" to call and tell him that his mother had died - and no, he could not come home for the funeral.

He basically said "Eff this" for the rest of the day. He and his comp (another sweetheart, with whom I also stay in touch) came out to my house. The mish had obviously been crying.

I drew them both into my tiny living room. We had a rule at my house - we all called each other by first names - he sobbed, "Catnip, my mom died a little while ago, and they won't let me go home!" I just hugged him tight and let him cry. The poor kid was shaking. His comp spotted a box of Kleenex, yanked out a couple, and handed them to his devastated comp.

All I had to offer, drink-wise, was water, milk, Sprite, and some freshly made, devastatingly delicious eggnog (no alcohol.)

After unashamedly crying himself out, he shakily sat at his usual spot at my itty-bitty dining table, where I set out some cookies. I offered the beverages I had on hand. He asked me whether it would be wrong to drink such a celebratory beverage as the eggnog just hours after his mother's passing.

His comp, a fine young man even then, (now a husband, father of SIX, and a bishop) spoke up - showing at the tender age of 19 the kind of man he would grow up to be.

"Let's drink to her life, then. The love she shared with you, your family, and all the good stuff."

All three of us still remember that day, BTW. In my most recent Christmas card, I teased the comp - whom I remember as a greenie - about whatever took him so long to become bishop - were they waiting for his first grandchild?

So I poured a hearty glass of eggnog for each of us, grated some fresh nutmeg on top of it, and we drank to the mish's mom. He shared some wonderful memories. It was a very special time for all three of us. A terrific time to heal.

Many years ago, DH and I spent some time during vacation with the mish whose mom had died. He has a large portrait of her in his living room. I would have been able to pick her out in a lineup without hesitation. Her son looks just like her.

Thanks Catnip for sharing that moving real-life story.

As an RM myself I can only imagine what a heart-wrenching time it was for that missionary.

Sure woulda loved to have met more kind-hearted people like you on my own mission.

Many thanks again...

BTDTEM

to catnip,

This made me cry, for several reasons. That missionary was blessed in both you and in his companion.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/2017 02:19PM by relievedtolearn.

Even though I ended up in a church I eventually left, we have remained friends. (I'm old enough to be their mother, so it's OK.)

The other day I was looking through my collection of Christmas cards sent over the years from the comp's family. I have gotten notices as children were born into the family, and just recently, an announcement that second-oldest son will be married in June. Heck, I can remember when that boy was BORN!

There has been so much closeness between us over the years that these youngsters feel almost like grandchildren to me. The comp (who is now a physician) and his wife were in our town for a medical conference some years back, so we got to visit with them.

The blessings have definitely worked both ways.

The "overcoming personal desires" lie is pure apologetic horsesh##. Since when is open and honest communication between family members considered to be a "personal desire" rather than a human requirement of a healthy family's mental health?

Even when only one member of a family living within a household goes silent, that silence reverberates through each member, and throughout the family as a whole. Something is wrong, something needs attention, there is an undercurrent of fear, anger, illness or any mix of those.

Beyond the abusive isolation of the individual, this silence imprints the most painful types of "sacrifice" on the entire family, especially on younger siblings whom cannot physically (brain development), emotionally or intellectually possess the wherewithal to cope with the silence. All they know is that for a significant part of their young lives, their older sibling is MIA, and that they are to display only positive affects about it. Nevermind the abnormality of the entire situation.

Once a child has suffered this loss, the imprinting that he must do it, too, someday, becomes even less of a "choice." It cannot be compared to the natural flows and open communications of older siblings moving away from home, departing the nest. This is something unnatural, unhealthy.

It is a sick rule, designed to induce sickness within all those family members involved. It is designed to imprint that your life is not your own, nor are your children, not even those still under your roof, those for whom you still tithe.

It's even more absurd and outrageous when you consider that the mish and/or the family is PAYING big old bucks for this abuse!

How much do they charge now, anyway? Boner...??

To BYU Boner: Your son is very fortunate to have a father like you. When our son-in-law went on his mission, it was as if he had dropped off the face of the earth to his parents and siblings. They are all very TBM and they never communicated to him any important family events,even when he called on those two "allowed holidays calls. For example,he had no idea that his sister, whom he thought was getting divorced when he left, had reconciled with her husband and when SIL returned, he was met at the airport with her, her husband, and new baby! Nice ending, but a total surprise. Knowing what we do now about the church, it would be very difficult for both me and my DH to be as patient as you are.

To those who have posted I feel and so relate to your anguish over this criminal (in my book) issue. I now have grandchildren of some of my children who are TBM serving missions, and it brings me as much heartache and headache as when a few of my own made (ha, ha, when the MormonCult made the decision) to go on a mission.

Years ago, when my husband and I, had some of our eight children tell us that serving a mission was their desire, we did two things: 1) we shared all the info we possessed as to why we felt it was in their best interest to take such a step when they were older, had lived through more life experiences, and really had the opportunity to study about religion and religions 2) we shared that we would support them in their decision, which ever way it went.

As parents we were winging it into new territory. Through it all, I will tell you the hardest lesson of all that we learned....that the MormonCult will do anything and everything in their power to pull these young kids into doing their bidding. What hurt was that OUR CHILD, the child we had carefully made sure was immunized, the one we had held tightly in the doctor's office when they were getting stitches, and the child we were so proud of when they managed to try something they were so afraid of trying, This child, OUR SPECIAL CHILD, was merely a number in the rank of slaves for the Cult, the Cult who could tell OUR CHILD they could only call home and talk to their parents twice a year.

Yes, I detest the MormonCult for this and so many other of its atrocities, and do whatever I can to spread the word of the evil it does.

I have a nephew that is on a mission in Australia. As the family blathered on about how exciting it is that he will be able to call on mothers day, all I could think of was what a controlling cult these poor people are in. Sad.

I think 10% to 20% might be enough.

"I'm the parent and I won't pay for this mission or allow my child to serve unless we're allowed to talk on the phone two or three times a month. You want the free service? I say no, not unless I can talk to my child."

They're afraid that too much of the truth about missions will get back to the families. Especially when mission presidents actively hurt the health and well being of missionaries with absurd rules and advice. This might finally awaken some common sense as parents would see the dangers and realize their children shouldn't be out there or abused like this.

See Raptor Jesus' story about how he was pressured to work despite being gravely ill.

When I was a Peace Corps Volunteer, we were asked to hand over our no fee passports for "safekeeping". Of course, a lot of folks had regular passports which they held onto themselves.

I will have to say yet again, that my mission was long enough ago that we had no such restrictions. We could call parents, girlfriends, etc., so long as we had the money to make an expensive phone call to the states.

We had that rule in our mission in the late 70's. I never met anyone who followed it. I called home as often as I wanted. When my three nephews went much more recently they observed the rule without question. Has the mission culture changed or was my mission an outlier?

My twin brother is on his mission, and literally all I got to say to him on mother's day was "Hi." His Skype call kept dropping, so to minimize the number of connections he only Skyped with my mother (in Utah at the time), while my father and I were listening in via cell phone. I was frustrated that I didn't get to actually see him, but even if I had, I wouldn't have been able to say anything in front of the rest of my family that felt genuine.