Kid grew up in Idaho, small intimate mostly-mormon neighborhood. We were there for July 4th, and just as y'all have reported, the neighborhood breakfast was full of greetings and doing ward business around the edges of breakfast. It's like, the frame of reference for life is church.

So--the weekly e-mail from the grandson--he's just being tranferred from a smallish town where he's been for six months to a major city.

Here's a sentence lifted from his letter, which ended, "Man, I love being a missionary!" I think I hope he does.

"President is always 10 minutes away, you have the APs always around, the STLTs, and some really great missionaries in this Zone, and every single one of them is watching you..." When I just think about how much trust was placed in me not just from President _____, but from the Lord, it makes me want to make sure that I do everything right! I don't know how I'll be able to do it, but I do know that the Lord qualifies who he calls, and that I can and must place faith in that.

Wow, how come this sounds so familiar, like it came full-fledged out of a can? Makes me want to cry.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2017 03:00PM by relievedtolearn.

Hopefully he has the Gift of Sarcasm. I could picture myself writing the same things, but meaning the exact opposite of what I've written.

Edited to add: Perhaps he's blinking "HELP ME!" in Morse code.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2017 03:44PM by GregS.

They put all this trust in me...but they're always around watching to make sure I do everything right.

Say, what?

" . . .full-fledged out of a can . . ." That is it!

That is why I burned my mission journal. I wrote all of that kind of self-aggrandizing crap in it all the time. I wanted to make myself sound so spiritual and righteous in case any one read it and I hoped they would. Hahaha. Much of the time the mission really seemed like a competition as to who was the greatest spiritual warrior for the Lord.

When I read my journal one last time as an Exmo, I was so embarrassed for myself. I realized the things I wrote like that were just meant to impress someone someday. So we were this combination of wet behind the ears kids sent off on missions thinking we were really something special--as in wise bordering on heroic. Ugh. We must forgive ourselves. I'm trying.

There are a heck of a lot of returned missionaries here at RFM so there is always hope for your grandson. Just write him back normal stuff about what's going on back home. I used to love that the most. There's still a real person in there somewhere.

Thanks!!

A while ago, Elder Boner returned from his mission. It took a couple of weeks, but he’s back to being the wonderful son that was repressed on his mission.

Your grandson is talking the talk because it’s expected. Sometimes my son’s letters and emails were so over the top, I just glanced through them and deleted them.

I know this is very hard to do, but please just praise him for being a wonderful grandson and ignore the TBM bullshit. It won’t take long after he’s home for him to regain his unique wonderfulness. Hugs! Elder Boner’s Dad.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2017 10:32PM by BYU Boner.

I hope his mail is sarcasm. If he knows how closely he is being monitored, perhaps this is his way of getting past the censors so his mail can go through and he won't get disciplined by the MP, ZL's, and other snoop dogs. Wishful thinking?

Thanks for the advice you guys; I treasure you. And deja vue--yeah, I wish/hope so.

Thats the stuff you write when your young enough to believe you'll set the world on fire...maturity comes later with the sad news...your matches are wet...many of us have been there...that's why that bs about the chosen generation held in reserve must always be foisted on he unsuspecting and naive...many never recover

Every single one of them is watching you...
...how much trust was placed in me...

Maybe someday he'll realize those are contradictory statements.