https://www.ksl.com/article/46492007/latter-day-saint-missionaries-can-now-call-home-every-week

I'm not sure if the church is having a harder time getting kids to go or what sparked the change. Or if you already have kids doing this and the church just wants to legalize it. All of my mormon family members are happy with this.

I rarely even wrote. There was nothing to say, just the same old stuff about no one wanting to listen to us, people not even answering the door, and the winters being dark and brutally cold. My parents weren't the type to offer empathy. Dad would just say it's my duty and missions weren't supposed to be fun and easy. And Mom would never contradict Dad. If I wanted to hear more of that hair shirt philosophy I'd call the APs or MP.

olderelder Wrote:
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> Dad would just say it's my duty and missions weren't
supposed to be fun and easy. And Mom would never contradict Dad.

Cold!

So glad you got out. I hope you have found warmth and acceptance from others to make up for what you never received at home. :)

Well Go Rusty! Talk about prophecy. Maybe he'll get a little inspiration about global warming soon.

Seriously, this is a great move and very strategic, I'm sure. Since there are so many kids leaving their missions early, what can it hurt? Chances are that some of those kids would stay longer with a little support from Mommy and Daddy. Especially with them encouraging the kids to stay.

As someone else said, I do hope God comes through with a revelation about being even just a little more humane and letting the kids come home if they have a dying parent or family member or to attend a funeral. But that might be carrying common sense just a little too far for the holy profit-o-god.

Dad came from a long line of cold men. Mom came from a long line of submissive women.

olderelder Wrote:
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> Dad came from a long line of cold men. Mom came
> from a long line of submissive women.

Ouch. So sorry but glad you broke the mold!

It's definitely a humane move. I hope they will soon allow missionaries to come home if a close family member passes away, so they can attend the funeral.

I think this is a good change. There's no longer a need to isolate a group of young people that are trying to do the impossible with the magic of nothing for a corporation that does nothing for them.

I illegally called home whenever I needed to. I used an emergency phone card (Remember MCI and friends?) that gave me peace of mind.

I suspect young people are not really into writing letters any longer. I had an entire year of writing my parents weekly while I was a student at college. College students don't do that anymore. All they know how to do is text or Skype. It was probably almost impossible to get them to actually write a letter to their parents.

messygoop Wrote:

> I illegally called home whenever I needed to.

Ha! I remember those phone cards. Good for you, Messy!

I've been wondering for the last few years when this change would take place... Because your knew it had to (like everything else).

You know they read our posts (like pests) here, for WISDOM and all.

moremany Wrote:
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> You know they read our posts (like pests) here, for WISDOM and all.

Hahahahah! Hope they enjoy them, swearing and hostility and disillusionment and heartbreaking stories of betrayal.

"(Ir)Regular communication with their families is [NOT] an important part of a missionary’s service"

Since WHEN?

Liars

moremany Wrote:

> Liars

Yes. A complete 180 degree turn-around justified by a new revelation.....

Somebody was looking at the bottom line, methinks---shrinking missionary numbers. Wonder if this change will be enough to stop the outflow?

Wonder if this change will be enough to stop the outflow?

NO

I was in Brasil in 1969 and there was no long distance phone calls to the USA. Once on Mother's Day or Christmas when I was in Ribeirao Preto, we were able to find a guy who did ham radio (is that right?) and was able to let us make radio calls home. And there was a charge to my parents for this call. He was a Brazilian military guy and had all kinds of electronic stuff in his home. He wasn't a member.

In the next letter I got she said we probably wouldn't need to do that again since it cost them >$40 or so, and in 1969-1970 $40 was lots of money for my parents.

In the months before I quit going, (mid 90's) there was a boy down the street who was in San Diego and was able to email his parents weekly, I think. I thought that was pretty cool.

My guess is that this generation of kids has separation anxiety if they're not allowed constant contact with their parents and friends via smart phones and the internet. I don't think a kid can get through the day without texting/phoning mommy and daddy every time they need to make a decision or are feeling sad.

This is another reason that lowering the missionary age from 19 to 18 was a BAD idea. At least kids had a year of college that allowed them a little maturity that would help them cope on their mission. Now they go from home straight to the mission field where they're cut off from mommy and daddy and their security blankets (smartphones). They just can't hack it.

I think this will backfire. To keep kids from missing home it's best to cut off contact, not allow it. If I were allowed to call home every week when I was on my mission and hear about how much fun everyone was having I would have been devastated. I also wouldn't have been able to lie to my parents about how wonderful the mission work was - I would have broken down in tears. It was easier to fake it in letters.

Once again the MormonCult moves when forced by disrupting circumstances which are circumventing its plan. Put, plain and simple, the cult needed to stop missionaries leaving the field early or choosing to not go at all. Statistics show this number to be higher than ever before.

Uchtdorf was quoted in the KSL article as saying, "We continue to find the best ways to support and help them and their family while they serve", Well, this may be the case in some mishie things Uchtdorf, but the cult was not responding on this issue out of the blue seeking to support. It was forced to try something to plug the hole.

presleynfactsrock Wrote:
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> It was forced to try something to plug the hole.

Agreed. I am not a teenager but even I would not like to be without my phone, not even for a day. I bet it was a dealbreaker for a lot of kids.

I agree that this is a good and humane change for the missionaries, but I can also see this move backfiring spectacularly for the Church. Like it or not, the past extreme limits of communication, just weekly letters and only two allowed phone calls per year, were quite effective in keeping personal distractions to a minimum. Now, with much greater personal contact allowed, I see missionaries actually getting more homesick, not less. Not to mention with girl/boyfriends waiting back home, those distractions will only intensify. I see this as a lose/lose for the Church.

Sister in law said she wouldn't have liked it, it would have made her too homesick. My sister says she would have loved it. Both went on missions, so I guess it depends on the kid.

These are adult volunteers giving up two years of their life for the Church. They should be able to call home whenever they want. Jeez.

VOLUNTEERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO VOLUNTEER ON THEIR OWN SCHEDULE!!!

Maybe they think people will find a way to contact people online anyway so it's better to tell them to call.
Safer if they phone than go to the internet friends as much? I'm wondering if they were contacting friends more often on the net and avoiding family with the 2x year rule?


Next thing you know they will tell them what to eat and wear. ;-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2019 08:04PM by dagny.

How generous of them.

Stop being so sarcastic. *LOL*

I heard this from a girl at work who is 19 and is ex-mormon. She said her dad considers himself Captain Moroni. ha ha ha I can't stop laughing about that one. She was adopted from Russia when she was 6 years old.

Anyway, she said, "What is it about them saying God doesn't change and then with pressure from the 'world,' they change things."

Then I was having lunch and they had the TV on 2 News at noon. One of the guys in the room was pissed because he didn't get that privilege when he was on a mission in Germany. He was really pissed.

cl2 Wrote:
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>
> Then I was having lunch and they had the TV on 2
> News at noon. One of the guys in the room was
> pissed because he didn't get that privilege when
> he was on a mission in Germany. He was really
> pissed.

Don't laugh, but on that other forum, I read 4-5 posts from very angry people as well. They are downright furious including mothers that that thought that it was their sacred charge to "go without" contact. I am bit puzzled because I didn't think it would bother a bunch of ex-members. Are ex-mos also upset over changing the church block from 3 to 2 hours as well?

I served in areas where I had to stay at church ALL DAY LONG for multiple wards that I was assigned to (as well as ward missionary correlation meetings). It made for a very very long day at church then a small break for dinner and then back for a "missionary fireside or baptisms". I later discovered that missionaries had a more kinder mission president that let them only attend one set of services. I thought it was great that their leader was more conscientious than my asshat MP and I certainly wasn't angry about it.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2019 09:09PM by messygoop.

messygoop Wrote:
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> cl2 Wrote:
> ------------------
>

I thought it was
> great that their leader was more conscientious
> than my asshat MP and I certainly wasn't angry
> about it.

Those were my feelings, too. I understand being angry because those in charge were so unenlightened, forcing us to go through things we shouldn't have had to endure. What I don't get is those who are angry specifically because those who are serving now and in the future won't have to be as miserable as we were.
That's just mean-spirited in my opinion.

It reminds me in an odd way of the draconian system of physician training. Back in the dark ages (pre-1980's was the worst of it, I believe) interns and residents worked absolutely insane hours, and too many patients lost their lives due to the hellish fatigue those residents and interns experienced. Things were a little but not enough better when I went through, and now more reforms are being proposed. Some of the old physicians are sane about it and openly admit that the reforms are all in the best interests of the patients. Other older doctors are openly hostile and resentful that the youngsters are not having to go through the same horrors through which they went, never mind that patients would be harmed and even die as a result of fatigue-induced medical error.

If I had sent a missionary out before now (but then again, forever), I would be pissed as a mother. I watched my friends who were very attached to their sons who lost that. Their sons came home disconnected from their mothers. It was what I witnessed with that issue and also reading "In Sacred Loneliness" that led me to realize that mormonism is about LACK of intimacy.

The guy in the break room is still mormon, but he was pissed that he was restricted. He probably hasn't been home more than a year or two.

Now, all the MormonCult has to do is learn some child development to know what they demand of these kids at this age is about as wrong as they can get. Leave them alone and allow them to go out and about living and discovering who they are and who they want to be.

Rusty needs to get a bigger notepad so he'll be prepared when, and if, Wendy has the smarts to move on this one.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2019 01:29AM by presleynfactsrock.

maybe it's time for another ski trip for rusty. it was a lie to imply that he actually skied but maybe it's time for him to try and practice some honesty. ooops, that would be impossible to be honest.

I know one family that won't be very excited about this change. I was over at the in laws when my niece got to skype. Within 10 minutes, her dad and brothers were on their phones, within 20 minutes she and her mom had run out of righteous things to talk about. I think some families looked on the mission as a break from the work of communicating/parenting.

It's like the"essays".

See, they can call home 52 times a year, not just FOUR times their whole missing stint-stunt.

I agree with the posters who say the homesickness will be more "emotional" than before, in letters-emails.

They won't have to sneak around to public computers, member-rule-benders' homes and prepaid cells.

They can now even call home on (heavenly) farters day.

Welcome to the modern age.

Missionaries can call home whenever the fuck they want. The idea that anyone needs permission to talk to their parents is jacked.

This is all about giving the MP a break from his big baby-sitting job. Better to have mommy and daddy do that via the phone since they are most likely paying the monthly stipend to the COB missionary department.

I like it. It was cruel to only allow two per year before.

I honestly think the best way to help with the missions is to make it more like a study-abroad or service program. Perhaps focus on proselyting/traditional missionary stuff 4 days a week. But then have a day to focus on service work, and then two off days each week for the missionaries to relax, go to movies, visit cultural sites if they are in a foreign country, etc. Allow them to live a life more similar to kids their age. Allow normal social media access on the off days, allow movies, allow music, allow television watching, etc.

My ideal missionary schedule would look something more like this:

Monday: Free Day/P-Day. All day, from wake up until bed time.
Tuesday - Thursday: Traditional Missionary Day.
Friday: Service Day
Saturday: Free Day
Sunday: Traditional Missionary Sunday.

Perhaps allow the option of shorter missions, especially if doing a same language mission. Maybe 12-18 months if you prefer to stay domestic or same language. Give a discount or waive tuition at church owned schools for missionary service. Each six months of mission service provides one semester of tuition at a church university, or an equivalent monetary contribution towards tuition at a non-church university (the church certainly has enough money to do something like that).

How much control do they really have over these missionaries? Without permission is it just impossible for a missionary to call home if they need to?

I never served a mission I don't know what its like.

How much control do they have over the missionaries? Well, in the strictest sense, they have almost no control at all. These missionaries are adults and they could always tell the MP to go F*** himself.

However, it isn't that simple. Most of these kids have been raised from birth to serve a mission and the thought of openly defying a MP just isn't something they will consider. There is a huge power differential there between an 18 year old kid that has never lived on his own against a much older man with a church assignment directly below that GA level.

The MP can send a missionary home. In the past, that was like a death sentence. The young missionary understand very well that returning home dishonorably would mean rejection and stigmatization upon returning. It would mean causing embarrassment to your family and having to explain to any potential TBM girlfriend why you didn't fill an honorable mission. Although... I am hearing now that returning home early rates are far higher these days and the stigma for doing so isn't as severe.

Many people here have described how leaving the church was one the most excruciating experiences they have ever gone through. It means a loss of identity, a loss of friends, ruined marriages, etc. Leaving a mission is like that x10.

Of course once you're out, you realize how foolish all of it really is. But when you're on the inside and you haven't known any life outside of the church, it can be terrifying.

Very well said.

The idea that teens who are still, and will be for about five more years, having their brain grow and develop should be expected since being in training pants to believe that they need and should serve a mission and 18 or 19 is child abuse, plain, simple, and devastatingly wrong.

My stand is that only more mature people who have had a chance to explore, live life, and know that THEY are the ones who wish to serve a mission because of their strong desire to share their religion are the ones who should head out to fulfill this desire.

The article I read said the weekly telephone call will allow the parents to feel the spirit of missionary service. Ha. The PR department will spin anything.

My nevermo thought is that I can't imagine any young adult TBM who may be vacillating on serving a mission suddenly deciding to serve a mission because he/she will be able to call home weekly.

Depresident to Elder Toughness:
"ET, Phone Home"

I remember only 4 years ago I got a call from a drooling MP, who was totally mad at me because he found out that I was texting with one of the sisters intensively. Somewhat up to 20 SMS a day on the missionary mobile. She had a hard time, was about getting mad and was very depressed. She opened up to me and we talked. I tried to help her finding a way to cope with this crap. It was only a few lines but, so she later said, these lines kept her literally alive. But the MP was mad at me for showing her that she has a value. He forbid her to contact me "just for fun" and allowed her 5 SMS to my number each week.
Forward to last year I still had the number of them on my device and surprisingly they popped up in my WhatsApp contact list. They were allowed to use "real smartphones" with a real internet connection. I am not into it but I guess it's not so easy to monitor the use of it. Who receives what from whoever. And now... I guess they only legalized what had happen anyway. They use Facebook every day for contacting and proselytizing. They have their iPad so an permanent access to the web is possible and I know how happy our missionaries were living next to a public wifi.
They could not stop them from contacting anyway