When I was still in the church (definitely not a TBM), my ex was very much by-the-rules guy, but I was VERY laid back and had a soft spot for those cutie patootie young mishies in my branch. OK, don't get the wrong idea...this was nothing immoral, I just felt sorry for them being so far from home, living this really weird life while in their prime. And some of them were soooo cute.

Anyway, bottom line, I would let them come over to our house and use my computer to get their email (this was over 10 years ago when email was forbidden), I let them listen to the radio or watch TV, and they would play basketball in my back yard. I always had non-caffeinated drinks for them, sometimes had cookies or brownies and I'm sure they felt the could relax at my house. I had no problem talking to them about their girlfriend(s) back home...they looked at me like a surrogate mom, I'm sure.

Did anybody else have a 'safe haven' for mishies?

My house has always been like that, even when I was TBM. I always felt sorry for the mishies. The ones who baptized me were so emotionally unstable due to a stressful and stringent mission zone. So word kind of got around that my house was a place to get some good food and non-restricted conversations. We had several transfers of missionaries at my house.

Now I think i'm pretty much blacklisted by the church. Which is fine, but I always liked the company of the mishies. They go in so well-intentioned usually, but get screwed over and abused by their ZL's and MP's. I will always let LDS missionaries in my home so long as we don't discuss my returning to the church.

However, I feel more sorry for their victims, and I think the the mishies need to go home and get on with their lives.

I blame TBM parents, home wards, girlfriends, and church leaders as well as the mishies for what the mishies suffer and more, for for the multi-generational suffering they mete out by harassing and scamming "investigators." I don't want to feel I'm enabling this despicable effort, and I have more interest in putting my efforts into helping nonmos or exmos who are are not brainwashed cultists.

One of the main reasons (if not THE main reason) I converted was because the missionaries became my friends. From 17 to about age 30 I grew up with them. The relationship stopped for the most part because I grew older and they stayed the same age.

When I left the church (they assumed I was just inactive) they still came around and I let them have my house as a place to unwind from the crazy branch president they lived with. We used to do impersonations of him and laugh about it.

I remember the last LDS missionary I had any sort of relationship with. It was about 10 years ago. I was 37 and he was 20 so it was moving into the father/son range. He did not want to be a missionary. He just wanted to be a normal 20 year old kid. I could not do much but I did encourage him to do what felt right to him.

Funny thing....he and the elder with him were the last missionaries in this area. I'd like to think that maybe he thought about what I said and started thinking for himself but I'm pretty sure it was the hard ass bastard of a branch president that got them transfered out.

The branch was without missionaries for 7 years before closing it's doors (yay!) a few years ago. Yet, I'll always remember that kid.

Oh yeah, the branch president is dead now. On the road to godhood I'm sure!

I remember in 1969 we had some missionaries to our house just to watch TV. Of course, it was to see Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon. Maybe that made a difference.

The missionaries lived in the apartment next to us in 1984.
When the Olympics came on TV they came over to watch.

Their rules wouldn't let them come inside to watch tv so we set them up on the porch with chairs, soda, chips and they watched through the open door.

They had to scatter a couple times when the DL came over, but otherwise they watched the whole two weeks.

That is hilarious! LOL!

Their rules said either dinner appointment or teaching appointment in members homes. Not hangin' watchin' TV.

So they tweaked the rule by sitting on the porch.