Another way that I got pulled (or pulled myself) into trying a mission at 19 after joining at 18 was being told that going on a mission helps people grow, mature, and prepare for life. Well I was sent home after six weeks in the MTC and what I now see is that it is very hard to grow or be prepared for life when you are controlled by TSCC 24/7 and kept in a bubble of Mormonism.

Would anyone on here say that being on a mission for two years helped them grow or prepared you for life in the real world?

I guess it helps train people to be pushy salesmen who like to sell crap to people who don't need it.

The only good I can think of is maybe learning a language. However, there are other ways to do that. It's not cool to go to another culture to push yours onto them.

dagny Wrote:
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> I guess it helps train people to be pushy salesmen
> who like to sell crap to people who don't need it.
>
>
> The only good I can think of is maybe learning a
> language. However, there are other ways to do
> that. It's not cool to go to another culture to
> push yours onto them.

I learned a lot being on the streets of New York City for two years. That’s where I learned how the real world works. How people are manipulated, how the corrupt stay in power, why some people want certain problems and don’t want to fix them. Stuff you would never learn in college or in a cozy suburb.

Nobody was interested in the religion we were selling. That part of the mission was a joke. The people skills and the street knowledge is what I gained from my mission. I also learned how to cook really good Italian food. Home recipes. Not the stuff in books.

Rubicon I was supposed to go to New York City South Spanish speaking. I could not deal with the indoctrination and control being shoved up people's A#$ how does one grow in an environment of total control?

You protect a testimony the same way you protect a gold watch.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YFtHjV4c4uw

Surviving Mormonism is a head game. Just play along.

It's true about a missionary growing if you attach 50 pounds of weights to your legs at night and let the weights stretch your legs. Lots of short missionaries wanting to be taller would resort to that after 12 hours of knocking doors and riding bikes.

That's exactly what it did for me. I was 22 when I went and was totally inactive from age 13 until then. I was looking for something that would help me fully transition into the adult world and everything in it, and I wanted to get out of dodge and go somewhere new and hopefully out of the USA.

I already knew how to support myself, live on my own, and all that stuff. I just wanted to get more focused on what was ahead of me in life and move past the party days of my youth. It gave me the opportunity to work in a corporate structure type of environment, set goals, take responsibility, move up the ranks, etc. and the more I did that, the more I felt like an adult and the more I was seen as one by them. I wasn't a hardcore missionary either, but I did very well at it.

I came back ready to get a degree and a good job, which I did. I've worked in aerospace, ink jet printer manufacturing, and am now an engineer at a medical device company for the last 25 years. I set goals, took responsibility, moved up the ranks, and am seen as a very capable and valuable employee. My mission is what set me on that course and I have a very good life and look forward to a nice retirement in a few years.

So I think for me, it just helped me develop what was in me already. Not everyone is the same, so I think you get what you want from the experience.

Plus, you might get sent to really nice place. I went to the Caribbean Islands and it was awesome. And you can dump the church anytime you like and just live your best life.

You didn't mention the most important thing you got from your mission.

If you hadn't been made an AP, you would never have met God.

>> If you hadn't been made an AP, you would never have met God. <<

I figure EVERYONE knows about my lofty celestial calling and if they don't, they'll infer it from my highly spiritual and intellectual posts.

As far as meeting god goes, he ghosts me on every appointment I make with him, but I have seen two of the Beatles in concert, so that's pretty close and good enough for me.

I saw Clapton once, and he's higher in the God pyramid than a couple of mere Beetles.

One Clapton vs. TWO Beatles? TWO? I'll raise you a Led Zeppelin.....you can fold now.

I'll have you know Robert Plant was my maid of honor--and Robin Trower performed the wedding march!

I think Robert Plant was wearing that maid of honor dress when I saw LZ in the Seattle Kingdome.

And I didn't know Robin Trower knew how to play "Bride of Godzilla."

I can't believe you know about Robin Trower. I haven't heard his name in many years.

I love music, especially but not exclusively classical. There are dozens of niches of great artists. So yeah, I might surprise you from time to time.

On a related note (intentional!!!) I was playing some Tedeshi-Trucks at the gym the other day and an old guy came up and asked if he heard some Allman Brothers in there. I answered that yes, Derek Trucks played with his uncle for the AB for several years. I was astounded that he could pick that out.

And, Clapton only played the solo on one Beatles song (While My Guitar Gently Weeps), so that only makes him the holy ghost of the Beatles godhead.

Yeah, yeah.

You just feel safe lying because you've had your Third Anointing and there's a plastic whistle in your pocket.

I'm a nevermo, but in terms of activities that helped to propel me towards adulthood, I would say that going away to college, then subsequently moving to a big city, and finally, going to grad school were all helpful. No mission needed.

gw Wrote:
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>
> Would anyone on here say that being on a mission
> for two years helped them grow or prepared you for
> life in the real world?

Yes. I was told to figure it out when I was surrounded by missionaries who threw me out of the car- Find your own way back to the apartment.

Have you ever heard about teenagers driving around and harassing the homeless or street people?

I was in a car where "upstanding elders of the church" were chucking water bottles at people sitting on benches or standing near the corner of the street. Later they bought a paintball gun to shoot at people.

I was attacked at night by these thugs. The 3 waited for me to fall asleep and then did a blanket party on random nights. This was to keep me from complaining to the mission president (who didn't believe me when I had previously tattled about them yelling at fat people on the street and making cow noises~ mooooo!). I have never recovered from having elders hold my head under a blanket and punch me in the chest and stomach.

I had to figure out how to deal with a mission president who didn't want to hear about ANY problems, my mom who wanted a perfect missionary son TO NOT COME HOME EARLY EXCEPT IN A PINE BOX while she wrote "hot checks" to the church, and deal with no $$$ in the missionary bank account. When my mom didn't pay, she expected me to find someone in Texas to help me out.

I am so sorry that happened to you.

The mission itself was a form of suspended animation.

Suddenly being immersed in a foreign country and seeing a big slice of real life, finally outside of my all Mormon community, did change me. I still don't feel prepared for "real life", but that was a huge turning point for me. It gave me a bigger picture.

It mainly trains young men to ignore the glaringly obvious fact that they are peddling complete and utter nonsense, by coming up with strategies for countering all the arguments against Joseph’s Myth.
It’s one of the most effective forms of brainwashing.

A mission definitely prepares you for life-a life of putting “the church” ahead of everything else.

Exactly. It's the G.A.s "doubling down" on you.

which I later discarded, I learned Chinese, which taught me my brain worked after all and maybe I had been selling myself short up to that point. Set me on a trajectory for a successful life. Gotta give credit where credit is due.

Quite a few years ago, I read a WSJ article by a man who considered RMs very favorably in his hiring practices. It's been a very long while, and I haven't the faintest what industry or position he was in, but he found them to be mature, with some real-world experience, able to focus and put up with problem situations, and persevere.

Of course, he was dealing with a cult. I learned those virtues in the Marines, which is a different kind of cult. OOOoooo-RAH!

Nope. Not me. It kind of ruined my life, all in all. But I did get a fairly cushy job at 46 years because I tested high in Italian.

No matter what you do in your life regarding "preparation," the majority of you will end up dead, since, ultimately, that's what life is designed for.

I, on the other hand, will not die; I will simply be in absentia.  Not that it matters much, because I will also be unprepared.

When done correctly, being unprepared helps keep you alert, on your toes, and scared poopless...

No…it gave me PTSD for 43 years and still counting. The only good thing was that I first started questioning if the was a god, on my mission.

Prepares you for life as a car salesman.

I think (believe?) that living with a partner 24/7 MIGHT teach you manners & a bit about how to budget & compromise occasionally.

Especially helpful if U have a same-gender life partner After your mish is over, Right?

So does going to prison.

I thought we learned everything we really needed to know in kindergarten. There was a book about that, so it must be true.

I believe that book has been banned from most libraries.

dagny Wrote:
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> I thought we learned everything we really needed
> to know in kindergarten. There was a book about
> that, so it must be true.

Kindergarten teaches children that the primary virtue is obedience. It is the root of many problems in the adult world. You do not have to obey abusive and corrupt people.

Exactly how else do you think you're going to control a group of 20-30 kids? Of course they need to follow directions. Even children who are given more freedom to choose what to study (i.e. the Montessori method,) still need to follow directions with regard to how they spend their day.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/2023 03:01PM by summer.

I actually made the comment in jest, but you are correct.
To me, it's more about learning how to be safe and what is needed to function in school: getting along with others respectfully, being fair, and yes, minding your teacher.

It's the kind of obedience like obeying red lights and not eating dog poop too. The kids get balance with obedience, like individual expression and choices. They begin to see others and all the variety out in the world.

There's a line between mere obedience and kids running around like feral animals. It teachers manage it well.

I remember both my kids had wonderful kindergarten experiences.

> You do not have to obey abusive and corrupt people [like Kindergarten teachers].

That says it all, doesn't it.

On my mission I discovered, cheating, lying, promoting image over substance, stealing, manipulating, dominating behavior, double talk, not practicing what you preach, using, controlling, and a host of other things.

I learned about life outside of Mormonism, and it was not as I had been taught, it planted that seed of "what the hell" in my mind. It really opened my eyes, and taught me how to say "No", and not trust my so called inspired leaders. Granted there were some who did have useful and wise advice, for the the most part, they were just flying by the seat of their pants like the rest of us.

I had acne ridden little men try to and persuade me into it when I was in my teens. I told them "no", and continued to tell them "no". The former stake president (my home teacher) tried to do so too.

When we held prayers in my home at the end of HT, he started to pray that I would want to go on a mission. He drove another young man out of the church that way.

I'm sorry to hear that you had that experience and I hope you have learnt from it.

The key here is to say "No", to unrighteous dominion wherever it comes from. There are a lot of abusive people out there, because the weak-minded hand them power. These people only have the power you give them.

the missionaries acted who were around the guy I was waiting for on his mission. They were really childish including my missionary. We did end up breaking up during the mission.

And then reading all the experiences of missionaries on this site.

Oh, and then a friend (girl) who went on a mission to Hawaii. They also just played. Went to members' houses to watch TV. Went to movies. Even a guy I worked with who was very devout went to some "bad" movie while he was on his mission and then one of his companions (his first) would take him to this girl's house and he'd disappear while this guy had to sit and wait for him to come back to the front room.

And I've talked about disabled brother who went on a mission. Oh my. He survived, but he's never been the same since. He does really well considering his disabilities. He has never let them stop him. But he told me he tried to get hurt when they played football or other things so he could come home. My mother would have been so upset if she knew. He was her main priority.