I have heard so many members claim how good their mission was for their maturity. Sorry but I don't see it. I have not seen any mission experiences help any more than going away to school and living in the dorms or moving away for work. In fact as the rules for missionaries have become more restrictive missionaries have been maturing less than full-time students in my opinion.

The youth of the church need to do themselves a favor and avoid the mission.

I'm sure some people benefit from it from having a 'growing up' experience they may not have come across otherwise or from learning another language but I think what lds inc. sees as 1 main benefit to them is programming them to allllways want companionship and not have much confidence with an independent life...hence the rush to get married asap after their return home, lean on church leaders their entire life, etc.

I am not a male but never had a desire to go on a mission. I love my independence and living alone, I think a mission would have drove me insane.

They can't possibly be maturing much more than a prisoner would while incarcerated.

They don't have to deal with all the normal things life brings. Paying bills, maintaing vehicles, earning enough money to pay their way,learning how to be in the dating/relationship world. Staying in one place while developing stable relationships. Just to name a few.

They are so controlled that it takes their ability to learn away. They can't possibly be learning life skills.

Very good points. They also have to PAY to even go in the 1st place which is a burden when it comes to paying bills later on I'm sure.

They pay bills, maintain cars, etc.....At least I did......

We payed rent, utilities, took the car for service or fixed it ourselves, bought our own food, cooked it oursleves, cleaned our own places, gave ourselves Hepatitis shots, etc.

They do have some routine tasks like the rest of us:)

Jonny the Smoke Wrote:
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> They pay bills, maintain cars, etc.....At least I
> did......
>
> We payed rent, utilities, took the car for service
> or fixed it ourselves, bought our own food, cooked
> it oursleves, cleaned our own places, gave
> ourselves Hepatitis shots, etc.
>
> They do have some routine tasks like the rest of
> us:)

Not in my mission ('94-'96). The mission took care of bills, utilities,rent, maintaining cars, fixing cars. The only thing we had to do was buy & cook our food and make sure the cars got cleaned. I think a long time ago the missionaries had to deal with all the stuff you mentioned but not anymore.

It depends on the individual and results may vary. I think it depends on what the person wants from the experience. Most kids go at 19 because they are expected to go, so they do. If that is the main reason, then I would say you could expect little "growth" or maturing to take place. They are putting in time just to complete the task, then on to whatever they are doing next.

For me, I was inactive from 13 to 22 yrs old, and when I went, I was specifically wanting to transition from being a self pleasing kid to a productive responsible adult. I had lived on my own for years, so I didn't need to leave the nest or learn life skills like cooking, paying bills, etc. What it did for me was give me a place to accept responsibility and then learn how to follow through and meet the goal. Also had to learn how to do what was best for the situation, rather than what I wanted.

Anyway, my point is I went, wanting to change things about myself. When I returned, I was changed.....I was ready for full time school and enrty into the real world of functioning and productive adults.

Almost 30 years later, I have a successful career and a great life. I give my mission experience and BYU degree some of the credit for that.

I suppose its like rehab....if you don't want to change, the program won't change you.

I'd say I matured a lot on my mission. More so than going to live at college in a dorm - maybe not, maybe less.

I had a very overprotective smother-mother. Getting out of the house and beyond her reach other than a couple of phone calls a year was good for my growing up.

I remember a non-mormon uncle being absolutely blown away at how much more grown up I seemed at the end of my mission vs before it.

My mission did not benifit me at all. I did not come back a “saturated sponge” dripping with the spirit, instead I came home feeling like an old dried out chamois. Spiritually, I was wounded fatally.

For those two years I stagnated. I did not grow financially because I was not paid. I did not grow socially because I was not allowed social interactions and I did not grow academically because I just read the same four books for two years. I did not grow spiritually or emotionally because I had been used, abused, stepped on, lied to, humiliated, and condemned constantly by the mission leadership for any imperfections no matter how trivial.

The whole missionary experience left me extremely bitter and I am now convinced that the Mormon Church is the only church on Earth that persecutes its own missionaries.

That was my experience too. It was exhausting and set me back nearly a decade by the time all of the fallout (academic, professional, and financial) was taken care of.

My brother is on a mission right now. He got to go exactly where he wanted to; Alaska. He comes back in a month! Im so excited. We grew up very close to each other. Unfortunately, I havent told him I have been inactive for 2 years... Im nervous to bring that up to him later... the thought of it makes my stomach churn... Anyway! From the sound of it, he is still the same stubborn boy I've always known. I know he is out there for a good reason; he means well. He wants people to have the peace of knowing Jesus Christ. However, he tells me about some people he meets like stake presidents and bishops that expect him to have a comb-over and a wink in his eye, but he says he "aint changing who he is to fit their liking." Im proud, stubborness comes in handy I guess!

I was a missionary in the states in the late 70's. We managed ourselves (bills, rent, finding a new apartment when necessary, etc). Dinner appointments with members were not on a regular basis (and I was glad for that--privacy) but when we had them they were considered a treat.

Probably the best thing that happened was that my slow trek out of TSCC began. My first mission president truly loved the missionaries. He would do anything to see to it that everyone could finish so that they could say they completed their mission. You wouldn't believe some of the assignments some missionaries had. No tracting in these assignments.

Also, he didn't worry about a lot of the trivial rules. For example, I don't think anybody limited their phone calls to twice a year in our mission.

The second mission president was in the CES system. I think of him as someone as informed as Grant Palmer although my mission president remains active. However, it was through his eyes I learned the difference between the whitewashed history of the church and the true history of the church. I was introduced to Dialogue and Sunstone and was hooked.

Therefore I must conclude that overall it was a good experience. But from what I hear about some of the stuff that goes on now I'm glad I went in the 70's.

For a young man who doesn't go on a mission, but stays in the church, he's going to be met with a bunch of girls who wonder why he didn't go, and will probably refuse to date him for that reason. He will also be met throughout his life in the church by people who think he's a failure or less of a person because he didn't go. I know a major driving force behind me going on my mission was the 2 reasons listed above.

I can honestly say that if Elders were treated exactly like Sisters(and I mean EXACTLY, right down to the weird stares sisters sometimes get upon announcing that they served), I most likely would not have gone on the mission.