This is such a terrible tragedy, I sent all 3 of my sons on a mission and such a thing was my greatest daily fear, that I might never see them again. My heart aches for his family.
And he is NOT a moron, he is an innocent young man that has been severely indoctrinated. I always treat the missionaries with kindness and respect . They are doing such a difficult thing, and their lives are in no way easy. They are not stupid, just unlearned about the truth as most of once were.
... our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are doing a far more difficult thing, and their lives make what the mishies do look like a tea-party in comparison.
Most are around the same age and of equal innocence. They're not stupid either and you are paying for their "mission"
So much passion for the mishies, so little regard for the troops. In any event, it appears god's blessings reside with neither.
So you assume that because we are concerned about the missionaries, we are not concerned about the troops? You must have a limited ability to feel compassion toward others if you can only choose one or the other. A death of a young person is a tragedy whether caused by an IED in Afghanistan or a bullet in Jamaica. People who label missionaries morons in the context of their deaths do a terrible disservice to the ex-mormon community and to the human race in general.
Exactly, Timothy,why would you ever in this world think I have no compassion for our troops whose lives are taken? War is a horror. How and why do you jump to such a conclusion?
That is just not rational thinking to come to such a conclusion, when the subject of American troops was never even the topic, and I do not appreciate your judgement of what I think when you do not even know me in the slightest.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2011 04:47PM by think4u.
From reading the article it appears that the young man was just an unfortunate bystander who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Since he was apparently also a native of Jamaica his risk of being shot wasn't any greater because of his religion.
I'm not an advocate of the Mormon Church and I think missionary service is a sad waste of time, but I think trying to tie this into being a Mormon is quite a bit of a stretch.
Is it significant that within the brief article by KSL (LDS owned) they make it clear that he wasn't proselyting at the time but was on his way back from a Preparation Day activity?
Sorry for him and his family. Shame on the cult for brainwashing this poor kid. Who they believe is inferior anyway. A cynical side in me thinks back at base when the news came in they were hoping it was one of the expendable locals and not a blond blue eyed Utahboy
When I sent my son out, I already knew the church was bogus. I worried the whole 2 years that he would get injured (he served in the ghetto) or robbed (he did get robbed once).
I knew that there was no special protection for him because the organization was nothing special. But I still held out hope.
When we said good-bye at the MTC, I cried. He thought I was crying tears of joy, I was crying because I was turning him over to the cult for two years and there was no guarantee I would see him again.
Luckily he came back intact. I feel so sorry for the families who send kids out who get deathly ill, injured, robbed, etc. Being a missionary and wearing magic underwear is no protection.
1. Were these mishies forced to drive in dangerous areas during the peak time for these kinds of crimes?
2. Did these mishies receive training on being aware of their surroundings and avoiding or handling trouble in the safest possible ways?
3. Were these guys warned not to trust their safety simply to their underwear, to prayers and blessings, and to their righteousness and mishie position?
Many parents sending kids on missions may feel that if an accident happens and their child is killed, accidents can happen anywhere. Most parents didn't used to envision the possibility that their missionary could be murdered or raped. (This missionary was murdered, not just an accident because a stray bullet during a shot out is felony murder or negligent homicide.)
The significant of these stories is that it's all too common now for missionaries to be murdered or raped. There were those two sisters raped in South Africa, the missionary stabbed and killed here in the states, and several others I forget.
The realization that the most horrible thing can happen to us and God won't intervene to stop it is new to the Mormon mind. To me that's significant news. Spreading the news may wake up some minds to the realization that we're all the same.
I am so sorry for this poor young man and his family. I would not support intentionally making missionaries lives harder than they are or hurting them in any way.
Does anyone know what proportion of Missionaries die compared with the 19-21 year olds in US?
The church is a fraud, but sending your son/daughter on a 2 year mission is not a death sentence, in-fact, I would bet that they are safer than if they were in college somewhere.
I always hate these threads, cause when TBMs read this, they just discount everything else we say.
People the Church is a fraud, but not everything is their fault.
You are right that they are actually safer on a mission than most places, I read some stats on that when my boys were out. And this was certainly NOT the church's fault, but it is still very, very sad.
Anyone that sends their child out with all the TBM faith in the world that the kid will be protected and then hasn't seen their child in months or years, well it all just very sad, maybe partly because the parents have so much faith that this kind of thing could never happen to a child out there serving God. At least not their child.
That is what I banked on, putting all my faith in God that my 3 sons would return, and of course, being TBM I thought my faith made the difference in their safe returns.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2011 04:45PM by think4u.
People are so ignorant these days thinking what they know or here about Mormons are correct. This man will have an infinite amount of blessings for serving. Sending all my love out to his Family. And Mormon's do not think any race to be inferior. Check your info before you speak.
I was there on a mission during 84-85 and here are a few things I recall...
1) Before I got there, the ZL's had the mission van stolen at gun point, with one missionary having to jump from the vehicle before it sped away with him inside.
2) The day I got there, on the way from the the airport to the house, I saw an angry drunk man yelling and waving a revolver in the air at a bunch of people on the side walk.
3) Two missionaries watched a dead body being lifted up out of the gutter as they drove by on day.
4) The cost of gasoline went up about 6X overnight, which sparked riots, burning cars in the streets, gang wars and gun fights. We had to stay at home for a week, listening to gun fights all around us, sometimes with police using machine guns. The first morning of it, we about had our van flipped over and set on fire as we drove down the street. We knew something was up so we went home quick. As we walked to the other missionary apartment a few blocks away, the police started firing machine guns into the air to break up a crowd trying to loot the grocery store.
Jamaica is a pretty rough place mon!
That was all in Kingston. I spent 3 months living in the country with no guns-a-blazin' or riots at all.
scarecrowfromoz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Just on the news. When will the Cult stop sending > kids out to be killed?
I think you should have chosen a better subject line.