Missionaries can call home weekly now

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crazyhamster
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Re: Missionaries can call home weekly now

Post by crazyhamster » Sat Feb 16, 2019 4:54 pm

Not Buying It wrote:
Fri Feb 15, 2019 3:14 pm
I don't think it was about long distance costs to a large extent. I was told when I went it was to help me focus on my mission. I really don't think it was primarily a cost savings measure - I think it was about keeping the minds of missionaries where they were at and not back at home. And I think it was a control mechanism. Cost may have been a factor, but I don't think it was the main factor. I promise you, the Church didn't decide to get nicer about this on its own, something has motivated this - we may or may not find out what, but there is something going on behind the scenes on this. Maybe it is an attempt to stem the loss of missionaries leaving the field - or maybe something is about to become public and the Church doesn't want to come across as the oppressive, controlling organization that it really is.
I agree that the contact restrictions were mostly about control. Even as a semi-TBM, I thought it was pointlessly cruel from a compassion point of view but came to realize more and more that it was one of the ways the church used to "church break" people at the point where they enter adulthood. If you can get someone to work for you for free and essentially abandon their family for two years, you can probably from there on get them to do anything.

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wtfluff
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Re: Missionaries can call home weekly now

Post by wtfluff » Sat Feb 16, 2019 6:29 pm

Although this new "revelation" ticks me off in a way, because of all the millions of former unpaid LDS-Inc. sales-people who didn't get that "privilege."

It also makes me happy. I agree with others: This is another lame attempt to stop the hemorrhaging of members. Let's face it: The 18-year old missionary thing is a massive failure. Allowing these kids to talk to their parents is an attempt to get more of them to complete their unpaid sales gig. Not only will it possibly make kids happier, it will also give parents the opportunity to guilt their kids into completing their indentured servitude time of their volun-told sales gig. After all: It is better to come home in a pine box, than to "return without honor." :x

I don't think Rusty is waking up at night with revelations to write in his fancy yellow notebook. I think he is lying awake at night, stressing over how to stop the crumbling of his empire. Either that, or he doesn't wake up from "revelation" but from having nightmares that his cult is dying. Fortunately, it's hard to stop the crumbling of an empire/cult built on lies, when you're incapable of seeing or admitting the lies.

I wonder what sort of band-aide will be "restored" next?
Faith does not give you the answers, it just stops you asking the questions. -Frater Ravus

IDKSAF -RubinHighlander

You can surrender without a prayer...

misterfake371
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Re: Missionaries can call home weekly now

Post by misterfake371 » Sat Feb 16, 2019 8:29 pm

I was in the break room at work the other day (almost everyone there is LDS) when one of the boss guys came in and said, "They're lowering the bar. They're coddling the missionaries. There's too many sissies these days." That's not an exact quote, even though I'm using quotation marks. I think that's what a lot of the old-timers are thinking. They're thinking that the church is getting too easy these days.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13

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crossmyheart
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Re: Missionaries can call home weekly now

Post by crossmyheart » Mon Feb 18, 2019 6:29 am

misterfake371 wrote:
Sat Feb 16, 2019 8:29 pm
I was in the break room at work the other day (almost everyone there is LDS) when one of the boss guys came in and said, "They're lowering the bar. They're coddling the missionaries. There's too many sissies these days." That's not an exact quote, even though I'm using quotation marks. I think that's what a lot of the old-timers are thinking. They're thinking that the church is getting too easy these days.
My 80yo TBM mom said the same thing. I asked her how she likes all of these new changes going on. Up until now she didn't really have a problem with it all but she said that she is not happy with all of these new changes. She thinks the prophet has changed too much and has water down the religion. Funny thing is that it is the phone calls home for missionaries that broke her to say that.

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Advocate
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Re: Missionaries can call home weekly now

Post by Advocate » Mon Feb 18, 2019 7:04 am

I'm also of the mind that the weekly (or more depending on birthdays, special occasions, etc.) contact is to slow down the flow of missionaries coming home early. I wish Salt Lake would release data on how many missionaries complete their full mission.

We had our ward missionaries over for dinner recently and were talking about their mission. They said that their mission is very young, over 80% of missionaries have been in the field less than 12 months. They weren't sure why that was the case, but I wonder if it is missionaries going home early.

Reuben
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Re: Missionaries can call home weekly now

Post by Reuben » Mon Feb 18, 2019 2:54 pm

Elder Uchtdorf is the chair of the Missionary Executive Council. I wonder if this was his idea, and if so, how long he's been working toward it.
Learn to doubt the stories you tell about yourselves and your adversaries.

Anon70
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Re: Missionaries can call home weekly now

Post by Anon70 » Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:09 pm

Enjoyed this thread! I’ve been amazed at the range of comments on fb:

* haha, jokes on them I called home whenever I wanted to anyway.
* wimps! When I was a missionary....I didn’t even call home when I could!
* it’s about time! I knew this was wrong 20-30-40 years ago!
* this is ridiculous, sacrifice will bring blessings, they won’t have any baptisms!

I’ve also seen multiple posts from missionary moms indicating that the application of this is absolutely inconsistent across missions (leadership roulette-shocker).

I agree that this is necessary and I tend to agree that’s it’s a combination of things: it was never the right thing to do (darn those PPIs between previous prophets and Jesus where this never came up), it’s harder now-the internet makes proselyting and conversion an even bigger challenge, and this generation is more tied to their technology/connection than others in the past.

We have a couple kids that potentially could end up on missions. I hope they either opt not to or do a service mission.

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SoJo
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Re: Missionaries can call home weekly now

Post by SoJo » Thu Feb 21, 2019 10:48 am

I think it's directly related to the 18 yo missionary rule. My just graduated DS and his GF know 10 kids who have come home in under 6 months, 2 came home after 1 week! There's been a rash of suicides in Herriman & South Jordan this past year. People are speculating that some of it could be related to the pressure to server immediately after High School...

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