Meet the Mormons

[MiloSimpson]

Is anyone watching this? I'm a little bit to be honest. I've realised that I know v little about the religion.

They are not minders they just normally pair a new missionary up with someone who has a bit moire experience so they can support the newer one.

I meant could they jack it in without completing their mission? Do you know anyone who just changed their mind and came back without finishing what they'd signed up for?

Mission sounds like a kind of spiritual Duke of Edinburgh award (I have not seen the programme and my one contact with Mormons is that a couple of them cleaned for us once. Nice enough couple).

Thanks to those who shared their experiences of being a mormon. I agree the ch4 programme was not good. But thys channel 4 all over.

To be fair, I am sure nobody will be taking Channel 4 as the definitive word on any religion

By the way I have not attended church in the last 8 months. I still try and live by the covenants I made ie I don't drink, smoke, drink tea or coffee etc...I am still good friends with active members. I am heading to a BBQ hosted by a couple next week. There has been no pressure on me to return and no change in the way I am treated by members.

In response to the persons shock of our belief in Jesus Christ visiting the Americas; yes we do believe He did; but not so shocking if you believe in a literal resurrection and that we're all God's children. Why wouldn't Christ visit others of His 'lost sheep' in other lands. We believe that God loves all His children. We believe not in a God of just a select few but in the God of us all. Again, like you, that belief that Jesus visited the Americas did seem a bit bizarre at first but with some faith and pondering it all became quite logical.

best regards,

Simon

Also, without going on too much and boring you all rigid; missionaries are great. You must remember they are only young lads and they sacrifice so much for those 2 years. They are not forced to go on missions, it's encouraged yes (of course! we are a proselyting church), but it's ultimately their own decision. Many young men and women choose not to go for whatever reason. Those who do, do it of their own volition. From experience they go out as boys and return as men. I've seen it in our own ward. They are a credit to society.

All the best everyone,

simon

The "documentary" was dreadful, that woman was so irritating and I found it boring. I was raised a mormon and my experience was that it was extremely controlling and culty but that was mostly due to my parents. I know others who were actually encouraged to think for themselves.
The 6k mission cost includes their accommodation and they can still go if they can't pay it. It's just expected that they make some contribution.
Service is a big part of missionary work and they do do service for people free of charge, generally missionaries like doing this as it means less time wandering the streets knocking on doors.
I have nothing against the mormon church, I just don't attend because I don't believe it's true but most mormons are lovely, normal people.

Simon is doing missionary work on here, aren't you Simon?
I was a Mormon for many, many years. Returning early from a mission is a shameful thing and I've known it have tragic consequences. Missionaries are strait-jacketed, with restrictions on what they read, music they listen to, what they watch, what time they get up, what time they go to bed, how often and how they contact home. Phone calls home only allowed on Christmas Day and Mother's Day and strict emergencies.
Absolutely no privacy at all, except for bathroom.
Members are encouraged to always give a good account of the Mormon church, using all forms of media. " Every Member a Missionary" is drummed into the membership.

Gosh, I've learnt a lot more on here than I did watching the tv prog. Thanks to all those Mormons who have shared - it's interesting to hear the good and the bad

I am a mormon, a nickname given to those who are members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I have not seen this show, but can tell from these comments that that are so very many misconceptions about our church. I'm not sure why so many rumors are spread about us. Our church is not a cult. There are members in every country who believe in God and our savior and serving and loving those around us. No one is forced to live a certain way. I know several people who have come home from missions for personal or health reasons. Many like me enjoy great blessings from living this religion. My husband served a mission to Russia. He chose to go and worked hard before hand to raise the money. He went because he believes our church is true and wanted to serve God and others. It was difficult and he had few baptisms but he gained a strong work ethic. He also learned how to get a long with all types of people. All positive attributes for a young person to learn! My best friend also served a mission to New York. She came home with great faith and happiness after serving. Please do not jump to conclusions about us

I used to go to a very evangelical church in Manchester, and knew several people who went to Bible College/Youth With A Mission, and were going to do missionary work either in the UK or abroad, and they were encouraged to stay in touch with family, friends and their 'home' church - because it was felt that the more support they had, the better they would cope.

I was very troubled indeed by the way the Mormon missionaries were isolated from everything and everyone except their fellow missionaries - it seemed unkind and very painful - and, IMO, totally unnecessary. I didn't buy the explanation that, actually it would be more painful for them to have contact with their loved ones - that was not my experience when I went from rural Shropshire to Manchester to do my nurse training, nor was it either ds1's or ds2's experience when they went to university - and even children in boarding school are allowed to phone home now, aren't they?

SDT I can understand your worry. It does seem strange but you should know that they can email, write letters, and send packages (as well as receive) as much as they like. This is a great way to keep in touch with family, friends, and church members back home. In fact I found writing letters to friends on missions to be really fun also they do skype or phone call their families several times a year, or more if there are family emergencies.

But when he was so homesick, in tears and couldn't ring home - that just seemed heartless. Most parents, if their child rang home, from mission/university/training/whatever, homesick and in tears, would comfort them and then encourage them to stick it out.

I also think that knowing you won't see your parents! friends and loved ones for two years must make homesickness so much worse - if ds1 had rung us from university (several hundred miles from home) in that state, we'd have been able to say 'it's only X weeks until the vacation, and you have got all these great things to look forward to and do between now and then, you can cope, you'll be fine', but the homesick Mormon missionary knows it will be two years until they see their family - and several phone calls a year isn't actually that many - it sounds like less than once a month (and on the programme they said it was only twice a year! which is worse) - I don't see why they need to be so divorced from family contact to 'mission' effectively. It runs counter to instinct and experience for me.

Look Mr or Mrs HerbRobert, I'm only trying to put across to people how deeply I feel about my beliefs. I do not have any other ulterior motive. And yes I do believe that we should be considerate of others beliefs too.
We have had missionaries return home early from their missions in our ward and they are certainly not made to feel shameful, that would not be Christ's way. We cannot make judgements about people can we! In all my years as a member of this church I can honestly say that I have not received any teachings which I feel would be contrary to what Jesus Christ would teach.

regards,

simon

Can I also say (oh no! I hear you all say; it's not him again), I consider myself a reasonably intelligent man and always given the freedom to believe in what I choose to believe (this was taught to me by my non-religious, 'atheist' father, who I can say I love very much). I have not been 'brainwashed' by anyone or forced to give a good account of the church. It is what I've found out for myself. I do not need anyone to tell me what to believe in and so should you.

Rant over!

regards,

Simon

I watched the doc and felt so sorry for Josh. Many aspects of the missionary experience seemed overly controlling and cultish- isolation from family, extreme conformity in dress, lack of privacy, long hours. The comment about it being easier to adjust if you have no contact with loved ones is EXACTLY the kind of thing they used to say about seperating children from parents in hospitals (they soon get used to it!)...I actually thought it was quite abusive, these young people altho technically adults do not have much experience or inner resilience to fall back on. And the chances of them achieving the required number of conversions seems very low- I would guess only the very needy are going to be interested in such an unlikely proposal.
In future I will be kinder to mormon missionaries, but I hope they don't misinterpret me!

That no coffee or tea would be a dealbreaker for me, as would being isolated from my surviving children. Probably a good thing I am a non-believer.

Shallishanti, you would be best asking as many missionaries (those that are on their missions and those that have long since returned) what they feel about their mission and not rely on a tv programme from channel 4. You will then be able to make a more informed choice about what you think.

regards,

Simon

I would still like to know why it was better that that particular missionary, who was clearly upset and homesick, couldn't have phoned home for a bit of cheering-up and encouragement from his mum!

mmm, then I'd likely get some variant of 'it never did me any harm' such as we hear from boarding school survivors....or people who were smacked as children
if you commit yourself wholeheartedly to something, it's hard to see that it could also harm you, especially if the only people you have contact with are either going through the same, or have done so, or believe it to be A Good Thing.

I know dozens of people who have been on missions. Yes, it is extremely hard and they often are very homesick to begin with. But they are not children and in many cases have been preparing to go for years. They leave the world behind to serve God and their fellowmen. They work hard. You can get hung up on how awful it sounds but these young men and women sacrifice a lot, and gain a lot in return. I love and respect the missionaries I know here in my area. We show them support by feeding them meals, even emailing pictures to their parents back home their families can be reassured that they are being taken care of. Also, there are no requirements for conversions. The requirement is to serve faithfully.

That still doesn't explain why it would have been so dreadful for Josh to have phoned home for some tlc and encouragement.

To change tack slightly - We do baptise by proxy, full immersion on behalf of the person we are baptising. We believe the person we are baptising has the option of accepting it or rejecting it.

I'd posit that a dead person can neither accept or reject a proxy baptism, as they're dead. Does anyone reject, ever? What do Mormons believe has happened to the dead since they've been dead that would mean they're now religious, that did not happen/occur to them in life?