negativity towards Sister Missionaries


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I have made the decision that I want to serve a mission. My family is supportive and thrilled about it as is my bishop and other members of my ward but...I have recieved some negative comments about sister missionaries from actual missionaries in the field right now and it angers me. This perticular elder said and I quote "Sister missionaries are just hungry husband hunters" That isn't the first negative comment I've heard but its one of the most irrating to say the least. What are your guys thoughts and oppionions on this especially those of you that have already served missions.

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First of all, I'm very proud of the fact that you decided to serve a mission! I think that as a woman, its very courageous to step out of your element and dedicate that length of time to Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father!

I think that you should just pray for strength on just ignoring those comments. As long as you know the reason why your serving a mission! Be proud of your decision and don't let anyone or anything hold you back!

Best of Luck!!!

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From the male perspective I say to go for it. There are lots of people that for one reason or another the Elders can't touch that Sister missionaries bring to the gospel.

Our daughter served a mission in South Africa. She loved the time she served.

I agree with MissHalfway in regards to small minded boys.

Ben Raines

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Hungry husband hunters??? HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! A greater percentage of sisters that I served with had someone waiting for them than elders did.

Elders will generally tend to go one way or the other on sisters. They will love sisters and think they're the greatest thing since sliced bread (which, by the way, is true); or they will really not like sisters at all because they think they're high maintenance (which is sometimes true). The ones who don't like sisters don't mask it very well.

But the bottom line is this: YOU GO, GIRL!!

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That doesn't even make sense, if you were so hungry for marriage, wouldn't you NOT go on a mission? It takes a year out of your social life.

I know lots of women who won't serve a mission because they think they will miss their chance at meeting somebody while they are away. The particular elder you are speaking of doesn't know what he is talking about.

I think missions should be encouraged for females with the same zeal that they are for men. You will be blessed abundantly for your service, and you will grow as an individual.

Good for you, I wish more than anything that I was baptized young enough to serve a mission as a single woman. I can serve later with my husband, but that is many years from now. Enjoy yourself and work hard!

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Ok, that response is based on a couple of things...culture (I'm sure they had fathers, uncles, friends, etc. repeat bad stories/opinions) and a few bad apples.

When I was talking about serving a mission, I had a lot of male RMs warn me of things NOT to do as a sister missionary. Some things included, flirting, asking for blessings incessantly, trying to boss the Elders, etc.

What I found on my mission were some sisters who flirted with Elders and other men, was always sick and wanted blessings, would ignore the Elder's when given instructions or boss them around.

I had district leaders and zone leaders who told me to my face that they didn't like sister missionaries. So, I rolled my eyes and told them to get over it. I served to the best of my ability and loved my mission despite some Elder's attitudes.

You will cross Elders and others who think women should not serve missions and if they do that they will be "bad" missionaries. Learn to ignore them. Learn to love them despite not liking them or their ways/words. Learn that serving a mission is really not about you anyway, so who cares what others think of you? Go for the right reasons and you'll find it a blessing and a joy to serve no matter what trials you'll have (and you WILL have trials before, during, and after the mission--it's Satan's m.o.).

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In my experience, sister missionaries tended to be either among the best or the worst of missionaries. The negative stereotypes, while unfair, have a kernel of truth. Some sister missionaries are indeed high-maintenance, strident, and not very stable. But most of the sister missionaries I knew were actually excellent missionaries, and sister missionaries in general had a very good reputation among the elders.

Some obvious differences: The sister missionaries tend to be two or three years older than the elders, which at that age means that your typical elder is a very young man learning to be an adult, while your typical sister is a young adult. I believe this is one reason why sister missionaries can sometimes reach and teach people that the elders cannot. (The other reason is, of course, that they're women, and many people are more willing to let into their homes women they don't know than men they don't know.)

As long as your desire is pure and your eye single, you will be an effective missionary and your service will be fruitful and worthwhile. Most of the elders hold the sisters in high regard; don't worry about the few who feel otherwise.

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As a current Ward Mission Leader we have 4 missionaries in our Ward. Each month for 18 months I requested one set to be Sister Missionaries. Finally they gave in 8 months ago. One set are Elders the other Sisters. Now at the bottom of each monthly report I put in large font, all caps, bold letters and highlighted in Yellow to PLEASE LEAVE US THE SISTER MISSIONARIES.

Elders, like us men, usually try to solve problems instead of listening to them when Investigators explain things. Sisters, like women tend to listen and understand and comfort. Our Bishopric has said they would be happy with all Sister Missionaries! I believe a mix of both groups are the best solution especially if they are able to trade off in each others territory when it is needed.

If the Lord decides to send you to the Halifax Mission know that you will be very welcomed in Kentville Nova Scotia Ward. And I for one am hopping we still are having the blessings of Sister Missionaries in our Ward. (at least as long as I am still Ward Mission Leader.)

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Sister missionaries do rock. Had a few companionships in my district. They got into homes we couldn't, and could teach people we weren't allowed to teach, i.e. single women,

Here's something else to think about... My companion in one area, the District Leader,developed a crush on one of the Sister Missionaries. It wasn't reciprocated,and he never contacted her after he went home, but I sure as heck teased him about it.

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I had no problems with sister missionaries on my mission, and didn't know of any elders who did. I think they are just like the men, though. Some are there for the right reasons, some are there for the wrong reasons. It was my experience that the 'older' sister missionaries were usually there because they had nothing else at home to do. They had not gotten married for whatever reason, thought that the elders were immature, and weren't afraid to let the elders know of their disdain for us.

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Just to offer a different angle, my church has female clergy. These days it runs 8-10%. However, in the early years (1910-40s or so), fully one-third of our ministers were women. And, the women went where the men would not. They took the smaller, more remote congregations, and were basically willing to go wherever God sent them. All that to say, women have proven themselves throughout gospel history to be faithful, fervent, and tender towards the heart of God. the natural order still seems to be for men to end up in positions of leadership, but when women to rise, the often outshine their male counterparts. Perhaps some of the negative reaction is jealousy and insecurity?

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This perticular elder said and I quote "Sister missionaries are just hungry husband hunters" That isn't the first negative comment I've heard but its one of the most irrating to say the least. What are your guys thoughts and oppionions on this especially those of you that have already served missions.

A currently serving missionary spoke ill of his fellow missionaries in public?

That elder is not serving with the Spirit of Christ. Ignore him.

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Regardless of my actual calling in the church, I have always spent a lot of time with the missionaries. We had sisters at one time in the area but not for a number of years now. Loved the few sisters I had a chance to work with.

Elders are high school age boys. It takes a while for the mission to grow on them and for the spirit of clarity, humility and charity to infuse them. I would forgive him and forget the comment. Go serve your Heavenly Father with faith. Your life will never be the same and the blessings you will receive without end.

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In our stake, we are the only ward with sister missionaries. We have lowest rate of members going along for lessons and the lowest rate of missionaries referrals. But guess what? We have the highest number of baptisms.

Because of the unique dynamics of our ward(transient area, some of the highest and lowest income people in the entire city, etc), sister missionaries are able to reach out and touch investigators in a special way. We've had some amazing sister missionaries come through our ward over the last year.

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Thanks to Vort for the explanation. I wasn't sure what the elder in question was getting at and now I see what you mean.

I have experienced sister missionaries like this. In fact I was recently in a Wal-Mart in Iowa on a p-day. I saw a pair of sister missionaries (in p-day clothes, but with tags) squealing like drunken bar tramps over a couple of elders. It was obnoxious, and the elders were visibly embarrassed that the girls were coming on so strongly in public, and flirting in such a juvenile manner. Heck I was embarrassed.

However, this is a small majority that i've met. On that note, I don't see the point in flirting with elders when you are a sister missionary anyway.

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I have made the decision that I want to serve a mission. My family is supportive and thrilled about it as is my bishop and other members of my ward but...I have recieved some negative comments about sister missionaries from actual missionaries in the field right now and it angers me. This perticular elder said and I quote "Sister missionaries are just hungry husband hunters" That isn't the first negative comment I've heard but its one of the most irrating to say the least. What are your guys thoughts and oppionions on this especially those of you that have already served missions.

Firstly, I think that Sister Missionaries are absolutely great!

If some of the Elders have some negative things to say ... well, when it all comes down to it, Sisters are also imperfect. The mission I served in had a mission president who had had a house full of boys (6 I think) and no daughters. As a result, he didn't really know how to work with sisters and asked for fewer of them. I always found that very puzzling.

The statement that "Sister missionaries are just hungry husband hunters" is kinda hypocritical. Yes there are sisters that will marry someone they met on their mission. There are also Elders who marry someone they met on their mission. I don't think that there is a higher percentage one way or the other, the accusation a moot point. Accusations and generalizations are silly, and have a lot more to do with leftover High School immaturity than they do with describing how people really are.

Sisters bring a lot of good things. Sisters probably do deserve one bit of bad reputation: If a companionship of Sisters is fighting/not getting along at all, it does seem to get uglier than it does with Elders. This was the main reason that my first mission president asked to get fewer of them -- he didn't know how to deal with that. That's just a general observation, there will be feuding Elder companionships that will easily be as bad or worse.

I wouldn't worry about any of it. I've always been impressed by the effectiveness of Sister Missionaries. The VAST majority of missions are begging for more of them. What does that tell you?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sister Missionaries can rock, or they can be annoying as all get out... so can the Elders. I think the strong reactions you tend to get may be because they are fewer of them, less of a sample size results in a greater chance of statistical anomalies and less influences to normalize ones ideas so you get a more polarized reaction from people.

For what it's worth, my experience was great, but had it been limited to just a couple of the sisters I knew I probably wouldn't think highly of Sisters either.

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A few more thoughts.

Why do sisters flirt with elders? It's really hard to just not flirt at all for that long. The elders flirt with the sisters, too (and sometimes the young women). (I'm not saying it's okay, I'm just saying that it is.)

As a returned sister missionary myself, I have to confirm that what Vort said is true. There are some sisters out there that really are high maintenance and/or needy and cause problems. There are some that really are just there "because they couldn't get married" and when that's the case, they waste time. They waste their district/zone leaders' time, they waste their companions' time, they waste their mission presidents' time, they waste their own time, and they waste the Lord's time. There are also elders that fit that bill as well. It goes both ways.

Sisters can get into places that elders can't. I don't know how many times I've heard this. Yes, it's true. Yes, women approach things differently than men do. Yes, sister missionaries are a few years older (and therefore more mature) than elders. I learned that there are also places that elders can get into that sisters can't. Sisters are not superheroes. They are people, the same as the elders are. Each missionary will be able to touch a person's life in different ways, and each person will receive things differently.

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The Elder who said that the sister missionary was a "hungry husband hunter" was and probably still is a bonehead. An Elder in the mission office told my folks they weren't really missionaries ... my dad pointed out that his name plaque said the same thing as the one the elder wore. Then there was the Elder that told them that senior missionaries in the mission were like fresh milk on cereal ... dry was good but the fesh milk just made it perfect. The different types of missionaries are out there for a reason. Different people in the world need them. An elderly sister in my folks first mission said she had had the lessons 7 times and she finally understood when they taught her. The thing is to go and serve the Lord with all your heart. Who cares what a "dippy" Elder thinks ... it's what the Savior thinks of your service that counts. I tried to go on a mission many years ago and was turned down because I was to "fat" ... I found out years later that my papers never left the stake office. I missed being able to serve and am not in a position to serve now ... someone took that away from me and that is something they will have to answer for. I just pray that someone found the person that was waiting for me.

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  • 5 months later...
Guest Utahrulzz

I have made the decision that I want to serve a mission. My family is supportive and thrilled about it as is my bishop and other members of my ward but...I have recieved some negative comments about sister missionaries from actual missionaries in the field right now and it angers me. This perticular elder said and I quote "Sister missionaries are just hungry husband hunters" That isn't the first negative comment I've heard but its one of the most irrating to say the least. What are your guys thoughts and oppionions on this especially those of you that have already served missions.

Sister Missionaries were great in my mission. Don't let some jerk Elder discourage you Sister!

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