What are your thoughts on the Phrase: When I was on my mission?


ama49
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I am a Roman Catholic and I deeply respect the LDS focus on a 2 year mission. I only wish my own Church did the same.

Theologically-and spiritually-I guess as Christians-our mission never ends. Sharing our Message of Hope and Love to a hurting world should never end.

Each of us have high's and lows on our spiritual journey of life.

Some churches that I know-have near their main exit in the back of their church or signs as they exit the parking lot the following: "You are Now Entering the Mission Field."

How appropriate!

May our Heavenly Father bless each of us on our Mission.

-Carol

On my other blog: Grace for Grace, I wrote about the phrase: "When I was on my mission."

It seems like we hear it so often, but I wonder why we have to fall back to our missions? Why don't we share current experiences more often?

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I cringe whenever I hear the phrase "When I was on my mission, . . . " in a Sunday School lesson or in a Sacrament meeting talk. The interesting thing that I have observed is that many of the stories told in that context would be told with exactly the same point, but without having anything to do with a mission. I have done this personally. I'll tell a story of something that happened on my mission without prefacing it that way. It becomes a story about "a woman I once knew" or something like that. Occasionally the context or outcome of the story depends on it being about the mission, but not usually. But I totally agree with the OP -- why can't people share more of their non-mission life experiences?

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Since the time I served a full time mission I have spoken in church and given talks or lessons over 100 times. I do not use the term "When I was on my mission". I share faith promoting stories, some from before my mission, during my mission and after my mission.

I believe there are some who want people to know they served but most it is a point of reference in their life. It is no different than the person who says "Back when I was in college" or "Before I was married". It is a reference to a point in time in their life.

Ben Raines

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My thoughts are I like to hear about missions and think they should be portrayed as great as I want my children to aim above the bar and go on one.

However with some people you do begin to wonder if they had ever done anything else worthwhile in their lives because its all they talk about.

My husband sometimes uses the phrase, but not overly most people at church don't even know if he has been on one.

-Charley

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I loved my Mission and love telling the stories and sharing my expierences that happened to me. I will also share current expierences if I can. Depends on the situation. Myself...I see nothing wrong with sharing them. Why do we hear some of our GA's share their Mission stories or while they were a Mission President. Again, it depends on the subject they are speaking about etc.:)

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I am not a fan of the phrase. I seem to only ever hear it used in a very few ways.

The first way I hear it is from someone who seems to preface every conversation with the phrase. I often have trouble trying to decide if the person is trying to relive old days or broadcast the fact that he or she served a mission (or both).

I've known some people that will never talk about having served a mission until a spiritual discussion begins, and then everything they say has to do with their mission. With these people, it really feels like the experiences they had as a missionary are the only experiences they've ever had. It is a truly frightening thing if that is true.

The most despicable form in which I hear this phrase is the "my knowledge trumps your knowledge" form. I can't tell you how many times I've sat in a Sunday School or priesthood lesson when there's been a great discussion on a topic, and then someone says, "well when I was on my mission...." and after that the discussion ends, as if no knowledge could possibly be more pure than the knowledge obtained in the mission field.

Strangely, the people I admire most and that I find to be the most spiritual are those whom I didn't even know served a mission, let alone where they served. In fact, I developed a great friendship with one brother in a previous ward, and I didn't even know he spoke Spanish until I had known him almost two years. These people seem to remember their missions as sacred experiences and treat them as such.

And what's with "When I was on my mission..."'s ugly cousin, "My mission president said..."? I hear this one way too much, as if that one mission president were the absolute authority in all things doctrine. Usually, when it's said, it goes something like, "my mission president said that when the prophet speaks, it's as if God were speaking." I'm shocked at how often whatever it was the mission president said was something written in the scriptures or a book by Talmage, or a General Conference talk. Don't missionaries ever read? So when I hear these, I usually like to contribute something like, "that's funny, I read that in the scriptures. I wonder where your mission president learned that?"

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I only wish I could say it.............

It's funny you say that. I was at a conference where Elder Holland was speaking a few years ago. He bore his testimony about the restoration. He talked about how the priesthood was restored by angels coming to visit Joseph Smith, and the process of the restoration, and then in a big booming voice he declared, "no other church can claim that."

When he said it, it was really powerful...so powerful that the my memory seems to think I was physically pushed back in my seat by the force of it--although I don't believe I was physically pushed, just a powerful memory.

I have felt that same thing one other time. It was during a talk about the Atonement given on Easter Sunday. The brother got up, introduced himself, and said the words, "I think we all need to develop a more personal relationship with the Savior." The effect of those words on me was just as powerful as the effect of Elder Holland's words. Yet, the brother that spoke on that Easter Sunday was a convert to the Church, and that talk was the first one he had ever given.

So, bytor, it isn't the mission that makes the man or the experience--it's the strength and power of the testimony that does it.

(that being said, I do understand and respect the sentiment of your statement)

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It's funny you say that. I was at a conference where Elder Holland was speaking a few years ago. He bore his testimony about the restoration. He talked about how the priesthood was restored by angels coming to visit Joseph Smith, and the process of the restoration, and then in a big booming voice he declared, "no other church can claim that."

When he said it, it was really powerful...so powerful that the my memory seems to think I was physically pushed back in my seat by the force of it--although I don't believe I was physically pushed, just a powerful memory.

I have felt that same thing one other time. It was during a talk about the Atonement given on Easter Sunday. The brother got up, introduced himself, and said the words, "I think we all need to develop a more personal relationship with the Savior." The effect of those words on me was just as powerful as the effect of Elder Holland's words. Yet, the brother that spoke on that Easter Sunday was a convert to the Church, and that talk was the first one he had ever given.

So, bytor, it isn't the mission that makes the man or the experience--it's the strength and power of the testimony that does it.

(that being said, I do understand and respect the sentiment of your statement)

Thanks for the kind words. I truly feel blessed to have a great testimony, I do often regret the choices I made that kept me away for 21 years.........I will definitely keep this in mind.

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It seems like we hear it so often, but I wonder why we have to fall back to our missions? Why don't we share current experiences more often?

My reaction may depend on who's talking. There is a dear fellow in our ward who's in his late 30's and who has five kids and who often raises his hand in Sunday School and almost every time his comment begins, "On my mission...". I find myself having to repent every time he does it.

But, when another brother in our ward told a story in a talk which began, "I recall a lesson I first learned as a young, wet-behind-the-ears Elder fresh out of the MTC...." I had never heard this man talk about his mission before, and I perked right up.

Janice

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I enjoy telling them....and I always will share them...both humorous and the serious ones.....often times my 2 son in law's and my son and myself will sit around and share stories with each other.....I also share one or two in a class or a talk.....I guess if someone doesn't like it when I tell them at church...I guess they can go back to sleep.....:D

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Guest missingsomething

I see nothing wrong with this. During a mission is when you are supposed *smile*... to be devoted to the gospel and deeply vested in your faith and testimony. To me, it only makes sense that your spiritual experiences would be strongest then. As long as you are looking forward and striving to develop new relationships and spiritual experiences - there is nothing wrong with this, in my opinion.

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I see nothing wrong with this. During a mission is when you are supposed *smile*... to be devoted to the gospel and deeply vested in your faith and testimony. To me, it only makes sense that your spiritual experiences would be strongest then. As long as you are looking forward and striving to develop new relationships and spiritual experiences - there is nothing wrong with this, in my opinion.

Strangely, the experiences I've had since leaving missionary service completely and utterly dwarf the experiences I had when serving a mission. But then again, I suppose I might have done something wrong ;)

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Strangely, the experiences I've had since leaving missionary service completely and utterly dwarf the experiences I had when serving a mission. But then again, I suppose I might have done something wrong ;)

I joined the church at 26, so I never went on a mission. I never use that phrase.

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