Coming To Terms With My Mission

[Jace]

This is going to be a long post, I just need to get my feelings out there.

I am a recently returned missionary and have been home for a little over a week now. I'm posting this because I feel like I overall had a negative experience before, during and after my mission. The problem is that when I talk to someone I feel like there is an unwritten rule that all missions are positive and if I had a bad experience it is my fault. I feel trapped in being unable to express how I really feel and conforming to all these expectations. Please bear with my as a type out my experience, mainly for my own benefit and any words of advice are appreciated.

I was first called to serve in Spain and entered the MTC. Within the first week I tore my ACL and my second week I had surgery. Under extreme stress I met with the District President to discuss my situation. He said I could do rehab there and serve in Provo until further notice or just go home. Being from Utah I nixed the Provo idea and wanted to serve "full time." So I'm extremely stressed and decide to go home on my third week there.

I arrive home and begin living in limbo. Home environment was not stable and all I wanted to do was go, I couldn't work while recovering and could not commit to school. I wait and wait for something to change. This is August of 2008. In early November I find out my visa is expired and must wait until April to even reenter the MTC to go to Spain. Again I have to make a choice too quickly. I think I implied that I just wanted to serve and would accept whatever happened. I thought I would restart the MTC for Spanish stateside.

So no contact until January 2009. I get a random call one day from my Stake President who says he has a plane ticket to Florida for me and I leave in a week and a half. I was so scared. This was my only chance to serve a mission. I accepted grudgingly knowing that I had lost the call to speak Spanish or redo the MTC even.

So I arrive in Florida and to make a long story short the following sums up my mission. I never fit with the program. For the first 18 months under one mission president I felt like I had to perform or die (get numbers). I manufactured so much anxiety in myself for not meeting goals or expectations that before I went home I had to meet with a counselor about it. Not to mention the transfers. I will openly accuse my president of playing favorites. If you weren't on the list you just became a peon in hard areas with hard companions but still the same expectations. I had 3 difficult companions in a row for about 7 months of misery. All of my areas were among the hardest in the mission. I can only truly say I loved and am friends with less than half of my companions. Not to mention the peer leadership. I honestly thought I was going to hell if I didn't meet goals for the week, "big brother" style.

I left under the impression that I would be a servant of the Lord not a door to door salesman trying to sell the most unwanted product in the world. I found no success tracting what so ever, but if you didn't tract all heck would break loose. Truthfully I'm terrible at it and never desired to do better. I should not have to sell the "true church" to people.

I didn't baptize either. Only one person I know would even count as a conversion and she came to us converted. We only taught her lessons as a formality, she was golden.

Well to have something positive when we changed presidents I got relief. I began to do what I felt was needed and it actually worked. If my first president found out he would have had a stroke. Yet I still felt unsatisfied, I had nothing tangible to report. I was obedient and worked reasonably hard but never measured up. I will say this, I love my last mission president. If it weren't for him I don't think I would have any hope.

I felt really embarrassed in my report to my stake president asking about being "led by the spirit" or "when an investigator really felt it" and nothing came to mind. I had so much downtime and frustration that it began to hurt me. Again my main point I feel like I can't talk openly about this and have to focus strictly on positive things. I had a negative time but everyone expects me to have had a positive 100% spirit robot experience. It is almost like a conspiracy of silence on what really happens in the mission field.

There is a lot more of things that happened that I'm not going to share for sake of space. I mean, my emotions are so welled up just writing this.

In essence I spent two years and $10,000+ just to waste my time, and the Lord's time. The only positive thing I feel is that I made a few missionary friends and had a lifetime of growing up condensed into two years, you can't pay for that I guess.

So now I'm home and back into a bad situation, living in limbo again until school starts in fall. How do you come to terms with a negative mission? Is it even possible?

Sorry for the rant, I just really needed to get this into a neutral zone. Thanks.

[MarginOfError]

Hey, want to know something...missions aren't all that great. They're hard work, and they're frustrating, and they're exhausting. Having been through the experience, I wouldn't ever want to do it again.

But I'm with you on this point: it was a lifetime of growing up crammed into two years. It may not be the best experience of your life, and it certainly shouldn't be, but it can be the best way to prepare for the rest of your life. I hope you learned some lessons and gained some insights that will make your life more promising. Above all, I hope that the experience hasn't soured your testimony, and that you learned things about the gospel that will give you the courage to commit to it for the rest of your life. That's really the only thing that matters.

So when people ask you what you felt about your mission, be honest. You can put a positive spin on it too, but be honest. For instance:

"My mission wasn't a great experience. I felt so pressured to produce numbers that I felt like we were missing the true essence of what we were there to do. I hope that I never lose sight of the importance of personal conversion and testimony or put anyone under the kind of pressure I felt I was under."

There will be people that judge you based on the fact that you don't provide the answer they expect of return missionaries. But there will also be people that appreciate the candor and respect that you are attempting to take a negative experience and turn it into a positive one.

[HiJolly]

You sound really, really super-passive. Like, life is happening to you & there's nothing you can do about it. Listen to yourself: "now I'm home and back into a bad situation, living in limbo again until school starts in fall."

What does that mean? Why do you sound so helpless?

HiJolly

Edited January 14, 2011 by HiJolly
sorry.

[rameumptom]

Missions are to help young men gain experience, so they can face life better. Guess what? Your mission is a failure only if you measure it with the wrong stick or ruler. Facing adversity and trial faithfully IS a key to a successful mission.

Zion's Army left Kirtland to regain the land of Zion in Missouri. Some had positive attitudes, many didn't. When they got to Missouri, the Lord disbanded them, and many became sick with cholera. They never had the chance to fight. For some, this was an absolute failure. 180 years later, we see that God used the army to test and train future leaders of the Church. The twelve apostles and many of the 70 were in Zion's camp, tested and tried, to show themselves faithful in what at the time seemed to be a failure.

Your struggles can teach you how to deal with adversity in life, and assist others through their trials. THAT is a success and successful attitude.

Baptizing does not make a successful mission. Learning to be obedient in the face of adversity, and doing your best is what counts. If we were truly serious about baptisms as an ends, we wouldn't send out 19 year old boys. We would send out high priests. But a major part of the work is preparing young boys to be faithful young men, ready to serve and face adversity.

[Jbdf]

Jace, thank you for sharing that.

Not being LDS and not ever having been a missionary, I don't have much personal experience to draw on here to help; but when President John Taylor (then an Apostle) returned to the Utah Territory from the work he was doing in France and Germany, he had very little positive to say about the quality of his experiences there. Instead, he denounced pretty much everyone he came across as a barbarian compared to the wonderful, honorable civilization of Latter-day Saints in Utah. From the sounds of things, he had an absolutely miserable time, and he wasn't afraid to say so in front of everyone; he felt no need to present it as a time of joyous spiritual advancement. But there is one positive thing he did say about the mission, and it had to do with the journey to serve God:

"Some people talk about doing great things; but it is not a great thing to travel a little, or to preach a little. I hear some of our Elders saying, sometimes, that they are going to do great things - to be rulers in the kingdom of God, Kings and Priests to the Most High, and are again to exalt thousands of others to thrones, principalities, and powers, in the eternal worlds; but we cannot get them out of their nests, to travel a few miles here. If they cannot do this, how will they ever learn to go from world to world?" (Journal of Discourses 1:19-20)

Being a bit of an outsider myself, I'm not in much of a position to offer advice, but the way I see it, there's nothing wrong with having an unpleasurable and seemingly unprofitable mission experience. (And I'm very sorry to hear that yours was largely served under a mission president whose focus was apparently more on quantitative 'results' than on genuine spiritual growth and service to God.) Despite the modern stigma of admitting it, many of God's servants have had terrible trials, hardships, and miseries in the course of the undertaking. I think what matters more - in addition to what MarginOfError said - is to see it as an experience of growth that prepares you for the greater tasks of glory that God has in store for you in days to come. Even if from a worldly standpoint, or a perspective of personal enjoyment, it seems like a great waste of time and money.... there's no telling just how God will use that experience of service to him to reward you with greater callings and honors yet to come - since, whatever we see and feel about our lives through our present dimness of vision, in heavenly retrospect we have the promise that we'll see how "God works all things together for good to those who love him, who are called according to his purpose".

[pam]

Being a bit of an outsider myself, I'm not in much of a position to offer advice, but the way I see it, there's nothing wrong with having an unpleasurable and seemingly unprofitable mission experience. (And I'm very sorry to hear that yours was largely served under a mission president whose focus was apparently more on quantitative 'results' than on genuine spiritual growth and service to God.)

But then again we don't know if this is true. I kind of hate putting a downside to anyone in a leadership position when the only "facts" we have are onesided and a negative one at that.

If one can only see the negative things during a 2 year mission then the experience will be nothing but negative. But I would guess there were many positive things that occurred that just can't be seen at this time but might be seen and understood in the future.

[Guest]

Missions are to help young men gain experience, so they can face life better. Guess what? Your mission is a failure only if you measure it with the wrong stick or ruler.

THIS. Exactly.

A perfect example: You felt you were "selling a product that nobody wanted".

I know this is water under the bridge now but that was the completely wrong ruler you were using. Tracting is not about "selling" the gospel. Tracting is more like Fedex - you are delivering a message. You are not there to convert. That's the Holy Ghost's job to do. I have a feeling that you did not understand what was expected of you (probably partly due to leadership that didn't see the struggles you were going through) therefore you didn't deliver the message like you were supposed to do.

Take your companions, for example... if you can't get along with a companion where both of you are singular in purpose, how would you be able to live with a wife whose ways are a mystery to men (ok, tongue in cheek here). But really, working with a companion is an exercise of humility. Complete humility. A trait necessary in any partnership - business, college room-mate, siblings, marriage.

I understand about the numbers and yes, it can be a big pressure. But, that's life over-all. How else can you measure if the mission is doing a good job? Without the numbers, there wouldn't be a real "goal" and then there wouldn't be a trigger for improvement. When you go to school, there is a grade you have to pass - it doesn't really matter if you learned the subject matter or not - if you don't get the proper score in a test, you're not going to pass. Same with most career choices. I'm a programmer. I am measured by the number of projects I successfully implemented versus the number of projects that have to be redone after install. It's all measured by numbers. So, in a way, the numbers in the mission prepares you for real life.

But, that shouldn't be your yard stick for success. That's the mission office's yard stick. Your yard stick is how you faced adversity. How you appealed to the Holy Ghost. How you humbled yourself and gave yourself to "Thy Will Be Done". How much you have learned.

But, that's water under the bridge now...

So. Now. What do you do? Life is short, my man. Each day is an opportunity to travel back into tomorrow's past and change it. (Robert Brault) Life is not going to get better with you just waiting for it to happen. You gotta make it happen! And if you woke up breathing, congratulations. You have another chance (Andrea Boydston)!

Edited January 15, 2011 by anatess

[mrmarklin]

You did have some positive experiences on your mission, and I think over time you will be able to understand the personal growth you had and help you gave to others.

I served a mission and had many of the ups and downs you had. I certainly didn't get along with every companion I had, but I did with most of them.

Unfortunately the mission president you had at first sounds like a real pistol, and adjusting to people like this is a good life skill. Hopefully, you will be able to apply what you learned to the occasional bad boss you get. I too found that tracting was a total waste of time, and certainly wish I had done much less of it. Toward the end of my mission, I did none and that was the most productive time I had meeting and teaching people.

I'm glad you had one experience of a person who was "golden". I had several, and it seemed that yes, they were always served on a platter. There is a reason for that! They are ready to be taught, so it seems "easy".

I served my mission a long time ago, and with the rule set you have now don't think I would have a very good experience either.

[Suzie]

I'm sorry to hear your experience wasn't positive. I met a man once with a similar experience (he had Aspergers). Personally, I don't think you have to pretend or live up to people's expectations. Some folks have great missions and others simply do not (for many reasons and circumstances).

[NeuroTypical]

Sorry you had a frustrating time. One thing I can speak to - not all successes are visible to the person giving the effort.

I had a home teacher, back when I was a bratty surly teenager. He poured his soul into our family for over a year, and never saw the tiniest shred of results. I went inactive on 'his watch'. And yet here I am now - and I have to say that his example stuck with me across the decades. I still pull strength from the way he carried out his calling. I wish I had a way to track him down and thank him.

Jace, you don't know the good you did there. You may never know on this side of the veil.

Since I don't remember my hometeacher's name, let me say this to you on his behalf: Thank you for persevering. I'm sorry I never gave you the tiniest hint that I was listening. My mother's mental illness robbed her of the ability to love, but she loved you for what you accomplished. My dad, the crotchety old anti-mormon, had a more favorable image of mormons after you came through our life. I know it sucked coming to our house. Thank you for doing it, before, during, and after your divorce. I still don't understand how you could continue to come to our house, as your own was falling apart, but you did. Thank you. I have two little girls born in the covenant now, partially because of you.

LM

Edited January 15, 2011 by Loudmouth_Mormon

[Wingnut]

When I was a YSA, and before my own mission, I had a Sunday School teacher who always used to tell us that "if your mission was the best two years of your life, you were an abused child." It was always funny, and we always laughed, but I didn't understand it until I served a mission myself.

[tubaloth]

I'll just add to what others have said. Its all a matter of how you look at it.

Joseph Smith tried his whole life to find a place for the saints, only to die in the end. Was his mission a failure?

Christ tried his hardest to show the world that he came not save them from the Romans but to give them something greater. Was his mission a Failure?

I loved my mission and it was the hardest thing for me to do. Near the end of my mission I probably would have done it again. I don't think I could do it again now.

There were plenty of areas I was in, in Spokane WA, that you wonder what is the point. But then you confirm to yourself (probably through the spirit) that Gospel does change lives. I know I saw it happen not only to others but also to myself.

My real worry is that you are going to let this bitterness fill you until you leave the church. I hope I'm wrong.

You do realize missionary work isn't over. Missionary work is different in utah, but it is still missionary work. Being part of the Sunday School Presidency, we go to the Gospel Principles class where a new family husband and wife attend. There is one thing going over the Gospel Principles manual in Elders, but a whole different side of it going over the same things in that class.

For me a mission builds a foundation. What foundation are you build on now?

[carlimac]

I don't have much else to add but the thought came to me that you probably did a lot more good than you realize. You were sowing seeds. Some of those seeds may be really slow growers. You probably won't see the long term effects you had on people in this life. But I hope that the Lord allows us at some point to see the good that came of our time serving Him. I served a welfare mission 30 years ago. We hardly taught any discussions at all, but hopefully, some person we came in contact with will remember how much we loved them or loved the Lord. Hopefully someone will remember our example of service and or maybe just our smiles and it just might bring them around to accepting the gospel.

For now, go to the temple as often as you can, diligently serve in a ward calling - go the extra mile. Keep up on your scripture study and good mission habits. Maybe you could even go on weekly splits with the local missionaries. But mostly, start a list of all the good things you can think of that happened in your mission. Rack you brains, pray about it, ask the Lord to help you see in a special way the good that came from those years of service. I'll bet you can come up with enough good stuff to change your mind about it being a waste of yours and the Lord's time. No service to the Lord, no matter how unsuccessful it may seem, is a waste.

Best of luck on your re-entry into civilian life. Chin up! Look ahead with hope. The Lord loves you dearly and appreciates your service.

Edited January 17, 2011 by carlimac

[slamjet]

I'm with HiJolly on this one. It seems he is in limbo too many times. His account reads as though he was waiting for someone else to make his mission for him. I was sent home on a medical leave on my mission. BUT I stayed in contact with my Mission President as well as my local leaders. I went back and went to work. So I ask three questions:

1) Were you earnestly in prayer?

2) Were you earnestly studying the scriptures?

3) Did you earnestly strive to lose yourself in the work?

It sound as though the answer is "no" to these questions. So the advice that needs to be given is what I give to my children quite often:

Suck it up, Deal with it, Move on.

Start twice daily prayer. Start daily scripture reading. Start regular church attendance. Move on. You're mission is done and over. Time to start your post-mission life. And this time, cinch up your boot-straps and get it done.

[pam]

"It is possible for a young man to go on a mission and not become a missionary, and this is not what the Lord requires or what the Church needs." David A. Bednar - Oct. Gen. Conf 2005

[ryanh]

My mission experience was extremely hard. For at least 10 years thereafter I would periodically have nightmares that I was called on a second mission (even though I was married!). It would shake me for days as a result. So, let me reassure you, I understand that not all missions are pleasant experiences filled with happy memories.

But I wouldn't for one second insinuate it was a failure, waste of time, or scramble to try to justify it with 'I guess I found some friends and grew up'. Your experience is what you make of it. You can either run from it, or learn from it.

[Guest mormonmusic]

Jace:

I'm a returned missionary and served in a similar area as you.

Let me start by saying that although our motivations are different than a salesperson, serving a mission does entail a lot of sales ability. I kept in contact with a few of the very successful missionaries I worked with on my mission, and guess what -- a huge quantity of them were in sales, or had sales-oriented positions as their after-mission life's work. That to me told me that part of their success was due to natural sales ability.

We can't preach in the MTC that missionaries are salesmen, because that implies the profit motive or some kind of self-interest, which doesn't mix with Church service. And for most of us, we are doing it as a selfless act of service anyway. I did -- and you probably did too. But missionary work is a kind of sales where you work without a temporal commission.

Also, the nature of the Wards you are in has a big impact on your ability to baptize. In my experience, up-scale areas were harder to baptize within. If the people had lived in the same location for decades, it made it harder. Poorer areas with people who were open and accepting tended to be easier. So, if you ended up in rough areas, that is another variable Many missionaries in Europe and Buddhist areas come back with no baptisms whatsoever -- the culture of the areas in whichy they proselyte poses huge obstacles. There is some of that in Wards even in mormon populated areas.

So, I wouldn't beat yourself up about not seeing a lot of baptisms that happened as a result of your efforts. I had one companion who said all the people he baptized were like yours -- they "fell out of the sky" already committed. You likely have strengths in areas that weren't leveraged in your mission.

Your goal now is to find out what those strengths are. I suggest you do a search on Gallup Strengths Finder and pay $15.00 to take their test. It tell you what you're good at, and this can help you decide what kind of a profession to get into in the future, along with your own introspection. A career counsellor can help you find out what you're good at. I was like you after my mission --feeling kind of lost and confused about it. After a period of bouncing around I landed in an area that leverages my strengths. I have survived in a position I find fulfilling for 17 years and have survived multiple downsizings and lay-offs, all because I'm doing something I'm good at. The same awaits you as you put yourself in a place where your talents and the needs of the world intersect.

This is getting long, so I'm going to post a coping strategy for you next for you to consider.

Edited January 17, 2011 by mormonmusic

[Guest mormonmusic]

Regarding your mission -- you do need to restructure your thinking. It has gone in the wrong direction, potentially because you got off to a bad start. If I was you, I would sit down and write out a script of the reasons you should feel positive about your mission, and read it over when the negative feelings overtake you. Here is a sample, and a start. I'd love it if you'd post your own reasons here.

1. You did something that only a small fraction of the population does at your age. You put your life on hold, and invested a significant amount of resources in something that serves a higher purpose. This is a significant achievement, and it speaks volumes about your good character. No one can take away what you did for the rest of your life.

2. Your mission took a significant amount of self-discipline and it represents a significant achievement. You will bring this same discipline to other challenges you face in your life. In this sense, you should have confidence that you will face future challenges of life with the same backboone as you did your mission. That is a positive result of what you did.

3. You made some good friends along the way.

4. You've set an example for your posterity that you are a self-disciplined person committed to selfless acts of service. Should you have kids some day -- you will be able to speak authoritatively about how to persist in difficult challenges of any kind -- whether missionary experiences or not. In this sense, you'll be a great benefit to them.

5. You are someone we need in the Church. You're right -- everyone gets up there and gushes about how the mission was the greatest experience in their life. There are people who don't feel the positive about their missions -- you are someone who can empathize with these people and help them feel normal about it. Because your experience is normal for many other returned missionaries who can't stand up and gush about their mission.

You can add to the list, and scrap these thoughts that aren't compelling to you, but I find this process helps me blow out negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones.

[Carl62]

Jace, believe me when I say that I feel your pain over having had a bad mission. It's not that your the bad person, or that you measured with "the wrong stick":rolleyes:. Things just happen that are sometimes out of our control and you have to take what happens and somehow move on with it. My mission was terrible to the point where my testimony wasn't just soured, it was blown to a million pieces. All because of some people in the leardership of the mission who I trusted who had out and out lied. Not to mention a screamfest accusation that I had in my second area from a bishop who accused me of something absolutely horrendous only to find out that he had gotten me mixed up with another missionary. No apologize at the end or nothing. I have since found out that the information given to the bishop was given by another missionary who, along with some other missionaries, had it out for me all because I trusted the mission leadership when they said that they wouldn't say anything to a particular missionary who was making trouble, only to go back on their word and finally say something (follow me so far?) . Again, what really hurt for me was the fact that it was backed up by a bishop! That right there killed my whole entire mission for me. It took four missionaries to keep me from packing the night of the bishop fall-out. What's even sadder was that I was ready for a mission. I had just baptized my father 10 days before I left to go to the MTC and my mother less than a year before that! I was all stoked to go out and preach the gospel! Don't beat yourself up over this, give yourself time to heal and move on. Life can heal all wounds. It took me over 20 years of inactivity to slowly come out of what I went through. Things are finally getting better. Just keep close to God and yes, he can and will move any mountains you have that come in your life. I know he has for me.:)

Edited January 17, 2011 by Carl62

[naebug]

Hi there. I am a recent convert and lurker here at the site. I decided I needed to chime in with some support and a question for you. I hope I help, and that you can help me.

As I was going through lessons the transfers whizzed and one of my original elders never even knew I had converted and been baptized, and I will most likely never be able to tell him thank you personally. So keep that in mind. You may not know what effect you have had on a person as you pass through there life but odds are you have positively and lovingly affected them.

ok, my question. How do I spot a missionary who may be having a hard time, or a despondant time, or just need some form of support so they can buck up and go on? I mean, I OWE missionaries quite a bit, and if I could give back in the future and help support them in their task I would love to know how. thanks.

[slamjet]

ok, my question. How do I spot a missionary who may be having a hard time, or a despondant time, or just need some form of support so they can buck up and go on? I mean, I OWE missionaries quite a bit, and if I could give back in the future and help support them in their task I would love to know how. thanks.

At the risk of sounding flippant, they're in your ward. All missionaries have hard times. It's the nature of the work. This is full time work and lifestyle. They have folks who are rude, belittling, threatening (I was one threatened with jail time by a Methodist Minister in a small town), obnoxious ministers and members who are indifferent to the work. On my mission, they even knew what bikes we rode so every time we parked (it seemed) we found religious tracts on them all the time. It's long hours and the rewards are far and few between. BUT, missionaries do, and should know why they are out there: they are full time ministers of the church, a post held by only one other group of people in the church, and they are general authorities. And with this job comes responsibilities including being patient with adversity and the adversary.

To be of help, you only need to shake their hands and smile. Go out on splits with them. Go with them when they teach others. If you can, feed them and tell them your conversion experience (they eat that stuff up). Be supportive. It starts and ends in your ward. You need not look any further that that.

[ryanh]

ok, my question. How do I spot a missionary who may be having a hard time, or a despondant time, or just need some form of support so they can buck up and go on? I mean, I OWE missionaries quite a bit, and if I could give back in the future and help support them in their task I would love to know how. thanks.

"Before attending her sacrament meetings, Sister Bednar frequently prays for the spiritual eyes to see those who have a need. Often as she observes the brothers and sisters and children in the congregation, she will feel a spiritual nudge to visit with or make a phone call to a particular person. And when Sister Bednar receives such an impression, she promptly responds and obeys. It often is the case that as soon as the “amen” is spoken in the benediction, she will talk with a teenager or hug a sister or, upon returning home, immediately pick up the phone and make a call. As long as I have known Sister Bednar, people have marveled at her capacity to discern and respond to their needs. Often they will ask her, “How did you know?” The spiritual gift of being quick to observe has enabled her to see and to act promptly and has been a great blessing in the lives of many people."

“Quick to Observe” DAVID A. BEDNAR

[naebug]

Thanks slamjet. Your input is great and NOT flip at all. I already do that. Sometimes I fear I may irritate them at times...I sign up regularly to feed them and I ask once a week if their meals are full for the week and if not I tell them to come on and eat, do they need cleaning/paper goods for the apartment, medicines...I stop sometimes in the middle of my sentence and apologize if I am irritating them...i just want to make sure they have what they need. I do go when they ask....I just realized when reading this young mans post that maybe I was not doing enough and could do better.

I really am blessed and feel a responsiblility to assist/help/feed the missionaries as they transfer in and out. I also figure it isnt just because I owe them, but I want to help others go out and meet and teach others who are now like I was...

ps Part of my question was because I have trouble sometimes with the feelings/emotion thing...this post made me remember that they may be feeling low/down/stressed....I was curious as to what else helps....dont most missionaries get tended and fed by their wards? thanks

Edited January 17, 2011 by naebug
Forgot something

[dahlia]

I am reading these posts with sadness. I can only imagine how hard it is to be a missionary. Today was 6 degrees and I got a call from one of my missionaries while they were out in the cold looking for apartment buildings so they could come in for a bit - and that's just the weather. I can't imagine tracting and dealing with so many negative people, or having such a generally unpleasant missionary experience as the OP.

The one thing I've always wondered about, and didn't want to embarrass my missionaries with, is - how pressured are they to get baptisms? I understand there has been change from they way it was years ago; I get the feeling they really want investigators to know about the Church, they don't shy away from hard topics, etc. But I've also read RM's discussing how many people they got 'dunked.' How rude. I know that all work situations have their own jargon and ways of looking at people outside the work group, but getting people baptized should be something higher.

So, what's the real point of missionary work - spreading the gospel or getting people dunked? What happens if a missionary doesn't have any baptisms? Can they still consider their time a success or have they been failures? Do they get 'credit' for baptisms, with more baptisms resulting in better assignments or staying in one place longer before getting transferred? As a newbie, no one wants to be considered a notch on someone's belt.

[MarginOfError]

If you want a good vignette of the pressures put on missionaries, take a look at this blog post and read the comments.

How to create a fake investigator