New MTC

[pam]

LDS Church-owned high school in Mexico will become new MTC | ksl.com

An LDS owned high school will become a new MTC.

[Guest]

Fantastic!

[pam]

With the change of ages and the huge surge in those going on missions, they had to find an alternative quickly.

[Guest]

I think it's exciting to watch the work accelerate.

[Vort]

I wonder what happens to the high school students?

[BenRaines]

I thought the same Vort.

Ben Raines

[pam]

I'm hoping that it will be lds.org soon and will be a little more detailed. But yes..I had wondered the same thing too.

[Bini]

I'm surprised this isn't a controversy to some extent.

[pam]

Why would it be a controversy?

[pam]

One possible explanation was given as one of the comments on the article:

The LDS Church built primary and secondary schools in locations where the local education was below world standard and there was a significant number of LDS members living in the area. As the level of education in these countries has risen, the LDS Church has closed these schools. The goal is to eventually close all of these schools because the level of local education is risen to an acceptable standard. Closing the school is a compliment to the level of education in Mexico City. Mexico is coming of age.

[Vort]

One possible explanation was given as one of the comments on the article:

The LDS Church built primary and secondary schools in locations where the local education was below world standard and there was a significant number of LDS members living in the area. As the level of education in these countries has risen, the LDS Church has closed these schools. The goal is to eventually close all of these schools because the level of local education is risen to an acceptable standard. Closing the school is a compliment to the level of education in Mexico City. Mexico is coming of age.

As a parent, I would be much more worried about violence and scummy, immoral curricula in schools than level of education.

[pam]

And again it hasn't been stated from the church what is to happen to the students. This was just a perspective from a random person.

Also this thread is about the new MTC, not a debate on curriculum or level of education in schools.

[pam]

Missionary surge prompts LDS Church to open new MTC in Mexico | Deseret News

Here's another article regarding this. It gives a bit more detail. It appears that the students will need to attend other schools.

[Dravin]

Why would it be a controversy?

I can see the faux headline even now: "Mormon Church denies poor brown Mexican children educations so they can brainwash more of their youth!" Of course for a genuine headline they'd probable have to limit it to "LDS Church denies Mexican children educations" and imply the rest. Okay, maybe less of a headline and more of a blog-post title. The controversy would be your standard, "The church is using resources for X, they should be using them for Y!"

[john doe]

I can see the faux headline even now: "Mormon Church denies poor brown Mexican children educations so they can brainwash more of their youth!" Of course for a genuine headline they'd probable have to limit it to "LDS Church denies Mexican children educations" and imply the rest. Okay, maybe less of a headline and more of a blog-post title. The controversy would be your standard, "The church is using resources for X, they should be using them for Y!"

I'll be looking for that headline in the Salt Lake Tribune today. It won't surprise me if I see it.

[LittleWyvern]

I'll be looking for that headline in the Salt Lake Tribune today. It won't surprise me if I see it.

A quick search turned up the SLT article, titled a particularly boring way:

Mormon school in Mexico to become a Missionary Training Center

Well, darn, I wanted to get all angry and wave around stereotypes and stuff.

EDIT: ah ha! I think I found what john doe is looking for in the comments.

[john doe]

A quick search turned up the SLT article, titled a particularly boring way:

Mormon school in Mexico to become a Missionary Training Center

Well, darn, I wanted to get all angry and wave around stereotypes and stuff.

EDIT: ah ha! I think I found what john doe is looking for in the comments.

Trib commenters are among the most vile people on earth.

[Bini]

Poor brown Mexican children..

I guess they are brown but that just sounds offensive.

[Vort]

Poor brown Mexican children..

I guess they are brown but that just sounds offensive.

Yes, and that's the point. It is meant to attribute racism to the group who is mocked as supposedly holding that attitude.

[daboosh]

i find it a little sad that they are putting education second here. this school obviously did a lot of good for lds in mexico, bit of a shame.

[pam]

I can understand it but I can understand where the church is coming from too. They had to find an alternate place for an MTC because of the huge influx in missionaries. And they had to do it fast.

But when you think of the thousands upon thousands of people that will benefit from this compared to a few hundred each year..I think it's wise.

[Vort]

i find it a little sad that they are putting education second here. this school obviously did a lot of good for lds in mexico, bit of a shame.

The Church is not primarily in the business of secular education. The Church is in the "business" (if you care to call it that) of saving souls and bringing people to Christ. Church leaders long ago recognized that you can't really preach the gospel to starving people, so secular education did become a priority in certain areas where the natives could not otherwise get a strong education (e.g. early Utah, Mexico, the south Pacific). But even then, such secular education was never the primary goal of the Church in those areas.

There are sufficient educational opportunities for the Mexican Saints that the old Mormon high schools are, if not superfluous, at least not necessary the way they were when they were founded. Sure, it's sad to see them go, but the "death "of those schools gives birth to a different kind of educational institution, one that will have far greater long-term impact on the Church and the world.

I remember a talk by Elder Packer where he described a very small Church seminary program pioneered by a few people that gave really excellent results. The project could not "scale up" in its then-current form, and the Church had to make a decision whether to keep an excellent program that benefited very few or to make a less effective, but still decent, program that was accessible to many. They chose the latter option, with the idea of doing the most overall good.

I think of BYU, a unique institution that is a boundless blessing to many who attend. But it's not cheap to operate, and it is supported by tithing contributions. Furthermore, two generations ago, BYU went ward to ward recruiting students, but that has not been the case for a very long time. A great many worthy and hard-working young Saints are denied admission to BYU. Sure, BYU-Idaho and BYU-Hawaii exist, as does LDS Business College, but they could not possibly soak up the entire residue if those young people insisted on a BYU education. So what is the Church to do? Build five more BYUs around the US and the world to give every desiring LDS student a chance? No; that would bankrupt the Church. Desirable as that might seem, that is not what the Church is here for. In fact, I would be surprised and saddened, but not completely shocked, if the Church greatly scaled back BYU or even did away with it sometime in my lifetime. I hope that doesn't happen, and I think it won't, but if it does it will be because the Church is focusing its efforts and resources on its primary purpose: Bringing souls to Christ.

(Though it's fun to think about where other BYUs might be located. Based on LDS population concentrations, there would be one in California for sure, and probably another in the Pacific Northwest. Maybe one in southern Alberta and one in northern Mexico, or somewhere in South or Central America, or both. And I expect there would be plenty of qualified, temple-recommend-holding faculty from the US and all over the world to staff them.)

[pam]

Thank you Vort. That is exactly what I was trying to say in my short response. You clarified it perfectly. And you added things I should have said.

[daboosh]

quote

what happens when the intake of missionary fluctuates back down to normal levels?

i just feel like it's compromising the core of the LDS program in Mexico. a large majority of active members in mexico went to this school. for many faithful, hardworking, mexican lds this was their only opportunity at a good education in a place where it is otherwise very hard to come by. as well as it being mormon operated which provided a spiritual foundation for these students to remain active lds and go on to become the leaders of the lds church in mexico.

just like in new zealand when they closed church college in 2006, the lds youth go to public schools being severely outnumbered and many just easily slip away.

[Dravin]

what happens when the intake of missionary fluctuates back down to normal levels?

If the Church decides there isn't a point to maintaining it as an MTC anymore they can always turn it back into a school. If it is a short term thing then converting rather than building something from scratch makes more sense.