Is it ever ok not to serve a mission???

[askandanswer]

11 hours ago, Godless said:

My brother suffers from severe anxiety and a whirlwind of food allergies. Because of this, he was sent on a 90 day "test mission" in a neighboring mission region. In the end it was the food allergies that disqualified him from a full mission. His dietary restrictions were too difficult to cater to in an environment where elders are frequently dining in other peoples homes. 

An interesting similarity - I also have a brother who had mental health issues and had to serve a three month "mini mission" before he was able to serve a full time mission. The cool thing is that about 18 months after he finished his mini mission I went to the MTC with someone he baptised. 

[estradling75]

8 hours ago, paracaidista508 said:

OK- so what is the penalty for not serving a full time mission then??

The penalty for not preparing to serve... Is that one failed to do "all things the Lord commanded."  which is a sin.  Its a sin all of us do at some point, but the fact that it is a common sin, does not mean it is not a sin, the fact that you can hold a recommend does not mean it is not a sin.

As for the General Authorities of the Church not serving as an excuse is a total cop-out.  When my father was a Young Man the General Authorities had not made it a Priesthood Duty, when I was a Young Man they had very much done so. My father was not expected to serve.  I was.  Its like trying to justify taking multiple wives now, because Brigham Young had multiple wives.

 

[Guest]

If you feel your choices are squared with what God wants, who cares what people think?

If you feel you've made a mistake, repent and get squared with God... and then, who cares what people think?

[Fether]

3 hours ago, Eowyn said:

If you feel your choices are squared with what God wants, who cares what people think?

If you feel you've made a mistake, repent and get squared with God... and then, who cares what people think?

I agree, the hard part is when you believe you are square with God... but really not (I'm speaking generally about sin and not calling out people who chose not to serve). We can't extend judgement toward people, but can we let them believe that the sin they are committing is ok?

how do we do that without coming across as judging? Should we even worry about coming across as being judgmental even when we aren't?

[mordorbund]

12 hours ago, paracaidista508 said:

OK- so what is the penalty for not serving a full time mission then?? Surely we are not letting little things like a war get in the way of spreading the gospel. We have consequences for everything else- six months probation for certain WOW issues, 1 yr (if all goes well) for sexual sins and so on. This is where I'm not seeing it as a big deal. If it wont keep you out of the temple even when you feel you have not done anything wrong then where is the sin?

I have never repented for not going on a mission. I felt the military was where I should be for whatever reason that was. I made it very clear after coming home I had no intention of serving a mission and didnt feel as if I did anything wrong. That is the answer I gave to my Bishop and Stake pres when they asked me if I intended on serving a mission now that I was back and I said "no." I left with a recommend and was married 2 weeks later- still am in fact and happily I might add. Sure this was nearly 30 yrs ago but nothing has changed in regards to  sinfullness or lack thereof.

It is the same penalty suffered for any failure to fulfill a priesthood duty. The penalty applied when a person turns down home teaching assignments, or a sacrament assignment, or declines participating in a blessing when asked. It may not affect the elder's ability to attend the temple, but there are consequences*.

*I feel I need to state the obvious that enforcing, watching for, or delighting in those consequences are none of my business.

[The Folk Prophet]

On 2/6/2017 at 11:49 AM, omegaseamaster75 said:

 you should but not that you must. 

That pretty much sums up agency.

[Traveler]

On ‎2‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 11:35 AM, Fether said:

I agree, the hard part is when you believe you are square with God... but really not (I'm speaking generally about sin and not calling out people who chose not to serve). We can't extend judgement toward people, but can we let them believe that the sin they are committing is ok?

how do we do that without coming across as judging? Should we even worry about coming across as being judgmental even when we aren't?

 

I find your insight something of great importance.  In the religious world, there are many voices – which would not be a problem but that they seem to be more in conflict than agreement.  Whereas in almost any other discipline the way or path to success, according to the “experts”, is well defined and very little question which is better when there is disagreement.

With this in mind – I will make an effort to answer your question.  My experience in this life is that we do not get to choose as much as we think we do.  I have pondered the concept of agency and I have come to believe that there is far more to the exercise of the gift of agency than what many think or believe.   The doctrine or belief is that we get to choose if we serve or if we do not.  To present a peek into my thinking and understanding I would use the analogy of running a river (white water rafting – to which I am an expert).  I would have the river represent our mortal life.  In this analogy the river already has determined it course through the landscape.  Our choices (or agency) will only determine the ease or enjoyment we experience or the horrors we will endure as the river moves us along.

With discipline and training we can better understand how we utilize the river.  We can even pretend to thwart the currents but in so doing we will only waist our time and exhaust ourselves because in the end the river will always carry the contents of the river towards a predetermined destination.  In addition, we are not alone on the river.  There are others and we can either work together, against each other or we can ignore each other.  If we want or desire to be with others the only real choice is to serve and work with them – to become a team with a common intent.

But sadly, so many on the river are not paying attention.  They may not be interested in working to keep the raft in the “best” currents for the journey.  They may be unaware of hazards along the way, such as sharp rocks, dangerous hydraulics that can capsize the boat or even destroy the boat (waterfall).   Some may be concerned and even skillful but lack the knowledge of what lies ahead – just around the bend. 

My advice is to first prepare yourself to serve and help both those in your boat and those in the boats around you.  I will find those of like mind to travel with me and will assist those that are not like minded to find another boat more suitable for them.  There are some who are so foolish I would not ride with them in their boat – I would take my chances in the water until I could find a boat with more reasonable people willing to serve each other.  Of course, I would warn other and boats of dangers – both those I know of and those possible.  I would warn of dangers and would listen to and consider the warning from others.  But again, to be honest, there are some that sound warnings that do not know that much of the river of life and their warning are more of a distraction. 

The truth is that traveling a river has it dangers as well as joys and we must always be prepared and realize that even with our best preparation the river can take us.  And as we travel there are those that will help and those that we can help – and the reality is – if we are willing to help it is not that hard to figure out who to help.  It is a little more difficult to figure out who is the best help for us but with effort we can figure that out as well. 

Jesus had what I think is the best answer for how to run a river – treat others you meet how you would have them treat you if the circumstances or roles were reversed.

 

The Traveler