Scott Armistead

Professor Presnell

English 1102 2 Apr. 2014

Mormon Missions
Religion is one of the biggest parts of many peoples lives. Their beliefs are what make them who they are. It doesnt matter if youre a Christian, Mormon, Buddhist, Hindu, or even an Atheist. Your beliefs define you. Your beliefs will also lead you to do things that other people might not understand. People dont understand why others of a different religion do the things they do because they dont believe the same things. The Mormons are one of the most misunderstood religious groups in the world. Most people know nothing about their religion at all. So they cannot even begin to understand why Mormons do the things they do. I used to be one of these people. I had no idea who the Mormons were or what they stood for. I used to think that they were these people walking around all dressed up, trying to get people to join some small church that worshiped some made up god. I had never heard of the Book of Mormon before. My ideas of the Mormons all changed when I met my best friend who happens to be a Mormon. He shared with me many of the fundamental beliefs of their religion. He led me to want to know more about the church so I could understand why they do what they do. He always told me that they were Christians too, but I had never heard that before. The one thing I never fully got my head around was their missions. I could never understand why they wanted to do the missions, and wondered what they gained out of it. After my best friend left to go on his mission, I knew that I needed to know more about this.

Who are the Mormons? In the article written by Scott Hales called Beyond Missionary Stories, He discusses the beginnings of the Mormon religion. Scott is a member of the Mormon church and was a former ward president for the church. Scott has written several articles about the Mormons. Scott writes that, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830. He founded the Church after he claimed he had been visited by the angel Moroni who told him of an ancient Hebrew text that was in the Americas. He was lead to this text that had been lost for 1500 years. Smith translated this text to English, which is now known as the Book of Mormon. This is the major holy text of the Mormon religion. The Mormons also use the Bible as a sacred text. The Book of Mormon is said to be a compliment to the Bible. The Mormons believe that the Bible is missing certain truths due to the many translations of the Bible. The Mormons believe that the Book of Mormon contains these certain truths. This is why they use the Book of Mormon so extensively compared to the Bible. Mormons say they are Christians just like other Christian denominations, such as Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Catholics, and Protestants. These denominations do not recognize the Mormon religion as a denomination of Christianity. The reason for this is that Mormons claims the traditional Christian orthodoxy is a false faith. This can be found in the Book of Mormon itself. The church also has openly said that the traditional Christian churches are not true. This is the basis for their whole church. It claims that it is the one true church and that all others are wrong. Mormons therefore are very different from other Christian churches. They believe that the Christian churches arent telling the whole story. They believe that back after all of Jesuss disciples had passed away, there

was a time that there wasnt a profit on the earth to guide the people to Jesus. So they believe that the churches became corrupted during this time. While it is true that some of them did by taking money from people to pay off their sins, the one thing that always stood true was the Bible. While they claim that the churches are flawed, they do believe that the churches are right in some ways. The Mormons believe the Bible is a Holy text and is mostly correct. Most Mormons tend to focus more on the New Testament of the Bible because it is the part that focuses on Jesus. The Old Testament is sort of forgotten in the Mormon religion. The Book of Mormon mentions all of these things. This distinction between the Mormons and the Christian churches is very important in understanding who the Mormons are. The Mormon religion is viewed by many, as a very strict religion. There are many rules in the Mormon Church that are not found in other churches. Mormons are not allowed to smoke, drink alcohol, tea, or coffee, according to the Book of Mormon. They are not allowed to have any of these things because they are bad for you. In the Bible it says that. Our bodies are a Temple of God. The Mormons take this as treating our bodies like the Temple of God and not harming it in any way. Mormons are also different from other religions in the fact that they actively try to seek new members. Mormons want everyone to become Mormons. Other Christian churches want people to become Christian, but they dont seek members of their church the same way. Christian churches will share their message through the members of the church. Members usually will just tell friends and family of their beliefs and invite them to come to church. Mormons are different. They take a more aggressive approach. They dont just want to share their beliefs; they want people to become Mormons. It doesnt matter if they are friends or

family or a complete stranger. They want to convert everyone. This is the reason for their missionaries. Missionaries are sent by the church all over the world to share their beliefs. Their goal is simple, convert everyone to Mormonism. Leaving to Serve God Many Mormons eagerly wait till the day that they are old enough to serve on a mission. They say that they feel called to go on a mission. While the church does not require going on a mission, it is highly encouraged. The church does not force their members to go on a mission if they do not want to, and yet they send out thousands of missionaries every year all over the world. Theses missionaries feel compelled to go on a mission. Josh Maready, author of Mission: The True Story of a Mormon Missionary, Had this feeling to go on a mission. He was raised in a Mormon household. He enjoyed going to church and reading the Book of Mormon, but he was never really excited about going on a mission. It really never even crossed his mind that he would go on a mission. Neither of his older brothers attended a mission and they were both still very active members in their church. It wasnt until Josh truly started reading the Book of Mormon. What I mean by this is that he wasnt just reading it because he knew he was supposed to. He was reading it because he truly wanted to know what it meant. He prayed several times a day about what he was reading. He felt that he was getting closer and closer to God. Then one day, something amazing happened to him. For one brief moment, he felt that everything was clear to him. He described it as, It was almost like a fog lifted from my eyes. It was the only way he could describe what happened to him that day. From then on, Josh felt like he was growing spiritually every day. He felt better than he ever had before. He said in his book, I wanted everybody to feel this new happiness that I had

felt and see this new world that I had seen; so it was a no-brainer to realize that I needed to go on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was the moment that he realized he wanted to go on a mission. He wanted to share his faith with everyone so they could feel the way he did. When Mormons decide they want to serve on a mission, there are several steps they must complete before they can serve. They have a lot of paper work that they have to complete and several interviews. They have to meet with their Bishop to see if they are spiritually ready to go on their mission. They also have to have all their immunizations and medical requirements completed before they can leave. Once everything is completed, they eagerly await the arrival of their mission packet. This contains all the information of their mission including where they will serve for the next couple of years. This information is mentioned in the beginning of Joshs book. After they receive this information they have a little bit of time to get prepared and say their goodbyes. This is one of the hardest parts for the missionaries and the family and friends of the missionaries. I know this from personal experience. After my best friend, Jordan, received his packet, everyone was excited. He was going to Brazil to serve his mission. Before he left he had a lot of stuff he had to get prepared. He was going to be gone for two years so you can imagine how much preparation that takes. Missionaries are required to be clean-shaven while they serve. This creates consistency among the missionaries. So in Jordans missionary packet it said that he needed enough razor blades to last him two years. His mom went to the store and came back with bags filled with razors and razor blade replacements. It was one of the funniest things to see so many razor blades all for one person. Missionaries are also required to dress a certain way. For men they all must

wear button-down white shirts, a tie, dress pants, and dress shoes. Women have a little more flexibility. They must wear a long skirt, a button down shirt but they can wear a few different colors, and dress shoes. This creates more consistency amongst their missionaries. Their reason for this is so that their members can easily be recognized and they look very professional. Josh describes the strict dress code in his book. After Jordan had all of his stuff ready he had one more day before he was going to leave. This was the day that we had to say goodbye to each other. It was a very sad day but it was also a good day. He was going to serve for his church to try and help as many people as he could come closer to God. Missionaries Need Training According to Joshs book (Mission), before every missionary goes to serve on their mission, they have to have training first. There is a training center in Provo, Utah called the MTC. This is where missionaries go before they actually serve. This is where they learn how they are supposed to teach people while on their mission. The MTC aims to teach the important communications skills that missionaries must have to deliver their message. Josh had an example in his book of how they trained them for communicating with complete strangers. Whenever someone calls the 800 number to order free movies, the Book of Mormon, or just to learn more about the church, their call is directed to the MTC where they will speak with the greenies which is Mormon slang for new missionaries. This would give the greenies the experience of trying to connect with a complete stranger. Josh had some experiences with people who really didnt want to talk; they just wanted their stuff. However, on one occasion he had a real heart to heart with a woman he had never met before over the phone. He said, One of my favorite

conversations ended with the caller being so moved that she started crying, and I got so touched by her sincerity that I started to cry right along with her. They talked about how God was helping her with all her troubles and how the church was getting her through a hard part in her life. The MTC is different for everyone. For some people it just comes very easy. My friend Jordan had a different experience at first. His mom has a blog that contains all of the letters that he writes. The Blog is called Marsh Mission Moments. In one of his letters he said, The MTC is getting so much better. The first few days were way rough. They were not fun. Now that everyone is in the groove of things it seems like time just flies by. He had difficulty at first because of massive change in his life and his struggles in learning Portuguese. He had never learned any Portuguese before and was being taught the language everyday for hours. His teacher only talked in Portuguese, she engulfed them in the language in order to teach them as fast as she could. After he became adjusted to the schedule and started to understand Portuguese, he really began to enjoy it there. The schedule at the MTC is a little different for everyone based on if you need to learn another language or not. Jordan described is schedule as, Our schedule is pretty much get up at 6:30, eat, study 4 hours, eat, study 4 hours, eat, study 3 1/2 hours, go to sleep. It varies a little on Tuesday (service day), Friday (preparation day), and Sunday, but otherwise everything just blends together. When I read this I was surprised how much work it actually was. He was at the MTC for 6 weeks then left to go serve his mission just like the other missionaries. The Life of a Missionary The life a missionary can either be really fun or really boring. It all depends on your attitude, according to Josh. If you want to be there and are really excited about

talking to investigators (non-members of the church that are looking into becoming members), you will have a great time and become closer to God. The daily schedule for a missionary is a little different for everyone. Joshs schedule is shown here.

He did this everyday just as the other missionaries do. Many wonder when they have time to have fun. You have to remember that they are there to serve God. They arent there to have fun. However, everyone has one day in the week where they can send and read emails/mail, do laundry, and have fun. Jordan spends most of this day writing letters and playing soccer with kids. Missionaries biggest challenge is to find new investigators. They go door to door trying to spread their message to the world. Most people shut the door in the missionaries faces because they dont want to talk about their religion. They either already have their own beliefs and dont care about the missionaries beliefs or simply dont think its worth their time. Because of this, missionaries dont get to talk to as many people as they would like. A way that they have found to talk to more people without having to go door to door is by using Facebook. The idea of using social media has always been banned in a mission. Using social media is creating a worldly distraction,

according to the church. Their views changed in 2010. According to an article called The Facebook of Mormon, written by Shira Telushkin, a graduate from Yale University who minored in religious studies, the church began to do test of the use of Facebook in some areas. The results of these tests were never posted, but the result was obvious. Facebook is quickly becoming a part of missionaries methods of teaching. In order for them to effectively be able to use Facebook to reach others, they needed to have some sort of device the missionaries could have that was portable. The missionaries back in 2010 received iPods. The effects of using the iPods were amazing. Shira wrote in her article, The baptismal rate was almost double Missionaries arent able to meet new people of Facebook and thats not its purpose. The use of Facebook is to talk to people they have already met or heard of without having to go to them each time. Missionaries are going door to door less and less now. In order to meet new people they use referrals. Referrals are when they hear from other missionaries, members, or the church about someone that is interested in the church. They still prefer to go over to the investigators in person, but when they are too far away or cant fit them in that day they can use Facebook to talk to the investigator. Some investigators actually prefer using Facebook because of their busy schedules. This was true for an investigator that had met with the missionaries on several occasions. She found that she didnt have as much time as she would like to meet with them. So when a missionary contacted her through Facebook, she was excited. Shira showed how useful Facebook was for this investigator by saying, The young Mormon found that she was almost always free to chat online in the mornings, and soon they were chatting every day. The investigator could easily pull Facebook up on her phone or computer every morning and have a quick chat. The coolest part about it was that the

missionary could send her anything. According to Shira, He would send her links to church videos and sermons that explained aspects of Mormon faith, family life, or church theology. So she could see how the church sermons actually were and get an idea of the church. The amount of Mormon video material is staggering. Missionaries can find a video on just about any subject they can think of for their religion. The ability of being able to share these over Facebook has been a huge benefit to the missionaries and the investigators. While everything about this sounds great, there are some issues that have been brought up over the use of Facebook. Most of the issues have been brought up by past missionaries. One of the past missionaries was interviewed for Shiras article and he expressed his concerns over the use of Facebook. He said, I feel like a brand new missionary shouldn't be able to use Facebook until he has been out for a little bit. He believes that Facebook can be used, but there is a time and place for everything. He believes that they need to experience the door-to-door approach and face-to-face contact before going to Facebook. He fears that missionaries will rely too heavily on Facebook if they are immediately allowed to use it. Most missionaries disagree and say that they still prefer talking face to face. The use of Facebook is going to get bigger and bigger. Mormons are understanding that they have to keep up with the times. Techniques of a Missionary Missionaries are sent all over the word to teach people of what they believe is the one true church. They try to convert as many people as they can and they are often very successful. Their success comes from many different factors. A major part of a missionaries success is how committed they are. Most missionaries are very upbeat and excited to share their message with the world. These are the missionaries that you want to

listen to. They keep the conversation going and show that they have passion for their religion. If a missionary doesnt show that they really care about what they are teaching, why would anyone want to listen to them? The LDS church emphasizes the use of person examples to show the investigators how the church has helped you. They want you to make a connection with the people you teach. The LDS church has many techniques that they teach their missionaries. These techniques are important for converting investigators. The church gives missionaries several handbooks for teaching investigators. According to the LDS church and several missionaries that I know, they each are given something called Preach my Gospel and the white handbook. Both of these manuals can be found on the LDS website. In the Preach my Gospel handbook, you can find that missionaries have five lessons they are supposed to teach investigators. These lessons are also given to the missionaries in separate books. They are designed to give missionaries tactics for converting investigators. In a book written by Janis Hutchinson called The Mormon Missionaries: An Inside Look at Their Real Message and Methods, the contents of these books are revealed and explained. Janis was a former Mormon and former missionary. She left the church after her mission because she didn't agree with some of the things she was told to teach on her mission. This included the contents of the lesson books. One of the things that she showed in this book is how the missionaries convince the investigators that they are teaching them the truth. She reads from the first lesson book that says, Convince the investigator that when he or she feels good about what is being discussed, it is the Holy Ghost confirming the truth. She explains that this is saying that if you feel good when the missionaries are teaching you, then the Holy Spirit is telling you that it is true. This is something that is only used in the Mormon church. The Bible warns against

this in several cases. The Bible says In Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure. Who can understand it? In Proverbs 28:26 it says, He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool; but whoso waiteth wisely, he shall be delivered. Janis explained how her preconceived i9dea of the Holy Spirit made it difficult for her to join the Christian church. She didnt feel good because the Christian church went against what she had learned her whole life. The Mormons therefore only need to create that good feeling in order to convince someone the Holy Spirit is working in him or her. Their approach to this comes from their white handbook. It says, To create a good feeling in investigators, share with them about your hometown, schooling, family, and personal interests. Also inquire about these same areas in their life. The more you can establish a relationship through personal rapport and trust, the more this same feeling will be carried over and applied to the concepts you teach in the rest of the discussions. For me this raised a big red flag. In the first lesson it stated that the good feeling meant the Holy Spirit was working in you. If this was true then shouldnt the good feeling come from just hearing what the church teaches? Why would the missionaries need to know how to create a good feeling in the investigators? It should just happen if it is actually the Holy Spirit working in them. The Life of a Missionary Never Ends The life of a missionary is hard work. It takes dedication and true belief in their teachings to do what they do. When my best friend Jordan left to go serve his mission, I noticed that he wasnt nearly as upset as I was. Even when we said our last goodbyes, and hugged each other one more time while I cried, he was able to stay composed and happy. He told me not to be sad. He said that it was only two years and he was ready to serve

God. I now understand how he managed this. I have learned that missionaries dont serve missions because they have to. They serve because they want to. They are prepared throughout their lives to handle the two years away from their family and friends. Their strong beliefs make it possible for them to accept the responsibilities and difficulties of serving a mission. He knew what he was about to do is what he needed to do. He wasnt forced to do it, but wanted to. He had to leave me, and the rest of his friends and family behind to do what he truly believed was right. He knew that what he was about to do for the next two years would fundamentally change the lives of so many people for the good. This is why he was happy before he left. This is why he wanted to serve on a mission. Missionaries are sent out all over the world. Men serve for two years while women serve for a year and a half, according the LDS website. Josh wrote in his book about returning after his mission. He wrote that he had learned more in those two years than he could have learned in ten years if he wouldnt have gone. He described his mission as the best thing that could have happened to him. This is how most missionaries feel. They are excited to be back home and see their family and friends, but they also loved the time they spent on their missions. Josh writes that many missionaries are in mission mode for a couple of days or even weeks before they get back to normal. He found himself waking up at 6:30 in morning and getting dressed for his mission work before realizing he wasn't on his mission anymore. While the missions purpose is to find converts for the Mormon religion, it also has a great affect on the missionaries themselves. Almost all of the missionaries feel closer to Jesus Christ than they ever did before. Their lives back home are described by Josh as different from before the missions. The missionaries feel compelled to continue to share their message. They have

become Elders in their church and are ready to teach younger members in the church. Past missionaries continue to spread their message to non-members. I have experienced this first hand. While the past missionaries no longer go door-to-door to spread their message, they do offer insight to non-members they might meet. They no longer teach the five lessons they did as missionaries, but now use their own experiences and knowledge to explain the church to non-members. They arent so focused on converting you right there and then but take a more gradual and calm approach to teaching non-members and members alike. Their role as a missionary has come to an end, but their teachings never will.

Works Cited
Hales, Scott. "Beyond Missionary Stories: Voicing The Transnational Mormon Experience." Dialogue: A Journal Of Mormon Thought 45.3 (2012): 150-158. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. Hutchinson, Janis. The Mormon Missionaries: An Inside Look at Their Real Message and Methods. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Resources, 1995. Print. Maready, Josh. Mission: The True Story of a Mormon Missionary. 1st ed. Josh Maredy, 2012. eBook. Marsh, Kerry, and Jordan Marsh. Marsh Mission Moments. BlogSpot, 26 May 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. Telushkin, Shira. "The Facebook of Mormon." Atlantic: Web Edition Articles (USA) 31 Jan. 2014, News: NewsBank. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Trans. Joseph Smith, Jr., Salt Lake: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981. Print.