cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

- Religion (http://www.cougarguard.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=9)

- - Now that the LDS Church has raised the (http://www.cougarguard.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12909)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tex (Post 138712)

Just asking, bro.

He did invoke the "limited perspective" clause.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indy Coug (Post 138668)

I asked the person who had access to the study, if the drop was PRIMARILY due to "raising the bar", or barring admittance to a large number of missionaries. His response was no, that it was PRIMARILY due to a shift in demographics.

That is encouraging, if true. That would mean that there aren't very many prospective missionaries who have done things that disqualify them from service, or that leaders are still making every effort to allow those who wish to serve the opportunity to do so notwithstanding the higher bar, or both.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski (Post 138676)

From my limited perspective, I think the bar has gone back down after the initial "raising" and we aren't that far off from before. I have seen quite a few young men go out that I thought for sure wouldn't make it.

Maybe the bar is being lowered. It could be that more prospective missionaries are simply choosing to lie about past indiscretions. If you know that admitting to sex will keep you out, and if you don't want to disappoint your parents, then the natural reaction is to simply lie.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BYUruss (Post 137698)

Other end of the spectrum: One of my good friends got a hand job from a member girl on his mission. He felt so bad about it that he called his MP right after, and all the MP did was talk with him and tell him to never do it again. I think it all depends on the MP.

Dammit, why doesn't that eve happen to me:twisted:

Hardly any excommunicated members come

Quote:

Originally Posted by InVinoVeritas (Post 137486)

bar, are more or less missionaries being sent home prematurely?

Also, does the Church's policy of disafellowship over excommunication for disavowed missionaries really keep them in the Church, or do they fall away anyway?

back.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tex (Post 137931)

As I said, I think this is an extremely one-dimensional approach that the Brethren do not share.

Also, what evidence do we have that the bar is actually being lowered? Clarifying misunderstandings about the standard does not count.

I think that realization was already in place, and that's why the bar was raised in the first place.

I think you're conflating a budding testimony with transgression. To the first: no one is suggesting kids need to have the New Testament memorized to enter missionary service. They just need to be comfortable with the fundamentals of the gospel. Read Preach My Gospel. It's not rocket science in there.

To the second: everyone wants young people who have transgressed to repent and be made clean, they just don't want them undergoing that process while serving a full-time mission. DallasDan's comment is echoed by Ballard: "The day of the 'repent and go' missionary is over. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you, my young brothers? Some young men have the mistaken idea that they can be involved in sinful behavior and then repent when they’re 18 1/2 so they can go on their mission at 19."

I had never known what the "Shocker" was until I was in the MTC. We had this missionary in my district who was from SLC and he was talking about past transgressions of him and others, and he described to us vividly how to perform it.