You who were rebels on your mission:

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by myboynoah

I can relate.

My MP was a CES employee from Idaho that had apparently been mistreated by Elders from Utah when he was missionary. He must have promised himself then to rain down hell on missionaries from Utah if ever given the chance. I also believe he was bucking for promotion to GA and saw his MP service as the best chance to reach his goal; hence he wanted to show results.

Coming into my mission I was a straight-laced Mormon boy: pioneer stock, eldest son, president of all my Priesthood Quorums, Duty to God recipient, ever obedient to the WoW and LoC, the whole shebang. I was fairly shy, pretty insecure about life and my capabilities, and not very expressive. I suspect my MP interpreted this seemly aloofness as arrogance. It didn’t help that I was blonde, blue-eyed, and from Utah.

I wasn’t a week in Japan when I was asked to give the spiritual thought at a morning mission office meeting. The MP’s immediate response to my contribution was to reprimand me in front of the group for using “guys” in referring to my fellow missionaries. Such became the pattern of our interaction; his public digs at “blonde haired, blue-eyed Elders from Utah” in zone conferences, his immediate castigation of us for focusing too much on sports after I’d been discussing MLB with other missionaries, my laboring as a junior and senior as my fellow LTM mates made DL and ZL. All this culminated in his telling me to “tell Joe Cool to go to hell” in front of my companion and the mission office staff one day.

The odd thing is, I wasn’t much of a rebel, though I felt pushed into the part. I worked my butt off, I obeyed the mission rules, we led the mission in cottage meetings and BoMs placed, I responded when asked to challenge investigators during the “push for numbers” at the end of every month, I even remember tracting Christmas night rather than going to the church Christmas party because we didn’t have investigators attending (mission rule). Early on, I fully bought into his “inspired” MLM approach to missionary work that would have had us baptizing half of Asia by the 10th month. I think the only things that kept me grounded were a few companions and good housemates, as well as the occasional visit from a GA that would bring some reality to the whole experience (then-Elder Howard Hunter stands out in particular).

I suppose I went into full rebel mode the last six months of my mission when I decided to ignore the Mission Home. I submitted false numbers, not by intent, but because I quit keeping track. We had a lot of investigators, taught a lot of meetings, and baptized a lot of people. Aside from baptisms, the numbers didn’t seem to matter, so I guessed in order to fill out the form. I still obeyed the rules, seeing that as an important aspect of our success. I worked my companions to the bone because I wasn’t going to go home regretting anything (I do regret not going to that Christmas party). It was a wonderful time in my life. I just didn’t pay much attention to anything coming out of the Mission Home, except of course, when they made arrangements for me to go home when my two years were up.

Not being as forgiving as Faith, I still don’t hold much affection for my MP, although he did give me excellent advice in my exit interview when he told me to marry a girl more spiritual than me (who’d of thought she’d be Catholic when I met her?). I give him that, and whenever we discuss the matter, Mrs. myboynoah reminds that we are commanded to forgive.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved my mission and see it as providing a great foundation for my life. It also gave me valuable perspective and experiences that I plan to pass onto my children should they decide to serve.

Wow. You should hate your MP. This reminds me of Melville's tale Billy Budd. What's with the blonde haired blue eyed hate? Was he some PC kook from hell?

[Sleeping in EQ]

I wasn't really a rebel, but I wasn't a letter-of-the-law kind of guy either (which should surprise no one who reads my posts).

I got off on a bad foot with my MP as a greenie. My trainer was almost sent home for kissing a young girl. I was emergency transferred into a threesome with an anal-retentive twit and a dufus. So not a good start.

I had a little extra $ socked away and would buy Church books on P day. My now considerable collection of books began on my mission and I'd buy all kinds of books from Sam Wellers, from Deseret Book, from Seagull, from evangelical book stores--you name it. And I'd read them. My MP liked none of this.

I gained quite the reputation as a "basher" (although my technique wasn't based on reading verses at people) and actually had some success at it. Missionaries started bringing me into their areas to help with tough investigators and it often went well (I served in SLC and the areas were so small no one was really tight about leaving areas, districts, or even zones). We turned some folks around and quite a few were baptized. I've had conversations with some famous anti-Mormons (the Tanners, Bill McKeever, some others) and am the only person I know of who assisted two active Jehovah's Witnesses into the Church (and on two seperate occasions). (I apologize for the boasting, but it will help you understand what happened next.). To this day the missionaries call me to help out on these situations. My patriarchal blessing has an interesting line...

After the second JW was baptized my MP stopped hassling me about my books and started discussing Church doctrines and history with me. He had a change of heart and I did too. I was made a ZL (something I didn't want and never liked), but never trained. That's right--I never trained a single greenie.

But my MP did find a use for me. He gave me no less than 3 companions who had been seriously troubled by anti-Mormon literature and told me to "do what it takes to re-light their flames." I was successful with 2 of the 3. The third didn't really give me a chance. A couple of days after becoming my companion he got a member to give him a ride to the airport. He flew home and had his name removed.

My exit interview with my MP was interesting. He said he'd come to appreciate my disobedience with the books and wished me well. I told him I was glad he gave me a chance.

He wrote a very nice card when my wife and I were married (My wife was a sister missionary in my mission).

[All-American]

Originally Posted by Sleeping in EQ

I wasn't really a rebel, but I wasn't a letter-of-the-law kind of guy either (which should surprise no one who reads my posts).

I got off on a bad foot with my MP as a greenie. My trainer was almost sent home for kissing a young girl. I was emergency transferred into a threesome with an anal-retentive twit and a dufus. So not a good start.

I had a little extra $ socked away and would buy Church books on P day. My now considerable collection of books began on my mission and I'd buy all kinds of books from Sam Wellers, from Deseret Book, from Seagull, from evangelical book stores--you name it. And I'd read them. My MP liked none of this.

I gained quite the reputation as a "basher" (although my technique wasn't based on reading verses at people) and actually had some success at it. Missionaries started bringing me into their areas to help with tough investigators and it often went well (I served in SLC and the areas were so small no one was really tight about leaving areas, districts, or even zones). We turned some folks around and quite a few were baptized. I've had conversations with some famous anti-Mormons (the Tanners, Bill McKeever, some others) and am the only person I know of who assisted two active Jehovah's Witnesses into the Church (and on two seperate occasions). (I apologize for the boasting, but it will help you understand what happened next.). To this day the missionaries call me to help out on these situations. My patriarchal blessing has an interesting line...

After the second JW was baptized my MP stopped hassling me about my books and started discussing Church doctrines and history with me. He had a change of heart and I did too. I was made a ZL (something I didn't want and never liked), but never trained. That's right--I never trained a single greenie.

But my MP did find a use for me. He gave me no less than 3 companions who had been seriously troubled by anti-Mormon literature and told me to "do what it takes to re-light their flames." I was successful with 2 of the 3. The third didn't really give me a chance. A couple of days after becoming my companion he got a member to give him a ride to the airport. He flew home and had his name removed.

My exit interview with my MP was interesting. He said he'd come to appreciate my disobedience with the books and wished me well. I told him I was glad he gave me a chance.

He wrote a very nice card when my wife and I were married (My wife was a sister missionary in my mission).

Wow, I think you and I are related.

Not really, but a lot of your stories sound a lot like mine.

[Robin]

I deeply regret not being more of a rebel during my mission. I wasn't turning people in for breaking rules (though I might be blocking out some painful memories where I might have actually done that), but I was as 'by-the-book' as they come.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Robin

I deeply regret not being more of a rebel during my mission. I wasn't turning people in for breaking rules (though I might be blocking out some painful memories where I might have actually done that), but I was as 'by-the-book' as they come.

Amen to that. I don't have any cool stories to tell.

But on the other hand, I had a fantastic mission president. Kind, humble, thoughtful, inspiring. I still can't think of a single thing about him that bugged me.

I was in Japan during the "golden period" (early 80's). We were baptising about 100 people per month in our mission but Tokyo South was baptising about 1000 per month and getting all sorts of publicity. When asked about whether or not we could mimic their "techniques" he told us to calm down and not worry about it. He said that he had researched what was going on there and there was no way on earth he was going to allow that to happen in his mission. In hindsight, an excellent decision.

[Archaea]

What was odd, as compared with your accounts, is we had no weird rules, no weird declarations by our MP, or anything odd at all.

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by homeboy

I was in Japan during the "golden period" (early 80's). We were baptising about 100 people per month in our mission but Tokyo South was baptising about 1000 per month and getting all sorts of publicity. When asked about whether or not we could mimic their "techniques" he told us to calm down and not worry about it. He said that he had researched what was going on there and there was no way on earth he was going to allow that to happen in his mission. In hindsight, an excellent decision.

I heard that was a freaky time (the 1,000 per month era). I was in Kobe right before that, and by the time I left we were starting to baptize about 100 per month. Your MP was a wise man.

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by Sleeping in EQ

. . . am the only person I know of who assisted two active Jehovah's Witnesses into the Church (and on two seperate occasions). (I apologize for the boasting, but it will help you understand what happened next.). To this day the missionaries call me to help out on these situations. My patriarchal blessing has an interesting line...

We met a lot of JWs while tracting and reveled in the opportunities for heated discussions just to break up the monotony. Eventually concluding that, while entertaining, this wasn't our real purpose and it wasn't effective, we opted to leave our scriptures with our bikes to prevent future occurrences. That very morning we ran into a kind JW woman who invited us in, I'm sure in hopes of converting us. We announced that our message for the day was that the Heavens were not closed that that God speaks to us via living prophets. She was prepared and showed us various passages in her Bible backing her position that such was not the case. Unarmed, we could only respond by fumbling through her Japanese set to a few versus that supported our position. Needless the say, the discussion never got very heated and we left on good terms. She actually accepted a BoM.

We would stop by and say hello and talk when in the neighborhood and she was always pleasant. We actually tracked out some of her investigators who were well indoctrinated into all things JW, although not yet baptized--she was doing a very good job. We invited her to our meetings and she invited us to hers, but it never went beyond that.

About a week before I was to go home, I went by her place with a proposition: we would attend her meeting on Sunday if she would come to ours. To our joy and fear, she agreed. She came for the whole block Sunday morning, was attentive and polite, but didn't say a whole lot. I assumed she probably felt caught in the devils' lair and couldn't wait to escape. That afternoon, we attended her meeting (the last worship service I attended on my mission). She was a full participant in the discussion and seemed so proud to have brought these two young American Mormon investigators. We met some of her other investigators that we had previously tracted out and everyone was very kind and open. After the meeting we left and I assumed that was where it would end. I told my companion he might want to go by and say hello in a couple of weeks to follow up, but that it might be time to quit harassing her.

Two days later, the day before I was to go into the Mission Home to process out, she called. Her attendance at our services had got her thinking. She spent the whole previous day reading the BoM, now had a testimony of it, and was somewhat panicked because she didn't know what to do. Sadly, my immediate thought was the logistics of putting together a quick baptismal service before I flew out two days later. My better nature took over, however, and I assured her everything would be all right and that my companion and new replacement would come by the next day to visit. I left for home on Thursday, and she was baptized on Sunday. Not only did she become a strong member of the ward, but also brought much of her JW investigator pool into The Church.

I apologize for the length and didn't want to top SiEQ's point on JWs. I also don't want to hijack this thread, but it sparked a very happy memory that I wanted to share. I was much less successful with the JWs I met before and those I have met since. It's hard to get them to take the BoM. They have good reason to be hesitant.