Post your LDS Mission Regrets

[_neworder]

Do you have any regrets from your mission? Looking back what do you wish you did or didn't do?

I have many regrets but one that stands out is not going to see Depeche Mode in Concert when they were in town. I wish I did not take the mission so serious, but then again, I thought I was doing the Lords work!

[_StructureCop]

I regret being so naïve as to honestly think my girlfriend would wait for me. When I was Dear John-ed, I started having horrible anxiety attacks which really stressed my relationship with my poor companion -- who happened to be one of my best friends from high school. If I had more realistic expectations, we would have been able to enjoy our time together a lot more.

[_Tchild]

My biggest regret was how I punished myself and allowed others to dictate to me my sense of worthiness in relation to church defined success / worthiness.

In fact, that is what I absolutely detest and loath about the Mormon church. Everything else is laughable, but the sense of self loathing, failure and loss of self esteem is the one thing that arouses anger at that institution.

The thing that makes me the happiest, is that I refused to go tracting door to door and recognized it as a wholly ineffectual sales strategy. Nor did I walk up to strangers and harass them with my religion. I did some door to door knocking now and then when I had to in a zone tracting activity, but never of my own volition.

I am also happy that I voluntarily broke inane mission rules; listening to music, reading, T.V. etc. It allowed me my sanity, which I felt I was close to losing as a missionary. I came close, but as my sanity was slipping away I reached out and just saved it.

[_StructureCop]

I am also happy that I voluntarily broke inane mission rules; listening to music, reading, T.V. etc. It allowed me my sanity, which I felt I was close to losing as a missionary. I came close, but as my sanity was slipping away I reached out and just saved it.

+1

I came to a point where I realized that the effects of listening to the radio or watching the occasional movie were negligible compared to strict obedience, and it saved my sanity as well.

[_SoHo]

Probably my biggest regret was missing out on the opportunity to more fully immerse myself in the local culture, leaving much of that to be done upon returning home. I wish I had made more local friends, read more literature and news, been more up to date on popular culture, really tried to get the most benefit out of the travel/living experience.

[_dblagent007]

I don't really have any regrets from my mission. I still think my mission president is probably the best person, by far, that I have ever known. He was a very, very good man.

[_Chadillac]

I have to say that I really don't have any regrets either. Even though now I have my doubts that the Church is true, I believe I did help some people change for the better. I learned hard work and speaking Korean has helped me with my current job. My wife and I are planning to go back this spring.

[_WjExMo]

I didn't go on a mission, so I don't quite qualify for this, however, I was still affected by this...

When I turned 19 and firmly said NO, I WILL NOT GO...

- My TBM girlfriend broke up with me, and she and her family refused to have any contact with me.

- My TBM temple working grandparents disowned me and would not speak to me again. They both died years later, never again talking to me.

- My Bishop and ward leaders harped on me constantly, beating me with guilty lies about how I would be held accountable for all of the souls that were not "saved" by my "not being there".

Should I go on?

It was a rotten year church wise there for a bit.

[_Inconceivable]

As a TBM I regretted being unprepared academically. I had great difficulty memorizing the discussions and the Mormon God never gave me the miracle. I worked for every line. It zapped my selft esteem for quite a while.

As I grow older, I miss the dream car I sold to pay for the mission. At the time it was a test of my commitment and I was proud of the conviction to give up everything that was valuable to me.

As an ex-TBM, I look back and see how foolish and gullible I was to follow the Spirit to direct my mission life. I still lean toward the notion that my Holy Ghost was most likely a dead relative full of fallibility, and totally misunderstanding the principle of repentance and forgiveness.. among other things.

[_The Dude]

Some 19 year olds go off and experiment with drugs and sex for a couple years before getting cleaned up for adulthood. I threw away two years on religion. I regret not being able to tell people it was a service oriented mission -- the dedication to proselytizing is what made it a waste. I doubt any of those people are still active, and if they are, they are active in a lie.

And like structurecop, I regret the girlfriend thing. But I mostly regret throwing her away to go on a mission. We recently reconnected and I discovered she's an ex-mormon too. At least there's that.