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Re: Number of senior missionary couples plummeting?
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 8:21 pm
by _Arrakis
From the OP link:
4. Priorities
Your prized possessions are reduced to 100 lbs. of belongings stuffed in two suitcases. Living out of a suitcase for two years is a liberating experience that helps to free you from the constant temptation to endlessly acquire "stuff" because the same weight limit applies coming home. Ultimately all must decide at what point they have "sufficient for their needs", before and after the mission experience. A mission helps you get some perspective on what stuff is really necessary in your life.
Maybe the Brethren with multiple houses should go on a mission and learn they don't need more than one house.
Re: Number of senior missionary couples plummeting?
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 9:18 pm
by _Tim the Enchanter
cinepro wrote:Tim the Enchanter wrote:Personally, I think this is just a recruiting tactic and I doubt things are truly as dire as indicated. Everything is urgent in the church. Better get baptized as soon as you turn 8! Better get the priesthood as soon as you turn 12! Better serve a mission as soon as you turn 18! Better serve a senior mission right now! It's urgent! Everything is urgent!
From 1997:
There is an urgent need in the Church today for missionary couples, not to go first-contacting or teaching the discussions, unless you want to do so, but for meaningful missionary service in all of the activities of the Church throughout the world.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/ ... y?lang=eng
Great find! Everything old is new again.
Re: Number of senior missionary couples plummeting?
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 10:24 pm
by _Maksutov
Hasa Diga Eebowai wrote:A large number of potential senior missionaries put their life savings into fighting gay marriage and supporting Proposition H8 from all over the United States at the command of their leaders. Could it be that they now don't have the money due to their following their Church leaders? It has to be sad for many of them considering the fact their money was completely wasted on a lost cause and gay marriages that are legally recognized, unlike Joseph Smith's sham "marriages" are now taking place in Utah and California.
What a waste of money, resources and potential.
Thanks,
Hasa Diga Eebowai
I suspect that many of the same population are targeted for investment scams, MLMs, by hyperreligious and hyperpatriotic groups endlessly demanding money and the usual dysfunctional and/or unfortunate family members we all have. The decimation of the middle class is affecting Mormons too, despite their stubborn Republican leanings.
Re: Number of senior missionary couples plummeting?
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:10 am
by _DarkHelmet
Maybe the seniors are waking up to the fact that missionaries are just free labor. It's just a big sales department with the young people doing the cold calling, the pretty girls acting as eye candy at the visitor's centers, and the seniors filing the paperwork back at the office, and not only are they not getting paid for their labor, they actually pay the church! It's a genius business model. Somewhere in Arkansas, a group of Walmart execs are sitting around a conference table studying the Mormon church model and trying to figure out how they can lay off their paid workforce and fill all their positions with paying customers.
Re: Number of senior missionary couples plummeting?
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 1:24 am
by _Markk
Racer wrote:I presume the current economic state is partly to blame. Many Baby Boomer's retirement funds have been wiped out by the stock market crash of 2000, and the great depression of 2008. Savings are decimated, retirements have been put on hold, and etc. Young college graduates are unable to find jobs and thus it's not uncommon for a 30 year old to still be living with Mom and Dad. Some of these Seniors are still supporting Jr.
My inlaws both "retired" a few years ago, but their retirement investments were decimated. They both have several part time jobs to keep the lights on. They would like to go on a mission, but there is no way.
Today's Sr. citizens just don't have the funds as they did in the past...
Would going a mission in their city would be out of the question?
Re: Number of senior missionary couples plummeting?
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 2:36 am
by _zeezrom
My parents are planning to put their house on a reverse mortgage in order to fund their mission.
Re: Number of senior missionary couples plummeting?
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 2:41 am
by _sock puppet
zeezrom wrote:My parents are planning to put their house on a reverse mortgage in order to fund their mission.
Do they plan a service or proselyting mission?
Re: Number of senior missionary couples plummeting?
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 8:24 am
by _sunstoned
Hasa Diga Eebowai wrote:A large number of potential senior missionaries put their life savings into fighting gay marriage and supporting Proposition H8 from all over the United States at the command of their leaders. Could it be that they now don't have the money due to their following their Church leaders? It has to be sad for many of them considering the fact their money was completely wasted on a lost cause and gay marriages that are legally recognized, unlike Joseph Smith's sham "marriages" are now taking place in Utah and California.
What a waste of money, resources and potential.
Thanks,
Hasa Diga Eebowai
I know several families who were asked, and gave several thousand dollars to that lost cause. I wonder how much the top 15 fat cats kicked in from their own pockets toward the prop 8 campaign?
Re: Number of senior missionary couples plummeting?
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 8:47 am
by _ludwigm
Sanctorian wrote:My grandparents served three missions and they are as poor as you can get. I'm not exactly sure how they were able to afford it, but even if dirt poor, seniors can serve missions. My guess is seniors are realizing that spending those final few years in life with their grandchildren is more important than serving a mission.
viewtopic.php?p=845436#p845436 there, I wrote:10+ years ago - before our pensioning - my wife said me "if you too would be baptized, we could go together to a mission".
My answer was that she should think about our grandchildren before repeating this demand.
At that time, we had half of the grandchildren than today - only nine or ten. She was present during birth of two of them.
Since then, she didn't ever come up with this mission thing.
Re: Number of senior missionary couples plummeting?
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 11:40 am
by _Bazooka
cinepro wrote:Tim the Enchanter wrote:Personally, I think this is just a recruiting tactic and I doubt things are truly as dire as indicated. Everything is urgent in the church. Better get baptized as soon as you turn 8! Better get the priesthood as soon as you turn 12! Better serve a mission as soon as you turn 18! Better serve a senior mission right now! It's urgent! Everything is urgent!
From 1997:
There is an urgent need in the Church today for missionary couples, not to go first-contacting or teaching the discussions, unless you want to do so, but for meaningful missionary service in all of the activities of the Church throughout the world.
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/ ... y?lang=eng
This idea of 'scaring' members into action is not uncommon.
The Last Days mantra has been frequently employed to drive member behaviour on the basis of a frightening consequence.
It's been the Last Days for several generations now, and it seems as though senior missionary numbers are always 30% down year on year....