Are missionaries told not to read the essays on lds.org?

[_sock puppet]

??

[_deacon blues]

I've been wanting to ask them about that when they come to dinner, but my wife would probably think I was being rude. I fact, most LDS think it is rude to talk about the essays.

[_suniluni2]

It probably varies by mission. Some missions may restrict reading materials to the standard works. Others, such as mine did, allowed marvelous work and a wonder, jesus the christ and a couple others If I recall correctly.

[_Polygamy-Porter]

Funny you would post this question just now!

I did ask this of some missionaries that I met at the park today while on break from work!

I brought up a number of issues because they asked why I left.

I asked if they have read all of the essays on lds.org.

They said their mission president told them they should not as it would not help them convert souls.

Boyd K. Packer lives on!

[_deacon blues]

My sister is a stake missionary. I'm going to ask her tomorrow when she visits.

[_moinmoin]

I suspect that most missionaries would say, "What essays?" Most Church members aren't aware of the essays, and are very unaware of the issues that they treat.

As has been said, missionary approved reading standards vary according to mission president. My second mission president let me read a lot of different things (because he trusted me and knew that I had a solid foundation; my expanded reading was a case-by-case thing for him) , but I did ask him. He also encouraged all missionaries to read Der Spiegel, Time, Newsweek, or USA Today at least once a week so that we could intelligently discuss current events with people. But I think this is an outlier in most cases . . .

[_Fence Sitter]

I suspect that most missionaries would say, "What essays?" Most Church members aren't aware of the essays, and are very unaware of the issues that they treat.

As has been said, missionary approved reading standards vary according to mission president. My second mission president let me read a lot of different things (because he trusted me and knew that I had a solid foundation; my expanded reading was a case-by-case thing for him) , but I did ask him. He also encouraged all missionaries to read Der Spiegel, Time, Newsweek, or USA Today at least once a week so that we could intelligently discuss current events with people. But I think this is an outlier in most cases . . .

We have the missionaries over frequently for dinner. Sometimes I will ask them if they are familiar with the essays and to date, not one has known of their existence. That seems strange to me. If these essays are what the church purports them to be, answers to difficult questions, doesn't it seem like the missionaries ought to be the familiar with them? After all, these are the people we send out to teach others about our church.

It's almost like the church is hiding these essays from both current and future prospective members.

[_moinmoin]

We have the missionaries over frequently for dinner. Sometimes I will ask them if they are familiar with the essays and to date, not one has known of their existence. That seems strange to me. If these essays are what the church purports them to be, answers to difficult questions, doesn't it seem like the missionaries ought to be the familiar with them? After all, these are the people we send out to teach others about our church.

It's almost like the church is hiding these essays from both current and future prospective members.

When they were first posted on lds.org, they were difficult to find. They are now a little easier to find, but by no means prominently displayed. I think their purpose is primarily to simply exist, to preempt complaints that those issues have never been officially addressed by the Church. I would prefer that the Brethren themselves attach their names to them (as opposed to them being anonymous and not written by the Brethren), and I think the reason for that is to provide deniability down the road, if needed. I personally think this is overly-cautious, and wish we would just own certain things, with the understanding that that won't be good enough for some people and we will lose them. Currently, we lose them anyway because the Church consciously tried to avoid discussion of some things, and some people can't get over feelings of betrayal and deceit because of that avoidance. I think the essay's existence, in time, will tend to mitigate this somewhat, especially if systemic changes follow. I have always thought that addressing tough issues forthrightly in a faithful setting helps many people, but when the help comes too late, it's really hard for people to overcome the emotional feelings of deceit and betrayal.

[_Maxrep]

They said their mission president told them they should not as it would not help them convert souls.

What if the souls had questions?

[_Polygamy-Porter]

They said their mission president told them they should not as it would not help them convert souls.

What if the souls had questions?

LD$ Inc does not want questioning members.

PPO. Pay, Pray, Obey.