That is a great blog entry. Some of the anecdotes remind me of my missionary experiences. I was in the same mission as Kerry Muhlstein, by the by. We were there at the same time!Doctor Scratch wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:11 amKudos to Dr. P. for today’s blog entry. I don’t know whether it was influenced by this thread or not, but it surely has to be seen as an improvement over the dreadful travelogues—or, even worse, the slams on Christopher Hitchens and Jonathan Neville. I can only hope that he doesn’t wind up recycling it ten million times like he so often does with entries like this.
And Prof. P., if I may: you shouldn’t allow this board to take up so much real estate in your head.
How Many People Did the Mopologists Baptize?
Re: How Many People Did the Mopologists Baptize?
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”~Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
Re: How Many People Did the Mopologists Baptize?
If you get to live at your favorite spot on earth, why sweat over conversions? Besides, he had years of penance being cooped up in Provo with all its eccentricities.Doctor Scratch wrote: ↑Mon Aug 15, 2022 5:00 pmAnd yet this doesn't seem to weigh on DCP in the slightest; returning to Switzerland isn't a reminder of the fact that he didn't manage to baptize a single person. Instead, it's his favorite vacation spot on planet earth.
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Re: How Many People Did the Mopologists Baptize?
Ref the OP, I’m glad for DCP and others who served a mission, and came away from it with some genuinely positive experiences. It must’ve been difficult for an Elder to serve in an area where discussions, much less baptisms, were so few and far between.
The mission can be a personal crucible for so many reasons, and as such I think viewing one’s mission through the lens of one’s nature or character is fairly routine. Reading both of his blog posts, I see a narrative firmly set by his own sense of self, in that his experiences and takeaways were and are colored by his generally positive outlook toward himself and how the world relates to him. It’s not without a little envy I espy either a natural sense of self-worth or a curated one always lurking around in his posts. and see how this practice resulted in a more or less successful life lived - I say more or less not to be a dick, but because everything is relative; some may view his life as an abject failure while others see it as the pinnacle of Mormon living.
To drive home that point, I could confidently relate that my mission was rarely, if ever, enjoyable. I was assigned to the Peru Lima South mission and by rights it should’ve been a home run both culturally and spiritual. I served from city to jungle, Lima to Machu Picchu, desert Nazca Lines to coastal million-bird migration route in Marcona. My Spanish was excellent toward the end, though hard won. Baptisms and discussions weren’t rare, and I kept all the rules.
Good experience, right?
No. It was never good enough, the culture was poor and adversarial, and I was riddled with personal doubts and feeling my worthiness lacked (even though I was a good kid and was doing what I was supposed to do). It was a tough go, and I have deeply mixed feelings about the experience. To this day I experience a sort of post-mission stress when thinking about. So, I’m slightly surprised and delighted when I read about someone’s mission experience, and it seems like it was a generally pleasant time for them.
- Doc
The mission can be a personal crucible for so many reasons, and as such I think viewing one’s mission through the lens of one’s nature or character is fairly routine. Reading both of his blog posts, I see a narrative firmly set by his own sense of self, in that his experiences and takeaways were and are colored by his generally positive outlook toward himself and how the world relates to him. It’s not without a little envy I espy either a natural sense of self-worth or a curated one always lurking around in his posts. and see how this practice resulted in a more or less successful life lived - I say more or less not to be a dick, but because everything is relative; some may view his life as an abject failure while others see it as the pinnacle of Mormon living.
To drive home that point, I could confidently relate that my mission was rarely, if ever, enjoyable. I was assigned to the Peru Lima South mission and by rights it should’ve been a home run both culturally and spiritual. I served from city to jungle, Lima to Machu Picchu, desert Nazca Lines to coastal million-bird migration route in Marcona. My Spanish was excellent toward the end, though hard won. Baptisms and discussions weren’t rare, and I kept all the rules.
Good experience, right?
No. It was never good enough, the culture was poor and adversarial, and I was riddled with personal doubts and feeling my worthiness lacked (even though I was a good kid and was doing what I was supposed to do). It was a tough go, and I have deeply mixed feelings about the experience. To this day I experience a sort of post-mission stress when thinking about. So, I’m slightly surprised and delighted when I read about someone’s mission experience, and it seems like it was a generally pleasant time for them.
- Doc
Hugh Nibley claimed he bumped into Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Gertrude Stein, and the Grand Duke Vladimir Romanoff. Dishonesty is baked into Mormonism.
Re: How Many People Did the Mopologists Baptize?
Imagine returning from Switzerland to live in the Morg bubble. Yuck.Moksha wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 12:03 pmIf you get to live at your favorite spot on earth, why sweat over conversions? Besides, he had years of penance being cooped up in Provo with all its eccentricities.Doctor Scratch wrote: ↑Mon Aug 15, 2022 5:00 pmAnd yet this doesn't seem to weigh on DCP in the slightest; returning to Switzerland isn't a reminder of the fact that he didn't manage to baptize a single person. Instead, it's his favorite vacation spot on planet earth.
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Re: How Many People Did the Mopologists Baptize?
Oh they were happy as pigs in the sty, they were paid for it. Just don't tell them that, they love to imagine they worked for free, oh, and those celestial blessings elaborated on in Added Upon.