Runtu wrote:This guy got up and literally begged the older couples to go on missions. He said that in years past, there were about 65000+ young men and women missionaries, but now "we're down in the forties." So, with a desperation I have never seen before, he pleaded with the older couples to pick up the slack.
He said that missionaries would never be sent to a place they couldn't afford because they set the terms of their expenses. Then he said that couples need not worry about their safety because "the Brethren would never send you to a dangerous place" (I think I snorted out loud at that statement).
Besides, he said, it's not like a regular mission. You don't have to follow the same rules the younger missionaries do. You can watch television (this was the first in his list of benefits). You can go to cultural events, movies, the theater, the opera, and sporting events. You can write emails home anytime and use the Internet as you please. You can take pictures and send them home. And you can call home whenever you like. And you don't even have to do anything church-related. Honest.
I swear I thought the guy was going to get down on his knees and beg. I thought if anyone imagined they might be going to my mission, Bolivia, I don't think you'd have many volunteers.
But this weird spectacle made me wonder if the church is really that hard up for missionaries. Is this begging going on churchwide, or is it just my stake here in Provo?
So only 19 year old young men are sent into dangerous areas? That's comforting to know.
My ward is mostly the very old (over 70) with lists of health issues and the moderately young (30's and 40's) with stacks of young children. There are a few of us in our 50's, but we're all dealing with aged parents, shrunken retirement accounts, and the daily grind of trying to stay afloat in careers so we don't have to close the Bank of Mom. Most of the families are struggling with the husband doing his farmer thing and the wife working in town. I think in our 2 wards here, we have one set of couple missionaries out, and they aren't even 60 yet. They left the farm in the hands of their son, and will be back before Mother's Day.
Many of our staunchest ward members refused to serve couple missionaries, even before they grew too old. I think part of the problem is, they tend to farm until they're 70 or older. The other part is they think the church should be able to make do with the youngsters. Another one of those passive aggressive behaviors from people who won't directly confront their concerns because they've seen what happens when people confront church authorities.
(Nevo, Jan 23) And the Melchizedek Priesthood may not have been restored until the summer of 1830, several months after the organization of the Church.
