Church Struggles to Place Increased Missionary Applicants

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_Yoda

Re: Church Struggles to Place Increased Missionary Applicant

Post by _Yoda »

sock puppet wrote:
liz3564 wrote:I agree completely with your comment about how literal members are taking suggestions from the top. How else are they supposed to take them?

"Supposed" to? Literally, of course.

But, a spoonful of common sense helps the 'medicine' go down.


Amen! :biggrin:
_Madison54
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Re: Church Struggles to Place Increased Missionary Applicant

Post by _Madison54 »

This is interesting because my son (who's 18) just told me this morning that a couple of his friends who were considering not going to college next semester in lieu of turning their papers in (after hearing the GC announcement), have decided to go ahead and register for another semester. He said they were told that even if they turned their papers in now, they wouldn't leave until April or May because of the huge amount of boys and girls turning their papers in, so they might as well finish a year of school.
_Drifting
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Re: Church Struggles to Place Increased Missionary Applicant

Post by _Drifting »

just me wrote:
Fence Sitter wrote:
It seems the Church leadership underestimates how literal members take suggestions from the top.


The mind boggles that they don't see this.


That He doesn't see this, He...
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_bcspace
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Re: Church Struggles to Place Increased Missionary Applicant

Post by _bcspace »

Well, in my areas in L.A., it usually took me 1.5-2 months to knock on every door. Of course many people aren't home most of the day so I kept track of which streets I knocked on at which time of day so if I was still there after a few months, I knocked on the same doors at different times. If missionaries are going to be so plentiful, we could now ensure a door gets knocked on three times a day to ensure everyone gets a chance.

Of course tracting was never very productive, I got one baptism off it in two years and 40+ via the members, but we did get many discussions off tracting which imho is a good way for people to get used to us.
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_Equality
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Re: Church Struggles to Place Increased Missionary Applicant

Post by _Equality »

bcspace wrote:Well, in my areas in L.A., it usually took me 1.5-2 months to knock on every door. Of course many people aren't home most of the day so I kept track of which streets I knocked on at which time of day so if I was still there after a few months, I knocked on the same doors at different times. If missionaries are going to be so plentiful, we could now ensure a door gets knocked on three times a day to ensure everyone gets a chance.

Of course tracting was never very productive, I got one baptism off it in two years and 40+ via the members, but we did get many discussions off tracting which imho is a good way for people to get used to us.


Someone should have told the Romney campaign that simply knocking on a bunch of doors would be about as effective at getting votes as it is for Mormon missionaries seeking baptisms.

bcspace, why do you suppose the church has been caught unawares by the surge in missionary applications? Do you think God forgot to tell them to expect it? Or did God tell them to expect it but they disobeyed? Or do they just assume the members won't respond in a faithful manner?
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Re: Church Struggles to Place Increased Missionary Applicant

Post by _Willy Law »

bcspace wrote:, but we did get many discussions off tracting which imho is a good way for people to get used to us.


Knocking on a door or a stranger and attempting to peddle, is in no way a good way for people to get used to you.
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_Bob Loblaw
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Re: Church Struggles to Place Increased Missionary Applicant

Post by _Bob Loblaw »

Equality wrote:Looks like another revelation FAIL. The Prophet and Seer could not see that this would be the result of announcing the changes re: missionary age? Why is Mormon God so stingy with the revelations to his chosen mouthpieces?


Come on, as Hinckley said, "I do not know what the future holds." A prophet cannot be expected to predict the consequences of a policy change.
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_The Mighty Builder
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Re: Church Struggles to Place Increased Missionary Applicant

Post by _The Mighty Builder »

Too bad Mormon Jesus sacked Polygamy. All those sweet sweet Sisters could serve in the Farting Fifteens office's as sexretaries.
_Racer
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Re: Church Struggles to Place Increased Missionary Applicant

Post by _Racer »

This 18 year mission age perplexed me when it was announced. At least when 19 was the age, the church could stagger new missionaries monthly since they don't all turn 19 at the same time. But, with 18 its inevitable that these young men will all turn in their papers around April to coincide with their HS graduation in May. They all expect to be in the MTC by Jun. the church can't handle that massive influx all at once. In reality, most of these kids that want to leave asap at 18 will be screwed by ending up in a queue for months and will most likely end up getting their call around the time they turn 19. Nothing changes. I am sure someone with connections or a GA relative will be able to ensure their son gets his call in time to leave as early as possible, but the rest of the serfs will be waiting for months.
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_LDSToronto
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Re: Church Struggles to Place Increased Missionary Applicant

Post by _LDSToronto »

Craig Paxton wrote:One of my inside COB sources has informed me that the church is struggling to find mission openings to place all of the missionary candidates caused from a surge in missionary applications created by the new guidelines. More specifically, the church was caught off guard and unprepared by the number of women who applied for a mission calling and the increase in 18 year old men who applied once they also became eligible.

As a result of the increase applications…those who get their application in now will have about an 80% chance of being called to a state side mission rather than a foreign mission…because the church just can’t get that many applicants through the process required to place them in foreign missions….visas, security, etc. Also they don’t have room for this increase capacity at the MTC foreign language school.

I’m sharing this with you so you may inform anyone of your family who may wish to go on a foreign mission to hold off for a while until the gopher works its way through the snake’s belly.

You can draw your own conclusions…


What on earth are missionaries supposed to do in North America? Knock on more doors? Before I became a filthy, black-skinned apostate, missionary numbers were being reduced in Canada and the USA, not increased.

Sounds dopey to me.

H.
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