Senior missions vs. cafeteria Mormonism

[huckelberry]

Shades, I'm afraid I had no clear definition for cafeteria Mormonism so was not thinking of selecting commandments to follow or ignore. If one is doing that perhaps dropping the I'm a Mormon pretense would be reasonable or more honest with oneself.

[MG 2.0]

You won't here much about it other than here and other isolated online venues.

Regards,
MG

So what sort of percentage of folks are going?

I don't know. I'm not sure that it really matters. Those that feel inspired and ready to go will go. Sure, there are some senior couples that don't go for reasons that IHQ and others would not approve of. Fortunately, he is not in a leadership position.

He would be a hard one to get along with.

Regards,
MG

[I Have Questions]

I don’t care who serves a senior mission, and who doesn’t. However, God has a firm view about it. As one of His Apostles said

“The Lord is calling you to save your life. You are either going to live your life by covenant or convenience. There is never a convenient time to serve. This is a matter of faith. You either believe that the Lord will bless your life with the blessings you need as you do His priorities, or you don’t.”

So any believing member who doesn’t serve a senior mission has chosen to disbelieve the Lord, and is living by convenience not by covenant. This are not my words, that’s not my judgement, that’s God’s directing His Apostles to convey His judgement on the matter. God disapproves. MG 2.0 lacks the necessary faith, according to his Apostle and his God.

[MG 2.0]

I don’t care who serves a senior mission, and who doesn’t. However, God has a firm view about it. As one of His Apostles said

“The Lord is calling you to save your life. You are either going to live your life by covenant or convenience. There is never a convenient time to serve. This is a matter of faith. You either believe that the Lord will bless your life with the blessings you need as you do His priorities, or you don’t.”

So any believing member who doesn’t serve a senior mission has chosen to disbelieve the Lord, and is living by convenience not by covenant. This are not my words, that’s not my judgement, that’s God’s directing His Apostles to convey His judgement on the matter. God disapproves. MG 2.0 lacks the necessary faith, according to his Apostle and his God.

This seems to be very important to you. President Nelson has said:

Limitations imposed by age or poor health deserve realistic appraisal, as do the important needs of family members. When desire burns within yet such limitations exist, others can be your arms and legs, and you can provide needed funds.”

Language such as, "consider a senior mission", "encouraged to serve", "the desire to serve", etc . frame senior missionary service as an invitation.

Circumstances vary from one person/couple to another. That person/couple is under no obligation to anyone else besides the Lord. Thank you for bringing that to our attention and clarifying that important point.

Regards,
MG

[I Have Questions]

I don’t care who serves a senior mission, and who doesn’t. However, God has a firm view about it. As one of His Apostles said So any believing member who doesn’t serve a senior mission has chosen to disbelieve the Lord, and is living by convenience not by covenant. This are not my words, that’s not my judgement, that’s God’s directing His Apostles to convey His judgement on the matter. God disapproves. MG 2.0 lacks the necessary faith, according to his Apostle and his God.

This seems to be very important to you. President Nelson has said:

Limitations imposed by age or poor health deserve realistic appraisal, as do the important needs of family members. When desire burns within yet such limitations exist, others can be your arms and legs, and you can provide needed funds.”

Language such as, "consider a senior mission", "encouraged to serve", "the desire to serve", etc . frame senior missionary service as an invitation.

Circumstances vary from one person/couple to another. That person/couple is under no obligation to anyone else besides the Lord. Thank you for bringing that to our attention and clarifying that important point.

Regards,
MG

People will often find reasons to do what they want to do.

[MG 2.0]

This seems to be very important to you. President Nelson has said:


Language such as, "consider a senior mission", "encouraged to serve", "the desire to serve", etc . frame senior missionary service as an invitation.

Circumstances vary from one person/couple to another. That person/couple is under no obligation to anyone else besides the Lord. Thank you for bringing that to our attention and clarifying that important point.

Regards,
MG

People will often find reasons to do what they want to do.

That's what I've been saying. I'm glad we can finally agree on something.

Regards,
MG

[huckelberry]

I don’t care who serves a senior mission, and who doesn’t. However, God has a firm view about it. As one of His Apostles said

“The Lord is calling you to save your life. You are either going to live your life by covenant or convenience. There is never a convenient time to serve. This is a matter of faith. You either believe that the Lord will bless your life with the blessings you need as you do His priorities, or you don’t.”

So any believing member who doesn’t serve a senior mission has chosen to disbelieve the Lord, and is living by convenience not by covenant. This are not my words, that’s not my judgement, that’s God’s directing His Apostles to convey His judgement on the matter. God disapproves. MG 2.0 lacks the necessary faith, according to his Apostle and his God.

I followed the link. These comments are about a couple specifically called by an Apostle to serve as mission president. There is some similarity to senior missions and there are obvious differences.

[I Have Questions]

I don’t care who serves a senior mission, and who doesn’t. However, God has a firm view about it. As one of His Apostles said So any believing member who doesn’t serve a senior mission has chosen to disbelieve the Lord, and is living by convenience not by covenant. This are not my words, that’s not my judgement, that’s God’s directing His Apostles to convey His judgement on the matter. God disapproves. MG 2.0 lacks the necessary faith, according to his Apostle and his God.

I followed the link. These comments are about a couple specifically called by an Apostle to serve as mission president. There is some similarity to senior missions and there are obvious differences.

Here is another plea from Elder Rasband

An apostle called for more senior missionaries — thousands more — during his talk in the Saturday afternoon session of the 193rd Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles described taking his turn in the weekly meeting where mission calls are issued and finding that there were 10 senior missionary couples to fill the 300 requests for senior missionaries from the church’s 411 missions.

“As an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask you to serve as a missionary in the gathering of Israel and perhaps serve again. We need you — we need you,” said an emotional Elder Rasband, who spoke with tears in his eyes.

That’s God speaking through Rasband.

“What are you doing at this stage of your life?” he asked. “There are so many ways senior missionaries can do what no one else can. You are a remarkable force for good, seasoned in the church and poised to encourage and rescue God’s children.”

What MG 2.0 is doing at this stage of his life, for example, is prolifically posting on a message board and finding reasons not to serve. If a senior member of the Church truly believed in their religion, and truly believed that their Lord has their back, they’d be serving a senior mission. Or they would have applied to serve a senior mission and had their application rejected for some reason. Most seniors in the Church find themselves an excuse to carry on living their life of convenience, rather than being true to the covenants they claim to value.

Take Peterson as a different example. Another member who is avoiding serving a senior mission. It’s not that he is unable physically, it’s not like he can’t travel, it’s not that he doesn’t have the means. It’s that when push comes to shove, he lacks true belief in his religion and his Lord and Saviour. If he truly believed he would have taken that leap of faith and be on a senior mission. Neither he nor MG really have the faith they claim to have.

And that would be fine. Except that they publicly portray themselves as having that faith. It’s akin to stolen valour.