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In our mission, the missionaries are available to be in members’ homes from 5-7 every evening – for pretty much anything that doesn’t violate recorded rules. Want to sit and talk? Fine. Want to feed them? Fine. Want to introduce them to a friend? Fine. I like that approach.
Old Timer wrote:
In our mission, the missionaries are available to be in members’ homes from 5-7 every evening – for pretty much anything that doesn’t violate recorded rules. Want to sit and talk? Fine. Want to feed them? Fine. Want to introduce them to a friend? Fine.I like that approach.
Ours must have dinner at 5 unless there is a person they’re teaching present. They need to be out by 6, sooner if possible. My wife doesn’t get home until after 6. They can actually do 5:30, but they still need to be out by 6. And in wards where there are multiple sets, they can’t go to a member outside their area. And they can’t even do service outside their area. It goes on and on.
*cough* slave driversBecause it couldn’t get any better than this – the Missionaries are standing on my porch right now. No joke. It’s just after 7. They may leave with their own CES letter if they aren’t careful. My husband has been very clear – call and make an appointment.
mom3 wrote:
Because it couldn’t get any better than this – the Missionaries are standing on my porch right now. No joke. It’s just after 7. They may leave with their own CES letter if they aren’t careful.My husband has been very clear – call and make an appointment.
Other rules: During the 6-9 pm proselyting time the missionaries are not allowed to go to members’ homes at all unless they are actively teaching there. Teaching appointments are supposed to be 30 minutes or less (ideally 20 minutes).
Lots more where they come from.
Quote:During the 6-9 pm proselyting time the missionaries are not allowed to go to members’ homes at all unless they are actively teaching there. Teaching appointments are supposed to be 30 minutes or less (ideally 20 minutes).
Rogue missionaries then?
I was actually impressed with my husband, he let them in, offered them water or juice. Said they could come by if they wanted to play video games or call home. That made them nervous enough, they didn’t stay long.
He really doesn’t want to be a bad guy, he just has no need to sit through a missionary spiel. Hopefully the drop by puts us off the list for 6 months.
mom3 wrote:
Rogue missionaries then?
There are rules that for the most part are common across all missions but mission presidents can add additional rules on top of them.
That might be rogue for the mission in DJ’s area but not in the mission in your area. That or the rules are relaxed if they’re visiting “inactives.”
Quote:That or the rules are relaxed if they’re visiting “inactives.”
Then that makes us the chosen ones.
:clap: All this makes me glad I’m not as involved. I have enough constraints on my life without adding new ones, imposed by the church. And by their own admission “unnecessary”. Serving a mission is hard, I can only imagine that family support will help a missionary cope and succeed.
mom3 wrote:
Quote:During the 6-9 pm proselyting time the missionaries are not allowed to go to members’ homes at all unless they are actively teaching there. Teaching appointments are supposed to be 30 minutes or less (ideally 20 minutes).
Rogue missionaries then?
I think these rules are specific to this mission/mission president, although one of the elders did say that he thought they came from the area presidency. (Maybe he thought that attributing it to a higher authority who actually had some kind of perceived authority over me would make me see it differently – obviously he doesn’t know me very well.
😈 )And, no, in this mission the fact that you’re inactive doesn’t change whether the missionaries can visit. I believe the rule is they can visit inactives outside the 6-9 time period (but only stay a short time, preferably <30 minutes which probably pleases the inactives anyway); if the inactives invite them to dinner (before 6 of course); or if the inactive is in a part member family - but then they have to be teaching the non-member part.
I remember my missionary son saying changes to relax rules were coming… Quote:Interestingly…my son said they had an General Authority come through and talk to their mission and was talking to all western European missions.
One thing he told them…
“It’s time in the church we relax on some of the rules that aren’t necessary.”
Now they can call home, and text and Facebook message home every week on Pday…as nibbler reported in the other thread.
Missions are hard enough, it is sacrifice enough, so it doesn’t need to be archaic and be harder than necessary for no reason.
We have pretty smart leaders.
I think more changes like this will keep coming, as we have better technology, and knowledge of things in the world…we don’t need to cling to past tradition and wear hardships on our sleeves as badges of honor for the faithful.
It is another win.
Our grandkids will be asked to pack two swimsuits as a part of the things they’re expected to take on a mission. 
As a missionary who recently served in 2012-2014, seeing what five years later can change gives me a wide mixed range of emotions. Due to the unique circumstances on my mission, i was allowed to use a special facebook account, have access to a skype like interface to contact members and investigators, drive a car my whole mission, help interpret in the temple and so on. Lots of unique opportunities came by way, i was even given callings in the branch i served! So to see how hard we struggled to get rights and recognized as needing extra support, becoming the norm for English missionaries shocks me. It makes me angry and wish that the church could have made these changes sooner so my mission wouldn’t have been as tough. But it also makes me grateful to have had those experiences and for my mission to have been so unique. At least they are changing now. But it also makes me worried that missionaries now and in the future will never understand how lucky and privileged they are to have these blessings that i was considered apostate for needing.
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