Mormon Missions Explained (Why I Regret My Mormon Mission)

I can't believe I paid $12,000+ to do 24/7 sales for the Mormon church. What a waste.

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[bekaz]

Friendly Reminder: If someone brings you to another country and takes away your passport, that's human trafficking. But it does NOT mean you're trapped there. Contact your embassy and they will help you.

[coachanderson]

You just inspired my daughter, she is very strict member, she has been pressured by the Bishop to go on a mission, she always been involved in the my ward big time. I left the church 2 years ago and my son left the church 3 years ago. Now my daughter has been watching other channels like Mormon stories, she came last week and told me she is trying to find the truth, I told her everything about the lies of the church last for few days too. Now, I think she is leaving the church! Thank-you!

[debrawhitney]

I'm not LDS. I lived in Osaka Japan for six years. I met many missionaries over the years. When they approached me, I quickly explained I'm Jewish and I had no interest in Jesus. However, I always offered food and drink. These young men were always starving and in need of help. Over the years, my home became a regular stop for these missionaries. They always knew I'd listen and share American holidays with them. Many were so lonely and just needed an encouraging word.

[aersla]

I was lucky enough to be poor, and not have support from my bishop. I was not able to serve a mission unless I provided 75% of the expenses, which were not affordable at the time. So at the time I was devastated because I wanted to serve a mission, now as an adult who has left the church maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

[SecretSquirrelFun]

As a non religious person my whole life, I remember when 2 young American men appeared on my doorstep. I was away from home in NSW and living in Western Australia. I was a similar age to these Mormon missionaries and they were sooo out of their depth. Even the most everyday things shocked them. The only time they looked at ease was whenever they were going over their “script”. I felt so badly for these guys that I had them in each week for a good meal. They turned up without fail, and eventually we came to an unspoken agreement that they wouldn’t push the religious stuff.
At some point one of the guys left and was replaced by another person who was not as “easy going”. The fear on the face of the one regular guy was evident when he appeared at my door acting as if we had never met.
I played along and offered them to eat with us. Honestly, these guys were really really hungry. It was heartbreaking.

I sometimes wonder all these years later what happened to them, especially the one guy who always brought his mission partners to our home. I wonder where he is today and if he’s still in the church.

[lmiller]

My son was approached by 2 mormon missionaries on his way to his physics class at his university. They asked him if he knew where his soul was going, and he told them, "To physics class, " and he continued on his way to class.
I was SO proud of him!!!!
I was so glad he was not on a mormon mission like the 2 men, and was focusing on his education, exactly what young adults should be doing.

[SteveCarrDrivesAPrius]

I opted "out" of going on a mission and was tossed "out" of my house. The church was way way more important than me.

[fpfmisk]

One of our good friends’ boyfriend went on his mission to Mexico. He died from carbon monoxide poisoning in the cabin he lived in there. He was hailed as a hero back home. It was really traumatic

[Victoria-yfrr]

I hate how they usually come on missions to Latin America. We’re not poor homeless pagans for these people to “save”. It’s also more common for them to go visit indigenous communities and try to force their religion on them by manipulation. Our religion and culture should be respected, not changed.

[ExvangelicalJess]

I had been a member of the church for a little over a year when I went to the temple to receive my endowments, which completely freaked me out BTW.

A week later my bishop called me into his office for a conference. He wanted me to “pray “ about going on a mission. Mind you at this point I was 28 years old and had been living on my own, including 3 years of military service, and I was a junior in college.

However, I did pray about it and decided that the answer was going to be NO. I returned to the bishop and gave him my decision along with all of the reasons for not going on a mission (well not ALL of them: I had some extremely personal reasons for not going on a mission).

The next week at church, people I didn’t know from the church came to me and started giving me all their reasons why they had served their missions and they asked me when I was going to serve one myself. It wasn’t a big leap to figure out who had put them up to it. I went back to the bishop and told him again why I couldn’t even think about serving a mission at that time.

More and more, I was getting pressured to go on a mission, and the stress became stronger to the point that I was becoming depressed and suicidal. I went back to the bishop one final time and told him that under no circumstances would I consider a mission and if the pressure campaign didn’t stop I would leave the church and forbid anyone from the ward from contacting me.

He didn’t like that too much and told me that until I became more righteous he was suspending my temple recommend and that I should not take the sacrament until further notice. Also, he relieved me of my calling as a ward clerk. I told him in so many words where he could stick his calling and all the rest, and told him very specifically where to shove his mission.

I left his office without another word and a week later sent him a letter telling him to remove my name from church records and under no circumstances was anyone from the church to contact me. In essence, I excommunicated myself and could not have cared less. I have been very happy being outside of the church and have never felt like I have missed a thing.

[richharkness]

I left at 165lbs returned 90lbs. I was in the hospital 1 month after I returned from the Patagonia of Argentina. Only good thing I learned Spanish. After 25 years I speak Spanish fluently and better than when I was in Argentina. My fiancee is Peruvian and only speaks Spanish. Leaving the church my depression has left. I'm happier. I received a 10% raise. I'm not in a cult that launders money and invests my tithing in Coors Budweiser and Phillip Morris.

[iddet]

I lived in Denmark in the 80's and opened my door to two wonderful young Mormon ladies. They became friends and whenever a new missionary arrived from the US they were brought to my home. They soon almost gave up trying to save me, but they kept coming. I was even invided to a big Mormon surprise party held for Sister Smith, who was returning home. This is a lovely memory.

[unorthodoxpeach]

One time some missionaries showed up at my brother's house. My brother is an amateur theologian, he gets excited to talk about religion with anyone. So he scheduled a time when he wasn't busy for them to come back. Then he researched everything he could about the Mormon church. When the missionaries came back my brother was ready to have a spirited debate, they were not ready for him at all.

[dallenpowell]

I served in the Philippines, Bacolod mission from 2013-2015. I loved being in the Philippines. The people were amazing, the food was delicious, and it was truly an incredible experience. I truly wish I could have been there outside of the church organization. The part that I've come to regret the most was asking poor, hardworking Filipinos to pay tithing to a multi billion dollar church while they struggled to put food on the table every day. It's something I still can't wrap my head around. The mission culture there was very strict and we were constantly reminded that exact obedience brings miracles. We had a mission goal of weekly baptisms and were the top baptizing mission in the world at the time. I don't regret going and I'm so glad I did but I will always regret why I was there and what I asked people to do. Missionary culture in 3rd world countries is American colonialism by proxy. I unknowingly extorted them of their tithing to sell them shame, guilt, and bind obedience. I can't take that back.

[imaybeanidiotbut]

I served as a Christian missionary—not Mormon. Hearing about the rules y’all had and the amount of control over you is baffling to me. What struck me the most is the sentiment that the church isn’t there to financially support you. Since I was a child, I’ve been taught that the church is one body meant to support and care for each other—but especially those in need. As a missionary, I was fully financially supported by the church. I caught the flu while on mission and was immediately taken to the hospital for care. I had missionary insurance through the organization I was serving with. It was a very pleasant experience.

We were asked to serve and encourage existing believers more so than convert people but we still did some street evangelism. We always stopped for meals. We always had free time set aside in the day. No restrictions on what we listened to or read. We were asked to wear clothing that was respectful to the culture we were serving in. Our goal was to share the gospel and pray for the people in our location, but there was no pressure to “get converts” because we see it as a personal choice that the Holy Spirit must encourage. There’s nothing I can say or do to “make” someone receive Jesus. No one comes to the father but those who he draws to himself and we know that many will reject Jesus. We ultimately want to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. When I obey the voice of the Lord, I see fruit. When I strive in my own desire to see converts, I see fruitlessness.

[simplicityyy]

When I was around 12 or 13, my cousin and I were outside in the severe Arizona heat (115 degrees or hotter). These two mormon women missionaries were walking by and were clearly overheating. We offered them some water bottles and they were so grateful and did not even try to evangelize to us. Despite the extreme heat they were wearing ankle length thick skirts and shirts with sleeves down to their elbows. This was really eye opening to see growing up in a town with a strong mormon presence.

[caseydunn]

Omg… I knew a missionary who went to my high school who missed his mom’s funeral and came back to a new stepmom… his dad was bishop and I still get sick over that.

[LynnaKatriel]

It's interesting that a church that places a huge emphasis on family wouldn't encourage someone to attend their mother's funeral while on a mission.

[SinginginD]

The missionaries I met in Myrtle Beach had joined my community’s Facebook group. They posted who needs prayer, and my husband and I both hit the like button. The ladies messaged us to proselytize immediately. We felt such compassion for one of the girls, but we couldn’t get into an authentic conversation because they responded to everything with, “I love that scripture says It was so sad because the one girl would start to be more herself, but her companion would step in, and she would become a robot. 😢 We never cut her off and when we did talk to her on her own, we strongly hinted that she was welcome in our home if she felt uncomfortable. I hope she appreciated it, even though she never took us up on it. :-/ I often wish I knew how to contact her now, years later.

[giuliagautschi-delre]

Thank you Alyssa for taking me back more than 40 years when I was a converted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I joined the Church when I was 17 years old. I lived as a German in Hamburg Northern Germany. When I turned 21 years old, I went on a mission. I was also VERY sure I‘d be send to Italy, the homeland of my ancestors. And I was deeply disappointed when I received my Mission Call to South Germany (Munich Mission). Even though I was very successful in NUMBERS during my mission, I hated most of the time the strict rules. For instance I was expected to learn the text of the teaching lessons word perfect, as a native! To me it was terrible to learn these lines, teaching in words a German would never speak. Door to Door knocking was a nightmare. So I decided to take dogs for walks from members and made a lot of contacts with Germans. After almost 20 years later I left the Church and my Mormon Bishop husband. I am very well living now in Switzerland 🇨🇭. Thanks for sharing your Mission experiences!