18 Month Missions Of The 70S/80S

[Duncan]

I can understand the idea that maybe more would choose to go if it wasn't as hard to collect the money (savings 25%) and with scheduling wisely one only missed a year of school (take a spring/summer term if necessary) especially since the first year at college is often a throwaway year as people don't know their ultimate major, the adjustment from high school to university results in low grades, etc. By the time one has got back from one's mission not only is it likely they know more of what they want to do for their life, they have learned habits that will help them keep the grades up.

However, I suspect that if those are the things that weigh enough on your mind to prevent you from going on a two year mission, then there is no real deep desire to go on a mission and any significant sacrifice would be seen as too much.

my bro in law said basically the same, do I want to go on a say 3 month mission or a 24 month mission, if you had no desire then the the amount of time wasn't a big factor. I knew a guy who said he signed up for 18 months and he served 18 months and that was that

[Bernard Gui]

My mission (1966-68) was 27 months...3 months in the Language Training Mission and 24 months

in the field.

SOP for foreign language missions then.

Bernard

Edited June 17, 2012 by Bernard Gui

[Whiskeypete]

I was called for 18 months and was at the MTC when they made the announcement changing it back to 24 months. We were given the option of serving anywhere between 18 and 24 months. I ended up choosing to serve 23 months due to travel schedules. I don't remember exactly how long they gave us to decide, but I was supposed to give an ending date before I left the MTC.

It was pretty crazy, as the day before the announcement, rumors starting flying around the MTC. Being a skeptical person, I lumped them in the same category as the urban legends about missionaries having no location on their call, just a number to call the prophet, etc. I was shocked when the rumors turned out to be right.

[Ron Beron]

I served from July 81 - Jan 83. I was out 9 months and got word that I did not have a choice, I would only serve 18 months. If I had left just a few months earlier, I could have chosen either 18 or 24 months. When I left, it was for 24.

I served in Japan, and have heard that the last 6 months of the mission, you learn the language at an accelerated rate. I can't say it is true from experience but that is what I heard.

I was also in Japan Tokyo from 75-77 and you are correct, the last few months come fast and furious. I went back a few years later and was totally exhausted at the end of day from speaking the language.

[Scott Lloyd]

I heard that you could still leave the mission after 18 months and it would still be considered an honorable discharge. I'm not really sure what that means because I haven't really heard the distinguishing terms honorable and dishonorable discharge since I left the mission. Is dishonorable discharge is kept on some record somewhere. Who looks at this and why? Does it follow the missionary the rest of his life in the church?

From what I saw, the sisters were free to leave whenever they decided without threat of the dishonorable discharge put on their record. Does anyone know if the sisters have to pay for their own plane ticket home if they decide to leave early? Most of my difficult companions weren't allowed to leave because they simply couldn't acquire the funds to do so.

It's not called a "discharge." It's a release.

When it was time for me to come home, I was given a letter from my mission president saying I was being honorably released from my mission. I suppose one who abandons his mission or is sent home early due to transgression would not receive such a letter. Nor would he report to the stake presidency and high council or do any of the other routine things a missionary does when being honorably released.

For me personally, it is meaningful that my release was honorable. For others, it might not matter so much.

It is conceivable that, for appropriate reason, one might terminate a mission early yet still be honorably released. Perhaps that was the case with the sister missionaries to whom you allude in this post.

Edited June 17, 2012 by Scott Lloyd