Missionary Announcement at Church Yesterday

[rongo]

6 hours ago, HappyJackWagon said:

Yesterday in Priesthood opening exercises the HPGL announced that ward and stake leadership has been made aware of upcoming changes to the full-time missionary program. This is what he said...

1- In addition to regular 2 year or 18 month missions, Bishops will have the option of recommending missionaries to serve 3 or 6 month missions.

2- If the missionary is doing well and would like to extend after the shorter 3-6 month call, they will be able to.

3- There will be more emphasis on service based missions for the shorter 3-6 month calls

These are some changes I've been hoping for and I think there are some really great implications IF these changes are accurate. Has anyone else heard anything else like this being announced in their local meetings? I thought it was an odd way to announce it. There wasn't a First Presidency letter read introducing the change or anything like it, yet ward leadership seemed totally confident in making the general announcement.

ETA- this announcement was about young Elders and Sisters serving, not Senior couples

I would be fascinated in more details, HappyJack. There is nothing in the Official Communications Library (online archive of letters from Salt Lake to priesthood leaders), which contains the most up-to-date information available --- even months before bishops and stake presidents get the letters. 

What state do you live in? Did the HPGL say wherein they had "been made aware of upcoming changes?"

I'm just curious where and how I will get this information, as I'm doing mission paperwork for missionaries right now . . .  

Thanks!

[Scott Lloyd]

6 hours ago, ksfisher said:

When I served in Sweden in the late 80's there were 3 month missionaries.  16 and up if I remember right.  The call coincided with summer vacation from school.

I imagine this is a local inititive involving the mission president and area/stake leaders where you live.   

Or it could be a pilot program in your mission.

Elder Per Malm, the General Authority Seventy who just died a couple of months ago, served such a mission as a teenager in his homeland of Sweden.

[HappyJackWagon]

51 minutes ago, rongo said:

I would be fascinated in more details, HappyJack. There is nothing in the Official Communications Library (online archive of letters from Salt Lake to priesthood leaders), which contains the most up-to-date information available --- even months before bishops and stake presidents get the letters. 

What state do you live in? Did the HPGL say wherein they had "been made aware of upcoming changes?"

I'm just curious where and how I will get this information, as I'm doing mission paperwork for missionaries right now . . .  

Thanks!

I'm not sure exactly. When I asked my SP info about it he sent me what looked like handbook policy bullet points. So you might look to see if there was an update of policy on the mission application system.

[rongo]

34 minutes ago, HappyJackWagon said:

I'm not sure exactly. When I asked my SP info about it he sent me what looked like handbook policy bullet points. So you might look to see if there was an update of policy on the mission application system.

Neither CHI 1 nor the online mission application system have anything about this. I find what you heard in church to be credible, I just can't find anything for priesthood leaders about it. Do you have a good enough relationship with your stake president to ask him for his source, given that there is nothing in CH1 (online), the online mission application system, or the official communications library?

Thanks!

[rongo]

Googling "two transfer mission" yields results, of which this is typical:

https://sisteralexharrison.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/what-in-the-heck-is-a-two-transfer-mission/

It looks to me like what you were told in opening exercises and by your stake president is old hat (since at least 2014), and not a new program or initiative. I would be genuinely interested to learn otherwise . . . 

[hope_for_things]

8 hours ago, HappyJackWagon said:

Yesterday in Priesthood opening exercises the HPGL announced that ward and stake leadership has been made aware of upcoming changes to the full-time missionary program. This is what he said...

1- In addition to regular 2 year or 18 month missions, Bishops will have the option of recommending missionaries to serve 3 or 6 month missions.

2- If the missionary is doing well and would like to extend after the shorter 3-6 month call, they will be able to.

3- There will be more emphasis on service based missions for the shorter 3-6 month calls

These are some changes I've been hoping for and I think there are some really great implications IF these changes are accurate. Has anyone else heard anything else like this being announced in their local meetings? I thought it was an odd way to announce it. There wasn't a First Presidency letter read introducing the change or anything like it, yet ward leadership seemed totally confident in making the general announcement.

ETA- this announcement was about young Elders and Sisters serving, not Senior couples

Wow, holy cow, this is amazing!!!  These are the kinds of changes I've been hoping for and talking with people about for a few years now.  This could be absolutely paradigm changing.  A 3-6 month service mission for young people, I would be totally on board with that, how awesome.  I hope this isn't a tease, if this is true, I'm almost speechless as to how overjoyed I am. 

[HappyJackWagon]

8 minutes ago, hope_for_things said:

Wow, holy cow, this is amazing!!!  These are the kinds of changes I've been hoping for and talking with people about for a few years now.  This could be absolutely paradigm changing.  A 3-6 month service mission for young people, I would be totally on board with that, how awesome.  I hope this isn't a tease, if this is true, I'm almost speechless as to how overjoyed I am. 

As I gathered more info from my SP it sounds less exciting but still a positive step. Like you, I've been advocating for changes like this for a long time and would love to see young missionaries have greater flexibility in their missions, similar to senior couples. Also, a greater focus on service would be fantastic but I don't think that's really happening yet.

[HappyJackWagon]

22 minutes ago, rongo said:

Googling "two transfer mission" yields results, of which this is typical:

https://sisteralexharrison.wordpress.com/2014/09/07/what-in-the-heck-is-a-two-transfer-mission/

It looks to me like what you were told in opening exercises and by your stake president is old hat (since at least 2014), and not a new program or initiative. I would be genuinely interested to learn otherwise . . . 

Interesting. I'd never heard of it before. Had you?

Maybe it's just now starting to be utilized...?

[rongo]

Just now, HappyJackWagon said:

Interesting. I'd never heard of it before. Had you?

Maybe it's just now starting to be utilized...?

I've never heard of it. From the blogs that come up under a google search, it's been around since at least 2014. It seems "case-by-case." From the blogs, there is no MTC, and the mission call comes to the stake president, who then gives it to the missionary. 

[filovirus]

As Ward Mission Leader, I have a chance to work with the full time missionaries quite a bit. About a year ago, we had a missionary come through our ward who was on a 3 month mission. If he liked it, he could continue for the full two years. Unfortunately, he didn't feel like it was for him, and went home when his 3 months were up. I encouraged him to stay it out, but he would rather spend his time playing video games at home. He was also a little slow (mentally challenged), but not noticeable unless you interacted with him regularly.

[hope_for_things]

2 hours ago, HappyJackWagon said:

As I gathered more info from my SP it sounds less exciting but still a positive step. Like you, I've been advocating for changes like this for a long time and would love to see young missionaries have greater flexibility in their missions, similar to senior couples. Also, a greater focus on service would be fantastic but I don't think that's really happening yet.

I'll take incremental improvements, even if only part of what you posted is accurate, its a good move in the right direction.  Thanks

[Hamba Tuhan]

We've had two Elders in our ward on trial missions. The first was about a year-and-a-half ago. He came to us for two transfers and has since continued his mission. He was fantastic, and I wish we could have kept him in our ward longer. He has a significant intellectual disability but is so full of love and faith and goodness and joy. He will have blessed every unit he has served in.

The other came to us earlier this year on a four-transfer trial. (We got him for the fourth transfer.) At the end of the six months, he made the decision not to continue, which saddened me because I liked having him around, but I've stayed in frequent contact with him since he left -- he in fact just messaged me from America yesterday -- and he's doing very well. He's serving now as the assistant WML in his ward and said that everything is 'better than he'd expected'. I was so glad to get that update.

Our missionaries are miracles to me, and I'm grateful for all they do as they serve us here!

[HappyJackWagon]

11 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

We've had two Elders in our ward on trial missions. The first was about a year-and-a-half ago. He came to us for two transfers and has since continued his mission. He was fantastic, and I wish we could have kept him in our ward longer. He has a significant intellectual disability but is so full of love and faith and goodness and joy. He will have blessed every unit he has served in.

The other came to us earlier this year on a four-transfer trial. (We got him for the fourth transfer.) At the end of the six months, he made the decision not to continue, which saddened me because I liked having him around, but I've stayed in frequent contact with him since he left -- he in fact just messaged me from America yesterday -- and he's doing very well. He's serving now as the assistant WML in his ward and said that everything is 'better than he'd expected'. I was so glad to get that update.

Our missionaries are miracles to me, and I'm grateful for all they do as they serve us here!

Thanks for sharing. I'm curious. Did there seem to be any stigma with a "trial" mission?

I think a stigma would develop if viewed that way which would be unfortunate. It would think that normalization of the shorter term missions would help with that.

Edited October 18, 2016 by HappyJackWagon

[Scott Lloyd]

1 hour ago, HappyJackWagon said:

Thanks for sharing. I'm curious. Did there seem to be any stigma with a "trial" mission?

I think a stigma would develop if viewed that way which would be unfortunate. It would think that normalization of the shorter term missions would help with that.

I should think one would not opt for the shorter-term mission in the first place if one perceived a stigma attached to it.

[Scott Lloyd]

21 hours ago, HappyJackWagon said:

As I gathered more info from my SP it sounds less exciting but still a positive step. Like you, I've been advocating for changes like this for a long time and would love to see young missionaries have greater flexibility in their missions, similar to senior couples. Also, a greater focus on service would be fantastic but I don't think that's really happening yet.

This presupposes that preaching the gospel and bringing souls to Christ is not to be regarded as service. I reject that presupposition.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Scott Lloyd

[ALarson]

19 hours ago, HappyJackWagon said:

I too would be interested in seeing the guidelines. Many missionaries return home for homesickness and high anxiety. If they worry about these things while completing their mission applications it seems like it would be very reasonable for the prospective missionary to essentially be able to choose the length of mission. Who else besides the missionary could possibly know if they may have emotional issues (that term can mean just about anything).

I'm curious how you think this might be abused. If every prospective missionary who preferred a 3 month mission opted for that, is that an abuse? Or is their personal choice? I wouldn't see anything wrong with this. Personally, I'd prefer for prospective missionaries to have a whole range of choices just like senior missionaries. Let them choose 3,6,12,18, 24 months. Let them keep their options open so they don't feel like failures when a full 2 years isn't in the cards.

I was typing as I was thinking about this and I think the word "abused" is stronger that what I intended to say.  I think this would be a wonderful and well needed change if utilized correctly, is all I meant.  I would just hope that missionaries who are fully able (mentally, physically, and emotionally) would still serve a 2 year mission if at all possible.  I think the key will be for others not to judge, whatever their decision is. Serving a 3 month mission is a great option and I love the service aspect involved too. 

[ksfisher]

8 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

This presupposes that a preaching the gospel and bringing souls to Christ is not to be regarded as service. I reject that presupposition.

Agreed.  Their are thousand of agencies and organizations worldwide, some of them connected or funded by the church, that provide aid and service.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only organization in the world that has received a direct commission from the Savior to preach the gospel to the world.  The church has also received the necessary authority from God to administer the saving ordinances of the gospel to all who will accept them.  The church should not be distracted, however noble the reasons or good the intentions, from this direct commission from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to preach the gospel to all the world and prepare the way for his second coming.

[Gray]

15 minutes ago, ksfisher said:

Agreed.  Their are thousand of agencies and organizations worldwide, some of them connected or funded by the church, that provide aid and service.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only organization in the world that has received a direct commission from the Savior to preach the gospel to the world.  The church has also received the necessary authority from God to administer the saving ordinances of the gospel to all who will accept them.  The church should not be distracted, however noble the reasons or good the intentions, from this direct commission from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to preach the gospel to all the world and prepare the way for his second coming.

Here's a direct commission from Jesus Christ:

Quote

The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

 

[cdowis]

Notice what was NOT said:

"Lord, we have confessed your name by our mouth.  Giving to the poor is a work."

"Come ye blessed into my kingdom.  Your mouth has saved you."

Edited October 18, 2016 by cdowis

[Alan]

On ‎17‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 2:39 PM, HappyJackWagon said:

Yesterday in Priesthood opening exercises the HPGL announced that ward and stake leadership has been made aware of upcoming changes to the full-time missionary program. This is what he said...

1- In addition to regular 2 year or 18 month missions, Bishops will have the option of recommending missionaries to serve 3 or 6 month missions.

2- If the missionary is doing well and would like to extend after the shorter 3-6 month call, they will be able to.

3- There will be more emphasis on service based missions for the shorter 3-6 month calls

These are some changes I've been hoping for and I think there are some really great implications IF these changes are accurate. Has anyone else heard anything else like this being announced in their local meetings? I thought it was an odd way to announce it. There wasn't a First Presidency letter read introducing the change or anything like it, yet ward leadership seemed totally confident in making the general announcement.

ETA- this announcement was about young Elders and Sisters serving, not Senior couples

This has been the case for a while.

We had a 19 year old sister go out on a "two transfer" (ie. 3 months) mission quite recently.

An 18 year old Elder from another ward in the stake also went out on this basis recently.

It is usually done this way if there are grounds for concern regarding the prospective missionaries health.

[Gray]

20 minutes ago, cdowis said:

Notice what was NOT said:

"Lord, we have confessed your name by our mouth.  Giving to the poor is a work."

"Come ye blessed into my kingdom.  Your mouth has saved you."

Indeed. Jesus, as reported in the gospels, makes a point of focusing on the importance of good works. 

[Scott Lloyd]

1 hour ago, ksfisher said:

Agreed.  Their are thousand of agencies and organizations worldwide, some of them connected or funded by the church, that provide aid and service.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only organization in the world that has received a direct commission from the Savior to preach the gospel to the world.  The church has also received the necessary authority from God to administer the saving ordinances of the gospel to all who will accept them.  The church should not be distracted, however noble the reasons or good the intentions, from this direct commission from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to preach the gospel to all the world and prepare the way for his second coming.

Very well put.

And young, single, male members of the Church who are able in body, mind and spirit need to recognize their priesthood responsibility to fulfill this divine commission by accepting calls to preach the gospel through full-time missionary service.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Scott Lloyd

[busybee]

On 17/10/2016 at 2:39 PM, HappyJackWagon said:

Yesterday in Priesthood opening exercises the HPGL announced that ward and stake leadership has been made aware of upcoming changes to the full-time missionary program. This is what he said...

1- In addition to regular 2 year or 18 month missions, Bishops will have the option of recommending missionaries to serve 3 or 6 month missions.

2- If the missionary is doing well and would like to extend after the shorter 3-6 month call, they will be able to.

3- There will be more emphasis on service based missions for the shorter 3-6 month calls

These are some changes I've been hoping for and I think there are some really great implications IF these changes are accurate. Has anyone else heard anything else like this being announced in their local meetings? I thought it was an odd way to announce it. There wasn't a First Presidency letter read introducing the change or anything like it, yet ward leadership seemed totally confident in making the general announcement.

ETA- this announcement was about young Elders and Sisters serving, not Senior couples

My daughter has recently returned from her mission and says that they had missionaries in their mission who were serving this type of mission.It would usually be a missionary who had some learning disability or perhaps a condition on the Autism spectrum. They would serve the first 3 months close to home and if they coped and were able to go on to serve the 2 years or 18 months, they would then go in to the MTC for training and then on to their assigned missions. I think it is a wonderful change.

[Guest]

On October 17, 2016 at 9:39 AM, HappyJackWagon said:

Yesterday in Priesthood opening exercises the HPGL announced that ward and stake leadership has been made aware of upcoming changes to the full-time missionary program. This is what he said...

1- In addition to regular 2 year or 18 month missions, Bishops will have the option of recommending missionaries to serve 3 or 6 month missions.

2- If the missionary is doing well and would like to extend after the shorter 3-6 month call, they will be able to.

3- There will be more emphasis on service based missions for the shorter 3-6 month calls

These are some changes I've been hoping for and I think there are some really great implications IF these changes are accurate. Has anyone else heard anything else like this being announced in their local meetings? I thought it was an odd way to announce it. There wasn't a First Presidency letter read introducing the change or anything like it, yet ward leadership seemed totally confident in making the general announcement.

ETA- this announcement was about young Elders and Sisters serving, not Senior couples

Why have you been hoping for this? 

[Hamba Tuhan]

22 hours ago, HappyJackWagon said:

Thanks for sharing. I'm curious. Did there seem to be any stigma with a "trial" mission?

Stigma? From whom? For what reason?