Monthly Missionary Cost Moved Back to $400 in July?

[Scott Lloyd]

5 hours ago, The Nehor said:

Basically any missionary that was not in the field or in in person training during the time period but whose account was debited will have the funds returned to their individual account. There is not a way for members to get those donations back. If they go into the field later the funds are there. If for any reason they cannot the money is usually moved to the ward missionary fund or to the fund of another missionary.

To clarify for others this is probably not still in an individual account. The Mission Office likes to close individual funds once the missionary goes home. To use it for another child I would move it into the Ward Mission fund and then move it to the new missionary's fund when they go out.

Other options for when funds are overpaid is to recharacterize the donation to tithing or fast offering instead if the bishop consents and I have never seen one refuse.

I guess I didn’t make myself clear. 
 

Within our ward mission fund there are sub-funds for individual missionaries. When a ward member donates to the ward missionary fund, he can choose to have all or any part of that donation go for a specific missionary. 
 

If, at the end of a missionary’s mission, unused money is in the ward missionary fund under the missionary’s name, it remains there until it is transferred out to support one or more other missionaries. 
 

Our son still has $400 under his name, evidently because someone donated for him without our knowing about it (I’ve been an assistant ward clerk over finances for over a year, so I know first hand the money is there under his name). That’s enough to support a missionary for one month, unless the increase to $500 a month is reinstated. I’m told we can use that to support his brother when he goes on his mission. That’s what we intend to do. 

Edited April 21, 2020 by Scott Lloyd

[The Nehor]

7 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

I guess I didn’t make myself clear. 
 

Within our ward mission fund there are sub-funds for individual missionaries. When a ward member donates to the ward missionary fund, he can choose to have all or any part of that donation go for a specific missionary. 
 

If, at the end of a missionary’s mission, unused money is in the ward missionary fund under the missionary’s name, it remains there until it is transferred out to support one or more other missionaries. 
 

Our son still has $400 under his name, evidently because someone donated for him without our knowing about it (I’ve been an assistant ward clerk over finances for over a year, so I know first hand the money is there under his name). That’s enough to support a missionary for one month, unless the increase to $500 a month is reinstated. I’m told we can use that to support his brother when he goes on his mission. That’s what we intend to do. 

Sort of, but it should not be kept in the missionary's sub-fund until it is needed. It should be moved to the general fund. At the end of the year when the missionary should be moved out and the individual account is deleted. It can transfer to the general fund and be earmarked for another missionary of course.

[rongo]

1 minute ago, The Nehor said:

Sort of, but it should not be kept in the missionary's sub-fund until it is needed. It should be moved to the general fund. At the end of the year when the missionary should be moved out and the individual account is deleted. It can transfer to the general fund and be earmarked for another missionary of course.

This is three years ago, but we had a $10,000 balance in the ward mission fund, cobbled together from three missionaries who had gone home early (pre-paid). They all were from before I was bishop, so the money had been in there a l-o-n-g time. I called financial and tried to arrange sending it to the General mission fund, but they didn't want to do that, and asked if we had any missionaries leaving soon. We did have a boy on the horizon, and it actually was a boon because it enabled him to go. 

I was surprised, because it isn't like the Church to leave unused budget allotment or any fund, really, for long periods of time without reallocating. I was surprised it had just sat there the whole time. 

That's why I tell people not to pre-pay for the mission, because you just never know. And that was before the pandemic, which wasn't even a thought for me. There could be a death, or an illness, or emotional/mental return, or natural disaster. It's just best to pay month-to-month. Our son earned his money, and we're actually paying what we can without telling him so we can give him as much as possible back when he returns (no amount of money is too much when you get married). I think we've only had to use $800 of his own money for his mission, so it's mostly still there. But, what if he were in one of the missions that simply ended, without reassignment, and we had pre-paid it all into his ward mission fund? It would simply be gone.

[The Nehor]

1 minute ago, rongo said:

This is three years ago, but we had a $10,000 balance in the ward mission fund, cobbled together from three missionaries who had gone home early (pre-paid). They all were from before I was bishop, so the money had been in there a l-o-n-g time. I called financial and tried to arrange sending it to the General mission fund, but they didn't want to do that, and asked if we had any missionaries leaving soon. We did have a boy on the horizon, and it actually was a boon because it enabled him to go. 

I was surprised, because it isn't like the Church to leave unused budget allotment or any fund, really, for long periods of time without reallocating. I was surprised it had just sat there the whole time. 

That's why I tell people not to pre-pay for the mission, because you just never know. And that was before the pandemic, which wasn't even a thought for me. There could be a death, or an illness, or emotional/mental return, or natural disaster. It's just best to pay month-to-month. Our son earned his money, and we're actually paying what we can without telling him so we can give him as much as possible back when he returns (no amount of money is too much when you get married). I think we've only had to use $800 of his own money for his mission, so it's mostly still there. But, what if he were in one of the missions that simply ended, without reassignment, and we had pre-paid it all into his ward mission fund? It would simply be gone.

Storing funds in the general Ward Mission fund is not odd at all. Keeping it in individual accounts for an extended period of time after the mission is over is. We had a VERY generous donation a few years back and have been using it (and other contributions) in drips and drabs to support missionaries when their family and friend donations came a little short. Sometimes the stake will ask for excess donations to be passed up the chain but in my experience that only happens if there is a big need in another ward in the stake or if the amount is really large (six figures or higher in my experience).

[alter idem]

22 hours ago, rongo said:

My sister (a RS president) told me that bishops were sent a letter stating that the anticipated increase from $400 to $500 for young missionaries in July has been moved back down to $400. I trust my source on this (  ), but wondered if anyone else had heard this. 

It's not surprising, given how many costs are currently not being incurred, for the indefinite future. Even in our mission, our missionaries reported yesterday that they are down from 230 to 170 missionaries, because of missionaries going home but none incoming (we took them dinner, and they had moved into a house with other elders by way of consolidation. Two blocks south, or two stakes south, instead of nearby). I can't even imagine how many apartments have been closed, even in the U.S. 

I'm sure this is welcome news for many!

Maybe they are pushing back increase while there are so many fewer missionaries serving.  I can see that as a realistic outcome of not having so many missionaries for the church to have to subsidize at this time.

[Scott Lloyd]

5 hours ago, The Nehor said:

Sort of, but it should not be kept in the missionary's sub-fund until it is needed. It should be moved to the general fund. At the end of the year when the missionary should be moved out and the individual account is deleted. It can transfer to the general fund and be earmarked for another missionary of course.

I think I’ll continue to take my direction from our bishop. 

[Scott Lloyd]

6 hours ago, rongo said:

This is three years ago, but we had a $10,000 balance in the ward mission fund, cobbled together from three missionaries who had gone home early (pre-paid). They all were from before I was bishop, so the money had been in there a l-o-n-g time. I called financial and tried to arrange sending it to the General mission fund, but they didn't want to do that, and asked if we had any missionaries leaving soon. We did have a boy on the horizon, and it actually was a boon because it enabled him to go. 

I was surprised, because it isn't like the Church to leave unused budget allotment or any fund, really, for long periods of time without reallocating. I was surprised it had just sat there the whole time. 

That's why I tell people not to pre-pay for the mission, because you just never know. And that was before the pandemic, which wasn't even a thought for me. There could be a death, or an illness, or emotional/mental return, or natural disaster. It's just best to pay month-to-month. Our son earned his money, and we're actually paying what we can without telling him so we can give him as much as possible back when he returns (no amount of money is too much when you get married). I think we've only had to use $800 of his own money for his mission, so it's mostly still there. But, what if he were in one of the missions that simply ended, without reassignment, and we had pre-paid it all into his ward mission fund? It would simply be gone.

Some might consider me off the rails on this, but I’m of the opinion a missionary’s expenses should be fully funded by his or her family, relatives or friends, who should count it a privilege to participate in the work of the Lord by providing that support. The missionary is already making a considerable sacrifice just by giving his or her time and labor. 
 

Whatever the young man or young woman earns personally ought to be channeled toward education, marriage or a home — or to avoid going into debt for a car or other expenditures. 

Edited April 21, 2020 by Scott Lloyd

[Calm]

2 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

Whatever the young man or young woman earns personally ought to be channeled toward education, marriage or a home — or to avoid going into debt for a car or other expenditures. 

Risk of less commitment likely from those who don't invest their own efforts financially in their own missions, imo.  I would not be surprised if there is greater peer/family pressure felt by those who are paid for by others rather than those who made the decision to pay for it themselves.

[Scott Lloyd]

3 hours ago, Calm said:

Risk of less commitment likely from those who don't invest their own efforts financially in their own missions, imo.  I would not be surprised if there is greater peer/family pressure felt by those who are paid for by others rather than those who made the decision to pay for it themselves.

Less commitment likely? Not from my observation or experience. Nor is the assumption of greater peer/family pressure likely from my observation or experience — unless a personal awareness that a support network back home is hoping and praying for one’s success is to be regarded as “pressure.” To me, it would be a positive, even a comforting, thing. 

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Scott Lloyd

[Calm]

7 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

Less commitment likely? Not from my observation or experience.

The ones complaining online about being forced to go on missions are not ones who pay for it themselves in my experience.  The kids with morning paper routes or after school jobs were the ones talking about going on missions and showing excitement when I was working with them or my son’s friends were talking. 
 

It is quite possible my experience is skewed, but psych studies generally show greater commitment when someone has personally invested in something. 
 

It appears less expected to pay for it yourself these days, but that just may be due to where I have lived over the years. 

[Scott Lloyd]

13 minutes ago, Calm said:

The ones complaining online about being forced to go on missions are not ones who pay for it themselves in my experience.  The kids with morning paper routes or after school jobs were the ones talking about going on missions and showing excitement when I was working with them or my son’s friends were talking. 
 

It is quite possible my experience is skewed, but psych studies generally show greater commitment when someone has personally invested in something. 
 

It appears less expected to pay for it yourself these days, but that just may be due to where I have lived over the years. 

But one already is “personally Invested” in the endeavor with the total devotion of time and labor. That’s the point I tried to make earlier. It’s not too much to expect that family, relatives and friends partner with the missionary by picking up the cost to the extent they can. 
 

I could probably continue this back-and-forth with you indefinitely, but l tried to do that very recently and got thread-banned, so I won’t. You win. Congratulations. 

[Calm]

24 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

one already is “personally Invested” in the endeavor with the total devotion of time and labor.

If reddit is to be believed, there are a number of missionaries out there that are not devoting total time and effort into their labor. Just because someone is on their mission and maybe even giving lessons, etc. doesn't mean they are investing themselves in it any more than just because someone draws a paycheck or sits in a class means they are earning their salary or studying.

I have no problem with family, etc. helping out.  I think problems may arise when missionaries expect others to foot their bills as a given.

Edited April 22, 2020 by Calm

[alter idem]

23 hours ago, rongo said:

This is three years ago, but we had a $10,000 balance in the ward mission fund, cobbled together from three missionaries who had gone home early (pre-paid). They all were from before I was bishop, so the money had been in there a l-o-n-g time. I called financial and tried to arrange sending it to the General mission fund, but they didn't want to do that, and asked if we had any missionaries leaving soon. We did have a boy on the horizon, and it actually was a boon because it enabled him to go. 

I was surprised, because it isn't like the Church to leave unused budget allotment or any fund, really, for long periods of time without reallocating. I was surprised it had just sat there the whole time. 

That's why I tell people not to pre-pay for the mission, because you just never know. And that was before the pandemic, which wasn't even a thought for me. There could be a death, or an illness, or emotional/mental return, or natural disaster. It's just best to pay month-to-month. Our son earned his money, and we're actually paying what we can without telling him so we can give him as much as possible back when he returns (no amount of money is too much when you get married). I think we've only had to use $800 of his own money for his mission, so it's mostly still there. But, what if he were in one of the missions that simply ended, without reassignment, and we had pre-paid it all into his ward mission fund? It would simply be gone.

I agree it's best to pay month to month for mission, that is, unless a missionary family has got enough money that it won't matter if something unforseen were to happen and the mission cut short. That happens for all kinds of reasons. My daughter also worked to save money for her mission and she fully expects it to all go to paying for it, but we're also trying to not use it so she has that money when she returns.  She was such a responsible person,  working part-time while at school, and she completed her associate degree during high school, also earned 2 scholarships which saved us so much money.  We'd like her to be able to use the money she earned when she returns.  Unfortunately she won’t be getting the stimulus money which would have been great to add to her savings, since she doesn't qualify. 

[alter idem]

13 hours ago, Calm said:

If reddit is to be believed, there are a number of missionaries out there that are not devoting total time and effort into their labor. Just because someone is on their mission and maybe even giving lessons, etc. doesn't mean they are investing themselves in it any more than just because someone draws a paycheck or sits in a class means they are earning their salary or studying.

I have no problem with family, etc. helping out.  I think problems may arise when missionaries expect others to foot their bills as a given.

While it's wonderful if parents can pay all mission expenses for their child, there is a danger in creating a sense of entitlement.  It likely depends on the child and how they were raised. My daughter's mission had a real problem with missionaries breaking all kinds of rules they didn't want to follow and so it would seem that not all missionaries are there for the best or the right reasons.

[Calm]

1 hour ago, alter idem said:

My daughter also worked to save money for her mission and she fully expects it to all go to paying for it, but we're also trying to not use it so she has that money when she returns.

This is what we did. I think it a good approach, the benefit for the missionary in personal commitment and pride (the good kind) in achieving something of significant value to self and others while the option is there to give the youth a jumpstart coming home with education or other needs. 

[Rain]

It's amazing how things tend to gain value when you have to pay something for it.  We had a couch on our curb for several days with "free" on it.  As soon as we put "$50" it was stolen.  

I've found that to be the case with putting things online.  If you put "free" you will have a lot of people asking for it and when you make arrangements they won't show up to see it. If you however, put a price on it you get pretty much only people who will at least look at the item.

[Hamba Tuhan]

I like the individualised approach, personally.

One of my former young men, and the first boy from our ward to serve in nearly 20 years, was told by his parents not to expect a single cent from them. (They were white-hot with anger over his decision to serve.) So he worked and saved for over a year and got just enough to buy his clothes and luggage and go. I drove him to the airport at his request, and it was in the car that he told me he had failed to set up his finances so that he could transfer money to the ward, so he just left me with his online user name and password. I hated that, but when I got home, I shifted 1/4 of his money into a 6-month term deposit, 1/4 into a 12-month term deposit, and another 1/4 into an 18-month term deposit. By the time he came back, he had enough to live on until he could find a job. I love that he sacrificed so much to serve, and it definitely impacted his commitment.

One of his peers came back to church about the same time, and as he straightened up his life, developed a strong desire to serve as well. He is the eldest of seven children, raised by a single mum with health issues, and so he knew he needed to find the funding for his mission as well. For months, he applied for every job he could. Nothing worked. I was serving as WML at the time, and he got called as a ward missionary. I told him not to worry about it, that it was in God's hands, and put him to work with the full-time missionaries pretty much every single day. Our group leader approached the high priests one Sunday and asked if we could help this young man serve a mission. I pledged to pay for 1/8 of it, and by the end of our class, we had enough money for him to serve. I stayed in close contact with this boy during his two years of serving, and he was as committed and dedicated as the first one.

There are many ways to do right and good things.

[The Nehor]

I saved up enough to cover almost all of my mission. When I was ready to go my dad helped me invest it and told me he would cover the mission and I could pay him back. I never did though. I offered but he told me to keep it. I am not sure why he did that. It might have been that my younger brother who went out while I was gone did not have much money. My brother focused more on education right after High School while I got some jobs. My brother may have been wiser. He got a bachelor’s at BYU and a Masters at Yale. I only picked up a bachelors and that was with two breaks in schooling due to job opportunities that are probably better on my resume than a degree.

On 4/21/2020 at 3:17 PM, Scott Lloyd said:

I think I’ll continue to take my direction from our bishop. 

I would never suggest otherwise. I have been a clerk a long time and the Bishop makes the calls even when I am convinced it is wrong. The only times I say no to the Bishop is when he wants to proceed with an expense that is not properly documented. I do suspect he will get a call from the Missionary department or someone at Salt Lake if that mission fund sticks around for a while. I am not saying this as a “gotcha”. My bishop got one of those calls because I had not checked a mission fund and it had a little money in it.

[The Nehor]

10 hours ago, alter idem said:

While it's wonderful if parents can pay all mission expenses for their child, there is a danger in creating a sense of entitlement.  It likely depends on the child and how they were raised. My daughter's mission had a real problem with missionaries breaking all kinds of rules they didn't want to follow and so it would seem that not all missionaries are there for the best or the right reasons.

Some of that is more personality than upbringing.

The saddest story I ever heard was a guy in my mission who came out and was not dedicated. He came because his dad paid for it and promised him a truck when he came home. When I pointed out that he could have stayed home and worked for 6-12 months and bought the truck he looked shocked as if he had never thought he could get the truck any other way. It is tempting to laugh at him but then I remember some of my naïveté on my mission and realize we were almost all dumb young adults.

[The Nehor]

On 4/21/2020 at 9:51 PM, Calm said:

The ones complaining online about being forced to go on missions are not ones who pay for it themselves in my experience.  The kids with morning paper routes or after school jobs were the ones talking about going on missions and showing excitement when I was working with them or my son’s friends were talking. 
 

It is quite possible my experience is skewed, but psych studies generally show greater commitment when someone has personally invested in something. 
 

It appears less expected to pay for it yourself these days, but that just may be due to where I have lived over the years. 

It is also much more difficult to save up for a mission than it was for previous generations. Speaking generally of course. It is harder for kids to work a lot due to increased time demands of education and jobs are making less compared to the past when when adjusted for inflation. Then again a mission is generally cheaper than two years of college education.  

Edited April 23, 2020 by The Nehor

[Rain]

50 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

It is also much more difficult to save up for a mission than it was for previous generations. Speaking generally of course. It is harder for kids to work a lot due to increased time demands of education and jobs are making less compared to the past when when adjusted for inflation. Then again a mission is generally cheaper than two years of college education.  

Maybe it depends on where you live?  I just did an inflation comparison and my daughter is making a couple of $ more per hour than I was with it inflation adjusted.   

And finding a job was a piece of cake for her and they beg her to work more and very difficult for me, but that one I am sure is based on where you live since I lived in a small college city.