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Mission biography / autobiography?


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Hello my friends,

Compiling records from my mission (had a great experience, served the people, had a part in +20 people's conversions, served as a trainer - multiple times, DL twice, ZL) . 

Hoping to put in an uplifting book. 

The catch: if I include much about my upbringing it may not reflect well on myself, parents, siblings, neighbors, UT culture. So, write it anonymously, or under a psuedonym?

Would that be a bug or a feature to you, as a theoretical reader? 

Educated and Hillbilly Elegy don't mince words or dilute the facts. To my knowledge, they also doesn't suggest a solution. Still, great books (no, mine won't be as good as those.)

Any of you read biographies about missions? THere's a lot of: what to do before, during,after your mission,etc. but I'm thinking more of a story/narrative 

 

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2 hours ago, nuclearfuels said:

Any of you read biographies about missions?

I was not aware that these existed,  apart from very famous members in the past.  I have read of Heber C Kimball mission in the UK.  But it seems to be part of his whole story and not just the mission.

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Yes.  I've read part of our own John Williams's (JKWilliams): https://www.amazon.com/s?k="Heaven+Up+Here"&ref=nb_sb_noss. It's in my reading queue, but I'm trying to knock out some other books first.  As for me, while I have not, and likely will not, write a separate account of my mission (but who knows? :huh: :unknw:  Never say "never!"), I did include a chapter on my mission in the first installment of my autobiography.  I didn't pull any punches, and used real names, but I didn't write it for a general audience. 

For whatever that's worth. :unknw:

P.S.:  Nuclear Fuels isn't your real name?  I always thought you were "Brother Fuels." :D ;)  I might see how much buy-in I could get from other affected parties before I made the decision.  Is this a "that-was-then-this-is-now" situation?  Is there a lot of water under the bridge, or are there a lot of ongoing controversies?  The more this is a "that-was-then-this-is-now" situation, and the more "water under the bridge" there is, the more likely I might be to use real names.  And are you considering general publication/writing for a general audience, or a small "print run" for those closest to you?

Edited by Kenngo1969
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4 hours ago, nuclearfuels said:

Hello my friends,

Compiling records from my mission (had a great experience, served the people, had a part in +20 people's conversions, served as a trainer - multiple times, DL twice, ZL) . 

Hoping to put in an uplifting book. 

The catch: if I include much about my upbringing it may not reflect well on myself, parents, siblings, neighbors, UT culture. So, write it anonymously, or under a psuedonym?

Would that be a bug or a feature to you, as a theoretical reader? 

Educated and Hillbilly Elegy don't mince words or dilute the facts. To my knowledge, they also doesn't suggest a solution. Still, great books (no, mine won't be as good as those.)

Any of you read biographies about missions? THere's a lot of: what to do before, during,after your mission,etc. but I'm thinking more of a story/narrative 

 

For something as important as this, authenticity id paramount, so I would not publish it anonymously. People you knew along the way will figure it out anyway. Or just write it for and distribute it to family and friends.

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It would be wrong to include the names of people you taught and companioned with you, without express permission from them, and giving them a chance to comment and reject what you have written about them.   In some countries, it could result in invasion of privacy claims (which your editor will likely inform you about and require you edit them out without that permission.   At the least, write them and say, "this is how I remember this?   Is your memory the same?  If not, what is your memory, I'd like to be fully accurate."

I think it would be just as wrong to use the names of ward members, Mission Leaders, and others too because people tell and interact with missionaries without  the expectation that it will be repeated to others.   I've long been concerned about the flippant (not intended I'm pretty sure, but flippant nonetheless) way missionaries write home about people they are working with, usually with details of conversions and often details of struggles they are working on.   What a horrible betrayal of those who shared that information in the quest of seeking God.

 

 

Edited by rpn
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19 hours ago, Kenngo1969 said:

Yes.  I've read part of our own John Williams's (JKWilliams): https://www.amazon.com/s?k="Heaven+Up+Here"&ref=nb_sb_noss. It's in my reading queue, but I'm trying to knock out some other books first.  As for me, while I have not, and likely will not, write a separate account of my mission (but who knows? :huh: :unknw:  Never say "never!"), I did include a chapter on my mission in the first installment of my autobiography.  I didn't pull any punches, and used real names, but I didn't write it for a general audience. 

For whatever that's worth. :unknw:

P.S.:  Nuclear Fuels isn't your real name?  I always thought you were "Brother Fuels." :D ;)  I might see how much buy-in I could get from other affected parties before I made the decision.  Is this a "that-was-then-this-is-now" situation?  Is there a lot of water under the bridge, or are there a lot of ongoing controversies?  The more this is a "that-was-then-this-is-now" situation, and the more "water under the bridge" there is, the more likely I might be to use real names.  And are you considering general publication/writing for a general audience, or a small "print run" for those closest to you?

I changed all the names except mine (obviously) and an older couple who had since passed away. I figured the best way to honor them (they were truly amazing people) was to use their real names. If you had been in Bolivia with me, you probably could have figured out a lot of who was who, but using different names just seemed kind and appropriate. 

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5 hours ago, jkwilliams said:

I changed all the names except mine (obviously) and an older couple who had since passed away. I figured the best way to honor them (they were truly amazing people) was to use their real names. If you had been in Bolivia with me, you probably could have figured out a lot of who was who, but using different names just seemed kind and appropriate. 

I was aware of that and should have mentioned it. My apologies for the oversight. :)

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On 8/19/2021 at 1:27 PM, nuclearfuels said:

... Educated and Hillbilly Elegy don't mince words or dilute the facts. To my knowledge, they also doesn't suggest a solution. Still, great books (no, mine won't be as good as those.) ...

Why not?

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On 8/19/2021 at 8:27 PM, nuclearfuels said:

Hello my friends,

Compiling records from my mission (had a great experience, served the people, had a part in +20 people's conversions, served as a trainer - multiple times, DL twice, ZL) . 

Hoping to put in an uplifting book. 

The catch: if I include much about my upbringing it may not reflect well on myself, parents, siblings, neighbors, UT culture. So, write it anonymously, or under a psuedonym?

Would that be a bug or a feature to you, as a theoretical reader? 

Educated and Hillbilly Elegy don't mince words or dilute the facts. To my knowledge, they also doesn't suggest a solution. Still, great books (no, mine won't be as good as those.)

Any of you read biographies about missions? THere's a lot of: what to do before, during,after your mission,etc. but I'm thinking more of a story/narrative 

 

The only mission account I've ever read was @jkwilliams, which I enjoyed very much. I am so glad I went to Germany, instead, though.

I wouldn't turn my mission experience into a book. Maybe a couple of chapters in my autobiography. I was not what I would call particularly successful -- but that was Germany in the 70s. Our mission baptismal rate was abysmal, and I think that was normal for the other German and German-speaking missions. 

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On 8/21/2021 at 10:32 AM, Stargazer said:

I wouldn't turn my mission experience into a book. Maybe a couple of chapters in my autobiography

Absolutely. This is a more accurate description of what I'm planning to write. 

THing is - I'm not dead yet so an autobiography seems kind of odd - it would be like a partial

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8 hours ago, nuclearfuels said:

Might I read this chapter?

Hmmm.  (Please don't misread any of my seeming "hemming-and-hawing" here in any way as hesitancy to provide you with a copy.  It is not.  The only thing that gives me slight pause is that the only other people who have received the book all know me pretty well: that is to say, they know me pretty well in real life.) ;)  I'm just wondering about the logistics involved.  Relatively recently, I contacted my printer about getting a copy of the electronic file from which it was printed so that I could, perhaps, post it on my blog, but I haven't followed through on that yet.  (If I were to provide you with one of the printed copies have left still, I would, of course, need to know where to send it.)  And those copies are at my folks' house, which is relatively close by, but it also means that a copy isn't immediately at hand.

I'll see what I can do.  You're welcome to reach out to me at Ken(dot)Gourdin(at)gmail(dot)com if you would like. :)

P.S.: As I say, alas, I do not (yet) have an electronic copy of the file from which my autobiography was printed.  In a similar vein, however, here is something else I wrote about my mission on the Blog a few years ago.  Had it occurred to me when I was writing the book, I would have included it, but the book was published in 2003 and the blog post in about 2014 or so.  Happy reading! https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/gods-army-and-my-own-mission/

Edited by Kenngo1969
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On 8/21/2021 at 8:32 AM, Stargazer said:

The only mission account I've ever read was @jkwilliams, which I enjoyed very much. I am so glad I went to Germany, instead, though.

I wouldn't turn my mission experience into a book. Maybe a couple of chapters in my autobiography. I was not what I would call particularly successful -- but that was Germany in the 70s. Our mission baptismal rate was abysmal, and I think that was normal for the other German and German-speaking missions. 

Oh, c'mon, Man!  The Wall was still up when you served there ... right?  I'm fascinated with the Cold War era and with that part of the world, so the Wall's existence alone would make reading a detailed account of your mission worth it to me ... So the heck what if you weren't a baptizing machine?!

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On 8/21/2021 at 8:32 AM, Stargazer said:

The only mission account I've ever read was @jkwilliams, which I enjoyed very much. I am so glad I went to Germany, instead, though.

Whaaat?!  You don't like parasites, not being able to breathe, abject poverty, and so on? ;) :D

 

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18 hours ago, nuclearfuels said:

Absolutely. This is a more accurate description of what I'm planning to write. 

THing is - I'm not dead yet so an autobiography seems kind of odd - it would be like a partial

Most people write their autobiographies before they die.

Just sayin'

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9 hours ago, Kenngo1969 said:

Oh, c'mon, Man!  The Wall was still up when you served there ... right?  I'm fascinated with the Cold War era and with that part of the world, so the Wall's existence alone would make reading a detailed account of your mission worth it to me ... So the heck what if you weren't a baptizing machine?!

Yes, the Wall was still up, but it was in Berlin and I served in the Düsseldorf mission -- no longer extant -- where it was totally Wall-less. 

My grandmother, who was a bit geography-challenged, in regards to Europe, anyway, was really worried that I might inadvertantly cross over the border into East Germany. I told her not to worry, because the border was well-labelled on the ground, with fences, minefields, and guard-towers. I think this made her even more nervous. I never got closer to the border than 170 miles, though, so no problem.

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5 hours ago, Stargazer said:

Most people write their autobiographies before they die.

Just sayin'

Yeah, it is kinda hard to write an auto-biography after you're dead! :D :rofl: :D

And, by the by, even if your mission didn't "straddle the wall," still, I think that account would be well worth reading. ;)

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On 8/19/2021 at 1:27 PM, nuclearfuels said:

Hello my friends,

Compiling records from my mission (had a great experience, served the people, had a part in +20 people's conversions, served as a trainer - multiple times, DL twice, ZL) . 

Hoping to put in an uplifting book. 

The catch: if I include much about my upbringing it may not reflect well on myself, parents, siblings, neighbors, UT culture. So, write it anonymously, or under a psuedonym?

Would that be a bug or a feature to you, as a theoretical reader? 

Educated and Hillbilly Elegy don't mince words or dilute the facts. To my knowledge, they also doesn't suggest a solution. Still, great books (no, mine won't be as good as those.)

Any of you read biographies about missions? THere's a lot of: what to do before, during,after your mission,etc. but I'm thinking more of a story/narrative 

 

Write it as part of your testimony and walk of faith to your children and posterity. Other than than, it has no particular value other than whatever feelings it evokes in you when you remember that period of your life. Otherwise you run the risk of sounding like you are boasting, even when that may not have been your intention. Just my two cents.

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13 hours ago, Islander said:

Write it as part of your testimony and walk of faith to your children and posterity. Other than than, it has no particular value other than whatever feelings it evokes in you when you remember that period of your life. Otherwise you run the risk of sounding like you are boasting, even when that may not have been your intention. Just my two cents.

With respect, while I agree that mission accounts can serve as powerful testimonies to our "children and posterity" of the truthfulness of the work and as powerful reminders to the writer of a time when his or her walk with God was especially close, "boasting" is not a sin qua non even if such a work happens to be written for a larger audience.  While my work was not written for a large, general audience (and while my mission comprises only a relatively small part of it, I resisted any urge I may have had to make myself the hero of my own story and pulled no punches, either about my own  shortcomings or about those of anyone else.  As near as I can tell from what I have read of Brother Williams's work, which was written for a larger audience, the same is true of it, too.

Edited by Kenngo1969
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17 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

A good reminder that I need to make sure my mission journal is destroyed before I die.

I'll bring the matches and the lighter fluid.  And heck, since we're building a fire, we might as well have a weenie roast.  What time do we eat? ;) 

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3 hours ago, Kenngo1969 said:

I'll bring the matches and the lighter fluid.  And heck, since we're building a fire, we might as well have a weenie roast.  What time do we eat? ;) 

Not a big hot dog fan so I will bring a can of some of those pre-made biscuits and cook them over the fire.

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32 minutes ago, nuclearfuels said:

Would you find the book more engaging if every other chapter was about my wife's mission (South America)?

 

I'm not sure how well that would work.  I think you should tell your story, and she should tell hers.

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