Wow, no conference discussion or live blog.

[Scott Lloyd]

1 hour ago, rongo said:

I definitely think that waiting until it feels like the right time is a good thing. Our kids have really benefited from a year (or more) of college away from home. 

Our son, currently serving in Argentina, went on his mission at age 18. His maturity and zeal after only six months of service are astounding. 
 

His older brother, always one to do things in his own way and on his own schedule, elected to begin his service at age 18. Last fall, I overheard him tell his brother, the one now serving, that hypothetically, if a call would come for returned missionaries to return to service to fill out the ranks, he would respond in a heartbeat. 

[Ginger Snaps]

41 minutes ago, bluebell said:

There are now 10 MTC training centers throughout the world. 

I was surprised to learn how many we had the other day. Someone in my ward mentioned in a talk that her son went into the MTC in Ghana. I wasn’t sure I’d heard her right, and looked up a list of all the MTCs. Super surprised to learn that we actually have two in Africa. 

[bluebell]

15 minutes ago, Ginger Snaps said:

I was surprised to learn how many we had the other day. Someone in my ward mentioned in a talk that her son went into the MTC in Ghana. I wasn’t sure I’d heard her right, and looked up a list of all the MTCs. Super surprised to learn that we actually have two in Africa. 

Me too!

[OGHoosier]

2 hours ago, rongo said:

What didn't you like about the MTC? I enjoyed it (mid 90s), but the field was infinity times better. 

My daughter loved England. A very tight-knit group. 

For the most part, I wasn't ready. The transition from home to mission was difficult and I did not prepare particularly well. The MTC burned out of me what I should have burned out of myself long before. 

I was a very different person as a teenager than I am now. I was never guilty of anything serious...good or bad. I didn't know how to handle myself when it came to things that actually mattered or had consequences. School had never been hard for me and I had never strayed far from what I was comfortable with. The MTC specialized in breaking comfort zones and reminding us that our actions have consequences. It was a drastic change in that respect and I spent most of my time there flailing as I was forced to mature very rapidly. That's my own fault. That being said, I am unequivocally grateful for it. I'm fairly satisfied with myself today, and I wouldn't be without that wake-up.

The other reason is sheer cabin fever. It was winter in Provo, the buildings were austere and brutalist (accursed mid-century Church architecture), the mountains forbidding, the sky gray, and the "residences" stark (they wouldn't let us call them dorms.) I kept myself sane by playing around with contraband Nerf guns, decks of cards, and by (no joke) collecting Law of Chastity pamphlets in as many different languages as I could find. When it was time to leave we took the completed collection, bound them together with binder rings, called them the Plates of Chastity, and hid them in the ceiling. I wonder if anybody's found them yet. 

God, in His mercy, had called me to Los Angeles, so the environmental problem was resolved in short order. Being able to move around a bigger area than the "Monastery" was a relief, and I had a much better time in the field than the MTC. I loved my mission dearly, but the MTC was a rough go. 

[Rain]

Unfortunately I have been sleeping a lot through conference sort of.  I'm just so tired all of the time that I find myself sleeping a lot, but it's never for very long.  So hoping surgery takes care of this - I was recently diagnosed with apnea and apparently my tonsils are so big that I am the perfect candidate for removal of them along with taking care of other bits and pieces there.

I did manage to hear both jokes about boring conference and a lot of Elder Holland's talk.  I loved that he not only encouraged people to seek help, but for others to help those who need it.

[Avatar4321]

3 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

 

I don’t think they read that in conference anymore, just post it online. 
 

Added later: Did you mean has it been posted online yet?

Yes

[SeekingUnderstanding]

3 minutes ago, Avatar4321 said:

Yes

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2021-statistical-report-april-2022-conference

See also:

http://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2022/04/2021-statistical-report.html?m=1

Edited April 3, 2022 by SeekingUnderstanding

[The Nehor]

2 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

Our son, currently serving in Argentina, went on his mission at age 18. His maturity and zeal after only six months of service are astounding. 
 

His older brother, always one to do things in his own way and on his own schedule, elected to begin his service at age 18. Last fall, I overheard him tell his brother, the one now serving, that hypothetically, if a call would come for returned missionaries to return to service to fill out the ranks, he would respond in a heartbeat. 

For years after my mission I had a recurring dream about President Hinckley calling me to serve again. Wasn’t a pleasant dream. When my Mission President asked if I would do another two years if asked my response was that if God asked I would try but if it was a more casual request I would say no. He responded that he didn’t think he could serve a mission like he did when he was young, said that going in once in ignorance works and is even good but going in knowing what you are getting into is much harder.

I think it was at about 22 months out that I figured out how to do missionary work well.

[Vanguard]

2 hours ago, Ginger Snaps said:

I was surprised to learn how many we had the other day. Someone in my ward mentioned in a talk that her son went into the MTC in Ghana. I wasn’t sure I’d heard her right, and looked up a list of all the MTCs. Super surprised to learn that we actually have two in Africa. 

I'm not surprised about Ghana. They have 1 temple and I believe another is being built. I've researched Ghana a bit and would probably chose to live there if I had to live on the continent. There is a VERY large expat African-American community as the country appears a suitable 'portal' for these black brothers & sisters reconnecting with their distant past. I think it's beautiful. : )

[Lemuel]

25 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

For years after my mission I had a recurring dream about President Hinckley calling me to serve again. Wasn’t a pleasant dream. When my Mission President asked if I would do another two years if asked my response was that if God asked I would try but if it was a more casual request I would say no. He responded that he didn’t think he could serve a mission like he did when he was young, said that going in once in ignorance works and is even good but going in knowing what you are getting into is much harder.

I think it was at about 22 months out that I figured out how to do missionary work well.

Still have those nightmares occasionally 25 years later.

[InCognitus]

Judging by the camera pan of the congregation during the rest hymn, there appear to be more in attendance at the women's session than the prior session. 

[Scott Lloyd]

30 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

For years after my mission I had a recurring dream about President Hinckley calling me to serve again. Wasn’t a pleasant dream. When my Mission President asked if I would do another two years if asked my response was that if God asked I would try but if it was a more casual request I would say no. He responded that he didn’t think he could serve a mission like he did when he was young, said that going in once in ignorance works and is even good but going in knowing what you are getting into is much harder.

I think it was at about 22 months out that I figured out how to do missionary work well.

And yet many senior couples respond readily and with enthusiasm when called. Some mission presidents and their wives are very young indeed, not much older than the missionaries over whom they preside. My third mission president, Paul Oscarson, was only 29 when called, and his wife, Bonnie, was, I think, only 24. Many years later, she became the Young Women general president. 

[The Nehor]

10 minutes ago, Lemuel said:

Still have those nightmares occasionally 25 years later.

I haven’t had one for over a year now. Maybe it is over.

[Scott Lloyd]

4 minutes ago, InCognitus said:

Judging by the camera pan of the congregation during the rest hymn, there appear to be more in attendance at the women's session than the prior session. 

I’ve forgotten: Is attendance at this conference by direct invitation? I know it’s still somewhat limited. 

[The Nehor]

4 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

And yet many senior couples respond readily and with enthusiasm when called. Some mission presidents and their wives are very young indeed, not much older than the missionaries over whom they preside. My third mission president, Paul Oscarson, was only 29 when called, and his wife, Bonnie, was, I think, only 24. Many years later, she became the Young Women general president. 

In that conversation the Mission President exempted senior missionaries and his own job commenting how different those experience are. I know some people look back at their missions and would love to do something like it again. My experience is not some golden standard. It is a fairly common sentiment though. Share that in the company of returned missionaries and I get more people expressing almost grateful agreement that they are not the only people who feel that way.

Edit: To make it more scriptural I am more likely to be one of the Nephite disciples that is okay with dying once I am done rather than become one of the Three.

Edited April 3, 2022 by The Nehor

[Scott Lloyd]

2 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

I haven’t had one for over a year now. Maybe it is over.

I have such recurring dreams. They’re not nightmares, but it seems in the dream that I don’t make a materially greater impact the second time on the mission than I did the first time. 
 

In retirement, I have a recurring dream about being back working in my career, so maybe such dreams are somewhat pervasive and not limited to returned missionaries or to missions. 
 

The career dream is closer to a nightmare than the mission dream, because I always wake up from them glad that it was only a dream. 

[InCognitus]

11 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

I’ve forgotten: Is attendance at this conference by direct invitation? I know it’s still somewhat limited. 

I don't think it was by invitation, but I could be wrong.  A letter went out from the First Presidency on February 11th that was read in our sacrament meetings, that said (in part):

"In person attendance at the general conference sessions will be limited due to the extensive construction taking place on and around Temple Square; however, a limited number of tickets will be distributed to stakes and districts in the United States and Canada."

So it sounds like a person could have acquired a ticket if they really wanted one. 

Edited April 3, 2022 by InCognitus

[Kenngo1969]

7 hours ago, JLHPROF said:

Is that a sign this board is dying?  😥

 

7 hours ago, Calm said:

It is a sign you don’t visit social hall much

  Thank you, Cal!   

[Scott Lloyd]

12 hours ago, The Nehor said:

In that conversation the Mission President exempted senior missionaries and his own job commenting how different those experience are. I know some people look back at their missions and would love to do something like it again. My experience is not some golden standard. It is a fairly common sentiment though. Share that in the company of returned missionaries and I get more people expressing almost grateful agreement that they are not the only people who feel that way.

Edit: To make it more scriptural I am more likely to be one of the Nephite disciples that is okay with dying once I am done rather than become one of the Three.

I was actually a bit surprised to overhear that from my son. He was a dedicated missionary, but I wouldn’t peg him as a zealot. And I’ve heard him speak of the day-to-day drudgery associated with the work. So I don’t think he has any rose-colored-glasses view of it. 
 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Scott Lloyd

[JAHS]

5 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

The image is not nearly as impactful without Elder Holland’s (and subsequently Elder Kearon’s) playful commentary. You should have recounted that. 

I figured most people here saw it anyway. Or now they will see it to find how he used it. 😉

[Hamba Tuhan]

9 hours ago, rongo said:

I expected "Covid missionary work" to put a damper on enthusiasm for missions, and I think that has borne out.

I suspect the landscape is uneven. At this point, all but one of the young people in my mission prep class last year has received a call or is currently serving. My current mission prep class has twice as many attending as I got last year, including the newest convert in our ward. (Raised in a thoroughly secular home, she met a member at university last year, one of my former mission prep students. Her testimony in sacrament meeting today was beautiful!)

Our stake is fast approaching the point where we will match and then exceed the most missionaries we've ever had in the field. 

Quote

The England MTC has about 50 at a time, Provo has, what, a couple hundred?

We currently have three missionaries in our stake doing home MTC. Previously, all three of them would have been in an MTC somewhere, and the one learning Mandarin would have been in Provo.

By the way, in addition to all my previous reasons for loving home MTC, I have a new one from today. One of our missionaries shared his testimony in sacrament meeting and specifically talked about how powerful it has been to learn to be not 'in the world' whilst still at home. He then added that this will make returning from his mission much easier since he already knows how to live that way right here, right now.

The mother of another missionary also shared her testimony about the impact that her daughter's home MTC experience has had on the entire family and how they are planning how to keep that kind of influence going in their home after she leaves. Good stuff!

[Scott Lloyd]

2 hours ago, JAHS said:

I figured most people here saw it anyway. Or now they will see it to find how he used it. 😉

Perhaps. 

[Bernard Gui]

16 hours ago, OGHoosier said:

God, in His mercy, had called me to Los Angeles, so the environmental problem was resolved in short order. Being able to move around a bigger area than the "Monastery" was a relief, and I had a much better time in the field than the MTC. I loved my mission dearly, but the MTC was a rough go. 

I loved the monastic environment of the Language Training Mission. Were I Catholic I might have become a monk. 
 

Edited April 3, 2022 by Bernard Gui

[JAHS]

Will Smith needs to listen to President Nelson's talk right now. 😉

Edited April 3, 2022 by JAHS

[MustardSeed]

14 minutes ago, JAHS said:

Will Smith needs to listen to President Nelson's talk right now. 😉

Speaking of, my takeaway is that it is on 'us' to forgive the Will Smiths in our lives.  That's not easy, is it.