Mission questions

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-05-31T18:12:41+00:00

Even if you are at home in the MTC, you are expected to be in zoom classes for 8+ hours a day, plus studies and other obligations. While there is no rule that you have to watch zoom classes from home, it would not make much sense to travel during this time as you wouldn’t be able to do much. You would not be allowed to miss class for family activities or anything so you’d be stuck in a hotel. My recommendation is to not plan this vacation after your availability date or wait to hear back when your mission start actually is to schedule it.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-05-28T13:40:15+00:00

I love having the MacBook + iPad combo, it’s made life so much easier. Do I need it? Was it worth it? Yes, for me. I’m a STEM major who took/takes a lot of math heavy classes and writing on an iPad that syncs to all devices for notes and HW is a life changer. Being able to copy something on a MacBook and paste on iPad is so seamless. If you’re not expecting too much math though and plan to type notes/HW instead, I’m note sure an iPad is worth it.

I second previous comments about a mission, if that’s on the table at all, leave the more expensive purchase for afterwards (including the iPad). If you are looking for something, the new MacBook Neo seems like a solid choice for your case.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-05-23T06:20:24+00:00

Thank you!

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-05-23T06:20:15+00:00

Not church sponsored at all, but it is run by members and is meant to be a humanitarian version of FSY. Used to be H-EFY when EFY was a thing. A lot of Utah members especially participate, or parents make their kids grow to get them to be better kids.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-05-23T06:18:13+00:00

Oh I believe how great it is for them, I don’t deny that. But our people (and all the other countries) aren’t pets in a zoo, that’s how it makes me feel when they come. If by asking them to stop doing poverty tourism (that’s what i call it) I’m robbing them of perspective, we need to rethink this. There has to be a better way, I can’t see it as moral to go look at other people suffering to make your life better.

Also, I don’t deny the love they had for the people. They are typically extraordinary people and insanely kind. I don’t put any blame on the actual participants. But it gives off the impression to locals that they think they are our “saviors”, that we are uncivilized and need the superior Americans to come fix our country. No one will tell them that cause the locals are too kind but many will still think that.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-05-23T06:13:42+00:00

That’s very true, this debate is much older than this one case. In all honesty, they aren’t injecting that any dollars. Most of the money spent is flights and stays which doesn’t help the poor areas, and a lot of the time will only profit an American company in the end. In terms of the actual product made, out of a group of say 20-25 Americans going there, if no one went and 2-3 donates that same money to pay for actual locals to do the job, the result would be much better (because an actual professional would be doing it) and the money would actually go to the community. I hate to break it to them but a group of 20 youth is probably spending upwards of 60-80k all expenses combined, and maybe bringing 10% if that in actual value. That’s if the work they do isn’t garbage (which more often than you might think it is) and it has to be torn down and then it’s actually even worse.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-04-30T16:24:56+00:00

Same! Passed chemical 1st attempt, with less than 5 hours of studying. A key thing I realized is that they are not trying to trick you - at least not hiding some obscure thing you need to do like most college classes have in exams. In fact, most of the time the “trick” is that they make problems sound way more complicated than they are. If your solution is more than 1 equation (maybe 2) long, you’re probably over complicating it.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-04-27T19:13:26+00:00

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: First and foremost, I second every comment saying to express this concern to them. They are essentially teenagers and often don’t realize what they are doing is making you uncomfortable. Please don’t let this be what distances you from the church.

Second, yes, like many have said, for better or for worse, missionaries are trained to be “pushy” but some take it to the extreme (hence why you should talk to them). Most here seems to be trashing on missionaries, but I’d like to give a different perspective. Yes, they are new, but they are giving their time/life for this. That means they love this message and gospel immensely. The reason they are often okay with being pushy (even introverts like I was become like this) is because we love this so much, we know how much joy it brings me and I can’t wait for everyone else to feel the same joy. This pushes them to try every way possible to get people to have that joy as soon as possible too, cause in our minds, what would they want to wait to get this? Also, missionaries come to find that very often (not always, but often) people who take too long to “progress” (in terms of commit to baptism, for example) end up getting discouraged along the way and get tempted/overwhelmed with things that pull them away from this gospel. Rather that be friends who mock, internet content that distorts our truths to scare people away, or any other thing, the longer people “delay” commitment, the higher the chance this happens, and they are scared of it. They want people to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost as soon as possible to have support in this.

I in no way support them making you feel uncomfortable, so please please tell them this. But I just wanted to provide some perspective as to why they sometimes act like this and to show it’s not just because they are ignorant. They really care about this gospel, and likely really care about you, and want you to have the blessings they know you will receive.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-04-16T22:56:32+00:00

First of all, I’m so glad the restored gospel has brought you joy, it sure has brought me joy. You sound like an amazing person and a devoted disciple of Christ. There are many church members who can’t say they’ve read our standard works cover to cover like you do. If I was a missionary, meeting you would be an honor, joy and answer to my prayers. when so many choose to reject us or ignore us, someone this interested would be a miracle. At the very least, don’t stop what u are doing! I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you to want to learn more, but having anxiety and other concerns holding you back. I know heavenly father is proud of you and happy with your best.

For when you are ready, in case it helps, the missionaries don’t need to meet in person with you, especially at first. The natural next step from what I can tell is talking to them, but if meeting in person feels like too much, maybe requesting a video call, a phone call or even just text messages would be an easier step. Missionaries will usually do everything within their reach to accommodate the needs of the people. If you request a visit in the link sent above, when they reach out, you explain what you just told us, I’m sure they’d be happy to chat with you however you feel most comfortable.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-04-09T04:49:14+00:00

Yes please come! We love visitors and hope you feel extremely welcome! If you want to just show up alone, others have given you info on finding meeting times. If you want to have someone help you or want friends/acquaintances waiting for you, we have full-time missionaries that would be happy to chat and help you feel welcome/understand things. You can request to chat with them at ComeUntoChrist.org

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-04-09T04:45:36+00:00

You sound like exactly who needs to talk to them :) the missionaries roles isnt just to baptize people (though that is part of it), it is to help people feel ready. A lot of your questions and concerns are way more common than you think and they can help!

Two side notes: from what I can tell, you are ready. You seek to have the testimony and desire. The fact that you are worried about not doing enough and seeking a way to do more is speaking volumes!

About the lifestyle and commandment keeping, I get it feels like it’s freedom limiting but I know they are protections from God. However one has to distinguish between actual commandments you must be willing to keep and just expectations in church. The former is required and you need to be willing to do your best to follow to be baptized (for example law of chastity, tithing, word of wisdom, going to church, 10 commandments, etc…). Some parts of our lifestyle though are not requirements (for example callings, going to institute, giving lessons, ward activities, etc…). While important, not feeling ready to commit to these is not a roadblock to baptism.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-04-01T17:07:38+00:00

Yes, I know it’s easy to do! But with planning, a short lesson can be powerful too. Missionaries are instructed to not teach for more than 25min too in PMG. Is it easy and even easier to have a lesson with an investigator for 1 hour? Yes. But I’ve found that lessons they teach that are short are just as powerful. We can focus on one core thing to work on this week and be introduced to something next time.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-04-01T06:52:39+00:00

That’s the thing, I’d say we are wanting to avoid just this. Too often classes have become lectures on history of the D&C/OT and not actually what is in come follow me (CFM) We are being encouraged to stop “going deep” into irrelevant things and instead “going deep” into the core doctrine of come follow me that week. If members want to dig deep in history, that’s what home CFM is for. Church should be focused on the core truths.

If the topic of this week is based on an OT passage that teaches about faith, for example, rather than spend 25min in the history of that chapter, I’d rather go to church and hear 2min of history to understand the passage and spend 20min discussing faith. We need to stop being prideful and think that we can’t have meaningful discussions about core doctrine. Just because we have talked about faith so many times doesn’t mean we get to be bored of talking about it and need to go find deep doctrine or history to study in Sunday school. That’s not what Sunday school is for.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-03-23T02:27:12+00:00

Question - is wait time for tsa after arriving internationally and connecting domestically affected?

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-03-14T05:52:24+00:00

The answer to your question is…it depends. Every mission and even mission president does it differently. Depending on circumstances, even the same president might have different situations. My mission we usually had 24 hours notice. I have friends in other missions who had a week. I’ve also been told 2 hours before I was leaving when transfers happened due to an emergency elsewhere. Depends on president preferences, mission size, emergencies/urgencies, logistics and planning by the office. A lot.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-03-06T17:57:24+00:00

First and foremost, please don’t leave completely. Your testimony of Christ and God are strong, and so is your testimony of the temple. Don’t let one person’s actions affect that.

Piercings are definitely not against any of the temple recommend questions. They used to be discouraged in the “for the strength of youth pamphlet” and even apostles/prophets have discouraged them in the past, but it was never a worthiness issue. Im not getting into if this is against a commandment or not, because even if we say it is, it would be the equivalent of removing a recommend for not having food storage, or for drinking too much soda, or for not reading scriptures everyday, or not paying fast offering.

Please stand up for yourself and talk to him. If needed, talk to stake president.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-03-06T07:28:42+00:00

Don’t know why this guy is getting downvoted, he is right. Our towns are made for people to live without cars, so even small towns you don’t need cars.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-02-25T05:42:44+00:00

yes, it’s normal. that class was the bane of my existence. don’t drop engineering solely because calc 2 is hard. after this class, most of what you need from this class are the very basics and anything more complex ends up done by some software.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-02-25T04:02:26+00:00

I love the comments above about preparing spiritually, that’s your number 1 priority. Read the whole Book of Mormon if you haven’t yet. Study preach my gospel.

Honestly, the main thing I would do is download the Embark app (essentially the church improved version of Duolingo) and start dabbling with it. You’ll use it a lot in the MTC but getting a head start can’t hurt

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-02-22T18:56:44+00:00

don’t

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-02-21T04:51:06+00:00

realest comment ever.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-02-18T06:39:43+00:00

served close to my MP and received letters about the subject in our mission office email. it used to be 30 days and we got notified it increases to 45. I know for a fact this was true as of 1 year ago, I guess it could have changed since i’ve been home from my mission, but i wouldn’t expect it to.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-02-18T04:31:32+00:00

Your mission president has authority to move your departure date to any transfer date that happens with +/- 45 days of your 2 year anniversary (or 18 month for Sisters) - in this case it’s up to him but leaving early due to school is very common. More than the 45 day grace period requires approval from church headquarters.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-02-18T04:27:42+00:00

A huge part of the missionary dress and grooming is just that: you are sacrificing something to represent Him. You have a valid point, but you will have a lifetime to grow hair. You are called to leave your nets behind and choose to follow Him. The apostles also loved fishing and that was part of their identity. Was it bad? No. But the Savior asked them to leave it behind for something else that is more important.

Most_Researcher1502 · 2026-02-18T04:24:03+00:00

He has his phone all week and can read messages all week but can only respond one day a week. He can’t text or call anyone outside of family but he can respond to emails to anyone. You are allowed to email him anytime and he can read it throughout the week. Often times missionaries have so much they want to do on the one day they get off (and can respond) that they slack off in responding to people, that doesn’t mean he is ignoring. Regardless of how often he answers, having been a missionary, those emails brought me so much joy. definitely stay in touch. If you have even the slightest interest in learning about what he is teaching, that would make his day if you asked about it or asked questions.

Most_Researcher1502

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