As a member in my past ward’s Young Men’s Group, I found about 1/3 seemed genuinely excited to go on their mission, 1/3 unsure but know they will do it, and about 1/3 really struggling about what they think they should do and what they really want to do. This makes sense to me, and I’m surprised there were not much more youths rejecting the idea about going on a mission. All that being said, I heard a lot of talk coming from parents and the young adults themselves about wanting to marry a returning missionary. From what I understood, they felt those that completed a mission are all the more solidified in their LDS faith. We could speculate the mission was a “make or break” experience; if you remained a happy LDS after the mission you would likely stay one. ? Another common thread I heard among my great Mormon friends was that they all discovered great variation in accepted practices as they moved about from area to area in the mission field. In two years they cycled through various mission “companions,” host families and wards, and even mission presidents. I recall one saying no Mormon in his home town believed cola (with caffeine) was OK to consume; but it was his mission president that explained cola was OK. Another was shocked when she reported to a ward on her mission where the females wore earrings that "dangled’ (not one-piece). She did say her Mom explained that it was never a “church prohibition” but that the community they grew up in had some Elders that frowned upon it.
I know all faith groups sometime promulgate variation in doctrinal guidance on personal behavior, but I feel the variation was greater among the LDS. They have had so much change in their written theology and subsequent social parameters that it appears to me they have a hard time keeping track of what is truly OK and what is not. Ask ten mormons if “chocolate is OK to consume,” and you might get five or more different answers.
What is also unsettled is who is the true successor to Joseph Smith. Sidney Rigdon, Brigham Young, and James J. Strang all argued they were the rightful successor and leader of the church. All of Smith’s family, except for Hyrum, stated JJ Strang was the successor. Rigdon took his group to Pennsylvania, Strang to Beaver Island, and Young to Utah. Young’s group eventually became the biggest of the three but Strang’s group still goes by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Strangites). For a good while, Young’s group had to go by Church of LDS (Brighamites) just to make the distinction. Brigham Young had a very interesting impact on the future of the LDS church. Many things that are now accepted as “must dos” were from him, not Joseph. I always invite LDS to watch the PBS documentary on Mason Lodge Temple Rites. There is no reference to anything LDS, but after they see it they are usually disturbed by the fact it is almost identical to the Temple Endowment ceremony (secret names, sure sign and other hand shakes, aprons, etc., etc. Young was a HUGE Mason guy (coming from a line of Mason men). It is a little known fact among LDS that Joseph Smith never went through a Temple Endowment (not in a Temple). This is required for Celestial Kingdom consideration.
I sure don’t want to upset the LDS folks. I love them and I am bias toward them. As soon as one is identified I quickly introduce myself and just enjoy them. I stay away from my past or at least why I left because I don’t want to lose their companionship. I don’t try to convert them because I know how deeply committed most of them are. Is this wrong? Should I forsake the joy I gain from their wonderful style of friendship and try to introduce some things they ought to consider about their religion?
