Good question...
Mormon Missionary Rules
The Mormon Scriptures teach that the purpose of life is a test to see if we will do everything that God commands us to (Abraham 3:25). Once we get pretty advanced in the game God might push the envelope on this and command us to do something totally bizarre and immoral such as killing our children (Genesis 22:2), but most of us never reach that level.
The Mormon missionary is given innumerable opportunities every day to show God that he will obey. The missionary's life is defined by rules. The rules dictate who he will be with, what he does with each hour of the week, which books he may read, and that he won't receive information about the world through radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, or the Internet. And he is assigned a vigilante to follow him around 24-7 to make sure he obeys. A church video about missionary life has a scene depicting a missionary reading the newspaper. That missionary was breaking the rules.
Last night, my wife saw me reading the Missionary Guide. It brought back all sorts of nasty memories from her mission and she said I must be a masochist for reading it. I laughed at that, but now I'm wondering if she had a point--just thinking about the mission rules is painful to me. As a missionary, I felt that the mission, God's church, and ultimately God himself despised individuality and freedom. My efforts to obey the mission rules resulted in immeasurable amounts of emotional and physical pain. I have had Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis since I was a child, and it was impossible to take care of my body and obey the missionary rules. So, I tortured my body throughout my mission, and abused it to the point where I literally couldn't stand, much less walk.
The mission rules caused my body permanent damage, and did serious damage to my emotional health--I've been home for over 10 years and apparently I still haven't completely recovered.
The above are the rules from The Missionary Handbook (commonly known as the "White Bible"). It is a little booklet that the missionaries carry in their shirt pocket. There are many rules the missionary is subjected to that aren't in the White Bible, but these are the basics. I am frequently asked if I am serious about these rules. The answer is yes. A few parenthetical comments have been added.
As you think about these rules, it is worth also considering psychologist Steven Hassan's BITE model. Hassan asserts that if a group passes a certain threshold of manipulating its members behaviors, thoughts, emotions, and access to information, the group is rightly categorized as a cult and is exercising destructive mind control. You can read about his model here. You may decide for yourself if such manipulation exists, if it is harmful, and whether or not the Mormon missionary experience is a good example of this phenomenon. Here is a like that brings the BITE model to bear on the Mormon missionary program.
(From --> http://www.lds4u.com/Missionaries/rules.htm )
Compare that to what Jesus says about the true Gospel (Mathew 11:28-30):
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
I am surprised there isn’t a rule for when they can go to the bathroom.