Jeff, the story I suspect really is that certain of these kids should not go out in the first place. That severe social pressure is why I went and the absolute terror and shame of coming home early cannot be discounted.
When I got my call I had just been away at USU, had gone active in a fraternity and had a regular habit of Camel cigarettes. I had never attained anything close to being a true believer but went anyway because failing to do so would have caused such grief in my family that it was easier to go than not. To my wonderful surprise I went to Denmark and I worked very hard; had more conversions than anyone in the mission and ended up as the Branch President of Hjorring.
The first thing I did on my release was to buy a pack of Camel cigarettes, toured Europe for a month, went home and reported and remained a member in name only.
I am very proud of my heritage. Just never really believed the dogma.
As you know, they give interviews for the mission call and ask all sorts of questions. Unless the interviewer knows differently, or has some sort of inspiration to the contrary (and sometimes that does happens) then they believe what they are told and off they go.
Particularly up into the 1980s theere was a much greater tendancy to not delve into it, and quite a few went purely because of pressure from parents and/or others. I saw it myself in Germany.
I was a a convert myself of about four years at the time and was very hyped and charged about going, and remain pretty much so to this day. I had to work with several missionaries who were having difficultoies to find out how they really felt and what e might do to address their issue as I was called into some leadership positions on the mission.
My recommendation to the Mission President and others was almost always that if they were out there without a testimony, they had no business being there. In a few cases they were sent home...in others I was asked to continue working with them...which I did, but I also tried to shield them from situations where they would have to be anything less than completely honest when teching or talking to others about the Church. If they could not be...then I found other things for them to do.
Just like goes on in the military for people who get in and then you find out they cannot do the job. You find work for them that does not threaten the safety or cohesion of the group.
Beginnning in the mid 80s however, there was, and has continued to this day, to be a much more dedicated effort to delve into the individual missionairy’s testimony and motivations through the process, including the interviews. In far, far more cases, since that time, the effort has been to not send anyone who is not absolutely convicted in what they are doing.
Still, the old tradtions and pressures are not easy to overcome and particularly in some placs in Utah, there are still too manby who go for the wrong reasons. Some of them (as was the case earlier) get out there and find themselves, but others never do...and you cannot really have the expectations that they will. Those incidents are not good for anyone...either the person there, the people they meet, or the church overall.
As I say, in any large group like this, there is going to be unavoidably some of this...but I can say that the Church has tried to address it.
I see this ‘get my calling’ referred to a lot.
Just HOW does this happen?