Called to Serve at 18?

[Darth Fedora]

My little brother just got his mission call. He reports to the MTC six weeks before his nineteenth birthday and he's English-speaking, so he'll only be in there for like three weeks. Meaning...he'll be in the field before he turns nineteen. I had always thought missionaries were only allowed to go early if their dad is a mission president or something.
Just curious, have any of you ever heard of missionaries who were still eighteen in the field? Is that a very common thing?

[Craig Jessop]

Yeah, I had a companion who's dad was a mission president so we celebrated his 19th birthday together. I know that's not what you meant though.

I know three elders who reported before 19 and went home before 21. It was close, though. I suppose it depends on the needs of the missions at the time.

[Marduk]

I know that that encourage all young men in Mexico City to put in their papers immediately upon graduating; i.e., 18.

[C is for]

A young man in my ward (he was a boy then, which is weird because he's three years older than me which was ancient back then) was called to Serbia in June with his birthday in August or September or something. So he turned 19 either in the MTC or in the field. It was a sad day because his dad had been working really hard to get enough money to finance the mission/the summer and then instead of having the summer to play as they planned, they had to send him right to the MTC.

[bismark]

I went into the MTC about 4 weeks before my 19th birthday. Came home a week before my 21st. (Yes, those three weeks prove I am extra righteous.)

[thebigcheese]

I heard they recently changed the rule on when you're allowed to put in your papers. Sadly, I don't know the details...

[Tao]

I served with an Elder who was seventeen. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure he hit nineteen before finishing his mission, which would have put him at sixteen (!) when he left. I was told it had something to do with the school he had attended in Mexico, as Marduk mentioned. Thankfully, he was extremely mature, and more than up to the challenge.

[Darth Fedora]

I heard they recently changed the rule on when you're allowed to put in your papers. Sadly, I don't know the details...

Yeah, they're letting you put in your papers 120 days before your birthday instead of whatever it used to be...I guess they're just moving toward being less strict about the exact age? Interesting.

[Gimgimno]

There's active discussion about lowering the age to 18 church-wide right now. Many stakes have observed that young men who find themselves disqualified from missionary service make their mistakes during the "waiting year" before they turn 19. I think that's a fantastic idea; it would have done loads for my GPA if I'd gone on my mission before I started college. Not all mistakes during that waiting year are worthiness mistakes--there are tons of educational mistakes made, I do declare!

[Tao]

There's active discussion about lowering the age to 18 church-wide right now. Many stakes have observed that young men who find themselves disqualified from missionary service make their mistakes during the "waiting year" before they turn 19. I think that's a fantastic idea; it would have done loads for my GPA if I'd gone on my mission before I started college. Not all mistakes during that waiting year are worthiness mistakes--there are tons of educational mistakes made, I do declare!

eh, so we'd leave them to their mistakes while representing the Church? I didn't have any college prior to my mission, and often regretted it. Perhaps my companionships would have been stronger if I'd have had roommates prior.

Then again, I see the DT pre-missionaries and am somewhat relieved that my first year at college was somewhat more... mature.

While I'd be more than happy to see more Elders like the one young'un I knew, but would hesitate to inflict half of DT on any mission president.

[thebigcheese]

Hmm. This makes me curious...where did the 19 year-old standard come from anyway? Obviously it wasn't part of early church policy. When did it come into effect and why?

[Craig Jessop]

[quote="Gimgimno" Not all mistakes during that waiting year are worthiness mistakes--there are tons of educational mistakes made, I do declare![/quote]

Amen, brother. Amen to that.