Anyone love the MTC?

[Yarjka]

Based on the responses to http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/62647 ...

It seems that everyone I know talks about how anxious they were to get out of the MTC and into the mission field. But I loved the MTC. I really never wanted to leave. It was so great being able to study the scriptures and a foreign language all day. The food was fantastic, the meetings were enjoyable, four-square was a blast, and my fellow missionaries were delightful. It's the only time in my life when I truly had no worries. I also had some great experiences there.

The MTC was a great time of learning for me in other ways: I learned to feel comfortable in a suit, and on the other extreme, to feel comfortable nude.

The MTC was a varied environment within a level of structure that helped me achieve greater things than I ever could have done alone. I was sad to leave after three months; five months would have been awesome. Did anyone else like the MTC as much as I did, or am I really that crazy?

[Dead Cat]

I haven't served a mission (yet) but this question reminded me of this picture.

[C is for]

The MTC was the best two weeks of my dad's life.

[wired]

I loved the MTC too. My fond experience there is why I decided to teach there after my mission. Great experiences both times.

I think there's three reasons that add to why some missionaries have antagonistic feelings toward the MTC. 1) Many legitimately dislike being couped up in a confined area. Your life consists of about two square miles and a monotonous routine that is scheduled for you. 2) For others it is because it is the first time they are experiencing freedom and regimen at the same time. They don't have a familial authority figure to answer to which is liberating, but they are then constrained by strangers who are very strict in what they expect of the missionary. So they have this feeling that they want to "get out" of the tight control of the MTC and in to the "real world." 3) Many just want to fit in so when they hear other missionaries talking about how much they dislike it, they give in to the zeitgeist and start talking about how much they hated it.

There's my theory, supported only by Psych110 and my experiences with missionaries in the MTC.

[Unit of Energy]

One of my friends fairly often will tell me that he want's to go back to the mtc. He was there for nine weeks, and was ready to leave, but loved it while he was there. I work with the missionaries during their service time in the mornings and i feel bad for the Elders and Sisters that get delayed due to visas or medical reasons. They enjoy their time for the most part, but after being in the MTC for a week to a month longer than they had planned, they are anxious to serve those that they have been called to serve, rather than in the MTC serving fellow missionaries.

[Quiet Lamb]

Yep, I loved the MTC as well, and felt like I needed to stay the 2 or 3 months instead of the 2.5 weeks because I was unsure about knowing the lessons. A large portion of my district was incredibly stir crazy to get out, though. Anytime we had MDT, we had to write where we were going on the chalkboard, and the elders would commonly put, "Near Da Freedom," which meant near the exit of the MTC, the closest they could get without leaving. I think many of the elders' attitudes was, in large portion, due to following one elder's behavior. The elder had a deadly combination of intelligence, immaturity, and humor.

[Dead Cat]

I just went on a van ride for a field trip, during which I overheard one guy say that living in Provo for years and then going to the MTC was horrible. I think same guy said he used to clean the building he later lived in and hated it.

[thebigcheese]

Uh...I never served a mission, but I used to work in a maintenance job that took me up to the MTC on a regular basis. It was always my favorite place to work.

[SMP]

I liked the MTC alright, but the routine got to be tiresome after a couple of months, and I definitely felt like I needed to get out. But for about a month or so out in the field, I sometimes wished I was back in the MTC.

[Craig Jessop]

My companion and I hated each other -- the feeling was quite mutual -- so that was miserable, but I loved the rest of it. I loved the firesides and devotionals, the not worrying about anything, and the non-stop learning (my teacher hated it, but I would LOVE to sit in the hall and read the scriptures -- best time ever). The food was nothing to write home about, but it wasn't bad either. FOUR SQUARE ROCKED, and so did sand volleyball.

However, I was quite sincere when, on the Fourth of July, I saw some hot air balloons flying overhead and turned to my companion and said "man, just when I thought this place couldn't get any more like East Berlin..."

[Talons]

I feel exactly the same way Yarjka. I remember wondering why doubles four square wasn't an olympic event, and how anyone could hate a place where you ate as much as you wanted for every meal. I also feel like some of my greatest spiritual learning was had there.
Edit: I forgot to mention I was there for 3 months and our district had to stay a few extra days for clearance to enter the country we were called to.

[Rifka]

I loved my time at the MTC! It was so great to get to completely immerse myself in the gospel. I think it was easier for me than some people because I grew up with very strict parents, who enforced a lot of rules, so it wasn't hard for me to live the rules at the MTC. 3 weeks was perfect, though. I was starting to get a little tired of the routine at the end and I think it would have been a lot harder to be there for 3 months or longer.