Humor will not be tolerated!! -Portia

So...they say you should start your papers about 4 months before your availability date, but what's the fastest you guys think mission papers could get done? For instance, hypothetically, if I wanted to leave as soon after fall semester as possible, hypothetically, how long would I have to think about this before I have to make a decision?

You can get your papers done in however long it takes you to get done with the doctor and dentist. So if your doctor can fit you in soon and you don't have any problems (knees, back, weight), then you can go fast. Same with dentists, wisdom teeth and orthodontics.

Yeah, other than the doctor and dentist stuff it took me about an hour to fill out the forms. I fined tuned them over the next few days while waiting for the medical stuff to clear, but it really doesn't take that long.

The single biggest delay for me was getting my student ward bishop and my home ward bishop in contact with each other. For some reason, there was some sort of communication mix-up and my student ward bishop couldn't open my mission papers until a couple weeks after I'd intended to start them. After that, it was mostly an issue of waiting for a doctor appointment, and then just administrative delays that added a day or two at a time.

I think the policy has changed a bit since I did my papers, but at the time, you could turn your mission papers in up to 90 days before your availability date. (I think it's longer now, but I'm not sure.) Just remember the delay between receiving the call and going into the MTC. For my mission (no visa requirements), the average was 3-4 months (for me it was three months to the day), but the shortest I've heard firsthand was six weeks. However, my freshman year roommate decided to turn in his papers at the end of fall semester and not take classes winter semester; he got called to Australia (extensive visa requirements) and didn't go into the MTC until May, six months later. Just something to take into consideration if timing is important.

The shortest I've ever heard is 2 weeks, which is what happened to a good friend of mine in high school. SLC called and told him he was leaving before his call arrived in the mail. Then there was the kid who was sent BACK out into the field after a year off, and he had three days.

I, on the other hand, got my call February 13th, and reported May 21st.

Yeah, there was someone in my mission who had to go home for medical reasons at the end of his stay in the MTC, and I think he had a couple days' notice at most before he left for Chile.

Craig Jessop wrote:The shortest I've ever heard is 2 weeks, which is what happened to a good friend of mine in high school. SLC called and told him he was leaving before his call arrived in the mail. Then there was the kid who was sent BACK out into the field after a year off, and he had three days.

I, on the other hand, got my call February 13th, and reported May 21st.

That's not too bad, considering when you actually turned 19. I knew other guys who had to wait like 5 months after getting their calls.
2 weeks though . . . that would make so many moms so mad.

I heard a week and a half once. But yeah. Zed! Do it! Go on a mission! It's the best thing I've ever done,

Giovanni Schwartz wrote:I heard a week and a half once. But yeah. Zed! Do it! Go on a mission! It's the best thing I've ever done,

to this point.

/finishing Gio's sentence in the obvious way because he can't be married yet

Zed's not married yet either. So the same applies to her.

Yeah, but she didn't end her sentence with a comma.

C is for wrote:Yeah, but she didn't end her sentence with a comma.

Ha!

I don't know what you're talking about. (And that edit sign is there because... because... I felt like frivolously editing my post?)

Giovanni Schwartz wrote:I don't know what you're talking about. (And that edit sign is there because... because... I felt like frivolously editing my post?)

Is that the best frivolous editing you've ever done?

Gaaah. I am so conflicted

Zedability wrote:Gaaah. I am so conflicted

You have had less than 48 hours to think about this. Give yourself more time. (Maybe tell yourself you're not allowed to make a firm decision, one way or the other, for at least a couple of weeks. Then see if you feel OK about things by then.)

DO IIITTT!!! DO IITT!!!

Zedability wrote:Gaaah. I am so conflicted

Forget about it completely for 24 hours (I mean it--be zealous about not even letting it enter your mind) and then come back to the topic. You need to be as calm and unstressed as possible when making the decision, so that the Spirit can guide you more easily.

yayfulness wrote:

Zedability wrote:Gaaah. I am so conflicted

Forget about it completely for 24 hours (I mean it--be zealous about not even letting it enter your mind) and then come back to the topic. You need to be as calm and unstressed as possible when making the decision, so that the Spirit can guide you more easily.

That's good advice. I just feel like if I went, I'd want to leave as soon as possible after this semester, for a variety of reasons. So I feel a bit of pressure for sure :/

That makes complete sense. But waiting 24 hours to decide will not hurt you.

Edit: Woah, did not see Katya's post. Equally good advice. Decisions like this should not be rushed any more than is absolutely necessary.