Turkey opens for LDS missionary work

[NorthwestUteFan]

You had me at "baklava". Do people have legal protecton from recrimination for leaving Islam in Turkey? Does Sunia law prevail? Being put to death for leaving Islam would be a conversion killer (pun intended).

Or are they just subjected to a good 'ol Mormon shunning.

You mean Sharia Law. I do not know anything about the prevalence of 'honor killings' in Turkey, but I do know the country is far more 'western' than nearly all of the other predominantly Muslim countries. I know they historically and openly allow numerous Christian sects, etc.

Many Christian churches essentially were founded in Turkey (eg Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, etc in Antioch). Niceae was extremely important to Christianity (First Council of Nicaea gave us the Nicene Creed, etc).

Most of the important Christian churches were later converted to mosques (Hagia Sophia, etc).

That is the extent of my knowledge of the Christian churches in the area...

[myboynoah]

Turkey is great and NWU is correct about the baklava. It's like heaven.

[SuperGabers]

That's nobody's business but the Turks.

Excellent.

[Omaha 680]

What a great experience for those missionaries. Istanbul is amazing.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I bet the rebel missionaries call it Constantinople.

Those are the wannabes. The real rebels call it Byzantium.

[oxcoug]

Seems like an odd decision to send Bulgarian-speaking missionaries into Turkey on the basis of geographic proximity. Didn't the Church do that with Finnish missionaries into Russia? I guess there's no one else to send in so why not have the most proximate kids go, right?

I've seen this happen a few times. They did it with Hungary when they first opened it - it was called the "Austria, Vienna East" mission for about two years (my bro was in Vienna and went over w/ the new missionaries when they first started going to Hungary).

Then when I was in Hungary several years later Serbia was made a part of our mission - right at the height of the Balkan conflict. We had 18 missionaries in our mission who were kind of going back and forth until the Church finally pulled them permanently.

[Top Ute]

I've seen this happen a few times. They did it with Hungary when they first opened it - it was called the "Austria, Vienna East" mission for about two years (my bro was in Vienna and went over w/ the new missionaries when they first started going to Hungary).

Then when I was in Hungary several years later Serbia was made a part of our mission - right at the height of the Balkan conflict. We had 18 missionaries in our mission who were kind of going back and forth until the Church finally pulled them permanently.

Was your brother's mission president Dennis Neuenschwander? His son was one of my teachers in the MTC.

[Viking]

I've seen this happen a few times. They did it with Hungary when they first opened it - it was called the "Austria, Vienna East" mission for about two years (my bro was in Vienna and went over w/ the new missionaries when they first started going to Hungary).

Then when I was in Hungary several years later Serbia was made a part of our mission - right at the height of the Balkan conflict. We had 18 missionaries in our mission who were kind of going back and forth until the Church finally pulled them permanently.

it's a very small world. i'm pretty sure you served your mission with a family member

[pellegrino]

I've seen this happen a few times. They did it with Hungary when they first opened it - it was called the "Austria, Vienna East" mission for about two years (my bro was in Vienna and went over w/ the new missionaries when they first started going to Hungary).

Then when I was in Hungary several years later Serbia was made a part of our mission - right at the height of the Balkan conflict. We had 18 missionaries in our mission who were kind of going back and forth until the Church finally pulled them permanently.

the pattern was established long ago. Just about every new nation has been opened this way since WWII.

[wuapinmon]

I'm guessing that the rules for proselyting there will be byzantine.

[pellegrino]

I'm guessing that the rules for proselyting there will be byzantine.

that's better than any of the thanksgiving jokes I was working on.

[Flystripper]

You had me at "baklava". Do people have legal protecton from recrimination for leaving Islam in Turkey? Does Sunia law prevail? Being put to death for leaving Islam would be a conversion killer (pun intended).

Or are they just subjected to a good 'ol Mormon shunning.

Not at all. My wife's Aunt married a Turk and they live in Ankara. She loves it there. Turkey is a secular republic and is nothing like the majority of the Islamic countries of the Middle East. While you see some çarşafs (Turkish Burqas) worn, only about 1% of the women actually wear them.

[Mormon Red Death]

I thought Arabs couldn't be baptized because of the whole "not their time because of first to last to last to first" thing.

There was sister companionship in my mission (18 years ago) that was denied baptizing a Arab due to this rule. Did they open proselyting to not just gentiles?

[myboynoah]

One of my son's best friends has been serving in Bulgaria and called his parents Sunday to let them know he was headed to Turkey to serve there. He's a good kid and smart so he should do well there.

Seems like an odd decision to send Bulgarian-speaking missionaries into Turkey on the basis of geographic proximity. Didn't the Church do that with Finnish missionaries into Russia? I guess there's no one else to send in so why not have the most proximate kids go, right?

For people of a certain age, talk of sending missionaries from Bulgaria to open Turkey is just plain crazy and unimaginable.

[Viking]

For people of a certain age, talk of sending missionaries from Bulgaria to open Turkey is just plain crazy and unimaginable.

Come on man, everyone knows Turkey isn't a country!