"Hold my root beer" - the Russell M. Nelson thread

[Bo Diddley]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

My son's P-day is Monday. Obviously they still have the "p-day ends at 6pm" rule. And I work late on Monday anyway - so I'm rarely home before 10pm or so. So - how does the phone call thing work? Does he call Mom at her work and then me at mine? Does he get up early to call before either of us leave the home for the day to go to work? Do we do a 3 way conference call at a certain time each week?

I don't think calls will be weekly. And I hope there are still emails - because the extended family and siblings love those. But it will be interesting to see what new complications this brings - welcome as those complications are.

Yeah but they still have P-day Eve, right?

[Pelado]

I'm not a helicopter mom, and I think cutting the cord is important, but most of us had our cords slowly cut when we left for college in that we could reach out to our parents and other family whenever we wanted. By the time we left on our missions, we were kind of used to being on our own. Kids who leave at 18, right out of high school get their cord cut pretty abruptly. Cord cutting doesn't mean family support and encouragement have to be cut.

I agree with this. I remember feeling some homesickness during my first semester at BYU, especially the first couple of weeks. I'd call home and talk with my mom pretty much every Saturday after getting back to the dorm from my shift cleaning the SFLC.

i have no idea how i feel about it, alas, i haven't sent any kids on missions yet. i liked the experience of cutting the cord completely outside of mother's day and xmas. for me, i feel like that was the best way to do things. i was the homesick type and forcing me to be completely cut off from my family was exactly what i needed.

but that doesn't mean it's the right way to do things. my gut is, this is a good move despite the fact my personal experience tells me i should disagree.

I thought the cord being cut made it easier to focus on mission objectives. Pretty much every time I called home, it was hard to re-focus on the work at hand once the call was over and it was time to get back to work. Perhaps, if the calls had been more frequent, then they wouldn't have seemed so disruptive to the mission bubble.

[Eddie]

Yeah but they still have P-day Eve, right?

I certainly hope so!

To be honest - calls home Sunday after he's home for the night would be awesome. Truly the best time to call.

[Clark Addison]

Yeah but they still have P-day Eve, right?

When else are you going to play Risk or Spoons?

I am OK with this for the most part. Having said that, I had a couple of companions who I know would have had hour long conversations with their parents every week. I would resented the heck out of their wasting an hour of my precious P-day time.

[Northwestcoug]

Yeah but they still have P-day Eve, right?

LOL. Haven't thought of P-day eve in a long time. Playing spades with the district and a 12:01am run to the convenience store were good times...

[Sullyute]

When else are you going to play Risk.

:rockon:

[Surfah]

When else are you going to play Risk or Spoons?

I am OK with this for the most part. Having said that, I had a couple of companions who I know would have had hour long conversations with their parents every week. I would resented the heck out of their wasting an hour of my precious P-day time.

Yeah I can see this being an issue. I hated when my companions didn't want to go do things or meet up with others to play sports.

[Moliere]

"Hold my root beer" - the Russell M. Nelson thread

Yeah I can see this being an issue. I hated when my companions didn't want to go do things or meet up with others to play sports.

This wouldn’t fly around Paris either. We were allowed to go into Paris every other P-day if we lived within a certain distance. Even my dead companion would be up at 6:30am ready to go into Paris to bum around the tourist sites until the early evening.

[BigPiney]

This wouldn’t fly around Paris either. We were allowed to go into Paris every other P-day if we lived within a certain distance. Even my dead companion would be up at 6:30am ready to go into Paris to bum around the tourist sites until the early evening.

I bet this isn't allowed anymore.

[All-American]

Good call. We have technological means of communication that are more effective and inexpensive than ever. Might as well use them. I think this benefits missionaries and families alike.

[SteelBlue]

Limiting voice contact with family was never a good look. Limiting it to twice a year was cultish. I think a volunteer should be able to call his/her family as they see fit. For some that might be every few months, for others it might be every day for a while. The key is that it’s at their discretion and without shame. I’m a big fan of this change overall

[Uncle Ted]

Limiting voice contact with family was never a good look. Limiting it to twice a year was cultish. I think a volunteer should be able to call his/her family as they see fit. For some that might be every few months, for others it might be every day for a while. The key is that it’s at their discretion and without shame. I’m a big fan of this change overall

I have known non-members families of missionaries that have developed a huge dislike of the church because of limiting phone calls with their sons while they were on missions. That policy seems has done more harm than good in these types of settings.

I have to laugh at those that say having more contact with their missionary won't be good for whatever reason. OK, then don't allow your missionary son or daughter to call you except on christmas and mother's day (and maybe father's day). I am pretty sure the church won't force your son or daughter to call you more often.

[happyone]

On balance I like the change. I realize I'm old, but when I was on my mission we couldn't call home period - not on Christmas or Mother's Day. The only exception I remember is when my companion was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer. The mission pres told him to call his parents after we had seen the doctors and he did.

I don't know if the "No Call" rule had changed by the time JL got to Japan. I understand he served in Osaka a couple of yrs after me.

[Jeff Lebowski]

On balance I like the change. I realize I'm old, but when I was on my mission we couldn't call home period - not on Christmas or Mother's Day. The only exception I remember is when my companion was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer. The mission pres told him to call his parents after we had seen the doctors and he did.

I don't know if the "No Call" rule had changed by the time JL got to Japan. I understand he served in Osaka a couple of yrs after me.

No I could not call home either.

[BigPiney]

I have known non-members families of missionaries that have developed a huge dislike of the church because of limiting phone calls with their sons while they were on missions. That policy seems has done more harm than good in these types of settings.

I have to laugh at those that say having more contact with their missionary won't be good for whatever reason. OK, then don't allow your missionary son or daughter to call you except on christmas and mother's day (and maybe father's day). I am pretty sure the church won't force your son or daughter to call you more often.

Exactly.