I'm in a cranky, ranty mood today, so I may as well post one of my favorite rants---about the foreign perception of Utah missionaries.
On my mission in Italy, few things bothered me more than to hear the Italian members voice their disrespect for Utah missionaries. I was talking to Redras about this and she said the French were the same. I imagine that it is common to many (but hopefully not all) missions.
When you first come to an area, the members immediately want to know where you're from. I had the good fortune of being from Canada, which was enough of a novelty to gain everyone's respect. The members say, "Oh! Canada! That's wonderful!" Then they tell me about the last missionary they knew from Canada. And they introduce me to other members and announce to everyone that I'm from Canada. Utah missionaries have a different experience altogether. They mention they're from Utah, and the members immediately say, "Oh. Utah." And if the missionary is lucky, that's it. Otherwise, the members might say, "Not another Utah missionary," or some-such crap. They complain about Utah missionaries and they compare the Utah missionaries to "stereotypical" Utah missionaries.
One day, I was with my companion and an Italian sister missionary and her companion. The thing is, I really loved this Italian sister, and she was one of the nicest people I've ever known. But when we were all talking about where we were from, her companion mentioned some state and then added, "But my family moved to Utah a couple years ago." Her sweet Italian companion spun around on her and shouted, "You're a Utah missionary! You're from Utah. This is the first time I have ever heard you mention it. All you Utah missionaries are always trying to say you're from anywhere but Utah. You're always trying to hide the fact that you're actually from Utah! I had another companion who always told everyone she was from Maryland, but then I later found out that she was born in Utah! You'll use any excuse to get out of admitting you're from Utah."
(Let's pause for a moment to realize what she was saying---she was saying that this sister whose family moved to Utah for the last two years of her life was supposed to claim Utah as her home state, while her other companion who had spent the first six months of her life in Utah was also supposed to claim Utah as her home state, and both these sisters were guilty of covering up the fact that they were both actually from Utah... Not very sound logic.)
And at this point, I couldn't hold in my anger anymore and I let her have my rant. I said that it's no wonder that any Utah missionary would want to find another state to claim as home (even though neither of these sisters was wrong in not claiming Utah) considering the reception they're given by the Italian members. Missionaries from anywhere else in the world are appreciated and applauded by the Italians, but the moment a missionary mentions he or she comes from Utah, they are treated as "less" of a missionary by the members. They are not celebrated at all. But the fact is that Utah missionaries make the exact same sacrifice that all other missionaries are making. They are also giving up 18-24 months of their lives to go and serve. They or their families or their wards are also paying to be able to do this. And the Utah missionaries are just as good as all the other missionaries who are serving in the field. From what I saw, there was no difference between the average Utah missionary and the average non-Utah missionary. And the fact is that the Church in Italy is there because of the service of Utah missionaries (who provide at least half of the mission force). Were it not for Utah missionaries, it is likely that most of the members complaining about Utah missionaries wouldn't even be in the Church at all. And for their efforts and for their service, they are rewarded with derision.
For what it's worth, Utah missionaries, I applaud you.
11 comments:
thanks! the latinos in my mission didn't seem to care too much, but other missionaries sure seemed to care. thanks for sticking up for us. after all, i was actually born in colorado.
That's bad. Is that classic Italian behavior or was that just your specific mission? I know about members who freak out when people who have lived in Utah move into their ward becuase they think those Utah crazies are going to expect that things be done by the book, but I didn't know it was an issue for missionaries also.
What, exactly was their issue with Utah missionaries? Had their been past missionaries who had exhibited some particular qualities en masse? I am very curious about this.
Most of the missionaries we get here in Indiana are from Utah, but they are just as hard working as the one's who've come from California or Virginia or New York. I applaud them as well and agree wholeheartedly with your rant.
In his letter to us this week, my missionary brother (who is serving in France) brought up another rampant-sounding problem. He thinks it's sad that people tend to automatically assume that all European missions are low baptizing and that missionaries sent to Europe are only there to "plant seeds." He says, as I'm sure you might agree, European missions are just as hard as a mission in any other place in the world, but they can also be just as much "on fire" as any other mission. He wants me to spread the word that great and amazing things (including dozens of baptisms) occur in Europe as well, so there you go: spread the word.
Hmmm...we lived in Salt Lake and Park City when I was 2 and 3 years old. I remember snow...that's it. I guess by your companion's standards, I'm from Utah as well.
I even feel bad for my friends who simply tell a New Englander they're from Utah. They look a little stunned afterward, and wonder why anyone would originate from there then come all the way out here. As if that's just unacceptable. Weird. Unfair.
Im not a member, but in my travels I have a met several missionaries... I always try to talk to them - find some connection with home, since I AM from Utah. And the Utah missionaries are always the great. But there is this thing from Mormons outside of Utah that think the Utah Mormons are too much (and not in a good way). Not sure what that is all about - but if you talk to Utah Mormons about this, they say,"no were all great - its the IDAHO Mormons that are the crazies...."
hey wait, how old are you? what mission in Italy did you go to? My brother went there too and he is like 25 now. I wonder if you know him.............Email me and we will figure it out. Laurabish17@hotmail.com
Well, there's one more thing to be scitzy about with the whole going on a mission thing. (If you find a way to warp space-time so you can just be my companion, though, I'm in favor . . .)
In Spain they call Utah "the factory", but I never had anyone give missionaries from Utah a worse time than others. The teachers at the Madrid MTC were pretty weirded out by the fact that no one in my district was from Utah. They couldn't figure out how there could be 11 missionaries without a single one from Utah.
I attended Fast and Testimony Meeting in Orange County with my Dad and Stepmother. A husband and wife in their ward had come to Salt Lake for a mission reunion. The husband got really sick, and after 5 weeks in a Utah hospital, he passed away. The wife was so moved by the outpouring of love and concern from people in Salt Lake who did not know them, but still served them vigorously while her husband was so ill. She proclaimed in her testimony that the church was true, even in Salt Lake.
I was born and raised in Utah and have lived in Idaho for 2 years now. I completely relate to the struggle to convince people that, regardless of the geography of my birth, I'm not a "Utah Mormon"--though I am related to some.... Strangely, I remember having that conversation a lot at BYU with new friends from other states. Like I had to prove that I was worth knowing.
My mission in Texas wasn't bad for that, though. Members would point out the different experiences they had living "in the field," but that was about it. I never sensed that anyone felt I was somehow lesser.
My limited experience with Idaho is pretty much the same. Members anywhere can be clique-ish, and when you get them together in greater numbers, they can push others out and then try to build hedges around the law. (If coffee is bad, Coke and chocolate must be, too.) When the hedge is complete, we tend to harshly judge anyone who's still on the other side. That's MY favorite rant.
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