Around the web today for stories of interest to future missionaries, missionary moms, returned missionaries, member missionaries, and missionaries of every sort and variety.
- Janai Sampath “A Day with the Latter-day Saints”– Earlier this week, I posted an article about the growth of the Church in India. Apparently the topic has caught a wider imagination. Two new articles on church growth in India came out this week. The first looks at the Church in the South East Indian city of Chanai. “Inter-caste marriages are not uncommon in the sect, as they admit that being a small number it is often difficult for them to find Mormon partners. ‘Being a small group, it is not possible for us to find people from the same sect. It is a big huddle for us. But then we are brought back in our fold—by the lifestyle that we practise,’ says Chelladurai.”
-
Tad Walch “LDS growth in India draws media attention”– The second article from Deseret News looks at the demographics that might be leading to the increased interest in The Church in India. “In May, Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited India to meet with members and missionaries. About 350 missionaries from the India New Delhi Mission and members of the New Delhi District attended one meeting on a day where the temperature reached 113 degrees.”
-
Peggy Fletcher Stack “Guilt, pain, help and hope — when Mormon missionaries come home early”– As always, Missionary Beat wants the best for those who return home early from their missions. This story highlights how one man, who returned home due to persistent debilitating headaches, learned to share the gospel and serve in other ways. “As Freeman was telling his LDS bishop he was ready to return to his full-time mission, the young man broke down, sobbing. This gentle leader helped the would-be missionary see that he still had health issues and that there were other ways he could share and serve his faith.”
- Tad Walch “LDS missionaries developing strategies to cope with stress”– On the other side, the Church is finding ways to help new missionaries by adding stress training to the MTC. “I opened the suitcase and it became one of the best days of my life, getting my scriptures back and reading my journal about all the great experiences I’d tried to bury.”
-
Peggy Fletcher Stack “Salt Lake City, heart of Mormonism, is 2013’s National Bible City“– This exciting announcement provides wonderful opportunities for Church Headquarters to highlight our deep and abiding love for Jesus Christ and the message He teaches in the Bible with others who are not of our faith. “The Church reports Hundreds of people of many faiths gathered in the historic Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Saturday, 23 November 2013 for a concert to celebrate the Bible.”