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ten.a
The modern crusade
story by jamie knodel illustration by josh peterson
Every year thousands of Mormons devote their lives to their faith
For two years, Chad Sanner woke up every day at 6:30 a.m., studied for three hours, then went out and had doors slammed in his face. In the meantime, Sanner volunteered at hospitals and shared his apartment with roaches. Each day, Sanner was excited to start again.
Sanner, a Mulvane sophomore, spent two years of his life spreading his Mormon religious beliefs. He is one of many.
Thousands of full-time Mormon missionaries are serving in 162 countries worldwide this year, according to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Nearly all of them are college aged.
Mormon missionaries give up their home, family, comfortable beds and college scholarships. The missionaries also have to pay for the experience. It isn't always fun, and it's never easy, but former KU Mormon missionaries say the experience is fulfilling.
The mission breaks up many Mormons' college years.
Both Sanner and Mike Kennington, Leavenworth junior, already had started college when they went on their missions.
But school was not the only thing they had to leave behind.
Missionary Growth
Kennington sold his car and gave up his full-ride academic scholarship before he left for Honduras.
He now pays his school fees with student loans.
Laura Wycuff, a junior at Baker University in Baldwin, must give up her soccer scholarship before she leaves in April. Wycuff said she did not know where she would be going yet.
These students hesitate to call their actions sacrifices.
"It's really a blessing," Kennington said. "The Lord is giving us more than we are giving up."
That blessing does not come without a price tag. Each missionary pays $375 a month to cover expenses. The two-year experience costs about $10,000. The fees cover room and board, food and transportation.
If an individual lacks the money to serve, Kennington said that other church members always were eager to help out.
During his mission, Sanner was responsible for spreading Mormon beliefs and performing community service.
Source: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (www.lds.org/en.html)
"Community service is our way of showing people that we are not out to brainwash but rather to serve the community," said Sanner, who volunteered in Los Angeles hospitals and nursing homes.
Paul Zindarmz-Swartz, professor of religious studies, said that from a young age, most Mormon boys planned on serving a mission, although it wasn't required. Mormon families and churches reinforce the idea throughout their children's lives.
"Missionaries have a belief that this is a religious calling." Zimdars-Swartz said.
Sanner began interviewing with church officials a year before his 19th birthday. Church officials counsel prospective missionaries until they believe the candidates are mature and spiritual enough to undertake a mission.
Kennington said little about where he would be called to go for his mission. That decision comes from the Salt Lake City Missionary Board.
Mormons believe that, through prayer, the board determines the destined mission for each individual.
After submitting their paperwork, Mormons anxiously await for "the letter" to come in the mail. Sanner said.
Of the 60,000 Mormon missionaries throughout the world, 75 percent are males between the ages of 19 and 26, according to Church of Latter Day Saints. Females make up 17 percent of the group.
Missionaries work long hours, seven days a week, for two years. Female missionaries serve for only 18 months.
"Everyone knows what 'the letter' is, and everyone is anxious for you to open it because that lets you know where you'll be for the next two years," Kennington said.
"There is a higher age requirement for females to keep the number of sisters serving lower." Wwcuff said.
Males cannot embark on their missions until they are 19 years old. Women must be 21.
Earlier last year the church's leader, President Gordon B. Hinckley, emphasized that women should not feel obligated to serve since missionary work was a priesthood, or male, responsibility, Wycuft said.
Male or female, Mormon missionaries follow strict rules.
Male missionaries only can bring 12 white button-down collared shirts, six pairs of black dress slacks, seven ties and two pairs of shoes that can be polished. Females are expected to bring long dark-colored, conservative dresses for their missions.
While serving, Kennington and Sanner had to stay an arm's length away from the
Missionaries' only contact with their parents is through letters and two phone calls a year — on Christmas and Mother's Day.
opposite sex. They were allowed only to shake hands with females.
In general, a mission is so centered on the religious aspects that family is seen as a distraction. Zimdars-Swartz said.
But the toughest part for Kennington was staying with his companion at all times. All Mormon missionaries are assigned a companion for security reasons and are expected to be together 24 hours a day.
"Staying with my companion all the time was not always easy. But, it eventually got to the point where it felt weird without being together." Kennington said.
In Honduras, Kennington lived like the locals in an adobe clay building, with a
bucket for a shower and an outhouse for a bathroom
He had to shave, hot water or not. Facial hair is forbidden.
"I had to just suck it up and do it," Kennington said.
While Sanner did enjoy carpet and warm water, he said that he often had more roommates than he initially anticiplated.
"We would just stay in the cheapest place in town, and we usually shared the place with roaches," he said.
Despite the hardships, Kennington found his two-year mission very fulfilling.
"My mission was the hardest time in my life, but it was like a high," Kennington said.
Because they serve for two years, missionaries are bound to come back different. Zimdars Swartz said.
Although people were not always responsive to his message, Sanner said his mission was successful.
"They come back with stronger faith and convictions. What they've done — being missionaries — has affected their thinking," he said.
Many Californians slammed doors in his face and cut him off mid-sentence, but Sanner kept knocking. At times, it was discouraging he said, but every person he talked to was a new challenge he looked forward to tackling.
"I talked to thousands of people who rejected what I was saying, but I still feel as though I'did some good," Sanner said.
Zimdars-Swartz said that for Mormons there is no such thing as an unsuccessful mission.
"They fully believe mission work is going to triumph. Their faith is going to continue, and they are convinced it will win out," he said.
Kennington and Sanner agreed that scripture and religion were not the only things they had learned.
Kennington, a business major, is now a fluent Spanish speaker. After two years of speaking nothing but Spanish, he said he sometimes struggles to find an English word.
Sanner sees the effects of his mission in his schoolwork.
"I've really learned how to study and understand material," the pre-physical therapy major said.
Wycuff said that missionaries also grow as individuals.
"When you serve a mission, you become a stronger person. You have to become more independent, because you're away from all your family and friends," she said.
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