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Dear
Gramps,
We
had a friend who left the MTC after only 1 week.
He was given an honorable release.
Why would the authorities at the MTC not try any harder than that to
keep him on his mission. What
is he to expect his standing to be in the LDS community? |
Dear
Janet,
There
are numbers of reasons why a missionary might be dismissed from the MTC. They
could involve questions of health and attitude as well as worthiness. It is
appropriate that the details of such matters be kept confidential.
I
cannot imagine that the authorities at the MTC would not have done all that was
appropriate for the welfare of the missionary. The well being of the missionary
is the paramount responsibility of the MTC authorities and the mission
presidents. I believe that you can rest assured that the missionary in question
was treated with loving kindness, and was given every opportunity to continue
according to the protocol and standards related to missionary service.
In
making judgments where the details of the circumstance are not known, it would
be far better to err on the side of the assumption that all concerned acted in
accordance with their responsibilities and the principals of the gospel,
rather than on the side that there was some fault or deficiency on the part of
those responsible for the decisions that were made.
The
boy’s standing in the LDS community I imagine will depend more on the
integrity of the LDS community than on any implications of some possible wrong
doing on the part of the boy. If he is judged and rejected because of some
imagined fault, those who act in such a harsh manner are far worse off than the
person that they are judging. The Lord has spoken directly to this matter, as
follows: