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Close Topic OptionsLds Church Stops Russian Mission Calls
Lds Church Stops Russian Mission Calls - Mormon Doctrine Studies - Posted: 6th Jun, 2011 - 7:20pm
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Lds Church Stops Russian Mission Calls
It seems to me the real reason is monetary as well as having problems with missionaries going off track when they had to travel to another country because of the visa issue.
| QUOTE |
| The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has stopped calling missionaries from North America to serve in missions in Russia, officials at the church headquarters in Salt Lake City said. "The missions are fully staffed and the work is going forward," church spokesman Rob Howell said. "They have more missionaries than they can use." Howell would neither confirm nor deny the decision was influenced by the difficulty of obtaining and renewing visas for North American missionaries. Howell didn't comment on the cost of applying for visas or travel in and out of the country while waiting for visas. Like all non-native missionaries serving in Russia's eight LDS missions, Ben Wade, a returned missionary from the Russia Samara Mission, was required to leave Russia once a year in order to renew his visa. "We would fly to Moscow or St. Petersburg and then take a train to Tallinn, Estonia," Wade said. "We would spend about four hours there and then go back." The trip, which took two or three days, was required once a year for all the non-native missionaries in order to renew their visas. The cost of the trip was more than just monetary, as groups of missionaries were routinely pulled out of their areas. "I had an obedient group," Wade said. "When we'd go, we would talk about missionary work and come back excited about it. But for rebellious missionaries, it was a time to goof off and break rules. They would get really off-track." Renewing visas has gotten increasingly complicated, Wade said. Effective Oct. 4, 2007, non-Russian citizens are required to return to their native country every 90 days in order to renew their visas, according to a www.russianvisa.org, a Web site which assists travelers in obtaining Russian visas... |
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Calls Mission Russian Stops Church Lds
On one hand: The fact that the *eight* missions in Russia are fully staffed - meaning, I presume, that they have enough missionaries from within Russia - is wonderful! It means the church is growing there. I think that's great news. Why send missionaries from other areas into Russia if they don't need to, particularly if the cost is prohibitive and the visas are getting to be more of a hassle?
On the other hand: Why is the Russian government making visas so hard to renew, suddenly? To have to return to one's native country every 90 days seems like a hardship to me.
Post Date: 4th Jun, 2011 - 9:18pm / Post ID: #
Lds Church Stops Russian Mission Calls Studies Doctrine Mormon
Name: Brent
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Comments: It not that Russia has enough LDS members to support their own missionaries. But Europe and the former soviet union does. It much easier for a missionary serving in Samara to return to Kazakhstan then a US missionary to return to the USA every 3 months. Its a day by train back to Moscow and the next day to get to JFK. So that's 4 days without any delays. Versus a few hours for to travel to Kazakhstan
Calls Mission Russian Stops Church Lds
QUOTE Apostle Creates First Stake in Russia
05 June 2011 - Moscow
Elder Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" Quorum of the Twelve Apostles organized the Moscow Russia Stake on 5 June 2011 - the first stake in Russia and the second in the former Soviet Union. The meeting was held in Amber Plaza auditorium in Moscow and attended by more than 1,100 people on a warm and sunny day in Moscow. ...The Moscow Russia Stake has been created with six wards and three branches. ...The Church currently has more than 21,000 members in Russia spread throughout 116 congregations.
05 June 2011 - Moscow
Elder Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" Quorum of the Twelve Apostles organized the Moscow Russia Stake on 5 June 2011 - the first stake in Russia and the second in the former Soviet Union. The meeting was held in Amber Plaza auditorium in Moscow and attended by more than 1,100 people on a warm and sunny day in Moscow. ...The Moscow Russia Stake has been created with six wards and three branches. ...The Church currently has more than 21,000 members in Russia spread throughout 116 congregations.
TOPIC: Lds Church Stops Russian Mission Calls