# Church of Latter Day Saints: WTF on Valentine's Day? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 15, 2016, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191 "2016-02-15T06:15:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191/21 "2016-02-17T00:18:18Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > … Only a very few had cell phones… And this wasn’t because cell phones were against the rules, but because cellular calls cost 100 francs/minute (approx. $1/minute). ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191/22 "2016-02-17T01:20:27Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > such as going out and getting drunk at parties to make new friends, whom they would immediately baptize thereafter. Groberg eventually constructed “collapsible fonts and supplied one to each unit in which missionaries were working,” so even performing on-site baptisms at parties became feasible. Y’know, some other denomination could pick up on these ideas. Dude could have a future in starting his own church. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191/23 "2016-02-17T02:05:12Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Y’know, some other denomination could pick up on these ideas. Dude could have a future in starting his own church. Dude? _Shut the fuck up, Donny. Amen._ ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191/24 "2016-02-17T04:36:39Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > You’re totally confused. That may have been true in some regions and in some decades, but certainly not universal in the 21st and late 20th centuries. > > When I was a missionary in Tahiti in the late '90s, all missionary homes had telephones. Missionaries are expected to be in frequent communication with the mission president, with the mission chain of command, with the local members, and with prospective recruits. Only a very few had cell phones, but all had land lines. > > More recently, when I was a (non-missionary) Mormon in the U.S., the missionaries phoned us from a cell phone every month to tell us they’d be late for dinner. > > You are correct (at least in my experience) that missionaries are allowed to call _home_ only on Christmas and Mother’s Day. Yup. Missionary apartments have had land line phones since forever. We had them back in the early 80s in Japan. There were no restrictions except for calling home. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191/25 "2016-02-17T14:09:08Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > emph. mine. > > They never introduce themselves as “brother.” > You are “brother” Rik, they refer to themselves as “elder.” I may have misremembered how the first (younger) guy introduced himself, but it was different from the second guy, who said “Elder”. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191/26 "2016-02-17T14:34:41Z")
A few days ago I had some lovely young lady missionaries show up at my door but it wasn’t random. They were looking for a Jared Padalecki. They seemed confused when I told them that no one named Jared lived there. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that Jared Padalecki is the name of one of the stars of the TV show _Supernatural_ and he certainly does not live in our house (although my daughter would be thrilled). ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191/27 "2016-02-17T14:46:00Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I may have misremembered how the first (younger) guy introduced himself, but it was different from the second guy, who said “Elder”. You could have remembered correctly. The church has “mini” missions for youth who often go out with regular missionaries. They aren’t called as elders so they may be referred as “brother.” We never had them so I’m not certain, but that seems to be the most logical sense. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191/28 "2016-02-17T14:58:39Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > **Nava** , our main surprise was the time of day. 8:30PM? C’mon! Maybe they were from the church of Later-in-the-Day Saints. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191/29 "2016-02-17T18:19:14Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > > [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > > > I may have misremembered how the first (younger) guy introduced himself, but it was different from the second guy, who said “Elder”. > > You could have remembered correctly. The church has “mini” missions for youth who often go out with regular missionaries. They aren’t called as elders so they may be referred as “brother.” We never had them so I’m not certain, but that seems to be the most logical sense. That seems the most likely explanation. Another possibility is that one or both missionaries were assigned to another language. IIRC, Spanish-assigned male missionaries in the U.S. use Hermano Wossname. There’s a lot of variability whether a non-English mission will translate Brother Wossname, translate Elder Wossname, or just stick with the English Elder Wossname. An elder who has been introducing himself in Spanish as “Hermano Wossname” for a year might slip up and call himself “Brother Wossname” when he tries to shift back to English. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191/30 "2016-02-17T19:15:22Z")
On a related note, I went to see _“The Book of Mormon”_ on Valentine’s Day. Not as good as I had hoped/heard. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191/31 "2016-02-17T19:18:24Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Is that supposed to be late or something? Yes, yes it is. You knock on my door after dark and you’re not the pizza man you’re getting a bat in your face and me telling you to screw off. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191/32 "2016-02-17T20:42:51Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > You could have remembered correctly. The church has “mini” missions for youth who often go out with regular missionaries. They aren’t called as elders so they may be referred as “brother.” We never had them so I’m not certain, but that seems to be the most logical sense. In this case, the younger man appeared to be college-aged; the older 30-something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/church-of-latter-day-saints-wtf-on-valentines-day/746191.md?page=1)