Sports and the church mission

I have been pondering this question for some time and have really wondered since reading about a recent recruits indecision about a potential mission.



I hear this from some LDS athletes from time to time..."I can serve the church better in sports then i can on a mission" or something along those lines.



I think of Jake Heaps, Jabari Parker among some others when i hear this as a huge BYU fan, but i guess living in Utah i don't realize the impact of these athletes "sports missions" for the church.



As a non-lds cougar fan with season tickets to home games and travels to multiple games a year i was hoping a few on this board would share thoughts on the subject.



Can an athlete do more to help the church by playing sports versus serving a mission?



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Have you read Steve Young's story about why he didn't go on a mission?



I think, as a general rule, every worthy young man should serve (and will want to serve), but ultimately it's a personal decision and there are exceptions. I don't know what goes on between other people and the Lord, and I'm sure there are people whose talents and visibility can do more for the church if they don't take two years off from what they're doing.

I think there are few cases where they do more good not serving. The Osmond Brothers are another example. I never hear any of these athletes consider whether they would be better served not going on a mission.

I've said it about every offseason: I wish everyone would go; I don't see any exception to the every able worthy young man should serve mandate for sports and/or fame. That said, I don't judge anyone who doesn't go or goes and comes back before his full time is up--I don't know where they are with worthiness/ability.



What I do have a problem with is those who forego a mission equating their football-playing etc. (i.e. not giving up anything) as equivalent to or even a higher calling than the sacrifice of those who do go serve a mission and make those sacrifices. Go or don't go, but don't pretend that sport is a higher calling.

snoscythe wrote:
I've said it about every offseason: I wish everyone would go; I don't see any exception to the every able worthy young man should serve mandate for sports and/or fame. That said, I don't judge anyone who doesn't go or goes and comes back before his full time is up--I don't know where they are with worthiness/ability.



What I do have a problem with is those who forego a mission equating their football-playing etc. (i.e. not giving up anything) as equivalent to or even a higher calling than the sacrifice of those who do go serve a mission and make those sacrifices. Go or don't go, but don't pretend that sport is a higher calling.

this is where i was kind of at. I know you want positive visibility to the church, but does playing sports do that? In some cases i see it...jimmer. i can see the other side too...McMahon. i have not read Youngs book. I will look for it.



I don't blame anyone for choices... Some sacrificed thousands of dollars to go on missions. Would be different thought process if you had to give up millions. Some are food for missions others missions are good for the individual. My extreme thoughts on life are that all well able young men serve in the military. No exceptions except serving a religious mission, maybe some others... but I digress.



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crazycougar84601 wrote:
i have not read Youngs book. I will look for it.

About halfway through Benedict's story below:



http://jeffbenedict.com/index.php/blog/389-ten-thousand-spirals" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is never a time when a person or the world is better off by a worthy, capable, young man choosing to not go on a full time mission.



I do not judge anyone who chooses not to go because that's not my place, nor do I have the understanding of where they are or why they are making the choice they are.

The risks and tradeoffs of going on a mission are inescapable. Yet I believe that is part of the reason why young men are asked to go---the sacrifice and tradeoff does good to the youth even in cases where they don't have a significant impact as a missionary---so it's not all about the good the missionary does to the world. For this reason, while a "sports mission," can do incredible good in the world and for the church, it's not a replacement for the mission experience. And millions of dollars in NBA or NFL money really may not make up for that loss.



Is it possible to have other experiences that make up for what is lost on a mission? Maybe other callings and service opportunities, in the long term, transform a person in the same way. I don't think most of the changes made on a mission are permanent anyway. The benefit for the individual is probably more about the concentration and timing of that growth than anything else. And my experience is that the personal repentance process for bypassing a commandment is always more difficult than just obeying in the first place, and that process always comes with its own growth.



The problem with the sports mission myth is that it implies that there is no tradeoff, no immediate disadvantage, to the person who chooses glory and millions over sacrifice and ignominy. It's an appealing idea, but knowing that there is an unavoidable tradeoff is useful. And the specific types of good that only a full-time missionary can do should not be discounted. People who consider and fully understand the inherent loss in staying home, and make the choice to stay anyway, will be better off, and better people, as they actively work to compensate. Because of this, I don't think it's contradictory to say that a mission is the right choice for any athlete, while giving a full pass to those who chose not to go for any reason, since their individual tradeoff for that decision is between them and God.

snoscythe wrote:



What I do have a problem with is those who forego a mission equating their football-playing etc. (i.e. not giving up anything) as equivalent to or even a higher calling than the sacrifice of those who do go serve a mission and make those sacrifices. Go or don't go, but don't pretend that sport is a higher calling.

Exact. Couldn't have said it better. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard when I hear highly recruited and extremely talented young men speak of their "sports mission".