deacon blues wrote:Padding missionary stats is an important way to prepare missionaries for a lifetime of temple recommend interviews.
Seriously, there was some padding stats in our mission. (some senior comps were better at it than others) There was also a culture of suspecting other missionaries padded stats. No offense, but the OP seems to be exaggerating a little, We all have a little Paul Dunn in us.
A little Paul Dunn in us all? Studies have shown that very many have a propensity to ”stretch” the truth, our big fish that got away, catagory of lies. What Paul Dunn did was make statements from a position of authority, not of stretching the truth but totally making crap up. And all the while shrouding it in a glow of made up spirituality.
But getting back to the story at hand, furniture from Book of Mormon’s and padding stats. I believe his story. I learned the lesson about padding stats the first month of my 2 ½ year mission. In our mission we were forbidden to take time to wash our clothes unless we could proselyte at the same time, the idea of going to a laundromat and talking with the undunked. Only, in Sweden, there are not now, nor were there ever any laundromats. Laundry is done by booking time in a communal laundry room, specifically designed so that you are alone. The whole concept of sharing time while doing laundry is counter to Swedishness.
So we lied. We washed our shirts, garments and socks but wrote it up as proselyting time. Dinners with members were not considered missionary work then (mid 1960’s). But on our weekly reports they became lessons taught.
We were required to sell each Book of Mormon we distributed. Every week 10 new books would be sent to each missionary pair, COD (cash on delivery for those who no longer ever use the post office). We could not, didn’t dare, trembled at the thought, to say no to a new delivery Each book was 1 $ US. 10$ every week (plus shipping). Back then we lived on 100 $ per month. My first companion couldn’t sell a book if his life depended upon it and I couldn’t speak Swedish.
By the end of my first month I had gone down in weight by over a fifth of my very skinny teenage weight because all our money rested in books, untouched on a bookshelf in our room. I complained to our DL’s. We were accused of not being sufficiiently dedicated. I complained to our mission president. We were admonished to pray more steadfastly. I continued to lose weight for the second month. We had to pay rent, food, transportation and then have 40% of our total monthly allowance invested in books. 60 $ to live on, 40$ for books/month.
A very angry letter from my Mom to the mission president brought about a change. The DL’s plus six missionaries came to our area and sold every god damned book in a day and a half. But the books kept coming and I was placed with a new companion, clear on the other side of the country.
We didn’t build furniture with our Book of Mormon’s. We starved. There is no ”Paul Dunn” part to this story.
And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love...you make. PMcC