{"id":3108,"date":"2015-10-13T19:39:45","date_gmt":"2015-10-13T19:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/peculiarpeople\/?p=3108"},"modified":"2015-10-14T19:37:39","modified_gmt":"2015-10-14T19:37:39","slug":"do-mormon-missionaries-get-shafted-on-health-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/peculiarpeople\/2015\/10\/do-mormon-missionaries-get-shafted-on-health-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Mormon Missionaries Get Shafted on Health Care?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Photo<\/a>
Photo Courtesy of versageek, Flickr Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Mark Joseph Stern over at Slate just published an interesting article about the state of health care \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 for Mormon missionaries. Stern reports that there is a large number of missionaries who \u201cface serious obstacles in obtaining quality health care\u201d and that this has led those on the receiving end of these oversights\u00a0to become frustrated with the Church, even doubting its truthfulness. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an interesting piece that highlights some of the dangers associated with serving a mission for the LDS Church<\/a>, especially for those serving in South American countries. Stern relies on \u201ctwo dozen former missionaries and other sources with knowledge of missionary life, including active church members\u201d to support his story, most of which, he explains, spoke on the condition of anonymity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You can read the whole thing over at Slate<\/a>, which I recommend you do.<\/p>\n

I have a few hesitations about the article itself, mostly that some of its observations concerning the nature of missionary work doesn\u2019t remind me much of my own experience \u2014 health care included. But I don\u2019t want to dismiss it. I\u2019m curious to know if this is truly a large, overlooked problem or simply the\u00a0unfortunate experience of a small group. Either way, it appears to be something the Church needs to pay attention to.<\/p>\n

For my part, I experienced basically the opposite of what this article implies while I was serving in Brazil. My mission president was quick to prescribe medicine or tell a missionary to take it easy\/visit a doctor if necessary. We received very specific health instructions (which doesn\u2019t mean missionaries were always super great at following those instructions) and I never personally felt like those needs were neglected.<\/p>\n

But as I mentioned earlier, the fact that my experience doesn\u2019t mirror the article doesn\u2019t mean this isn\u2019t a problem. I\u2019d be curious to know how members at large \u2014 anonymous or otherwise \u2014 feel about this.<\/p>\n

One of the most interesting observations that Stern makes is that mental health is especially neglected. He states in the article that:<\/p>\n

The Mormon church<\/a> does not oppose psychiatry or question the effectiveness of therapy\u2014except when it comes to missionaries. When missionaries experience depression, anxiety, and other psychological disorders, they are sometimes told they are \u201cdevoid of the spirit.\u201d The solution for these problems is not therapy but to \u201c<\/span>forget yourself and go to work.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While I didn\u2019t personally experience any issues with mental health on my mission, I knew (and know) plenty that did. While I wonder about the issues surrounding health care in general, there\u2019s little doubt in my mind that we aren\u2019t doing enough to help those in the mission field experiencing emotional and mental difficulties.<\/p>\n

[Update: 10\/14\/2015]<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

One of our bloggers, Stephanie Asalone, directed me to an article by Religious News Service\u2019s Jana Riess<\/a> that takes aim at some of the journalistic failings of the Slate article. Riess essentially argues that\u00a0Stern relied on anecdotes instead of data to paint a wide brush over the entire missionary health program. She cites an article by the Salt Lake Tribune from 2013<\/a> which examines missionary access to health care in much greater detail, relying on data and statistics and not just anecdotes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Riess is pretty condemnatory of what she sees as Slate\u2019s shoddy journalism in this story. She also sees it as a missed opportunity to possibly uncover something real and important to the Mormon community<\/a>. But she also stresses that the experiences of the people quoted in the story shouldn\u2019t be completely dismissed:<\/p>\n

Even though its total reliance on one kind of personal story can\u2019t pass for responsible journalism, that doesn\u2019t mean the interviewees\u2019 experiences aren\u2019t true and important. They don\u2019t represent the whole picture, but they deserve a wide hearing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I know that when I read it, I had some pretty strong doubts, but I didn\u2019t want to dismiss it without looking deeper. From what I gather in our comments section, that seemed to be a common reaction. I\u2019m glad Riess was able to clear some of this up for us.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark Joseph Stern over at Slate just published an interesting article about the state of health care \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 for Mormon missionaries. 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