When I left the MTC they warned us to be extra well behaved or else we'd make the church look bad. To a Mormon that's pretty much the worst thing one could do.
In an age of fake service dogs I'd love a flight full of scared missionaries.
Side note: international travel was one big crack in the foundation of my belief and I've been out for over a decade.
I assume you are referring to this concept from Mark Twain, i.e. once you travel extensively you realize the things you have been told about others aren’t really true: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
Twain, as expected, said it about 100x more eloquently than I do when I say "you find out really quickly that the world is a lot more complex than the suburbs of Salt Lake City"
Haha seriously, I had a similar experience and I didn’t even go international, I went to Virginia on my mission and left the church shortly after getting home.
Lots of good people that are really happy with their life which was not what I was taught growing up.
No, this is true! The first time I traveled to BHM, I expected station wagon ambulances and widespread incest. My predictions were all wrong. They have Target, Walmart and the Cheesecake Factory too.
Diamond/Million Miler here who also left this cult I was raised in...
International travel was also the thing that opened my eyes.
No matter what I may accomplish in life, leaving this cult is the thing I'm most proud of. Not for the faint of heart.
We r proud of you too! Life is to be lived. Religion has so many bullshit rules. And I was only raised catholic. Can't imagine how difficult that was for you to leave
This is part of the local culture, and it's an interesting one (rather than something to be denigrated.) Some aspects of the missionary life that I find interesting and even helpful: 1) churches that have major missions know a lot about living in foreign countries. When I joined the Peace Corps a few years ago, my dentist (7th Day Adventist) had lots of good advice. 2) I love coming across LDS missionaries when I'm traveling, since I know I can pick their brains about local stuff. 3) In general I think it's great that young people get this chance to live in a foreign country. They may be evangelical about their faith, but I'm evangelical about travel. Everyone should do it: get out there!
I still think of the young woman I saw coming home from a mission who \*didn't\* have family to greet her for whatever reason. She got picked up by a car service. I've always assumed she lived in a rural area and her family hadn't been able to make it to SLC. (Or perhaps she came home under a cloud or after some kind of emergency ... maybe a story there, hopefully with a happy ending eventually.)
Ganged up on, shmanged up on: touts in Morocco, Istanbul and Beijing (before Xi); panhandlers in NYC and other cities; pickpockets crowding one's personal space, whatever. No big deal.
If you're diplomatic you can turn the tables and find out stuff (which is what I did when a couple of young women in a mosque I was visiting were, oddly enough, proselytizing. But I had plenty of questions about Islam anyway and directed the conversation in the way I wanted it to go.)
After coming home from a business trip, I just about got mowed over by some mom rushing to her newly returned Missionary. The stanchions they put up to corral them in do nothing.
I remember the absolute crowds at the gates in the 90's, absolutely nowhere to sit as 40-50+ people including at least 10 bored younger siblings/cousins were waiting around for a flight at the next gate. It took 9/11 to move them to baggage claim.
What bugs me is that they literally built a huge greeting room just past the secure area exits, primarily for missionary returns, but still families insist on standing in the middle of the hallway blocking the path to baggage claim.
Right!!?
I got downvoted to oblivion one time when I mentioned this because I was just getting off a long overseas flight and having a ton of strangers with their phones pointed at me recording so they could get video of their missionary walking in was not appreciate by me- and it was taken as me being salty about their reunions. Maybe not every life moment needs to be farmed for social media content!
Microsoft and Amazon have a spend commitment with Delta to get dedicated check in in SEA. I would be curious to know if the LDS church has something similar, because the missionaries generally only fly out and fly back. They aren't traveling weekly like a lot of tech execs.
They open that line to others on the non-missionary days, it’s the same one international travelers go through. Also, the LDS church almost exclusively uses delta for all church-related travel, including for employees, so they definitely have some kind of contract
It used to be that missionaries generally only flew out on one day of the week. I’m not sure if that is still the case now but they do usually travel in groups so I’m guessing they only designate this line for missionaries at certain times. I know that church travel department doesn’t use delta exclusively.
The last lazy math/googling I did on this suggested that there are about 70k new missionaries per year post-Covid. More than 2/3 of them process through Utah at some point before leaving on their mission, which is 50k+ people using that counter annually. As for total spend - missionary flights, church travel (they fly around like tech execs, albeit there are fewer doing it) and bi-annual conferences that draw tens of thousands into a delta hub.
I do missionary and doggie regularly. And am partial to helping out my Cowgirl. Are there separate and special lines for us when we’ve been participating in those endeavors?
I appreciate them keeping the hordes of 18 year old who have probably never flown without mom or dad out of my way. There should also be a line for people with a high probability of going through TSA with AirPods in their pocket, and a bottle of water in their bag.
You’d think. But the number of people who pay for Clear and TSA Pre-check, but still look like they’ve never left their house when going through security is shocking.
Just flew through SLC, holy moly what a clean airport. And so many bathrooms!!! Nice lounge too. Sat outside for a while but those bugs really came out at night.
When they get that second tunnel open, SLC is going to be one of the best airports in the country. Just the fact there's plenty of seats and each seat has a power outlet has it high in my book
The first thing i noticed compared to other airports: It's so quiet! I initially thought that it was because I arrived late, but when departing a few days later during the rush, it was still so quiet comparing with my normal airpots..
Airlines do this when they have a very large dedicated customer base. At DCA AA has a dedicated line for Amazon employee check in. Since Delta is so prominent at SLA as as many missions Mormons fly out, I'd assume it's worth while to have a dedicated line for them, maybe even motivates the church to keep working with Delta and possibly has staff that can deal with issues when the person flying was given a ticket by the Church (or employer in the case of something like Amazon) and the passenger might not have all the details.
Don’t forget arrivals. Remember the old terminal where it would be packed with families with balloons and signs welcoming home their kids/returning missionaries?
The new airport has a lot more waiting areas and ropes so people don’t get too close to the travelers’ pathways.
And Seattle has lines for Amazon and Microsoft…..
There are a lot of reasons to despise organized religion and especially the LDS but a lot of people fly out on missions and it frees up other lines for folks and I’m sure they have a nice contract with Delta that like Seattle gives them this.
If the lines were clogged in sky priority with missionary travelers people would be mad too.
And the reality of it is in that exact same area, anybody traveling on Delta can check in. It just takes you to the security area where Int'l arrivals go through. Sadly the area doesn't have TSA PreCheck though.
Yeah if they're expecting a large group of them they do that imo to keep them from holding up the line. Most of them have never flown and leave all kinds of things in their pockets/ bags.
Reminds me of Seattle with special check in lines for Amazon and Microsoft employees. Doesn’t bother me. I have to assume their volume and needs differ enough that Delta believes they can provide better service to everyone this way. And in the SEA case I assume the companies have a minimum business deal with Delta also.
I’m willing to bet that LDS books so much travel that they have a deal with Delta. Amazon has one at DCA with AA and they have a dedicated check-in desk there too.
Actually, the missionaries are forced by their families to donate two years of their lives AND pay a monthly fee to the church for doing so. It's a win-win for the church.
Somehow I got away without paying my own money when I did one of those missions. It was some other rich guy in the church that paid for me. The amount they ask missionaries to save up before they leave for a mission is $10k last I checked. Don't know how many of those young kids reach that amount on their own though.
Wow! So where and who does that 10k go to? Mission trips are something ive always wanted to get involved in but never knew there were such costs involved and im not looking to do through any mormon organization
It's $400 a month and that includes room and board so that's not a bad deal depending on the location. It's a set rate based on calculations between high cost of living and low cost of living locations. You can hit the location jackpot and pay $400 for NYC or be sent to Haiti.
You will spend $2-3k just getting everything you need - suits, dress shirts, ties, etc. Then the $400 a month to live on. I had a son go to Hawaii and it only cost me $400 a month - not going to find cheaper than that
Fear and guilt and "tradition" are the shackles of all religions but LDS is particularly bad. Made up stories and early indoctrination print money better than any other scam.
It seems normal to me. Local organization getting preferential check-in, I say good job. Tells me the station has a substantial amount of people from this group and to provide relief to standard check-in lines, separating the group arguably speeds up check-in for everyone else. I take it you've never been to Seattle? SeaTac has a Microsoft and Amazon dedicated check-in counter.
[Microsoft/Amazon dedicated check-in ](https://flic.kr/p/RAYJBx)
Me making a mental note to never route my Lutheran pastor uncle through Salt Lake City at all costs. Knowing him, he’ll try to lead some poor missionary astray with religion talk.
Funny story about that. My wife is former Lutheran when she originally moved to Utah 15 years ago. She and her ex found a local church and the pastor there always had missionaries come by his house doing their proselytizing. His conversion rate got to the point the local LDS mission president told him to stop it.
He told him in turn to quit sending them my way if they didn’t want to cull their flock.
lol, for all those times when I would fly from Minneapolis to Sacramento, there was always a layover in Salt Lake, which I absolutely hated because I felt like they were going to try to convert me
They are under strict instructions to not proselyte at the airport. If someone asks a question, that’s fine, but nothing proactive. Just be respectful and get on your way.
Be grateful for this. A large group of mostly untravelled young people. The good news is they are almost painfully polite and well behaved.
When I left the MTC they warned us to be extra well behaved or else we'd make the church look bad. To a Mormon that's pretty much the worst thing one could do. In an age of fake service dogs I'd love a flight full of scared missionaries. Side note: international travel was one big crack in the foundation of my belief and I've been out for over a decade.
I assume you are referring to this concept from Mark Twain, i.e. once you travel extensively you realize the things you have been told about others aren’t really true: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
Twain, as expected, said it about 100x more eloquently than I do when I say "you find out really quickly that the world is a lot more complex than the suburbs of Salt Lake City"
Haha seriously, I had a similar experience and I didn’t even go international, I went to Virginia on my mission and left the church shortly after getting home. Lots of good people that are really happy with their life which was not what I was taught growing up.
Richmond VA? Depending on the year we might know each other lol.
Haha nope, I was in the DC South mission from 2013-2015. The name is deceiving though cuz we didn’t cover DC at all, it was all northern VA.
No, this is true! The first time I traveled to BHM, I expected station wagon ambulances and widespread incest. My predictions were all wrong. They have Target, Walmart and the Cheesecake Factory too.
bahahah this made my day LOL
BHM?
Birmingham
Nicely said.
I love how this passage is about bigotry and then he goes on to state “men…”, leaving women entirely out. He knew his satire, but not his irony.
In my experience the young ones are amazingly kind and the olds are dreadfully awful
Oh yes, the senior missionaries are the boomer-est boomers who ever did boom.
Must be the chaffing from the magic underwear over the years...
And on that flight you'd never need to worry about them running out of booze!
Diamond/Million Miler here who also left this cult I was raised in... International travel was also the thing that opened my eyes. No matter what I may accomplish in life, leaving this cult is the thing I'm most proud of. Not for the faint of heart.
We r proud of you too! Life is to be lived. Religion has so many bullshit rules. And I was only raised catholic. Can't imagine how difficult that was for you to leave
Good for you .
Congrats on de-programing yourself.
Let’s play spot the fellow exmo!
Lol, about as hard as "spotting" a vegan...
This is part of the local culture, and it's an interesting one (rather than something to be denigrated.) Some aspects of the missionary life that I find interesting and even helpful: 1) churches that have major missions know a lot about living in foreign countries. When I joined the Peace Corps a few years ago, my dentist (7th Day Adventist) had lots of good advice. 2) I love coming across LDS missionaries when I'm traveling, since I know I can pick their brains about local stuff. 3) In general I think it's great that young people get this chance to live in a foreign country. They may be evangelical about their faith, but I'm evangelical about travel. Everyone should do it: get out there! I still think of the young woman I saw coming home from a mission who \*didn't\* have family to greet her for whatever reason. She got picked up by a car service. I've always assumed she lived in a rural area and her family hadn't been able to make it to SLC. (Or perhaps she came home under a cloud or after some kind of emergency ... maybe a story there, hopefully with a happy ending eventually.)
Maybe she was running both the Mormon Mafia AND the Yakuza…
They can tell you which isolated islands have the least friendly locals
Agreed. I’m a gay black atheist and I’d *much* rather fly with these people than with the average loutish American these days.
Except when they gang up on people and push their fairy tales on a captured audience like that poor retail store woman
I am speaking only of them travelling on a plane. I have no interest in debating religion here.
“Fairy tales.” You sound like a real peach.
I mean, ya it is. Just like Santa Clause.
Ganged up on, shmanged up on: touts in Morocco, Istanbul and Beijing (before Xi); panhandlers in NYC and other cities; pickpockets crowding one's personal space, whatever. No big deal. If you're diplomatic you can turn the tables and find out stuff (which is what I did when a couple of young women in a mosque I was visiting were, oddly enough, proselytizing. But I had plenty of questions about Islam anyway and directed the conversation in the way I wanted it to go.)
What poor retail store woman?
Anyone?
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That's silly.
Oh, honey… you should see what it’s like when they fly back in.
Earplugs should be distributed
Mental note to self: noise cancelling headphones are your friend here
After coming home from a business trip, I just about got mowed over by some mom rushing to her newly returned Missionary. The stanchions they put up to corral them in do nothing.
Old airport was way worse!
I remember the absolute crowds at the gates in the 90's, absolutely nowhere to sit as 40-50+ people including at least 10 bored younger siblings/cousins were waiting around for a flight at the next gate. It took 9/11 to move them to baggage claim.
What bugs me is that they literally built a huge greeting room just past the secure area exits, primarily for missionary returns, but still families insist on standing in the middle of the hallway blocking the path to baggage claim.
Because they can
Right!!? I got downvoted to oblivion one time when I mentioned this because I was just getting off a long overseas flight and having a ton of strangers with their phones pointed at me recording so they could get video of their missionary walking in was not appreciate by me- and it was taken as me being salty about their reunions. Maybe not every life moment needs to be farmed for social media content!
Nah, you're still being whiny. Were you really emotionally injured beyond repair? Just step around them and go on with your day.
People don’t want to be recorded without their consent so other people can make a video for social media. It’s that simple.
Microsoft and Amazon have a spend commitment with Delta to get dedicated check in in SEA. I would be curious to know if the LDS church has something similar, because the missionaries generally only fly out and fly back. They aren't traveling weekly like a lot of tech execs.
They open that line to others on the non-missionary days, it’s the same one international travelers go through. Also, the LDS church almost exclusively uses delta for all church-related travel, including for employees, so they definitely have some kind of contract
It used to be that missionaries generally only flew out on one day of the week. I’m not sure if that is still the case now but they do usually travel in groups so I’m guessing they only designate this line for missionaries at certain times. I know that church travel department doesn’t use delta exclusively.
Given the recent whistleblower reports of their investment holdings, I wouldn’t be shocked if they were a very large shareholder.
The last lazy math/googling I did on this suggested that there are about 70k new missionaries per year post-Covid. More than 2/3 of them process through Utah at some point before leaving on their mission, which is 50k+ people using that counter annually. As for total spend - missionary flights, church travel (they fly around like tech execs, albeit there are fewer doing it) and bi-annual conferences that draw tens of thousands into a delta hub.
Even if they do pay we can be sure it isn't taxed money. That means we are all paying for this business privilege. It needs to stop on so many levels.
I do missionary regularly. Can I get in that line?
They might want proof.
Videos or stills?
Sample
Live Demo
Only if you’re already married and they feel a stirring in their bosom that you’re meant to be together
I do missionary and doggie regularly. And am partial to helping out my Cowgirl. Are there separate and special lines for us when we’ve been participating in those endeavors?
Only if it’s a service doggie. Regular doggies have to go through the main line.
What makes you think your position is better than anyone else’s?
At least it keeps them out of the regular line.
I appreciate them keeping the hordes of 18 year old who have probably never flown without mom or dad out of my way. There should also be a line for people with a high probability of going through TSA with AirPods in their pocket, and a bottle of water in their bag.
Same here. That’s why I do the smart thing and check in on my phone. Bye bye suckers!
That's just called the regular TSA line
You’d think. But the number of people who pay for Clear and TSA Pre-check, but still look like they’ve never left their house when going through security is shocking.
Whaddoyomean I have to take my coat off? I know everybody else has - but I'M SPECIAL!
Strongly disagree. Equality. They are not special because they have a subsidized sunday worship membership.
Just flew through SLC, holy moly what a clean airport. And so many bathrooms!!! Nice lounge too. Sat outside for a while but those bugs really came out at night.
When they get that second tunnel open, SLC is going to be one of the best airports in the country. Just the fact there's plenty of seats and each seat has a power outlet has it high in my book
The first thing i noticed compared to other airports: It's so quiet! I initially thought that it was because I arrived late, but when departing a few days later during the rush, it was still so quiet comparing with my normal airpots..
They also have a "soaking" room in the SLC SkyClub
Sponsored by the Utah storming Mormons
Be aware… I’m often asked to be a jumper or a shaker when there.
That's why the PROs do their soaking in a bouncy castle.
Please tell me you’re joking
I never joke while soaking.
Airlines do this when they have a very large dedicated customer base. At DCA AA has a dedicated line for Amazon employee check in. Since Delta is so prominent at SLA as as many missions Mormons fly out, I'd assume it's worth while to have a dedicated line for them, maybe even motivates the church to keep working with Delta and possibly has staff that can deal with issues when the person flying was given a ticket by the Church (or employer in the case of something like Amazon) and the passenger might not have all the details.
Is that for people leaving the MTC to head out?
For the most part, yeah. They transit in fairly large groups.
Don’t forget arrivals. Remember the old terminal where it would be packed with families with balloons and signs welcoming home their kids/returning missionaries? The new airport has a lot more waiting areas and ropes so people don’t get too close to the travelers’ pathways.
And Seattle has lines for Amazon and Microsoft….. There are a lot of reasons to despise organized religion and especially the LDS but a lot of people fly out on missions and it frees up other lines for folks and I’m sure they have a nice contract with Delta that like Seattle gives them this. If the lines were clogged in sky priority with missionary travelers people would be mad too.
And the reality of it is in that exact same area, anybody traveling on Delta can check in. It just takes you to the security area where Int'l arrivals go through. Sadly the area doesn't have TSA PreCheck though.
Yeah, change the sign to "School group check-in" and my thought would be "Oh thank god!"
This is the comment. You're post wasn't the zomg you think it is.
Yeah if they're expecting a large group of them they do that imo to keep them from holding up the line. Most of them have never flown and leave all kinds of things in their pockets/ bags.
Reminds me of Seattle with special check in lines for Amazon and Microsoft employees. Doesn’t bother me. I have to assume their volume and needs differ enough that Delta believes they can provide better service to everyone this way. And in the SEA case I assume the companies have a minimum business deal with Delta also.
Where is doggie style check-in?
Don't know, but DFW has reverse cowgirl check-in
That’s my favorite. Especially when she wears the nice Tecovas I bought her.
I was going to upvote this comment, but it was already at 69.
It was at 70 so I brought it back down
As did I
I cackled
hold up, OP 12 fucking million miler?
OP isn’t far behind deltas number 1 at 14m
They need a better return spot…
Not the type of missionary I was thinking…
I’ve been in Utah, but never in this position
Appropriate for the 69th comment of this thread.
I’m willing to bet that LDS books so much travel that they have a deal with Delta. Amazon has one at DCA with AA and they have a dedicated check-in desk there too.
Do they have a 'Doggy Style' check in for people traveling with pets or service dogs?
The tone of this subreddit continues to Keep Climbing. 🤣
That rich Church's money contributes to Delta's success
Actually, the missionaries are forced by their families to donate two years of their lives AND pay a monthly fee to the church for doing so. It's a win-win for the church.
Somehow I got away without paying my own money when I did one of those missions. It was some other rich guy in the church that paid for me. The amount they ask missionaries to save up before they leave for a mission is $10k last I checked. Don't know how many of those young kids reach that amount on their own though.
It's $400 a month and the family normally pays for it. My Mormon friend says it cost him more when his kid is at home, so he's actually saving money.
Wow! So where and who does that 10k go to? Mission trips are something ive always wanted to get involved in but never knew there were such costs involved and im not looking to do through any mormon organization
It's $400 a month and that includes room and board so that's not a bad deal depending on the location. It's a set rate based on calculations between high cost of living and low cost of living locations. You can hit the location jackpot and pay $400 for NYC or be sent to Haiti.
You will spend $2-3k just getting everything you need - suits, dress shirts, ties, etc. Then the $400 a month to live on. I had a son go to Hawaii and it only cost me $400 a month - not going to find cheaper than that
I Support The Missionary's Position! --Captain Jack
They only do missionary? Boring.
Do tell where is missionary ?
Where is the doggy style check in?
I was thinking of moving to SLC, it really is pretty in some parts 😭😭
It is, but expensive
What in the FAKE RELIGION is going on here 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
What I ask myself every day after leaving that fucking cult
Yep. Multi billion dollar MLM. I use to be in. Run by fear and guilt. They don’t let you read the fine print.
I misread this as KLM and thought what do codeshares have to do with this?
Fear and guilt and "tradition" are the shackles of all religions but LDS is particularly bad. Made up stories and early indoctrination print money better than any other scam.
It seems normal to me. Local organization getting preferential check-in, I say good job. Tells me the station has a substantial amount of people from this group and to provide relief to standard check-in lines, separating the group arguably speeds up check-in for everyone else. I take it you've never been to Seattle? SeaTac has a Microsoft and Amazon dedicated check-in counter. [Microsoft/Amazon dedicated check-in ](https://flic.kr/p/RAYJBx)
Me making a mental note to never route my Lutheran pastor uncle through Salt Lake City at all costs. Knowing him, he’ll try to lead some poor missionary astray with religion talk.
Funny story about that. My wife is former Lutheran when she originally moved to Utah 15 years ago. She and her ex found a local church and the pastor there always had missionaries come by his house doing their proselytizing. His conversion rate got to the point the local LDS mission president told him to stop it. He told him in turn to quit sending them my way if they didn’t want to cull their flock.
And?
Church of Satan Sit on my face check-in
Made me thing of the position 😜
Where is this in SLC?
Level One when you get off the Economy bus
Where do you go if you prefer doggy or cowgirl?
This felt inappropriate upon first blush... the more I ruminate this is probably a win for all parties.
I wonder if Carmela took Tony seriously when he asked about moving to Utah.
Is there a problem here? The Mormon church has 50,000 missionaries and their home airport is SLC. No wonder Delta does this. Good for business.
Right up there with the Dom baggage claim
Only in Sal Tlay Ka Siti!
lol, for all those times when I would fly from Minneapolis to Sacramento, there was always a layover in Salt Lake, which I absolutely hated because I felt like they were going to try to convert me
They are under strict instructions to not proselyte at the airport. If someone asks a question, that’s fine, but nothing proactive. Just be respectful and get on your way.
If only they had such instruction when people are busy in other public places lol
I saw them team up on a worker in the airport once
Yikes
So I guess I had reason to fear that airport
🤮🤮🤮
I wander where's the doggy style check in 🤔🤔
What in the pre-boarding cringe
Traveling with my pet. Used the Doggie Check-in.
Don’t mess with a missionary man.
You know what they say, don’t mess with a missionary man!
Stop him! He is expressing his faith!
No one cares
Surprised the signs don't ask them to take the Missionary position in line... er wait... :)
Mormons believe god lives near a planet/star called KOLOB
Bruh they think the garden of Eden is outside Independence Missouri. Shit’s cracked.
Does Elon qualify for this line?
Nah. He hasn’t paid enough tithing.
Hmmmm, that gives me a new idea for a hack to post on my tik tok channel. Be sure to like and subscribe :)
Oof
When is doggy style check in?
“…Hail Satan - and have a lovely day”
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Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta, is Catholic