Besides being a house for the Mission President, they are so big, because they are supposed to provide housing for sick elders, or elders in need of transfer, or the families of the Mission President, should he have them with him. In practice, most Mission Presidents are old enough that their kids have moved on to their own life, while any Missionary who gets sick or needs a transfer normally ends up staying with the APs at their apartment.

Wouldn't it be simpler and cheaper to buy the MP a more modest home, or failing that, if say you want to keep the larger home for those who do have families, setting aside the extra rooms as housing for APs and office elders in the event that the MP does not have kids with him? Wouldn't that save the church a lot of money that could then be used to raise the food allowance of all their missionaries in the field, or is that just me?

If I were the wife of a MP, I would not want the office elders or APs living with me!

Ya know... unless... just sayin'

Stuffy MP husband or cute, fresh, young elders.....hmmmm tough decision.

"Honey...? Honey...?"

:::nightstand light clicks on:::

"Honey...?"

A cougar roaring? Lmfao!

That is all.

Hehehehe. Cougars. Love 'em. The salt of the earth.

Too bad it's the Morg and you wouldn't achieve living legend status for nailing the MP's squaw. That sort of thing would get you appointed to the First Presidency in the Church of Me.

Own an expensive piece of real estate in a high-end neighborhood that doesn't depreciate--plus own it tax-free, and have the structure and grounds maintained with free labor--works for them!

A couple I know just got back from a mission in Hawaii, where all the church volunteers live in a church-owned apartment complex--rather shabby w/ no air conditioning, but on very expensive property.

We all know that LDS is mainly a real estate holding company.

I think it creates a power separation with the elders.... big house = powerful and more worthy.

Its like a foreign embassy. The face of the church.

I agree, rutabaga. It does seem like MP's live in the closest things to mansions and/or embassy-like housing. It's to make the church look powerful and important. Although the MP's wife does have to house sick or problem missionaries from time to time. Both the MPs in my mission had 6 or more kids, with only the oldest one on a mission or at BYU. So they needed the space. But it wasn't about space. There were large homes in less expensive neighborhoods they could have lived in. Where they lived was, in part, about appearances. I

They have real penis-envy of the Catholics on that subject, too: if only the governments of the world would recognize and bow to them!

When I was on my mission back in 1976 the mission home was a huge mansion of a place. The office staff lived there but they were completely separated from the quarters where the mission president and his wife and 5 children lived. The mission home also had a live-in cook and housekeeper on premise as well. The place was situated on several acres in an exclusive neighborhood and even had a gated entrance to the grounds.

In Indiana, it was 4700 Old MILL Road,Ft Wayne; an apartment over the garage, long, sweeping driveway, etc. First missionary assignment upon October arrival: rake leaves.


Here in WA, I believe it (was?) on Mercer Island which is definately an above-average 'burb, but not close to the REALLY Expensive places of Medina, Hunts Point, Beaux Arts Villiage, etc.

http://www.trulia.com/property/3032945772-4700-Old-Mill-Rd-Fort-Wayne-IN-46807


Holy crap!


The mission home in Houston Texas was NOTHING like this.

Yeah, 900 thou goes pretty far in Ft. Wayne, I guess. That wouldn't even get you three bedrooms and a combo kitchen/dining room on the water 'round my parts.

Samantha Baker Wrote:
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> http://www.trulia.com/property/3032945772-4700-Old
> -Mill-Rd-Fort-Wayne-IN-46807
>
>
> Holy crap!


ASK if you can come over & RAKE LEAVES in October...

2 MPs: Frank Berg, Arnold Roberts.

Check out the pic of the real estate agent. He looks like a local high councilman, trying desperately to look like a GA.

They also have one in Mill Creek. It's one of the nicest homes in the upscale neighborhood it's in.

I can visualize that Mos have one mission for Snohomish Co & North to the border with Foreigners, on the Western Side, haha!

IDK if there's one for Bellingham, That would be a stretch.

In the Seattle Mission, Mercer Island is as good as it gets. And I believe the Mission Home there was donated to the Church when the previous owner died, so they weren't going to go out and find a better one.

I loved that place, it was big enough to get lost in and comfortable enough to stay in. Right before I got to Rome they had just finished a half million dollar renovation, it was a gorgeous home.

The mission home in Hawaii is a beautiful home in one of the nicest communities in Honolulu. While it was donated by a member years ago, it's present value is probably staggering. Plus there was a pool so wastefully unused in the back yard.

They could sell that place and start an endowment that would pay for missiospnaries apartments. Some of the places our elders lived were complete stink holes.

I think that a lot of people have the misconception that the mormon mishey's stay in these places while on their mission. It gives the impression that they're very well cared for.

If you're on the outside looking in, you may not realize that most of the mishey's are living in the lowest rent places the church can find.

This expensive mission homes are probably church investments. When tithing decreases, they can sell them.

I wonder if members own the crappy apartments the missionaries live in?

I lived in an apartment building owned by the church in one area.

Most of my mission apartments were decent enough, though there were a couple of crap holes. I had heard that either when the MP I served under, or the one before him, had come in, they had cleaned house on mission accommodations, including pulling elders out of, and selling off a bunch of old run down houses that the church had owned for decades.

The mission home in Boise is on my street. There is nothing special about it. It's just an average house in an average neighborhood. When my husband found out it was the mission home he was surprised that it wasn't nicer as the one on his mission was very high end.

If you were a MP and family, would you put up with a crappy place to live after the church spent $5 billion on the Jesus' mall?