Back in the day, if missionaries were teaching a smoker, they required them to quit prior to baptism. I have a TBM friend that gave up smoking so he could be baptized.He was told it was the only way. This same friend told me that two new converts to his ward are smokers, but both to are "trying" to quit! When he talked to the missionaries about this, they said that smoking was not a hinderance to baptism any longer, as long as they were committed to giving it up and were working toward that goal. Has TSSC gotten so desparate for members that it is waiving some of it's baptismal requirements? Any one else heard about this?

There is no fixed number. Each mission can dole out their own rules, and then choose to ignore them in the baptismal interview.

So my BIL had to give up smoking & drinking for 2 weeks to get sealed in the temple... and then went right back to smoking and drinking.

On the mission we'd make people stop masturbating for at least a week, and go to church for at least 3 weeks, and stop smoking for at least 2 weeks, and stop drinking for at least a month.

They were just arbitrary lines in the sand drawn up by the MP.
Basically missionaries are just letting someone get baptized, even though they know their addiction will likely make them "sin" immediately afterward... but hey it's ok, because they can just repent.

I am curious...

How did you 'make' people stop masturbating?

Tie their hand to the bedpost, while they wear extra layers.

Haha, we just commitment-patterned them to not masturbate, and they agreed.

Whether or not they actually did it, who knows. But we sure as hell asked them about it in the interview (I'm so ashamed at how nosy I was willing to be for the "truth")

My parents were both smokers when we were baptized. I don't remember either of them quitting at that time, even temporarily. This was in Canada, in the mid sixties.

I think missionaries are so young, naive and gung ho excited that they believe the spirit can work miracles. And as long as they're truly "converted", they won't have any problem overcoming their addictions once they're baptised. After all, baptism wipes it all away and once you taste worthiness and forgiveness, nothing can ever beat that... right?

I was told I had to quit for at least a week. I walked into the chapel after smoking in my car, obviously reeking, and the baptism went forward anyway. They stated but did not enforce the expectation.

Well, at least missionaries can teach smokers.

In some missions, missionaries are not even allowed to teach gay people.....they are not even allowed to certain district of the city that are "infested" with gay people.

Well, back in the gentler, pre-correlation days of Mormonism, smokers were not prevented from doing a lot of things, like holding positions. My father and mother were both open smokers and were baptized into Mormonism in 1954 or 1955. They even held positions. My mother was RS president (still a smoker) in the Edwards AFB branch back in the early 60s.

... The one saving grace if they can't is that they can never be more than very marginalized Mormons. And I know one has been trying to get back in church. However, if Mormonism makes them quit, I'd have to be a little happy about that too.

My ex ward baptized a woman with a nicotine patch on her ankle!

I remember that the friends of some ward members joined the cult, but after a few months all of a sudden didn't show up for church, & they never came back. It turned out that they couldn't quit smoking, & someone caught them. This was in a large metro area.

Then several years later I met a woman from an even larger metro area who had joined the cult, & she had problems with smoking & it was something she worked on even after she was baptized. People in her ward were very supportive of her & most were non-judgemental.

So it's all random & arbitrary.

As one of those former missionaries, they really do believe that the spirit can do anything. I know I did. I wanted to believe it so badly and I am a pretty persuasive speaker when I want to be.

I think when the missionary is really charismatic and the investigators like them, the "group think" positive mentality gets going. I was a pretty outgoing missionary and I know there are people who were baptized just because they liked me and believed me. I feel so badly about that now. If I had contact info for all of them I would seriously contact them and tell them it was a lie. Unfortunately because of my health situation when I left my mission I don't have any of it.

I had a few people contact me later in my mission ( and one tracked me down once I was home!) because either they or their SO couldn't (or didn't want to) stop the behavior that was at issue. Usually smoking, drinking or coffee. Initially the emotional high from joining the cult masks the problem, but later on, the physical and mental issues of addiction assert themselves.

It would be interesting to see a statistical study of the issue, although I doubt we ever will.

I was a smoker up until ten days ago but i am using nicotine patches.I want to get baptised in a few weeks.if i am still using nicotine patches can i still be baptised?

Which one is more harmful? Smoking or baptism?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2013 08:23PM by fudley.

my relative and her husband were HEAVY HEAVY smokers when they rejoined and were baptized into the Mormon church again. No one seemed to give a fuck and they are still active and TR holders

I had a friend that smoked a cigarette with me 5 minutes before and after her baptismal service. We also had sex the nights before and after as well.

WOW! Maybe you can drink yourself under the table. But if you are in AA, you can still get dunked since you are trying. Desperation isn't pretty.