My blood pressure was climbing as I was reading the letter, especially considering the massive wealth of the church. This is the type of behaviour I expect from abusive companies and their cheap SOB leaders. If the church was concerned about the burden placed on missionary families they would have cracked open the multibillion dollar slush fund and taken care of the matter. Instead, they want families to cover the cost of their experiment and in typical lawyer BS the church absolves themselves of all responsibility should a missionary abuse the phone in a way that might embarass the church.anonymous91 wrote: ↑January 21st, 2023, 6:47 pmSo let me get this straight.Light Seeker wrote: ↑January 21st, 2023, 5:36 pm The church always does pilot programs before they roll out changes. Here is a letter we as parents of a missionary serving in the Toronto Mission received November 29, 2017.
Dear Canada Toronto Mission Parents and Missionaries,
We are excited to be one of the initial missions in Canada to roll out smartphones to our missionaries. There are two primary objectives with this initiative… First, we want to enable our young missionaries to become wise stewards for how they use and apply technology for the rest of their lives, and second, this tool will allow us to share the good news of the gospel and more broadly and effectively than ever before.
Our missionaries have been preparing by studying Safeguards for Using Technology and have also received online instruction on how they are to use the devices. We are focused on helping the missionaries remember their purpose of inviting and helping all come unto Christ and we have high expectations for how they will use and take care of this important resource.
As these devices will be owned by the missionaries, the family of missionaries, in non-exempt countries, is responsible to purchase a device for use in-field. The mission will cover the expense of the service charges and data plan. We recognize you are already making great sacrifices to support your missionary and we pray that this will not be an extra burden to your family. If financial assistance is needed, we ask you to work with your bishop or branch president.
The instructions we have received from the Church to purchase a device are as follows: Please strictly follow these guidelines.
Approved Smartphones
The Samsung Galaxy J, A, S, and Note series are the only smartphones approved for young missionaries. The smartphones must meet the following requirements:
· Runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system or higher (this can be verified in the product description or in the About Device section of the smartphone’s settings)
· Is unlocked to work with any GSM carrier (you cannot purchase a phone from AT&T, Verizon, TMobile unless it is specified as unlocked)
· Has at least 16GB internal storage
· If the missionary already owns an unlocked Samsung phone as described above, it can be used instead of a new purchase.
· The missionaries are not authorized to use any smartphone that does not meet the requirements listed above. Do not purchase a tablet.
Highly Recommended Accessories/Services
· *Protective case
· *Screen protector
· *MicroSD memory card (32GB or higher)
· Warranty Service (for loss, theft, or breakage)
*can be purchased in-field if desired
There are two options to consider for ordering your missionaries’ smartphone… You can order from www.insight.com/missionarysmartphone (choose Canada link to avoid customs and duty) at a negotiated price (2 phone options available with all the recommended accessories/services available. For cost, warranty, and convenience, we recommend that you purchase through insight.com. You can also purchase from other local or online stores. New phone prices generally begin at approximately $220 CAD dollars.
You may want to communicate and counsel with your missionary on their preparation day regarding your budget and how you want to proceed. For missionaries returning home in the next few transfer (January through March), you can decide if this is something you would like to do. If not, the mission will provide loaner phones for a few weeks. For financial assistance, work with your bishop or branch president.
Additional Details
The mission will take care of the cost of the service and data plan. Each area will have one active SIM card that will serve as the primary phone number. Missionaries will share the data plan by enabling the hotspot option on the active phone.
The Church has created proselyting resources that will enable the missionaries to become more effective and efficient in their efforts, including applications for: area book and planner, GPS services, proselyting tools, video and multi-media content, language, communication as well as the publicly available Church resources (Gospel Library, LDS Tools and other applications). The programs have been well tested and have been in use in iPad missions for a number of years. Facebook and other social media tools will be made available to them, but strictly for missionary oriented activities.
The missionary is 100% responsible for the care and protection of their mobile device. If they lose or break their phone, the mission will not have any responsibility to replace it for them.
If the missionary abuses or misuses their phone, the mission president has the discretion to suspend use of the phone until they are able to demonstrate the ability to use it wisely and effectively.
The missionary will own the device, except loaners, and will take it home with them as they return from their mission.
Timeline and Next Steps
We would like to do a mission wide launch of the new smartphones January 4, 2018. To help us achieve this goal, we would ask that you purchase and send your missionary’s smartphone directly to the mission office no later than Wednesday, December 31st, 2017. Phones should be shipped to Missionary Name: 1624 Wanless Drive, Brampton, ON L7A 0A7. Please specify signature delivery and no delivery for Saturday or Sunday. We will store the phone until the missionary receives it and we will notify you when it has arrived.
We are excited to use these wonderful technologies to further the Lord’s work. We know your missionary will develop patterns and habits with these important tools that will bless them for the rest of their lives. If you have any questions, please let me know and we will respond to you as quickly as possible. Thanks for your wonderful support, sacrifice, and willingness to let us care for, love, and serve your amazing sons and daughters.
President Shields
Jeffrey L. Shields
President, Canada Toronto Mission
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
[email protected]
The missionary and his family are 100% responsible for purchasing this phone and paying for all expenses related to the phone. In other words, the missionary legally owns that phone and ought to be able to use it as the missionary feels appropriate.
Instead, the church has you send in your phone so that they can install their "babysitting" regulations onto the phone. Who knows the capabilities of all of the changes the church is making to the phone? Potentially data mining, tracking, keyloggers, and so forth.
Additionally, the church can inspect the phone for potential misuse anytime, and will regularly inspect all missionaries' phones to look for any potential tampering or misuse. Then at the Mission President's sole discretion, he can choose to take your phone and put you in a "time out" until he thinks you're an obedient sheeple that has returned to the flock.
I'm surprised no one has tried to legally challenge this. Of course, knowing the Church they probably have you sign some iron-clad legal documents to cover them from this possibility, among others.
Talk about an abuse of power though. SMH
I can't stand modern phones and I am not a fan of lawyers. I would have told the Mission President where to shove his phone.
Mike