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Monday, July 1, 2013

Transitioning Your Social Life Post Mission

Dear Bro Jo,

I am a recently returned RM and let me tell you the last 8 weeks of my life have been harder than the last 2 years of my life.

I'm not wavering spiritually but socially.

I have come home and I am a new man. I don't see things as before obviously.

I've never had a harder struggle in my life to fit in with society even amongst many LDS YSA; I have seen this new cancerous idea of being of the world and still not off the world, like a double standard so to speak.

Why is it that I feel in order to have friends I must lower maturity levels and standards?

Now I haven't resolved to that at all. But why is there such a way life like the one I'm seeing?

I'd love some advice from you on how to adjust better.

I'm all ears my great brother in Christ.

- RM




Dear RM,

What you're experiencing is very normal (and, btw, a large part of why I tell couples to breakup before either of them leaves to serve a mission).

The Church is big, and full of a wide variety of personalities; that means that not only will you run into those that have yet to have the Spiritual Growth that you have, but that there are other people that feel exactly like you do. 

Now is the chance for you to put all of those great Missionary Skills to work in your personal life. 

Skills like:
- Getting to know lots of new and different people
- Helping others, in a loving way, to mature and grow in the Gospel
- Build Relationships of Trust with others in whom you can confide and endure life's trials, challenges and difficulties. 

And, heck, perhaps now you'll have a stronger testimony of why missionaries are counseled to "return home and quickly find a great eternal companion"!

See this not as a roadblock, my brother, but as new opportunities!

Don't drop your standards; help others to raise theirs.

Best,

- Bro Jo

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