I hope they call me on a mission... so I can get an article in the news!

Thanks to Mitt Romney, the LDS church has recently experienced a 'Mormon Moment' in both domestic and international media. What did these mean for the Mormons? What stories have recently been highlighted? Although the media did explore things like polygamy, the church's history with blacks, and temple worship, they seem to be particularly interested with one thing more than everything else- the missionaries. 

So what is  the deal with Mormon missionaries? What is the media trying to convey? If you google search images for Mormon missionaries there is little to no variety in the pictures you find. 99% of the images are of caucasian males. They are wearing white shirts, ties, and maybe a black coat. Some of them have backpacks, a few are riding bikes, many (including those in the ABC segment attached) carry small notebooks or planners. The media portrays the young men to be almost robotic in the way that they handle themselves. They show no individual personality characteristics, they are all apparently from Utah, they can only call home twice a year but seem to have no query with it; they are not normal. When the ABC reporter interviews the missionaries, he does not ask them about their life before or after the mission, their friends, their personal interests. Although it was a pretty accurate portrayal of the life and goals of a Mormon missionary, without the mindset of a member of the church the average viewer would see them as weird and/or brainwashed.

A great example of the portrayal of the brainwashed missionaries is when the ABC reporter Bob Woodruff interviews "newcomer" Gloria Adamson, who looks nothing like a Mormon. With tatoos across her chest and a cigarette in hand, Woodruff interviews her and finds that she does not believe she will convert to the Mormon church anytime soon, in fact, she seems hardly interested in "repenting of her sins." This makes the missionaries look like brainwashed fools, why would they waste time on someone who is clearly not interested? 

This message is limiting because if media viewers think that Mormon missionaries are weird, they obviously aren't going to want to talk to them. The lack of individualism that  is portrayed in missionaries also leads to the misconception that Mormonism is a cult and that they practice strange things in their temples. At the same time, however, this may spark interest in some people. As some say, "curiosity killed the cat", and in this case, curiosity may bring potential church investigators to the missionaries. While the message is limiting, it is also fairly accurate. Missionaries are very weird. They come home weird, they act weird while they are serving, they know they are weird. Who willingly chooses to leave their family and friends for two years? The brainwashing idea is less accurate. Missionaries certainly "lose themselves" in their work and forget their interests from high school and the days before their mission. This comes from acts of service and growing closer to the gospel, however, not strange rituals performed in a sacred temple. 

Top two articles on CNN when searching topic "Mormons"

Urban Dictionary definition of Mormons

In conclusion, the media (CNN, ABC, Google, UrbanDictionary) is fascinated with Mormon missionaries because they are simply put, "weird". While it is an accurate definition it is also a hard story to tell without seeing it from a Mormon's point of view. The media portrays their habits and rituals as weird because the missionaries are brainwashed or the individual themselves is strange. Without a testimony of the LDS church, it is hard to convey the message that  each individual (usually) believes that this is a calling from God and they actually have a desire to serve a mission.