Word: becks
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...personal growth was a more likely yardstick. Finlayson concurs: "Even if I hadn't taught anyone who converted, it would have been a success just in terms of the broadening of my own horizons." Reported conversion rates are impressive in any case: they range from 20 (Carter) to 50 (Beck...
...because of the missions. As Carson puts it, "During those two years you don't have to concern yourself with a lot of other things, so all your efforts go in a religious direction. Before, a lot of people don't realize the depth and significance of the Church." Beck agrees: "If you spend two years trying to tell people why a church structure is important, and you see people changing their lives to adjust to that structure, you can't help but come to believe in it very deeply...
DIFFERENCES AMONG the returned missionaries' sentiments surfaced primarily in their attitudes toward Harvard. Finlayson, who grew up in a California town in which his was the only Mormon family, reports little difficulty in adjusting to Harvard life as a freshman. Beck, on the other hand, was shocked and disconcerted by his introduction to the college: on his first night in Cambridge he saw man lying in the street "with blood spurting from both arms," and on his second night he chanced upon two male students kissing on the first floor of Weld. Carson, who grew up in Boise, Idaho...
...concentrate on exclusively personal goals clashed with the missionary emphasis on outward-reaching aims. "Sometimes I find myself questioning the value of what I'm doing here," he admits. Carter agrees: "The problems with getting used to Harvard again were partly cultural and partly not being a missionary anymore." Beck alone reports a smooth transition from missionary to student life. His roommates all took a year off, and be enjoys advanced standing while they do not, so he and his friends will graduate together...
...Asian Civilization: Japan," with Edwm O. Reischauer during his freshman year, so when he learned that he was to fulfill his mission in Japan, he was enthusiastic. Before the mission he planned to concentrate in the physical sciences; now he is an East Asian Studies major, specializing in Japan. Beck too changed his concentration--from Sociology to Sociology and East Asian studies--as a result of his missionary experience. Carter's interest in Asia did not predate his mission: he was "surprised and shocked--and happy" when he received his assignment. Unlike the other two, though, he has taken...