Word: becks
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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...
Finlayson chose to attend Harvard in part because its Mormon population is larger than those of the other Ivy League universities to which he applied. Beck reports that "the Harvard Mormons mean more and more to me all the time." His appreciation of the warmth and solace provided by his religion was heightened during this past summer, when he arrived in Tokyo, utterly without personal contacts, and the Japanese Mormon community found him an apartment and helped him to settle...
Despite the differences in their attitudes toward Harvard, despite the disparities among their chosen fields of study, despite dissimilarities in their personalities which are manifest even in interviews, the returned Mormon missionaries display one vital characteristic in common: their faith. John Beck summarized the situation neatly when he stated, "The most important thing, if you're going to do a mission, is to believe in it." And they...