Comments on: Without Purse or Scrip in Texas: 13 March – 25 March 1901

By: Douglas Hudson

Douglas Hudson — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 14:08:35 +0000

I may not comment often, but I read Keepa most every day. Always something interesting and often enlightening.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 18:05:07 +0000

Douglas, I thought that was one of the most interesting points in this installment, too, perhaps because of my own missionary companionship experiences. Did you notice that at two subsequent points when they were with other missionaries, this companionship split up and traveled/slept with others? Our Elder Jones may have laid down the law, but I wonder how well the other really accepted it. Interesting episode!

And despite the low comment count for weeks past, blogging is made worthwhile when I read that you thought of this series out in real life when you saw your missionaries. Thanks for that.

By: Douglas Hudson

Douglas Hudson — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 17:55:38 +0000

Re: the entry for March 14, a conflict between companions is a tad more serious when its just the two of you with no other missionaries or mission president handy to resolve things. Apparently they worked it out, though.

Interesting point he makes about the possible cause of the disagreement–the older man not wanting to take orders from a younger man, even though the younger man had much more experience as a missionary. I’ve run into that situation at work before, where old co-workers didn’t like to defer to me in areas where I was the expert. Age may bring wisdom, but not necessarily expertise.

Oh, and I saw a pair of missionaries on the bus the other day, with their distinctive outfits and little nametags, and thought of this series of posts. Wonder if they knew what their counterparts had to go through a hundred years ago. Not that missionaries of today don’t face their own unique challenges.