TIL WE MEET AGAIN ELDER ARCHULETA

For the next 8 weeks, professional singer David Archuleta becomes one of the guys going through his Mormon Rite of Passage in one of the South American Missionary Training Centers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

At one point, I thought his decision might produce bad consequences on his career trajectory and on his singing voice. Not necessarily. Remember -- Elvis Presley at the height of his young-heart throb period got drafted into the US Army, did a tour of duty in Germany, and came back to a bigger more lucrative career in the 1960s.

I do hope the Church’s Public Relations / Missionary Department will stifle their unholy urges to
harness his fame and heart throb potential as an advertising medium. I can almost picture his face, complete with white shirt, tie, and badge looking out over Times Square with the label “and I’m a Mormon.” Mormon.org

This sort of elder will require a South American mission president out of the ordinary. Most elders are just guys with varying degree of potential and promises. Archuleta has proven himself in The Forcing House of Showbiznia and turned himself into one of the hotter musical commodities on The American Scene. No LDS Mission would want to be branded forever as The Mission that Ruined the Archuleta Brand.

David’s serving a mission anonymous of his fame will be problematic if even possible. I do wonder and worry about David’s fitting into LDS Mission Kulchur, though. Despite Raising the Bar and Preach My Gospel, a mission is still classic guy stuff, which accounts for one reason why elders outnumber sisters by some quantum factor. It is a guy atmosphere of junior companions, senior companions, trainers, district leaders, zone leaders, assistants to the president. Highly stratified, competitive, sometimes with a hazing atmosphere. Rituals. Traditions. In the mission where my friend served 15 years ago, the guys burned an article of clothing at the end of each quarter.

One of the reasons I did not serve a mission in the mid 1970s was the reputation that proceeded missions: Two Years of Gym Class. Just how the regular guys in David’s mission will react to A Real Artist is anyone’s guess. The chemistry might get compounded by jealousy at David’s stature as A Real Artist who has already made more money than 75 percent of the rest of them will ever make in their whole wasted lifetimes.

I wonder if David in his heart of hearts worries that The Companions / Elders / The Guys will hate him as a singing star, not whether he is or is not any good as a missionary? I wonder if David worries that the sister missionaries will want to associate with him as a highly valuable potential catch – not as a person? How will his mission president ever know if the people Archuleta baptizes truly converted to The Gospel and not to the cultivated charisma of Our Boy Wonder?

We wish David well on his mission, but we should hold few if any illusions about the difficulty of the whole enterprise.

Here is an article that appeared in the 28 March Deseret News

David Archuleta tells fans on YouTube about leaving for his Mormon mission

Preserved from the Deseret News
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765563815/David-Archuleta-tells-fans-on-YouTube-about-leaving-for-his-Mormon-mission.html

Preserved from The Official Archuleta YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N5b7LFX5JI&list=UU75d1FNP1qR0lCY1usRKQEw&index=1&feature=plcp

Published: Wednesday, March 28 2012 1:09 p.m. MDT

David Archuleta is about to leave on his two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and on Wednesday posted the following statement along with a 7-minute video on his YouTube channel:

"Just one more vlog from home for a while before I leave on my mission. It has been an emotional week with family and friends. Just wanted to thank all of you for the support you have giving me for the last 4 years. Will see you all in 2 years."

Read ksl.com's report from Josh Furlong: David Archuleta begins 2-year missionary service

Related: David Archuleta announces haircut, spends time with family pre-mission