By editorial@silicon.com, 12 January 1999 17:25
NEWS The Mormon Church - formally known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - has banned its members from sending emails and faxes. The new policy is an extension of the strict Mormon discipline whereby missionaries who commit themselves to two years of service are only allowed to make two phone calls a year and not write more than one letter a week. Dan Rascon, a spokesman for the religious group explained the rule is to keep missionaries from losing sight of their calling. Rascon believes the immediacy of email encourages 'chat' which in turn produces homesickness and a lack of concentration. A spokesman for the Manchester Mission said Mormons across the world are accepting the policy. Despite his belief that "email is a wonderful invention", he said it is "too tempting and causes missionaries to lose sight of their purpose". "It has been noted in the past that too much time has been spent sending emails. Once missionaries start corresponding back and forth they spend more time than they should. It becomes an abuse," he said. The spokesman added that to send email, missionaries need access to a computer which involves expense and an unnecessary strain upon the Church. Information regarding Mormon beliefs, members and news can be found at the http://www.lds.org/en/Main.html
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