GET THE FIRE! Young Mormon Missionaries Abroad observes three young Mormons from the time they get their "calls to serve" in southern Germany, until their return home to Utah 22 months later. The nature of the program is revealed through their indoctrination at the Missionary Training Center and in the field where they are permitted no first names and must remain in eyesight and hearing of a same-sex companion 24/7. They are exhorted to read the Missionary Handbook aloud to each other and frequently testify to their belief. They are not allowed to doubt. The earnest young men struggle with a foreign language and unfamiliar customs. One former missionary explains that despite having divulged that he was gay before his mission, he was sent to Chile then called back home for "reparative therapy." Another former missionary compares the training experience to a "Marine boot camp moved to the Celestial Kingdom" where your ego is destroyed in a loving atmosphere: "You are made to feel special!" A mission has a powerful and complex effect on the participants: Some appear to conform to the Mormon lifestyle, others opt out.
