A second trip inside the LDS Church's Missionary Training Center

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Sending me on the road to do reporting is expensive, so it isn’t something I do as often as I’d probably like. And when I do fly across the country, like I did to attend last week’s BYU-Notre Dame game, I try to squeeze in as much as possible.

So I spent a day up at Weber State, working with their student newspaper and touring athletic facilities. I set up multiple trips to speak with BYU athletics staffers and local media members, and I even made a brief stop in Salt Lake City to see some family. Other than a stop at BYU’s famous creamery (try the Blue Goggles), I didn’t have much unscheduled time.

But Thursday afternoon, after I had landed and started driving around, I got a message from a BYU communications staffer: “Hey, you want to visit the Missionary Training Center?”

On one hand, I absolutely did. Understanding how that program operates and evolves is critical if I’m going to write about athletic roster management and culture in the state of Utah. Plus, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints doesn’t typically open those kinds of facilities to the press, and I wanted to take advantage of the access.

But on the other hand … well, many of you know I’ve been there before. I went on an LDS mission and trained at that MTC. And while my feelings toward the LDS church at this stage in my life are complicated and contain multitudes, my feelings toward the MTC were not. I hated that place, and for a good reason.

But the desire to do Serious Professional Journalism was stronger than my desire to avoid relitigating trauma. So I went, along with a few church communications staffers and former BYU safety Tanner Wall (who had served a mission to Brazil).