LDS Church Holds Missionary HOSTAGE on His Mission (from Ep. 2001)

When a Mission President Told a Father He Had No Power to Bring His Son Home

A gay teenager disclosed his sexuality to his LDS mission president in a foreign country. His passport was confiscated. His parents were told, point-blank, that there was nothing they could do. This is not a faith crisis story. It is a story about institutional power and what happens when that power goes unchecked.

The account surfaced on Episode 2001 of the Mormon Stories Podcast, shared by the parents of a young man identified as Josh. It is one of the more disturbing missionary welfare stories to emerge from that platform, and it deserves a careful, straight-eyed look.

Background: How LDS Missionary Authority Actually Works

When a young Latter-day Saint enters the mission field, they sign over a remarkable degree of autonomy to the Church. Mission presidents hold near-total authority over missionaries under their supervision, including where they live, who they contact, how they spend their time, and yes, their travel documents.

Passports are routinely held by mission offices. The Church frames this as administrative convenience and security. Critics have long argued it creates an environment where missionaries have limited ability to leave, even when their physical or mental health is at stake. The two positions have existed in tension for decades, but few cases have made that tension as visible as this one.