When the Mormans come a'knockin'

[starlie]

Originally Posted by ckblv

I feel it is unfair to compare LDS missionaries to the JW people that come to your door. All the LDS people I have ever met in my life have been very worthy people that have "walked the walk and talked the talk". And they (the LDS missionaries) aren't out there in cars Starlie. The are on bicycles. They come to your door to share the gospel because they care about their fellow man.

Apparently they ride on bikes in your area, but not in mine. They always come in cars. There aren't many people that ride bikes in my town because every road is practically up hill. Not to mention they'd probably get a heat stroke riding around in our weather. Why do you think the Ironman is only one day out of the year? Maybe next time they come to my house in a car, I'll take a photo just for you.

I'm sure they care about their fellow man, but to come uninvited onto PRIVATE property is just rude and uncalled for. How hard is it to respect other people's property? I think it's a pretty simple request.

 

[maverick_kitten]

Originally Posted by halfpint

And what would that mission actually be

Knocking on doors

you laugh but thats what he has to do for 2 years!!

they wouldnt even let him have time off for our uncles funeral.

he has to go door to door spreading the word.

I'm not mormon but think he must have a lot of courage to do that in London. I got enough abuse handing out leaflets in the shopping centre! lol

 

[sweets]

The last time JW's came to my door, I tried to give them a book from another Christian denomination. I said, I'll take your booklet if you take mine. They wouldn't even TOUCH the book and never came back.

Way back when I was in college, I lived in an apartment in a neighborhood with a lot of college students. It was a favorite walk for JW. And they got nasty when you didn't answer the door, or tried to say no. So I had a pamphlet made up by the Graphic Design student in my building which we all kept by our doors. When the JW tried to push their liturature on us, we'd pull out out "SATANISM WAY OF LIFE" pamplet. We would offer to host them at our next celebration so they could have a chance to do some comparison. Only those who refused to accept the fact that I didn't want to be preached to got my pamphlet. If they were polite and accepted my NO, I was just as polite.

One of my beliefs is that I will fight to the death your right to have a different opinion, but you have to accept the fact that I have the same right.

 

[yoviher]

Very simple: I am just real truthful and tell them we are Jewish... just start their normal conversation, as part of it say within the first few minutes you are Jewish and they will instantly go into "well, before we leave we would like to leave you this pamphlet..." and get outta there immediately. And afterwards they avoid the house.

That has happened with Jehova's Witnesses, Adventists, nearly every single protestant denomination out there, and even happened with a Catholic priest who visited us when my late grandfather was ill, as he thought confessions were needed and so on (I shall admit the scaring off of the priest was accidental, he's a real nice guy). I know, it is not too tolerant on their part, so I honestly hope it doesn't work everywhere.

But with the Mormons, the result was that we've become very good friends with them... They were the only ones who have never been obnoxious, and rude, but are real friendly.

 

[pamela]

Some of you have posted some great questions and some of you have posted great answers. Ravyn- thank you for clarifying the difference between LDS and the other demonination (didn't think of that).

First let me try to answer or comment on the following questions/comments posted in order.

I will try to keep this short and not bore you guys.

Some people asked why missionaries would come knocking on doors. That is a good question and to be honest, that was one of the hardest parts of my mission- having to go up to a stranger's home and knock on their doors to share the gospel with them IF INTERESTED. I am NOT the type of person that like to walk up to a stranger and start up a conversation- I am pretty SHY with hearing people.

Basically, we do this because this is is a good way to get the information out. HOWEVER, we are taught as LDS missionaries to respect people's wishes regarding religions and lifestyles so if a person is not interested, we will respect that. Some people do not know where to go to find out more info about various churches, or are too shy (right word to use??) to go out seeking so some people feel more comfortable learning more about the gospel in their homes. It depends on the person. We DO have other ways of sharing the gospel with others besides tracting and we use those too. For example, people come visit our temples (located all over) and often would leave contact information if they want further info and we'd follow up on that, some people are referred to missionaries by other people who think they might be interested in learning more, etc.

I'd say the majority of missionaries (LDS) do TRY to respect people's wishes. I apologize to the people who have had bad experiences with representatives of LDS church. Please remember that each missionary is different. There are good and bad missionaries for all churches.

We do NOT believe in forcing beliefs on others or telling others what to do. We believe in sharing the gospel with these interested THEN challenge them to pray about what they have learned and ask if it's the truth.

Now, another post I'd like to make a comment on is the one about missionaries riding bikes. It depends on what mission the person is called to and the location. For the majority of missionaries, they get around by riding bikes (most common since the MAJORITY of missionaries are "poor" because we live on a fixed income during our missions

), walking, taking buses, metro, etc..

I was called to the LDS American Sign Language mission which meant I was to share the gospel with mostly deaf people who signs and as you can guess, deaf people do NOT live next door to each other!

During my whole mission, I and my companions drove a car around to meet with deaf people at their homes.

Hope this clarifies why LDS missionaries do some things the way they do.

Basically, we are all sisters and brothers (no matter what kind of background we come from) and we should all love and respect each other and try to get along..

 

[esrgirl]

Pamela,

That's for the information. It is very enlightening.

I visited the lds.org website to read up on the church a bit. I'm just curious about the process of becoming a missionary. I read that interested persons apply and then go through rigerous training. Can you apply with a friend, or do they just assign people to each other? Do missionaries generally stay in their communities or states, or do they send them elsewhere? Are they provided housing, or on their own? Geez, I should have waited on that shower and invited them in- I think this is pretty interesting

It is pretty common for those of us in historic peace churches (Friends, Brethren, Mennonite) to do long stints in ministry, especially after finishing high school, or during or after college. I've known a number of people who have left home for 2 years, Peace Corps style. The remain in contact with family and friends and can visit home- although it isn't unusual for them to live fulltime in another city or country.

 

[pamela]

Originally Posted by esrgirl

Pamela,

That's for the information. It is very enlightening.

I visited the lds.org website to read up on the church a bit. I'm just curious about the process of becoming a missionary. I read that interested persons apply and then go through rigerous training. Can you apply with a friend, or do they just assign people to each other? Do missionaries generally stay in their communities or states, or do they send them elsewhere? Are they provided housing, or on their own? Geez, I should have waited on that shower and invited them in- I think this is pretty interesting

It is pretty common for those of us in historic peace churches (Friends, Brethren, Mennonite) to do long stints in ministry, especially after finishing high school, or during or after college. I've known a number of people who have left home for 2 years, Peace Corps style. The remain in contact with family and friends and can visit home- although it isn't unusual for them to live fulltime in another city or country.

When a person decides he/she want to become a missionary, they have to fill out an application, get a physical check up, have an interview with their bishop (church leader) then an interview with the Stake president (upper church leader). The paperwork would be processed by the church leaders. During the period of paperwork being processed, the appropriate church leaders responsible for placing missionaries would pray about individual members and determine which area to send the person to.

Missionaries don't have any say in where they are to be sent to and in who their companions are. That's one of the most challenging parts of the mission-becoming companions with someone you don't know for a period of time. I have had 9 companions during my mission and I got along GREAT with 6 companions but had a lot of struggles/conflicts with the other 3 companions I had and I have learned so much from those experiences with various companions. If I didn't like the companion, I can't just walk away or change companions- I have to try to work it out with the companion. If it can't be worked out then the mission president (leader for a certain mission area) will get involved and try to help out.

In the hearing missionary field, the missionaries tend to stay in the area they're called to(a person is called to chicago, Ill and that's where he/she will spend their whole mission in) but companions are changed frequently. It's very RARE that a peson would serve his/her mission in their home state. Most of the time, it's to another state or even to another country. My nephew will be going to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah in July to get training in Spanish language, culture, etc then go to Spain in Sept to start his mission.

During the mission time, missionaries cannot go home to visit (missionaries are to focus 100% on serving the Lord during this time). Missionaries are STRONGLY encouraged to write letters to family on a weekly basis and on special occasions (christmas, mother day, etc), then missionaries can talk to family via phone..

 

[katspixiedust]

When I was in high school one of my good friends was dating a senior (I think we were sophomores at the time) who was a Mormon. I remember that he had to leave for his mission pretty soon after his graduation and that he ended up in Utah. It was pretty sad for my friend at the time since she didn't understand why he had to leave. I don't think she ever heard from him again but it was interesting to hear from my friend about where he was going and what he was supposed to be doing there.