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"I just took a walk. Mormon missionaries ran across the street to follow me, shouting until I got off the phone.
Dudes were not prepared for me.
Dude 1: "Have you ever seen anyone dressed like us?"
Me: "Yeah. Wow. Missionaries? Are you okay?"
Dude 1: "Yes? o_o Why do you ask?""
"Me: "Because you're missionaries and that is dangerous. I always get concerned about the mental health of people sent on missionary work, since it —by design— means you are rejected constantly. That can't feel good, right guys?"
Dude 1: "We develop a thick skin."
"Me: "But you shouldn't have to! It builds an us-verses-them attitude. That needlessly isolates you from society. I want you to be share in the common love of humankind."
Dude 1: "We're here voluntarily..."
.... and it goes on. It's a great read, well done, and not inflammatory at all.
I read it. It was cute, but it can't compete with the musical The Book of Mormon, which is an absolutely irreverent and hilarious take on what can befall Mormon missionaries who are not prepared for what they might encounter.
The play deals with a subject no decent human being should ever laugh about, and yet...you do.
Amazingly, while it does a great job of mocking the LDS Church in particular and Christianity in general, there were no fewer than three ads by the LDS Church in the Playbill. They issued a statement saying that while the language and some of the situations in the play were not ones they would have chosen, the musical did bring forth the real struggles Mormon missionaries experience when sent to foreign lands.
I have close Mormon family members. Precious people, those. And they've never, ever tried to convert me.
From my experience, the attempts at conversion -- at least here in the States -- is toned down a great deal. An exception was back in the Washington, D.C. area when the El Salvadorian immigrants came. The Mormon boys in their black pants and white shirts were in one of those neighborhoods often, although I thought it was probably a huge waste of time since those immigrants were strongly and traditionally Catholic.
When I was a boy growing up in Palmyra, NY -- the birthplace of Mormonism -- there were hardly and Mormons in Palmyra, except during Pageant month. Some of the 'actors'-missionaries who were there for several weeks of rehearsals could be pretty aggressive.
In 1959 or 1960 when my grandparents took me on a driving tour of the West, we met 2 Mormon missionary boys who were pretty aggressive, although they learned a hard lesson from my grandfather about being pests.
When I toured the West again 25 years later, when I went to Mormon Square in SLC, no one approached me at all except to say that if I needed any help finding any landmark, to let them know.
I have close Mormon family members. Precious people, those. And they've never, ever tried to convert me.
I live in a province which has a significant Mormon population. As a group, I actually respect a lot about their lifestyle, even though I can't understand how so many are ingrained in a whack-a-doodle belief system. Very family orientated, a great work ethic, and generally live a moral life in what most of us, even us atheists, would define as moral.
My son-in-law works with a Mormon bishop. When they moved from their acreage to town, that bishop offered the assistance of two missionaries to help with the many tasks that were needed. He explained that working with the community was part of their mission work when my SIL (a strong atheist) objected that this was not necessary. I guess they worked their butt off, and there was no attempt at proselytizing at all. My SIL was very, very appreciative of that help and policy.
My experience with Mormon missionaries is that they take no for an answer, tell you to have a nice day, and move on. Unlike many other religions, where their door to door folks apparently do not know what no means.
I've had several Mormons as colleagues over the years. Nice people, work hard, share knowledge, and are great team members.
My experience with Mormon missionaries is that they take no for an answer, tell you to have a nice day, and move on. Unlike many other religions, where their door to door folks apparently do not know what no means.
I've had several Mormons as colleagues over the years. Nice people, work hard, share knowledge, and are great team members.
Most of the ones I have met have been as well. A few specific ones were major @r$eholes , (one I worked with especially) but that is to be expected within any population group.
My aunt (we used to call her Aunt Mormon) joined the LDS after she and my uncle divorced and she had no one to help her. The LDS helped her get a job, my cousin (girl)did Missionary work and went to BYU
They were very happy with their involvement in the LDS
My family was Baptist, and Baptists are proud and open regarding their hatred of the Mormons. I heard everything from "take them out and shoot them" all the way down from various Baptists growing up.
The church I Was forced to attend growing up did an annual youth Mission trip to Utah to "Bring Christianity to those suffering under the Mormons" I refused to go, making me even more of a pariah than I already was. Especially when I suggested that maybe certain people in the church should focus on getting their own lives in order
That suggestion did not go over well. Like I cared.
I always remained very sympathetic towards the Mormons because like myself, they had to endure abuse at the hands of the Baptists.
I am not mean towards Mormon Missionaries that I encounter, but I have no hesitation to tell them about Atheism and if they want to listen, I may even convert one to Non-belief, though that is not my goal.
Ah. Bless those Joseph Smith confusees. A new kind of wandering in the desert...
My dad hated Mormons with a passion, thanks to his Baptist upbringing He always made mention of how much of a con-artist Joseph Smith was, which is well documented. Of course, in typical fundy hypocrite fashion, he could not see that the Baptist pastor he worshiped at the time, Bill Weber, was also a known and proven con-artist, he did not want to hear that. Religion can do bad things to the mind.
Most of the ones I have met have been as well. A few specific ones were major @r$eholes , (one I worked with especially) but that is to be expected within any population group.
My aunt (we used to call her Aunt Mormon) joined the LDS after she and my uncle divorced and she had no one to help her. The LDS helped her get a job, my cousin (girl)did Missionary work and went to BYU
They were very happy with their involvement in the LDS
My family was Baptist, and Baptists are proud and open regarding their hatred of the Mormons. I heard everything from "take them out and shoot them" all the way down from various Baptists growing up.
The church I Was forced to attend growing up did an annual youth Mission trip to Utah to "Bring Christianity to those suffering under the Mormons" I refused to go, making me even more of a pariah than I already was. Especially when I suggested that maybe certain people in the church should focus on getting their own lives in order
That suggestion did not go over well. Like I cared.
I always remained very sympathetic towards the Mormons because like myself, they had to endure abuse at the hands of the Baptists.
I am not mean towards Mormon Missionaries that I encounter, but I have no hesitation to tell them about Atheism and if they want to listen, I may even convert one to Non-belief, though that is not my goal.
That's amazing you had the strength to stand up to the family church. That's always tough. And many religions need to pay attention to the whole "Judge not..." thing.
I'll never become a Mormon, but I respect much of what they do, their family orientation, and the fact that they are generally nice folks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LargeKingCat
My dad hated Mormons with a passion, thanks to his Baptist upbringing He always made mention of how much of a con-artist Joseph Smith was, which is well documented. Of course, in typical fundy hypocrite fashion, he could not see that the Baptist pastor he worshiped at the time, Bill Weber, was also a known and proven con-artist, he did not want to hear that. Religion can do bad things to the mind.
No one likes hearing their favorite preacher is as human as the rest of us. I'm not a fan of organized religion in general, and some of the Protestant sects are way over the top. I've thought for a long time that a church with more than 150 members is too big, but some of the Baptist churches in Houston have tens of thousands of members.
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