Who is that well dressed man? Oh, it's a Mormon.

jeane

Member
i live quite close to a Church of Latter Day Saints. as a consequence i am regularly approached for conversion; at my home, at the bus stop and even on the bus. it’s not usual for 3 mormons to enter a bus and then proceed to preach to those who have no means of escape other than to be chased off the bus.

this strikes me as quite an aggressive tactic when it comes to spreading the word of their lord. So it brings me to my question; what other tactics do they employ? i’m interested in hearing your experiences. mormons, ex-mormons, those who have shown an interest in mormonism and people who have been approached by the elders do join in.

if there are any mormons here, what tactics are sanctioned by the church?
 
Well, since the whole 'religion' is based on the partially-plagiarized fiction of a convicted charlatan and fortune teller whatever they sanction or practice is nonsense anyway. Mormonism is the litmus test for religious illiteracy in America. Anyone who could believe in the Book of Mormon lacks the capacity to critically read text at the most basic level. Anyone who would so blindly put wishful thinking ahead of reason should not only be kicked off the bus but should be denied the right to vote, raise children or log on to the internet.

Whew! I needed to rant. Sorry to the LDS crowd.
 
Last Bank Holiday we had the Jehovah's Winesses and the Mormons at the door within half an hour of each other. I politely thanked them for their leaflets, and shut the door. Then binned the leaflets. They were'nt pushy, so maybe they are working on new tactics to attract converts.

More annoying are the Chuggers who operate near my local Tube station. Every time I want to walk that stretch of road I get hailed at least twice by someone wanting me to pay attention to the Charity of the day. One of them refused to accept my downward eyes and lack of response and stepped right in front of me, blocking my path on a crowded pavement. I walked right into him (deliberately) and he had the gall to complain.

I saw a pair of Mormons on the train, but it was noisy enough that they could barely hear each other talk, so no chance to preach there. It was their strange uniform that caught my eye. Pale shirt, dark trousers, tie on a short-sleeved shirt that looked so wrong. Casual clothes that look like a uniform.

I saw a film about a Mormon missionary who gets seduced by the man next door. "Latter Days". Gave some insight into their lifestyle and beliefs.
 
thanks to you both for your responses. i was at the bus stop one day when a pair approached me. (i should note that I am on a pretty short fuse with them as my encounters with them have become somewhat tiresome.)

listening to my headphones elder (insert name here) stood in front of me, less than a metre away and started talking to me.

me (taking out an earplug): no thank you.
elder: can't i interest you...
me: i'm not interested.
elder: can you tell me who is?
me (earplug goes back in).

i wonder if this sort of pushiness is perhaps just something that my local parish (is that the right word?) engages in.
 
Not that it matters at all....
Their parishes are called "stakes", but they generally go on missions away from their home stake.

I think that despite the ridiculousness of the basis of their theology, the religion does tend to produce very nice people (if they're not trying to convert you at the moment.)

My problem with Mormonism arose when I tried to read the Book of Mormon after having studied Judaism for a while. The Mormons claim to be descended from the original tribes of Israel and the Book purports to relate the adventures of said forefathers in North America. In the book, the forefathers kept doing things that were decidedly non-kosher with no explanation for their disregard of their own set of religious regulations. I just couldn't buy it. That and the blatant racism. According to them, the "mark of Cain" that God smote upon all the descendents of the first murderer was the "misfortune" of having a darker skin color, and because of that, those bearing the mark of Cain were unworthy to enter into the Mormonite priesthood (which is open and nearly required for all white Mormons). This was modified in the last 10 years or so, but still.
 
Not that it matters at all....
Their parishes are called "stakes", but they generally go on missions away from their home stake.

I think that despite the ridiculousness of the basis of their theology, the religion does tend to produce very nice people (if they're not trying to convert you at the moment.)

My problem with Mormonism arose when I tried to read the Book of Mormon after having studied Judaism for a while. The Mormons claim to be descended from the original tribes of Israel and the Book purports to relate the adventures of said forefathers in North America. In the book, the forefathers kept doing things that were decidedly non-kosher with no explanation for their disregard of their own set of religious regulations. I just couldn't buy it. That and the blatant racism. According to them, the "mark of Cain" that God smote upon all the descendents of the first murderer was the "misfortune" of having a darker skin color, and because of that, those bearing the mark of Cain were unworthy to enter into the Mormonite priesthood (which is open and nearly required for all white Mormons). This was modified in the last 10 years or so, but still.

hey it matters! i'm finding this all incredibly fascinating. so if i was darker do you think i wouldn't be approached?

is the racism implicit in the church still? clearly i have to do some reading into this, my knowledge of the scene is pathetic.
 
hey it matters! i'm finding this all incredibly fascinating. so if i was darker do you think i wouldn't be approached?

is the racism implicit in the church still? clearly i have to do some reading into this, my knowledge of the scene is pathetic.

Don't forget to watch this hilariously exaggerated video made by some crazy christians.

I choose to believe this is all real for hilarity's sake.



And then... you should see this brilliant remix:

 
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hey all. long time lurker, life-long Mormon. as far as missionaries and their 'tactics' go, there are a few things to understand. mormon missionaries, usually 19-26 years old, are an interesting bunch. most of them are going to be from utah, like me, which in a lot of cases (but not all) is an isolated and unusual culture to grow up in. a relative described his mission this way,

"you are sending a pimply faced kid who probably hasnt experienced much in life (again, UTAH), and who probably hasnt traveled much to some random city or country, and their job is to go around and invite people to change their lives." so naturally things can be awkward, the members of the church often joke about the awkwardness of the missionaries.

the leadership of the church has great trust for the young men and women despite all this, they work very hard and encourage us to educate ourselves so we can be better representatives to the world. missionaries often have the zeal, but not the knowledge.

I dont know the tactics well, i haven't been a missionary yet. if you've seen the southpark about mormons, the new kid sums it up well

"Maybe us Mormons do believe in crazy stories that make absolutely no sense, and maybe Joseph Smith did make it all up. But I have a great life and a great family, and I have the Book of Mormon to thank for that. The truth is, I don’t care if Joseph Smith made it all up, because what the Church teaches now is loving your family, being nice and helping people. And even though people in this town might think that’s stupid, I still choose to believe in it. All I ever did was try to be your friend, Stan, but you're so high and mighty you couldn't look past my religion and just be my friend back. You've got a lot of growing up to do, buddy." :)
 
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Don't forget to watch this hilariously exaggerated video made by some crazy christians.

I choose to believe this is all real for hilarity's sake.



And then... you should see this brilliant remix:


That first video doesn't seem that far off.
 
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hey all. long time lurker, life-long Mormon. as far as missionaries and their 'tactics' go, there are a few things to understand. mormon missionaries, usually 19-26 years old, are an interesting bunch. most of them are going to be from utah, like me, which in a lot of cases (but not all) is an isolated and unusual culture to grow up in. a relative described his mission this way,

"you are sending a pimply faced kid who probably hasnt experienced much in life (again, UTAH), and who probably hasnt traveled much to some random city or country, and their job is to go around and invite people to change their lives." so naturally things can be awkward, the members of the church often joke about the awkwardness of the missionaries.

the leadership of the church has great trust for the young men and women despite all this, they work very hard and encourage us to educate ourselves so we can be better representatives to the world. missionaries often have the zeal, but not the knowledge.

I dont know the tactics well, i haven't been a missionary yet. if you've seen the southpark about mormons, the new kid sums it up well

"Maybe us Mormons do believe in crazy stories that make absolutely no sense, and maybe Joseph Smith did make it all up. But I have a great life and a great family, and I have the Book of Mormon to thank for that. The truth is, I don’t care if Joseph Smith made it all up, because what the Church teaches now is loving your family, being nice and helping people. And even though people in this town might think that’s stupid, I still choose to believe in it. All I ever did was try to be your friend, Stan, but you're so high and mighty you couldn't look past my religion and just be my friend back. You've got a lot of growing up to do, buddy. Suck my balls" :)

See my second paragraph :)
 
"Maybe us Mormons do believe in crazy stories that make absolutely no sense, and maybe Joseph Smith did make it all up. But I have a great life and a great family, and I have the Book of Mormon to thank for that. The truth is, I don’t care if Joseph Smith made it all up, because what the Church teaches now is loving your family, being nice and helping people. And even though people in this town might think that’s stupid, I still choose to believe in it. All I ever did was try to be your friend, Stan, but you're so high and mighty you couldn't look past my religion and just be my friend back. You've got a lot of growing up to do, buddy. Suck my balls" :)

I'm glad you're happy.

Too bad the thousands of gay teenagers in Utah who commit suicide or who end up homeless because their loving mormon families kicked them out didn't have the same luck as you.
 
My ex-boyfriend was a mormon. Their religion is not more or less strange then any other religion. Maybe Joseph Smith made it all up but maybe Jesus or Buddha made it all up as well. Most mormons that live in Utah live a rather protected life so they may be a bit narrow minded, but so are a lot of people. But they are individuals just like everyone else, it's really difficult to describe what a typical mormon is like.
 
My ex-boyfriend was a mormon. Their religion is not more or less strange then any other religion. Maybe Joseph Smith made it all up but maybe Jesus or Buddha made it all up as well. Most mormons that live in Utah live a rather protected life so they may be a bit narrow minded, but so are a lot of people. But they are individuals just like everyone else, it's really difficult to describe what a typical mormon is like.


agreed. you cant put individual people under your own broad label. like all this muslim nonsense, the rhetoric is infuriating, much of my family is from pakistan



I'm glad you're happy.

Too bad the thousands of gay teenagers in Utah who commit suicide or who end up homeless because their loving mormon families kicked them out didn't have the same luck as you.

its tragic, this shouldnt be. christ's message always came back to compassion and love. loving those who feel misunderstood, alone, 'perceived' enemies. Matt 5:43-47. we all know who christ spent most of his time on earth with, those shut out from the world. why do we forget this?

i think we (mormons, and other religions) like to bring in our own philosophy into what was originally taught by christ and the prophets, its a great flaw that we all seem to have trouble with.

to me the blame is not on the church and the doctrine, but the people who just dont, or wont, understand. i always find myself putting limits on the tolerance i have been taught and should have, we ALL know better

the last president of the church, gordon b hinckley said "Now we have gays in the church. Good people. We take no action against such people – provided they don’t become involved in transgression, sexual transgression. If they do, we do with them exactly what we’d do with heterosexuals who transgress"

a gay person can be a happy involved member of the church, go on missions, and so on. but strict chastity is required for all members
 
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Oh Hai!

the last president of the church, gordon b hinckley said "Now we have gays in the church. Good people. We take no action against such people – provided they don’t become involved in transgression, sexual transgression. If they do, we do with them exactly what we’d do with heterosexuals who transgress"

a gay person can be a happy involved member of the church, go on missions, and so on. but strict chastity is required for all members

So I hope Mr Hinckley did everything he could to stop the mormon church from raising 22 million dollars to promote Proposition 8.

Because if he didn't, he just told you a big fat lie.
 
I'm glad you're happy.

Too bad the thousands of gay teenagers in Utah who commit suicide or who end up homeless because their loving mormon families kicked them out didn't have the same luck as you.

Yes, all Mormons do this, and only Mormons do this. So Obama must be a Mormon because he chose to have a gay-bashing minister speak at his inauguration.
 
i live quite close to a Church of Latter Day Saints. as a consequence i am regularly approached for conversion; at my home, at the bus stop and even on the bus. it’s not usual for 3 mormons to enter a bus and then proceed to preach to those who have no means of escape other than to be chased off the bus.

this strikes me as quite an aggressive tactic when it comes to spreading the word of their lord. So it brings me to my question; what other tactics do they employ? i’m interested in hearing your experiences. mormons, ex-mormons, those who have shown an interest in mormonism and people who have been approached by the elders do join in.

if there are any mormons here, what tactics are sanctioned by the church?

I'm looking forward to the "Oh, it's a Jew" thread.
 
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