# Are Mormon Missionaries Allowed To Play Angry Birds? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 17, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mormon-missionaries-allowed-to-play-angry-birds/596629 "2011-09-17T15:37:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mormon-missionaries-allowed-to-play-angry-birds/596629/21 "2011-09-18T15:41:07Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Actually, that raises (to me) a very good question: why does the LDS church send missionaries to places where many people are Mormon? They’re not going to convert the converted, and those of us who are not converted, are not likely to change–at least, this is the attitude of those who attend the mainstream Protestant church I attend, when I do attend church. > > In short, my question (and remember, I am based in southern Alberta, where the LDS church has a large presence) is this: why do Mormon missionaries try their luck in places where (a) Mormons are the majority; and (b), people who have put up with LDS missionary work are so sick of being prosletyzed to by Mormons, that they are unlikely to change from their faiths out of spite? As I said above, Mormon missionaries will leave one alone if requested, but missionaries turn over from year to year, and I have to renew my “No thank you” from year to year. > > It seems to me that sending missionaries into such an area would be a waste of time and person-power, but I would welcome some insight. Back when I had access to the conversion reports, the Utah missions were generally some of the most productive missions (at least in the US). By far the most productive way of finding converts are by working with “member referrals.” In those, rather than just going door-to-door, you are talking to people who told their LDS friends they would like to talk to the missionaries (or at least allowed their LDS friends to badger them into it). And these referrals come in almost direct proportion to the number of active church members in an area. The Utah missionaries tend to get a lot of member referrals. So the 500 odd missionaries in Utah are among the most productive per person in the US. Unfortunately there aren’t nearly enough referrals to fill the 63 hour work week the missionaries are supposed to work. So there is a lot of door-to-door work to fill in the mostly open hours in the schedule. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mormon-missionaries-allowed-to-play-angry-birds/596629/22 "2011-09-18T16:22:25Z")
\ > [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](#): > > > [@StGermain](#): > > > > How do you play Angry Birds on a desktop? > > > > StG > > Google Chrome let’s you play it right in the browser. You can also [download](http://download.angrybirds.com/) it as a standalone. Now if they’d only release it for the Blackberry, I’d never get anything done (not that it would be noticeable). \ ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mormon-missionaries-allowed-to-play-angry-birds/596629/23 "2011-09-18T19:29:08Z")
Thanks to all who replied to my questions. Looks like I’ll have to renew my “no thank you” occasionally. But as I said, the missionaries are polite and will leave me alone once I say that I’m not interested, so if I only have to say “no thanks” once a year (or so), it’s a very minor inconvenience. Thanks again! ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mormon-missionaries-allowed-to-play-angry-birds/596629/24 "2011-09-18T19:53:44Z")
That ‘No, thank you.’ will go even farther if it comes w/ a couple of granola bars, I’ve found. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mormon-missionaries-allowed-to-play-angry-birds/596629/25 "2011-09-19T00:10:20Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > How do you play Angry Birds on a desktop? > > StG Why do you play Angry Birds on a desktop? Or anywhere else for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mormon-missionaries-allowed-to-play-angry-birds/596629/26 "2011-09-19T20:39:45Z")
When I was a missionary 1997-1999, each mission president got to decide how strictly to interpret the rules. Video games and movies were out of the question. All books were forbidden except a list of about 5 books published by the LDS church. All music was forbidden, although i think most presidents (not mine) allowed “inspirational” music. Swimming was taboo, but we got away with a few hikes that involved wading through shallow water. At the time, soccer and ultimate frisbee were considered too dangerous but half-court basketball was pretty much mandatory. Seriously, the zone leaders and the assistants to the president extended a sacred “calling” to me to play basketball on many occasions. I hate playing basketball, and I’m no longer a Mormon. Huh, maybe that’s where I went wrong. In 1998-ish, there was a new rule published in the Church News stating that missionaries are not permitted to email and should limit faxes to emergency use only. Then a few years later, my brothers went on missions and were encouraged to use their @lds.net email addresses at the public libraries. I’m going to guess that video games still are not really allowed, but it’s up to the mission president and the individual missionary to decide whether to give a shit. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mormon-missionaries-allowed-to-play-angry-birds/596629/27 "2011-09-20T13:25:02Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > I’m going to guess that video games still are not really allowed, but it’s up to the mission president and the individual missionary to decide whether to give a shit. And each pair of missionaries gets to decide if and which rules to break. It’s only breaking the rules if you get caught, right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mormon-missionaries-allowed-to-play-angry-birds/596629/28 "2011-09-20T13:58:45Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > Why do you play Angry Birds on a desktop? Or anywhere else for that matter. Don’t hate until you’ve played it [live.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzIBZQkj6SY&feature=player_embedded) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-mormon-missionaries-allowed-to-play-angry-birds/596629.md?page=1)