Just wanted to say that I got my first visit from Mormons today, literally 5 minutes ago. They were pretty nice, didn’t force anything on me like I always thought they would. Left me a nice little card too.
Mormons are generally pretty nice. It’s those Jehova’s Witnesses you gotta look out for. Thems peeps is nuts.
They’re nice kids, but I wish they wouldn’t come to the house. None of us are interested, really. It’s a waste of their time and ours. And it’s not like I don’t know how to get in touch with them if I WANTED to.
Knowing nothing about the religion, and not really needing to know anything either to be honest, I must say I looooove mormons 
I run into them occasionally here in Sweden (on their mission year) and they are always so adorable They are usually so relieved to meet another english speaker. I have chatted (about non religious topics) with a number of v. sweet mormon guys, and when they turned up at the door as we were moving they offered to help carry stuff to the van. I have zero interest in learning about the Mormon belief system as it would most likely dent my present love of Mormons 
I don’t mind the mormons cuz normally at least one of the two is really cute (and generally both are guys). If they only knew their true peril when they knocked on my door…
Mitt Romney, the Governor of our state, is a Mormon. The judge who performed our Civil wedding ceremony was also a Mormon. They seem to be a significant but growing minority around here. Nice people.
Well, it’s nice to see someone not hate us! 
Here are a few tips for meetin’ the Mormons:
Most missionaries don’t want to waste your time, or theirs. They really hate ‘polite’ people who don’t want to say no, and hem and haw instead. They are simply resigned to screaming, insults, and various methods of trying to freak them out. A polite “thank you, but we’re really not interested” will practically make their day, since what they usually get is either screaming or hemming. DangerDad used to thank people for being straightforwardly uninterested.
Tracting (going door to door) is the least effective way of finding interested people, but it does work to find at least a few. Tracting is generally what the missionaries do when they haven’t got something more urgent on their plate (visits, appointments of various kinds, service). They already know that you probably don’t want to talk with them, and that’s OK. They are just looking for those who are–and those people really do exist.
They are usually thirsty.
Well yeah! They couldn’t entrust that important work to mere women! :rolleyes: They’ve got cakes and pies and babies to make…
Some of the young women do missions, too, but it’s not as expected. I met a group of three once when they came by my aunt’s place.
If it’s really hot, I’ll offer them a drink, don’t worry. I don’t want to think about what the summers here must be like in the clothes they’re required to wear, and if they come from a dry place like…oh, almost anywhere else in the states, really.
I got rather annoyed the last time they came by because we have two overly loud and excitable dogs, and coralling them to answer the door involves a bit of work. So by the time I got the door open after getting two dogs that I only outweigh by about thirty pounds out the back, I was irritated. But I didn’t yell and scream at them or anything.
My dad is a lapsed Mormon and we have the Elders (that’s the title of the missionaries) come to our doors every couple of months. I’ve been used to seeing these guys visit since I was a little kid. They are always nice and generally have to use bikes or public transportation to get around.
By the way, not every Mormon is a polygamist nut job who thinks women shouldn’t leave the house. Most of them are really normal and just don’t tend to drink caffeine or alcohol, smoke or do any drugs. My father’s best friend was pretty heavily involved in the Mormon church. When he developed cancer years ago and couldn’t work, the congregation(?) at his temple (?) supported his whole family for several months. So when you see the Elders walking around, at least give them a cool drink and invite them in because I personally think that they whole Joseph Smith business is pretty funny to listen to.
:rolleyes: yourself. Women do in fact serve missions, though as noted, it’s not as expected. Retired couples also serve missions together, though not proselyting ones.
Since we consider the raising of families to be one of the most important privileges of our time here on earth, for men as well as women, I’ll take that last part as a compliment. My pie crust is terrible, though, so I stick with chocolate…
For a look at how Mormons experience and remember their missions, some of you may want to rent a movie called God’s Army one of these days. It’s about a newbie missionary in LA and his first couple of (harrowing) months on the job. It’s realistic enough to give most returned missionaries the heebie-jeebies, and it’s even a good movie, too. I have often felt very tempted to use a line from Richard Dutcher, the writer and director, for my sig:
They are usually thirsty.
Yes, but don’t offer tea.
Lemonade works well.
Unless you’re queer, of course.
They need all the peril they can get.
I’ve had the Mormon teachings, many many years ago. Ended up Catholic.
I was once mistaken for a Mormon by a couple of nice Jehovah’s Witness ladies who came to my door. The first thing I did when they introduced themselves was run to my room and grab my Bible. Threw them for a loop when I started giving point for point refutations of what they were trying to get me to swallow. One of them said, “Well, I can tell by the answers you’re giving me that you’re a Mormon”.
I don’t really know how they came up with this, nothing I was saying was remotely Mormon doctrine, unless it was those points that come into line with orthodox Christian belief. I think it was just the fact that I was prepared to grab a Bible and start arguing with them
They never came back.
I haven’t found the mormons to be any better than the jehova witnesses. They stop by every once and a while, and I’ve told them time and time again that I’m happy with my current religion, and am not looking to change. Yet whenever I see them (which is often) they keep wanting to preach to me. There’s no escaping them!
I hope you are implying that Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons) are not nice people because of their rejection of homosexuality.
The official stance of the Church is that whereas same-sex attraction is not a choice, acting on it is, and therefore those members who have same-sex attraction are informed that in order to comply with the stadards and values of Christ’s Restored Gospel (as they see it) and His Church, they may not engage in sex with members of the same sex. The gravity of this is equal to engaging in sexual relations with anyone other than one’s spouse. This is basically what the law of chastity is about - refraining from sexual relations with anyone other than one’s spouse. This automatically disqualifies sexual relations between members of the same sex. For various doctrinal reasons, heterosexual sexuality is the only one that is acceptable, and this cannot and will not change for the same doctrinal reasons.
As for the link, the website’s explanation of what the Temple says about homosexuality and homosociality is hogwash.
Furthermore, the Church should be given some credit for trying to deal with this delicate issue in a manner that is faithful to what they see as the true Gospel while remaining loving and open to those who have same-sex attraction. Much different from a plethora of other Christian denominations that outright condemn all homosexuals. The Church’s emphasis is on speaking out against homosexuality, not homosexuals.
If anyone is interested in why the Church believes what it does regarding same-sex attraction, email me and I’ll send a short essay.
WRS
Didya feed 'em?
Don’t get me wrong – from what I’ve heard about Mormon beliefs, they are NOT for me. And even if they were, I couldn’t see joining a religion which bothers people in their own houses. I honestly think the door-to-door thing only hurts you, not helps, at least in this part of the world. I try not to be actively rude to the missionaries themselves for a couple of reasons, one of them being that they ARE doing what they’re expected to do and believe is right and they EXPECT people to be rude to them. I see no reason to pile on the negativity to them directly. I’m not rude to telemarketers, either, they’re at the bottom of their particular bug-me-in-my-own-house heap they work for as well. I just get rid of them ASAP.
And frankly, I find the “they can be gay but they can’t actually do anything about it” to be a copout, and alone that is an issue that would guarantee I’d never, ever join.
I love when the Mormons come to town…
On the one hand, they’re going around preaching anti-Gay stuff, and for at least a few I’ve met, they’re going to the bath-houses and screwing around with other guys… The hypocrisy is always absolutely hilarious.
I had one friend who was dating a Mormon guy… They’d spend the night going at it like bunnies, then the Mormon guy would kiss him goodbye and go off to help run a pancake breakfast…
Loved the pic linked above of Joseph Smith’s son doing drag… Although I think Joseph handled it wrong obviously… He should have been allowed to be a Drag Queen, but not act on it…
I’m looking forward to the day when the Mormons can be hatemongers, but not act on it… 
Paging Master Wang-Ka… Paging Master Wang-Ka…
So what if he was being bothered by Jehovah’s Witnesses and not Mormons. It’s still something I’ve contemplated doing to anyone that rings my door at an unpleasant time.