A lot of TBMs still linger on my facebook list. One is a young lady who left in the fall for her stateside mission. Recently, she came back on her FB account, cleaned it up, and renamed it for her missionary role. Then she posted this message:

"I feel blessed to be serving as a full-time missionary for The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints in the [state side] Mission. I have the privilege to further the Lord's work through online resources including Facebook. I will be using my Facebook to share my testimony & teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I ask that you help support me in my goal to stay focused & obedient by only posting things that would be uplifting and inspiring. I love you all!"

We've been instructed to filter our FB posts because there's a missionary present. Oh, please! If she can't stay focused and obedient on her own as an "especially called" 19 year old missionary of the Lord, then get off FB!

I usually keep my posts neutral, but I don't need a missionary monitoring my activity for righteousness. So she's being removed . I would hate to distract her with posts that would make her regret being on a mission.

I can think of a number of posts that would be uplifting and inspiring to me and not a TBM.

It's also possible she may be asking you not to post on her wall if it's not uplifting and inspiring. I can't tell if she's telling you to filter all of your own posts (probably so) or just the ones you post on her wall. She can filter your news feed if she wants to, so if you want to make it her responsibility and continue on as normal, I say go for it. :-)

Her note is gag-worthy. I get so tired of hearing the word "obedience".

which makes her request ridiculous and insane. FTS, I'd unfriend her.

Just put her in restricted group, she will only see your public posts.

I decided to "unfriend" family members and friends who used FB for their "every member a missionary" nonsense. It was driving me nuts to see all sorts of blanket invites to General Conference, testimony bearing, and blanket calls to forgiveness. Just a bunch of blah, blah, blah. No thank you. Keep that to yourself.

Hiding them, while probably the least confrontational option, rewards this type of intrusive behavior. When FB friends use their account to excessively push their little businesses, political causes, spiritual beliefs, etc., I just don't wish to consume it. So, goodbye. You can email or call me if you want to communicate with me.

When my nieces and nephews go on missions, you can bet they too will get dropped from social media without hesitation.

Either unfriend her, or block her. NO ONE should tell you how to manage your facebook account. If she does not like what you post, too freaking bad.

I think you should post lots of uplifting, faith inspiring stories that other churches are doing on her facebook feed. Catholic charity feeds 250 families. Methodist church donates 100 backpacks to needy school children. Muslim mosque opens new library to the public. Jewish synagogue has career fair. After all, you're being uplifting by only posting positive things :)

Right on!

"You need to change your behavior to accommodate me."

Narcissistic/self-important much?

I wouldn't do a thing and I'd just keep posting the same way I ever did. And if I felt the need to post to her wall, I wouldn't let anything she said influence my actions.

If she want to block or unfriend you, let her do her own dirty work.

Otherwise you're supporting LDS missionary activities.

Do nothing, continue to post on your facebook site how you normally do. I am assuming you don't post things to directly to her wall.
If she doesn't want to see something she needs to do the work of filtering it, hiding it, or defriending.
When we post we are putting stuff on our wall and the newsfeed is the stuff we have, or facebook by default, has subscribed us to. This is her problem not yours. Make her deal with it.

I think this is a very good approach. Be true to yourself.

This young woman is living in a fantasy world, and there's no need for you to modify your words or behavior so that they align with her delusion.

Let her see that real world continues very much as it always has without her in it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2014 02:20PM by En Sabah Nur.

Darkprincess is correct. Don't post anything directly to the missionary's wall. If something shows up in the newsfeed that the person doesn't like, they can filter it. It's not your problem.

That sounds like boilerplate language. I bet every missionary is instructed to put that exact same announcement on their FB page.

You should let this "person" see the unadulterated truth. But then, that's just me.

Dear (missionary)

You recently mentioned that you are now a missionary for the
Mormon Church. You asked that only "uplifting" and "inspiring"
things be posted to help you remain "focused" and "obedient."

To help you towards this end I will de-friend you so none of my
posts will keep you from being "focused" and/or "obedient."

I'd unfriend her. If she loses enough of the sort of friends she's hoping to influence (non-LDS, inactives etc.) and is stuck with a core group of TBMs, she won't be doing nearly the good she hopes to be doing. Tell her you are sorry to unfriend her but you want to respect her request to stay focused and can't always monitor your posts so you are unfriending her temporarily and will be happy to add her back when she returns from her mission.

That should make her think. Or at least keep her from being offended. Hopefully a lot of her friends will do the same.

Post porn on her wall

Delete with prejudice.

Post photos of original church documents!
1830 Book of Mormon with the original racist words.

Thanks for the feedback. I deleted the missionary. I am no longer in the same city where her family is, but my exit from TSCC hasn't gone public to the families we knew there.

I am mostly amused at the ridiculous request she made. Hopefully, her nonmember friends from high school will find her ridiculous, too.

I would keep her as a friend just so I could post about her ridiculousness

Sadly, too many of my fb "friends" are people that I keep around to remind myself of how Not to be. After a lifetime of being tbm, I'm still trying to get a feel for more normal interactions with people.

I would be torn between deleting and posting as much bothersome stuff on my timeline as I could get away with.

I'd take the opportunity to start posting as many posts, pictures, videos, memes, etc that will rock her world - make her unfriend you.

I would unfriend her. She needs to live in the real world where all people do not think like "good little Mormon girls are told to think". BYE-BYE.