Do Mormons not understand how referrals actually work? The point is for a member to PREPARE the referral for missionaries to teach. As in, they share with them "the gospel" to get them interested in taking the discussions. Its based on trust. People almost always convert for social reasons. They have a friend who's Mormon. They like their friend. They're willing to listen to why a friend likes their own church. They become open to learning about the church because they trust/like their friend. Random strangers showing up at your front door who you don't know and have no idea what their religion is about is simply not as successful. Just because you know someone who isn't Mormon doesn't mean they are going to be interested.

I never understood why missionaries would ask for referrals and why members would refer missionaries to some non-member.
How is this any different than knocking on a random door? The only difference is you know their name from a member.

I came across this on my mission countless times. My mission comp would ask some member we would run across, "do you know anyone we can teach?" Then they would point to their neighbor across the street who wasn't Mormon and say, "you can try my neighbor, I don't think they're Mormon but they seem nice."

Then we'd walk over to their neighbors who would open the door, smile, and say they weren't interested.


So dumb.

OK, having been a missionary, it's set up like selling Mary Kay. The member wants the "free gifts" (i.e. blessings) from having a Mary Kay party/missionary moment. So they get their friends, who feel obligated to be polite, to come over and sit through a bunch of b.s. sales talk, thinking that people will feel more "inspired" to "buy" the product with their friend there all hopeful.

But, as you mentioned, it doesn't work out like that. People are embarrassed to invite people to a get-together where they know that their friends will be pressured to buy a shoddy product. They want their friends to respect them - that's why they are always whining about how people don't understand Mormons or they would love Mormons. Anyway, because they don't want to embarrass themselves in front of their friends, they "refer" the missionaries to some random acquaintance whose opinion doesn't really matter to them. So things don't work out as planned and once again, the suits at the COB show how out of touch they are with the average member and the opinion most people hold about the LDS religion.

Yea - exactly this. They don't want to embarrass themselves or lose friendships.

Hahahahahaha! Are you saying that there are mormons who know that most people, given the choice, would not be mormon?

And do they tell themselves, "Oh, Rupert and his family just don't have what it takes..."?

Mary Kay is so much better than the CULT though. At least you can enjoy their products.

Every sales force needs fresh prospects. And these come from current clients, pretty much.

I had a misso ask me for people that they could teach


misso: how about your friends?
me: I have no friends
misso: what do you do for a living?
me: innocuous answer, revealing that I had clients
misso: perfect. just give us your client list....
me: are you nuts? By the time you were done with them, I would have no clients!!!

misso walked away.

I'll fess up.

Referals are for revenge!

Made me sit through an amway presentation? Dropped a project on me at the last minute? Stood me up?

Hey I bet you'd like to know more about the mormons!

that reminded me of this Kathleen Madigan bit, from when she toured temple square...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jDfdJSO5po&list=PLkARHFuRuW4R2t7KSmvWP3AmUwRiBeVyY


she says she was told about the peep stone in the hat!!

*grabs crotch* I got your referrals right here !

While a missionary I never asked for referrals but the MP and bishops kept telling the members to give them to us with no instructions about preparation that I recall. It's a directive from the head office.

As a TBM I felt guilt over everything, and one of my guilt items was that I had "irreverent" thoughts and feelings regarding the numerous times the rank and file members were hit up to invite their friends to hear the gospel.

I would always politely tell the missionaries that I didn't really have any non-mormon friends, because the church kept me so busy that I didn't have time to interact and get to know anyone who wasn't a member of my ward. That alone was true enough, but I felt evil saying it because I did have some non-mo friends but thought to myself, "why in the world would I 1.risk losing their friendship, 2. subject them to a possible life like mine.

I always thought that the church was too demanding of my time and resources, so they were better off living their life, and then being baptized by proxy when they were dead. They would be happier without the church. Of course I always then had guilt because of the sappy stories I grew up hearing about "you promised this person in the pre-existence that you would find them and teach them the gospel".