...First of all, I wonder if GC had movements asking people to proselytize, or every member a missionary, etc...

I live in Utah but have been VERY lucky w/the missionaries leaving me and the family alone..

My wife and I were sitting in the front yard, drinking wine, when this car parked across the street from the house. My wife thought out loud that maybe they were missionaries and she was right. This was the first time young women came to my house...usually it was young men.

First of all there was 3, not 2 of them. Just wondering if it was normal. We were both in a good mood and chatted them up. One girl was from Hawaii and hadn't always been a member, because she said Kona coffee tastes real good.

My wife asked about what they were going to do after their mission, asked about college, which these girls said they were going to go to school.

I asked if they went to GC which they did and raved about it, -this- weekend of GC. I asked about the "beginning" of GC last weekend with the Womens' conference. One girl looked shocked and said I really know my stuff...but even they didn't think last weekend was really part of the GC.

All and all a nice visit. They were looking for ANY reason to put on pants and offered to do yard work for us. We said no....

NOW as a healthy man...I would have a real problem asking and accepting the help of young women doing my yard work. If these missionaries were guys, I wouldn't feel as bad, but still wouldn't take them up on their offer.

After this, we sent them on their merry way..

But you welcomed them and so encouraged them to keep returning.

Perhaps you might decide if you want visits or not and act consistently with your goal.

If you want visits, it's a good idea to chat them up in a friendly way.

If you want to be left alone, it's better to say you don't want contact and go into your house until they leave.

Conflicting messages don't work with Mormon visitors.

The OP sounds like a cordial guy. I'm sure he can handle it in a friendly manner if they show up again.

Of course he can.

I'm sure they will show up again... and AGAIN.

Then they will issue challenges... read, pray...

ATTEND CHURCH.

Home and visiting teachers will visit... the Bishop will stop by...

Being nice gets you nowhere fast...

Before you know it.. you are the president of something, entering numbers into MLS.

How do they handle being challenged back, in terms of reading something I´d pick out? How would they handle an invitation to go swimming, especially after they said, ¨oh, we can´t!¨ and I challenged them to explain this silly rule?

If you can´t swim on your mission, why wouldn´t it make sense to NEVER swim? And get this: how much more could the church make if they sold ´swimming garments´?

I think it would be easy to come up with questions for the missionaries that would very quickly get you informally banned from contact.

"If you want visits, it's a good idea to chat them up in a friendly way."

I get your point Cheryl..

No I don't want their visits. This was the 3rd visit in maybe 9 yrs.

Our chattiness can be attributed to:
- The beautiful day that was waning.
- The other fun stuff the wife and I did.
- and last and more importantly...the devil's juice/lord's nectar (wine) we were drinking..


I told my wife, had we been sitting down to dinner, my attitude would have been different towards them

Just to add...


"If you want to be left alone, it's better to say you don't want contact and go into your house until they leave.

Conflicting messages don't work with Mormon visitors."


No proselytizers, mormon or otherwise, will chase me into my house. I may chase them away (and have in the past, directly and abruptly)..

Nah...they didn't run the show..we did. Like I said, we were only friendly because of the wine and the good mood we were in.

As for them taking our time. Our time was already being spent...outside. We just allowed them into our world so they can see what either:
- The sinner do.
- What normal people do

you didn't even let them put on bikinis and wash your car ?

It's my view, that as a former Mormon, or as a never-Mormon we do a lot of positive PR by being kind and pleasant to the missionaries. They find out, quickly that we are all decent people, and it's OK to associate with us. They are usually just kids doing what they think is right.
Who knows what the future will bring?

I agree. They need someone friendly to talk to, otherwise they spend more time immersing themselves in the nutty belief system.

Every friendly thing we can do to help them see that those who disbelieve are normal is of benefit to them.

Who cares if they come back? I've had plenty of good conversations with those who've come back; it gives them something better to do than work on the vulnerable.

We plant a seed they won't forget.

Every time an Exmo buys food or drink for a missionary, while letting him or her know of our sincere non-testimonies, it´s a chip at the mortar that holds them to the mother(f´ing) church.

Every time we get to ask them a question that makes them stop to think, even if they won´t admit it, it´s another chip at the mortar.

It´s been a couple of months past 50 years ago that my first senior companion and I tracted out an erudite Mexican atheist. My Spanish wasn´t yet good enough to understand the discussion between my senior (who made AP and then left the church while progressing towards his Ph.D.), but I certainly do remember his certainty regarding his position. He was certainly as convinced of his position as I thought I was of mine. Him I remember, out of all the hundreds of people we talked to during my one year as a performing missionary.

It's normal for sister missionaries to travel in threes. When I was a member, the ones that taught me were in a group of three.

It's a matter of priorities.

If someone wants to toy with them and plant seed, that's what they should do.

If they don't want them around, they should tell them that and be consistent about it.

Will of the wisp is also an option if that expresses honest intent. Let the missionaries run the show.

I'm always nice to them . If its a hot day I give them bottles of water. I always tell them I no longer believe in the Mormon

church. They go along on their merry way. They are just kids
it doesn't bother me if they come back in a couple of years.

It's not that big of a deal to me.

You don't brag about fooling around with an RM?

elderolddog Wrote:
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> You don't brag about fooling around with an RM?


RM yeah, not current mishies.