I always think about converts to the Mormon church.Like the ones they approach on the street for example.Do these people ever think to themselves 'Gee,I never heard of this guy Joseph Smith before.Or Mormonism.That is strange since it apparently holds the keys to my salvation!'.


If it were me I would certainly wonder how I could not have heard of the one true church or Smith's visions before now?!


Very oddly I was on a local forum of my hometown for events taking place there etc. recently when someone started posting about Mormons.They said 'So it's summer time which means returns of the missionaries,anyone else seen them around town?'



I (rightly) got the impression that this person was a potential convert and they asked about missionaries moving around etc.


Anyway I basically told them that the missionaries are here year-round and said they transfer every now and then and that sometimes the area is whitewashed.I also said the church is a cult.


Firstly the potential convert had no idea what whitewashing(they thought it was to do with the priesthood ban lol) was and secondly they did NOT like the word cult being used.


I pointed out a few more bad points about the church and told them to read the CES letter etc. but it amazes me how people can make such a big decision based on such little knowledge.

I've never knowingly seen the term whitewashing before...

Definition, please???

Whitewashing is when an area gets all new missionaries.

see, usually there are an even number of missionaries, in pairs, in an area. At transfers, one or more missionaries will move out, and be replaced, but they join a companion who has been living in that area for a transfer or two. So the new companion is guided by the companion who has been there for awhile, and they continue with the investigators the in-place companion has.

So when you whitewash, the new mishies are starting from square one. Neither companion knows a darn thing about the new area, nor has any preexisting contacts or plans. It's like opening a new area for the new mishies.

I also suspect that it's an indictment of the mishies who were transferred out.

Thank you, Nevermo4 and EOD...now I understand!!!

:) :) :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2016 04:32PM by Tevai.

What baffles me is how anyone would consider for a moment converting to any religion (or make any big life changing move for that matter) without a thorough investigation. I wouldn't buy a car or even a bicycle without a little research.

Cults prey on those who are at confused, difficult and/or transitional points of life. They seems to offer answers to difficult questions.

My daughter converted at 18. She was in her first year of college, surrounded by Mormon friends, and lonely. She was a serious student; didn't drink, smoke, or do drugs. She fit in well with the Mormons. She said it made her happy. (She isn't a deep "what is the meaning of life" thinker.)

She married a great guy in the temple but insisted they wait to have kids until they had both finished their educations and had enough money to buy a home.


I'm sure that she would have left TSCC years ago but remains minimally active for her TBM BIC husband. She occasionally accepts a calling but insists that he not accept a time consuming calling so that he can be home to help with the kids; they don't hesitate to skip a Sunday when there is something better to do; she doesn't wear garments, not sure about him; they have a lot of non-Mormon friends that they frequently socialize with. It works for them.

Everyone gets their own special set of genes.

Everyone gets their own special environment to grow up in.

Everyone gets their own kind of nurturing--or not.

No two people are alike. And, that is why a sucker is born every minute in this world even though thousands of run of the mill people are born every minute and a few very special people are born every minute as well.

All men are not created equal but are each unique even though all should have equal rights.

The suckers are often found by the missionaries who are also suckers themselves.

The good news is, even suckers can break out of the mold and shine as bright as the noon day sun. All experience can be learned from. Our mistakes are not the enemy--stagnation is.


The other good news is, suckers are usually just people searching for something better and willing to take a chance. And, sometimes you have no way to know something is wrong for you unless you try it.

I have been a sucker.

Mormons lie to them and manipulate them into joining. Normal decent people don't expect clean cut polite people from a church of such evils. I blame mormons for the plight of converts. It's more fair to place blame where it's due which is on the liars, not those who are taken in by lies.

Blaming the victim is a mormon characteristic we need to guard against by using our own clear thinking and open eyes.

You've hit on why "converts" to the church largely come from less-developed nations now. The "convert" rates in the US, Europe, etc. and very, very low. Lower in fact than the number of members leaving in those areas.
All of the church convert "growth" is in places where people, sadly, tend to be less educated and have less access to information.

In our case, the religion appealed to our mother and family as a way to jointly focus our attention on something that would help us. In those days, early 60's, it was just another Christian Church in most respects, in Portland, OR.
It was important and useful for some of us for many years. Not everyone joined, and not everyone stayed active. Mother never wavered. It was her rock. I eventually saw through the story line and left many years later.
Religion serves a major purpose for many people and always has. It's a kind of glue that unites like minded people who naturally want some kind of "higher" law to give their life purpose and make sense of it all.

Religion is not about education, or knowledge,or intelligence. It's about an emotional attachment to a belief system that is more powerful and more easily sustained.

Mormonism, with its wondrous promise of life eternal and an instant circle of friendly faces, is what some people are searching for. Be they would-be-members or members, the social aspect of Mormonism is the main drawing card. I have TBM family members and friends that the Mormon socialization system fits like a glove. and they seem to not care in the least when people point out the church's inconsistencies and out-right lies.

These people will do no further research. Their needs are being met as they see the situation. This type of not thinking blows my mind, sometimes gets me angry, and always leaves me scratching my head.

I have had three good active tbm friends (one was my sister) ask why I left after 20 plus years of solid activity. I told them that if I were to tell them some of the things I have learned about the church and its history it would probably mean the end of their testimony. They all told me that if the church weren't true they didn't want to know.

If you truly believe something...its difficult to classify it as a lie if stated to another...id also say stating the best you know at the time then finding out its false later as not lying...lying would be knowing its bs and still spouting it as true to manipulate or take advantage...the fossils appear to know much of it is bs yet keep beating the drum to keep the ball rolling...these poor dam missionaries havent one dam clue about anything...if they lie its because they dont know any getter...i can excuse that...hell i believed it once too..nothing but sorrow for their plight...they know just enough to be toxic to anyone they talk to