You know, I remember not at all fondly of the same bit VTs and HTs always said at the end of their little lessons. That line was "...is there anything we can do for you?"

The last time I heard that line - about 5-7 years ago, a lightbulb clicked in my head. They are used to keep tabs on the people they teach for the bishop. Once I learned that I never did my teaching nor listened when they were at my family's home.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2018 01:53PM by lazylizard.

No one usually wants to go through the motions or actually offer specific help. Some of the visitors gossip about what they see and learn in people's homes like a messy living room, dishes in the sink, a coffee pot or a racy book or magazine on an end table.

My TBM mother always kept the living room in perfect order in case mormon gossips showed up. If she needed to call a repairman or housekeeping service she was careful to find a non-mormon to avoid being in the ward gossip mill.

No means no. They can't seem to grasp that concept. The VTs repeatedly came to my house unannounced at the same time I told them it would NOT work for me. Then I said I don't need you to come to my house anymore. The obliged, new ones were assigned.

I did have one HT who did seem sincere at the time. After he was released, never heard from him again.

They were annoying and always showed up at dinnertime, expecting to be invited in while the family's dinner got cold. One year on her birthday, they phoned just as she was about to blow out candles and open presents. They sang Happy Birthday and gushed on and on and she said, "This is not a time I want to talk to you. In fact, I am busy with my family now so hang up and I don't want any more visits or calls. Goodbye"

That was that.

But she kept her VTer for more than 20 years. The lady worked where sis did and they enjoyed each other. The lady brought my sister little gifts and took her out for lunch occasionally. Then the women got another job in real estate. My sister's son and his wife went house hunting with her and she was sly and as weasel at every turn. At the end, she tried to scam them out of $60,000. My sister's son's wife called the woman and told her she was dishonest and greedy and to never contact anyone in the family again.

That was that.

I have a friend who's wife had gone thru some major medical procedures and in our exchange of messages and support, I asked it there was anything I could do to help them out.

He replied, that yes, I could go over and paint his two-story house.

I replied back, since I've had some medical procedures because of combinations of me and stepladders, that I couldn't paint the house, but as a favor I told him I had just had a visit with some missionaries and they had offered to help.

Further, I had contacted the MP and the bishop that was in charge of the Mormon church near him, and that help was on it's way this weekend and all my friend had to do was provide the paint and materials and something for lunch.

My friend caught on to the joke because I said Mormon church, if I'd said Mormon Ward he would have bought the joke, hook line and sinker.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2018 02:14PM by tumwater.

It always made me wonder what the suits were thinking when they thought it was a good idea to have the HT and VT visit each other and give them the same "message" or "lesson" that they were going to give to THEIR families. Everyone already knew the drill and it just seems silly.

In all my time as a ward teacher I never gave a lesson.

Never received one either.

Guess my ward was unique.

Given technology's progress, and the plain as the schnozola on my face fact that ghawd knew it would be what it is, I cannot understand why the BEWARE (bishop's early warning awareness regular entreaties) program still has NOT been rolled out!

It's so simple! Every member's home in the ward gets an Amazon Echo which is programmed to record randomly during the first six days of the week and all day on Sunday.

The bishop and his counselors can also initiate wi-fi conversation via the Echo with members of the household. Never again will HTs or VTs need to darken the members' doorsteps, only to be ignored or lied to. The bishop will have the ghawd like power (as well he ought) to learn first hand what's going on, and to be able to dole out advice and, when needed, righteous condemnation.

Remember, what's the point of heaven if you can't force everyone to go?

You can teach the home all you want but if it won't learn, it won't learn.

I call them spies, because anything they saw would be reported back to the bishop. They're also the ones they send when you skip church to avoid spreading your cold or flu virus around the ward. To me, the HT/VT program is just another way the cult controls their members.

I didn't believe my best friend in the ward, when she said the HT's spy on members--especially divorced female members, like us.

So, I was aware, when my HT's dropped in, unannounced as usual, just before dinnertime. I always kept my living room nice, too. But one HT asked to use our phone, and I excused myself to go get it for him, to plug into the living room phone jack. He insisted that he wanted to use the phone in our kitchen. He went in there, and my kids told me that he took a good look around. He blew his nose, and asked where the trash was--we figured he was looking for wine bottles or coffee grounds or maybe cockroaches?

Meanwhile, the main HT had asked to use the bathroom, and I focused my attention onto him. I led him down the hall, as he peered into my children's rooms. I showed him the bathroom, then ducked into the next room, to listen through the wall, and I heard him open the medicine cabinet! The running water did not cover up the sound. He slowly and quietly opened a few drawers.

When everyone came back to the living room, I was furious, but I smiled and said, "I'm sure we passed inspection." I just thought I had peculiarly nosey home teachers. I was too stupid to realize this was cult policy.

If the Mormons trespassed into my privacy, in my own home, I felt I had a right to not let them into my house, in the first place. I set that boundary, and told the kids, and we never let them in again. "Now is not a good time." My kids liked for me to say, "We were just on our way out," and we would drive to the convenience store for a treat. LOL

Amy Sedaris says to fill your medicine cabinet with ball bearings before a party.

that's funny...

:)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2018 06:21AM by hello.

Holy cow, EX that is horrible! What is sad is my grandma and grandpa plus cousins, aunts and uncles would drop by unaanounced and then gossip about my family behind our backs - especially about mom and I. Turns out to my family (extended and imediate), I was considered the "pig" child. I haven't seen some cousins for years. I am HELLA PISSED at my brothers. I am thinking of disowning all of them. I am tired of their charade.

It is not about “teaching”

It is about getting their personnel inside the home to look for coffee cups, wine glasses, and literature from the Democratic Party.

I can verify that some of you are right on point. I was told by several deluded members that doing my assigned home teaching was a requirement to enter the celestial kingdom. And being the deluded member that I was, I did my best to get 100%. Imagine my surprise when I frequently surpassed most of my fellows; particularly HP's, BP, and other leaders of my ward. I was uncomfortable doing it, and felt like I was intruding into the families' private time.
The more I did, the more families were added to my list, and constantly changed out my companions. One day a particularly fanatical friend pulled me aside to ask me if I was doing my HT assignments properly. According to him one of the roles we had was to "sniff out sin". When I questioned this, he gave me a book to read that said basically, just that! I wish I could remember the name of the book or the author, but I can't. He had so many books on doctrine and the tenants of the religion.
Needless, to say my home teaching attendance plummeted after that.

Whenever my wife's HT or Mormon friends stop by, I will often pop open a beer or brew a cup of coffee and ask whether they would like one.

I'm not a member and have no obligation whatsoever to play by the church's rules. I'll be damned if I'm going to hide my beer or coffee in my own home.

If I offend them, then that's too darn bad. Maybe it will cut down the frequency and duration of their visits.

My last visiting teacher (2001) was a true Christian caring person. I knew that she had to have heard I resigned my membership so I didn't expect to hear from her again. And I was sad about that.

A few weeks later she called me and asked if she could still visit me when she does her VT-ing. Of her own volition she said that she would not leave me with a religious message, try to re-convert me or ask me personal questions. She said I was the highlight of her visiting teaching and she would just like to make sure we can get together with our busy schedules.

I was only in that ward about another 6 months, but she did visit me each month, brought me goodies, left me with a message specifically prepared for me about love or families or whatever and always let me know she was there if I needed any neighborly help. I knew she meant it too. I'm fighting back tears even writing this because I haven't thought about her in so long. She was the real deal.