My neighbor has invited me to his after party for the blessing of his first grandkid on Sunday.

My wife and I were talking about him and how him and his wife no longer accept our invites or invite us to hang out.

I mentioned that his calling me could have been what he is supposed to do as our home teacher. I was corrected. He is our "minister."

I did not know that now I have a minister?


One of these?

https://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon288.htm

I'd feel uncomfortable with someone assigned to minister to me. I'm sure I'd tell them "No, thanks" unless we had already established friendship and rsspect.

Thanks for your reply Cheryl. I hope your hip and you are doing better.

When they moved to my neighborhood their daughter with their first grandkid was in the 6th Grade. we formed a friendship that seemed to last beyond their attempts at getting me back to church which were half-hearted at best.

I think that his wife doesn't like that our kids have gone to college and on a mission and theirs got married and reproduced. Just a guess. They are not over the top Mormons and Mormonism rarely comes up. He didn't even mention it in the call.

I'm curious--what was your reply to this person?

It seems to me, that he admitted he was calling you because that was what he was supposed to do as your "Minister".

Did you accept his invitation?

exminion Wrote:
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> I'm curious--what was your reply to this person?

I asked him if he wanted me in their prayer circle and he laughed. He knows I wouldn't go to church unless my wife or kids were singing. No other reason.

> It seems to me, that he admitted he was calling
> you because that was what he was supposed to do as
> your "Minister".

Nah, I know he was interested in getting info about the latest in my family. We're friends first. We are growing apart. I've not talked to him since October.

> Did you accept his invitation?

Yes. His wife is a very good cook. ;)

I think to anything this "minister" says you should reply like Adam to the Protestant minister in the old version of the temple ceremony:

"I cannot comprehend such a (thing)."

Or:

"I do not believe in any such (thing)."


If they're old enough, they might get it.

Tyson

Tyson Dunn (not logged in) Wrote:
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> If they're old enough, they might get it.

They wouldn't. LOL!

Tyson Dunn (not logged in) Wrote:
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> I think to anything this "minister" says you
> should reply like Adam to the Protestant minister
> in the old version of the temple ceremony:
>
> "I cannot comprehend such a (thing)."
>
> Or:
>
> "I do not believe in any such (thing)."
>
>
> If they're old enough, they might get it.
>
> Tyson

Have to be rather old and have a very good memory. They removed
that stuff almost 29 years ago.

it's the same thing with visiting teachers. My sister mentioned she had to go to a ministering meeting with some of the other gals in the ward. It just sounds....pretentious or something. All this "ministering" seems to be a clamp down from when it was "visiting".

I happened to run into one of my neighbors while running errands down town. He informed me that he was assigned as my minister. That was about four months ago and I haven't seen him since.
So far the ministering thing is working ok for me.

WIN !

I pick my minister, my minister doesn’t pick me.
Mormons obviously don’t understand ministry OR agency.

Well they think voting is something one does to sustain an already made decision or thank someone.

I wrote the bishop a note about having RESIGNED. He told me he will make sure people stop bugging us.

Wonder if now they throw all the resigned & ex-communicated into the "dismembered" (broken toy) pile? Might look better for their numbers?

Careful!! If they start ministering to you, there are likely to be tender mercies in the mix somewhere. <shiver>

"If you see someone walking toward you with the obvious intention of doing you good, run for your life."
- Henry David Thoreau

It all sounds a little condescending to me. If someone told me that they were assigned to minister to me, I would have to decline their visit and in this case, decline their invitation to their home.

When my wife and I left the Church, we had what I call an "all in or all out" philosophy. We choose to be "all out"and were later excommunicated. We did not want the home teachers or any Church officials showing up on our doorstep. We have always been happy with that decision.

I hope I don't come off rude because that isn't my intent. I just want to ask why you are here if you are all in or all out?

No, you don't come off as rude. We are "all out" in terms of any Church activity or contacts with Church members as related to any Church activities or business. I do not log on to this site very often, but as I can see from other posts, many of us (including me) are interested in where the Church is headed, i.e., when or if it is going to implode. Thus, I'm curious on what is happening in the Church and log in from time to time.

By the way, I do respect all of the opinions of people who post here as I have not walked in their shoes, nor am I in their shoes now. But, for us when we left - we left - never to darken the doors of the Church again and that has been over 30 years.

That doesn't mean that I'm not interested in what is going on within the Church and will read articles I see about the Church from various sources.

GULLWINGSSG SAID: "I hope I don't come off rude because that isn't my intent. I just want to ask why you are here if you are all in or all out?"

MY RESPONSE: It could be you meant this in a humorous way. If that is the case I will apologize in advance for being dense and taking your question literally.

Everyone's journey is different. Many of us chose the "all out" option when we left. There are multiple reasons we are "here."

When you believed in the LDS Church and built your whole life around it then come to the conclusion it is not "true" after all it can be pretty traumatic! Sometimes family members & lifelong "friends" no longer want to associate with you after you leave. It takes time to re-format your brain and build a new life, You might feel all alone for a while. It really helps to have other people to laugh, cry, and chat with that can relate to each other. For instance, when you've been wearing garments for 30 years and then have to learn how to shop for regular adult underwear it's a REALLY weird feeling. Try discussing that with your LDS or non-LDS friends and family!

For those of us who have mostly LDS family, neighbors, co-workers & friends it helps to know what is "going on" in the LDS Church. (They usually don't say much to me about it!)

I did not think your comment was rude, but was honestly puzzled by it! Sort of like if an alcoholic got up in a AA meeting and announced they had quite drinking cold turkey one week ago. I can't imagine anyone saying "If you quite then why why are you here?"

“Hi, I’ve been assigned to be your minister. I’m here to fix you.”

you should have this playing every time your "minister" stops by.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9XDUBDMNuk

Funny. My R.S. teacher, is now my Minister. (We both laughed about the new name--no pun intended.)

What a difference a day makes....

Nothing hurts quite like learning that that person you thought was reaching out to you as a friend was assigned to do so.

To know that they would never do so unless obligated to do so by their sense of duty.

I'd rather you not. You are wasting your time and my time.

No kidding! We have probably all experienced being invited over to someone's house for dinner only to be blind-sided by an MLM pitch after dinner. (Or is that just a Utah thing?)

I believe it is a Mormon thing. We kind of regularly get invited by Mormon newbies to the ward and others feeling guilty to dinner and it is just a pitch to minister to us but mostly me.

Not just a mormon thing. I've been pitched MLM schemes several timez by never mormons in several different states.

I think the common thread is MLM whether a church or a business, they use the same play book.

True.

There playbook includes this.

https://www.ldsfreedomforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=28512

So they have more faith in a marketing tool then their holy ghost.

It's going to take them some time for the LDS members and everyone else to figure out what they want "ministering" to mean.

I hear this term here in the South a lot. When Christian coworkers use this word, from context, I take it that they mean they are doing some church related charity or service or basically spreading Jesus (Word/Bible) crap somewhere.


I think Mormons are trying to morph into similar evangelical terminology.

As per usual, MORMONDOM has hijacked and redefined words in a manner so as to misrepresent reality.


MINISTER noun
min·​is·​ter | \ ˈmi-nə-stər

Definition of minister (Entry 1 of 2)

1 : agent
//the angels are ministers of the divine will

— H. P. Liddon

2a : one officiating or assisting the officiant in church worship

b : a clergyman or clergywoman especially of a Protestant communion

3a : the superior (see superior entry 2 sense 1) of one of several religious orders
— called also minister-general

b : the assistant to the rector or the bursar of a Jesuit house

4 : a high officer of state entrusted with the management of a division of governmental activities
//the British Minister of Defence

5a : a diplomatic representative (such as an ambassador) accredited to the court (see court entry 1 sense 1c) or seat of government of a foreign state

b : a diplomatic representative ranking below an ambassador

At least 18 year old “Elder” makes some sense. At that age, they know everything. “Minister” implies some kind of credentials. I guess the temple endowment beats any divinity school.

Agree that the term implies some kind of credentials, and for me, it also implies I am in need of something unbeknownst to me and this here "minister" is assigned to bring it to me. Not that I ever asked for it or wanted it or knew I needed it.

So, someone makes a call declaring that they are from THE Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (uh, what church is that?) AND they would like to come minister to me, I then would ask what southern state they were from and why exactly me and how they got my number.

That was disappointing. I thought you mean't someone had left the mormons and had become a Methodist (for example) minister

LOL! Those trickstie Mormonsies always stealing words for their own crazy.

that's what I think of...

Ministers of The Dense.

Ministers of The Dissonance.

John Cleese protrayed an employee of the Ministry of Silly Walks in fine form...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3UGk9QhoIw

Just stand your ground. When they come over, leave the room. When they bare their testimony, respond in force. And don't stop if it gets awkward. Finally my Mom stopped when I consistently said "you brought this up, and now I will respond, and I will respond FULLY." Don't let them share their view for a few minutes and say "I'm getting uncomfortable." They know that if they bring it up, and I will fully and entirely respond. Now they are far more careful to bring things up. No yelling, no arguing, but no holding back for people's feelings. He will stop, trust me. But when he comes over, just leave the room, he will get the message.