Posted by:
CrispingPin
(
)
Date: April 13, 2019 07:58PM
Recently, I spent a few days in St. George, Utah. There were a couple of days when I had a few hours without any specific plans, so I decided to see some Mormon historic sites (I know-I’m a glutton for punishment). My “tour guides” for both stops were male senior missionaries. I didn’t reveal that I had been LDS, and I didn’t ask any questions
The first place I visited was the St. George Tabernacle. The senior missionary who spoke to me (and two other people who wandered in) seemed to struggle with his presentation. He obviously appeared to go to great lengths to avoid using the term “Mormon” (he only said it when referring to the Book of Mormon). His tone of voice was dull, and his narrative was very disjointed. He seemed to frequently try to lump Latter-day Saints with Protestants, though it was often difficult to discern what points he was trying to make. When someone asked him about the temple, he tried to explain vicarious ordinances by saying that all of us will meet Jesus when we die, and those who didn’t get a chance to accept the gospel in this life will have their work done by people in the temple. The “everyone will meet Jesus immediately when they die” didn’t seem to be doctrinal, but…whatever. He did present a few interesting historical facts, in a non-interesting kind of way. His wife was speaking to a different small group. I noticed the fact that she was wearing slacks, rather than a dress or skirt.
On a different day, I visited Brigham Young’s winter house. The senior elder who guided me that day was pleasant, personable, and a much better presenter than the missionary at the tabernacle. I had to bite my lips a bit when he told our group that Joseph Smith had been in jail on “trumped up” charges when he was martyred. I guess I can’t blame him: I parroted that line quite a few times myself.
I feel bad for the senior missionary couples I saw. If they’re retired and have the means to pay their own way on a mission, they could be doing something constructive (teaching, mentoring, volunteering) and/or having fun (travelling the world or pursuing new hobbies). Instead, they’re spending healthy golden years trying to sell a product with few (if any) customers.