My sister just told me that she's meeting "a Mormon prophet" tomorrow. She's involved in organizing activities related to World Interfaith Harmony week here in B.C. One of the women on the committee is a Mormon. I fell over in surprise when I first heard a while back that a Mormon woman was involved as the local Mormon church's representative for their religion. I wouldn't have thought they'd be interested in interfaith initiatives. Why would you be when you believe you're the only true church?

I can't find any info about which Mormon leader is visiting town. I don't think the Mormon lady told sis that it's *the* Mormon leader as she said to her that "we call all our leaders 'prophet'".

My sister is very assertive and has kind of a world-weary attitude in general. She's certainly not a pushover like I have been on past occasions. To my surprise, even though she really, really doesn't want to go, she has accepted the invite. At first she told the Mormon lady no because there's no transportation for her that early in the a.m. (She's a long way from the church site and has to travel by bus which doesn't run as early as she would need it to get to the location on time).

So this lady rang my sister back and told her that she'd pay for a taxi (estimated at $100.00 each way!!) so sis could attend.

I asked my sister if she could recognize a proselytizing attempt at 1000 paces and she said no - the whole point of interfaith is that you don't try to convert people to your particular faith but rather share your beliefs while respecting the fact that others have differing ideas.

Yeah, OK...

Why on earth would someone who isn't particularly a friend of yours in a social way pay for an expensive cab ride? Because they have a heart of gold?

Anyway, good luck to anybody trying to convert Sis in a New York hurry. I'd pay to see that actually.

But it doesn't mean I'm showing up there (besides, it's by invitation only to meet the Big Man). I may be a slow learner in some regards but I've certainly finally mastered the lesson about Mormonism and other hard sell proselytizing factions. The hard way but still - now I know better.

Anyway, it'll be interesting to get the rundown from my sister after she's met the big man. Or at least heard him speak. Whoever it is. My prediction is that she will be underwhelmed.

It's invitation only so for sure this Mormon lady is on the prowl I'd say. She's totally on the wrong track if she thinks my sister would join that church. I'd like to be a fly on the wall if she ever tried the hard sell on sis.

I wonder if it will turn out to be such a big deal that a "prophet" is in town that it will be covered by the media. Maybe in the small local paper?

I'll be super surprised if my sister is impressed at all by anything she encounters tomorrow. And she has to get up at dawn to get there on time. She's a lot more dedicated than I am, for sure. I love a Sunday lie-in.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2025 05:44PM by Nightingale.

That doesn't sound right. At. All.

Rusty is often touted as a "world religious leader."

And Krusty the Clown is considered a cultural icon.

GAs are business men running a religious business. They do not prophesy (they always miss), reveal anything new (no creativity), or seer. If you follow a "prophet", you are in a cult. The best thing to do is leave.

Sounds like some GA is going to be there. BTW, Mormons don’t call their GAs “prophet” when referring to them. It is either President Oaks, or Elder Oaks, for example, never Prophet Oaks.

Yes, they consider GAs to be prophets, but that is not the honorific they use when referring to a specific GA.

As for the $100 cab fare, isn’t there someone who could have offered her a ride? Or your sis could have offered to take the bus back home, when full bus service would be up and running. But hey, $100 billion.

There is even an interfaith council in SLC that LDS Inc participates in, so it is not as out of character as y’all seem to be thinking.

Turns out it was an Apostle, sis was told.

Unsurprisingly, she was underwhelmed by the talk. We didn't get into the details. I can well imagine the scene and don't need to know all the ins and outs.

She said "It wasn't as deadly boring as others I've been to" (at the Mormon church - I had NO CLUE she'd ever been before but apparently she has attended due to other interfaith initiatives - better her than me, that is for sure. She is not the type though to lose her head and join).

I laughed at her wry comment about the boring nature of Mo talks and meetings because I can certainly relate to that descriptor.

I'm still surprised to think of the Mormons participating as I never got a hint while I was there that they believed in interfaith initiatives. But I guess they want to be part of the crowd. Understandable.

Re getting a ride or taking the bus: Sis is in a big huge wheelchair that doesn't fold up, neither can she bend or move easily or walk more than a step or two so she can't get into a regular car. Re the bus: The location of the church is far away from her home - it would take a long time to get there by bus, if there was even a bus on that route on a Sunday. Too, it started early (for her) in the a.m. so she would have had to be up before dawn.

She has to pre-order wheelchair-accessible taxis, which are not always instantly available, if at all, especially on a weekend.

So transport is a bit of a challenge for her (understatement).

I'm kind of amazed she would bother attending. Too bad so much effort is expended only for it to turn out the way I knew it would: Not inspiring.


(Edited to remove the IRL name I had included. No point in naming the speaker).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2025 10:11PM by Nightingale.

Update: So the Mormon lady didn't fork over for the cab.

I did.

Colour me surprised - because - sheesh.

Please tell me you are kidding.

Sorry. I cannot tell a lie.

My sister's summation of the occasion:

"Sunday was a waste of my life".

I think she meant day but in frustration it felt like 'life'.

I'm sorry she wasted her time but now she knows.

I know this sounds a bit off, but Mormons tend to focus on people who they see as vulnerable in some way, consciously or not. The wheel chair situation raises an additional flag for me.

Interfaith world harmony council organization membership or not, I wonder if the other people in the group got the same "invitation," pressure, friendly salesmanship, and encouragement to attend.

I'm wondering if she didn't show enough potential interest once there, so they cut her loose to get home alone on her own dime. They keep investing in potential converts until they see the investment won't pay off.

Sorry, this is so cynical and that you ended up having to pay.

Thanks, dagny. Isn't it too bad to always have to be on guard and cynical when it comes to them. I think you are quite likely right in many cases when people are fulfilling the imperative to proselytize.

However, Sis may appear to people at first glance to be lacking in some way due to the chair but her fiery spirit and obvious contributions and accomplishments soon dispel that notion.

I think this Mormon lady would likely have to know, from seeing Sis around for years (they both participate in the same types of community activities at the organizational level) that she is not the least bit vulnerable. She speaks her mind so vociferously and so often, and with experience, training and know-how to back it up, that it would be obvious she's no pushover. In fact, I often try to shush her myself because I much prefer the softly softly approach, whatever the situation but as I say she's a mountain (not for moving) when she's made up her mind about something and always feels compelled to share her (learned) opinion.

In particular, they have both been involved in interfaith activities for years and know each other quite well (not socially though). I would laugh if I saw anybody at all trying to browbeat my sister because they would assuredly come out with the worst in any contest of wills.

I've told her about the ever-present underlying motive to convert and she says there's no way in her case and in fact, she welcomes this lady to try it! (I would not recommend doing so as there is zero chance of success and a 100% guarantee that my sister could strike down any religious arguments this Mormon lady may come up with so it would be nothing but a complete waste of everybody's time).

I would think that even this overbearing woman has known for a very long time that she may as well save her breath because my sister's not for converting.

Re the $$$, my sister will pay me back. She was just stuck a long way from home after the meeting and the promise of a paid ride was welcome. That does not increase my appreciation level for Mormons. I realize that one woman is not all Mormons but as she's representing them I think she could have acted in a more helpful way. And - don't make promises you promptly forget about or don't intend to honour.

I will retract my negative opinion if she coughs up the $$$ at some point. For now, I will give her the grace that maybe she was busy and/or just forgot in the moment. But it took me a whole day to get to the point where I can, maybe, only just, do so. Because...triggers sometimes pop up, don't they.

(PS: I edited a few sentences after the fact for no good reason really but I'm a bit OCD that way. Nothing materially changed with the text so why...).



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/2025 08:39PM by Nightingale.

Thanks for the additional information. She sounds like a great person. I think you both are lucky to have each other around!

Well Dagny, I think this mormon woman wanted Sis there because she has a bit of a high profile in the community. I think she sees her as the proverbial feather in her cap. In this instance I am not sure conversion is the main point, she just wanted to trot her out like the prize turkey at the county fair.

Yeah, that tracks.
You're probably right.

"Prize turkey". ROFL

They're kind of stuck with each other as they both have positions in the same community initiative.

I know I shouldn't use one person to paint all Mormons as completely clueless and annoying as well (make that 'hell' actually) but in this case I am feeling some of my sister's annoyance with her, not altogether about the $$$ but just her general ways of being. Maybe she can't help herself but that sliver of some leeway towards her doesn't really go far. If I were involved myself I definitely would have to quit the committee at a certain point as it would just get too frustrating to have to deal with her. Not just because she's Mormon. I think I said that they're not all or even most as frankly annoying as she is. It's her personality I'd say and not only her Mormonism.

But then I start to feel sorry for the Mormon lady because likely she thinks she's doing great things in the community and doesn't realize that others aren't all that thrilled to have to work with her.

I hope the Sunday talk was fabulous for her, although not for my sister and perhaps some of the nevermos there.

This lady persisted in referring to the guest speaker as "a prophet" and I tried to recall the church's pecking order to explain it to my sister. This lady had already told her that all the leaders are prophets but only the head guy is actually called 'Prophet' (big paraphrase from me).

All righty then...

Whichever way, colour Sis not impressed. I give this lady approximately zero chances in hell, as I said, of convincing Sis to attend an actual Mormon Sunday meeting. I'd pay to see her there actually. But doing so would mean me also attending.

So, that's a not in snowball's chance then. :)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/2025 08:53PM by Nightingale.

So I said I'd come back if the Mormon lady paid my sister's taxi fare. And. She did!

So, she did keep her word after all. I'm just keeping the record straight.

Colour me a little surprised. But it turned out well after all.

Was it cheaper than admission to the Hogle Zoo? The latter has a wider variety of exhibits but involves a lot more walking.

I'm glad. She shouldn't have had to pay for that!