Yesterday, someone posted about mishies coming to the door to track down a former mormon who once lived at that address.

A couple of days ago someone posted about a RS directing the VTers to spy on an inactive "sister" after gaining access to her home.

I often read about how gossip is a regular part of PEC meetings where coercive plans are set in motion which target anyone who doesn't fulfill the mormon image.

Many times people post about how their ward members or TBM families enlist the help of missionaries and local mormons to stalk and harass people who want to be left alone.

It's common for RfM posters to receive phone calls from unidentified elderly missionaries who are tracking down former mormons and trying to set up reactivation programs for them.

In some wards members are encouraged to inform on friends and family so that the bish and others can intercede to "help" them.

Sometimes inactives receive anonymous mormon notes, treats, invitations, and notices on their doorsteps. These mormons are either ashamed of their tactics or they're uneasy about how these targeted people would react to random uninvited contact.

This kind of detective/surveilance work becomes more pronounced at BYU and works at a fever pitch among missionaries.

These kinds of activities bother me as being reminiscent of the KGB. I suggest that if mormons try to use us in these little detective manipulation schemes, that we can say no.

"I don't believe in spying on or informing on neighbors."

"You're hunting down whom? Good grief! Don't you think if she wanted to be in your church, she would still be there?"

"You want me to give out someone's personal information to a stranger on the telephone? No, I'm not doing that. Goodbye."

"If I'm to be her VTer, I think it's only fair that I treat her the same way as I want my friends to treat me. I won't inform on her."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2010 12:57PM by Cheryl.

"If I want to participate in a church I will look one up in the telephone book or on line. Don't need your help, thanks."

with Home Teachers and Visiting Teachers. I thought they were an arm of the Mormon KGB.

I even told my RS President that I didn't consider Home Teachers or Visiting Teachers my friends. You don't asign friends. I want friends because they are my friends not because they are assigned to be my friends.

That went over like a led balloon.

She hates the idea that they'll gossip about the quality of her furnishings or her housekeeping.

She always takes pains to decorate and keep the living room looking perfect and doesn't invite mormons into other areas of the house.

When she's needed home repairs, nursing, or house cleaning services, she has always tried to hire non-mormons who won't be talking about her in RS or around the bishop.

They do it to current members too...I had the misfortune of watching another priest in my quorum spy on some kids from his previous ward. I feel terrible about not trying to get him to stop and now he's playing white-knight with them. Trying to keep up the good Mormon image is like trying to maintain your cover in a drug cartel; and I'm certainly not up to that task anymore.

I am not mormon but my girlfriend is. I am an atheist and loving every second of it. Don't ask me how my relationship works but it's great.

You start noticing a theme with mormons and not all because I have met some very nice ones. But, bigot comes to mind as a general theme. Racism and hate for other religions is widespread. They are one of the few groups I found that can actually say love everyone and in the same breath hate everyone whos different.

As for the stalking part I can say that is so true. My girlfriend stopped going to the church years ago and we still get door-knockers, phone calls and letters (hand written even). We figure it's only wasting time and money so it doesn't bother us. Actually I use it to show my theory about religion in general. First they want your brain, then your money, then your kids. wow!!! that got long. sorry.

employed 25% of the population to spy on the other 75%.
It seems that the LDS are doing the same thing...

the brethren would really like to have 100% of the membership spying on each other.

I sat in those counsel meetings when I was in different Presidencies (Primary - RS). Even the nicest members, without giving it a second though, were absolutely catty to inactives and completely insensitive to non-members. Saying how sorry they felt for the children, calling boys who didn't participate in scouts "the lost ones", asking us to visit nursery aged children who's parents didn't attend church, trying to figure out how to drop off cookies at the house of someone "hard to contact" without even stopping to think that maybe we should take a hint and back off.

Looking back, it was outrageous behavior. But it was accepted and applauded in the counsels of Mormonism.

Can someone explain the concept of Visiting Teachers to me?

One downside is that women are expected to inform on each other if they see signs that anyone isn't living the gospel or striving to keep up a proper image of mormonism.

Women have very little real power in the morg, so they tend to overuse what little they have. This makes many of them catty and manipulative. They thrive on the attention they get from gossip and from acting "concerned" about minor infractions and flaws in their neighbors.

These stories make me think of my DH TBM grandmother. She often gets treats brought to her, not because she doesn't go to church, but because she is old and a widow. I'm sure they have a policy about that kind of thing. Anyway, whenever she doesn't like the treat that she was given she will pick it apart in several different napkins, so it looks like she ate it, wrap it up in different plastic bags, then bury it in the bottom of her outside garbage, on garbage day, then she will call one of her GK to tell them the garbage HAS TO go out today. One morning, she called one of the GK, who had just had a baby, at 7am to come take out the garbage, so GK drags herslef and baby down to GM's house pulls the garbage to the curb, she notices how light it is so she lifts the lid and there is one tiny wal-mart sack, and that's it. So GK calls GM to tell her there was no need to take out the garbage and GM says that it needed to go out b/c she got a muffin from a neighbor, and she didn't like it so she didn't want them to know she didn't like it so the garbage needed to go out incase they looked in it! I always laugh about it but it makes me wonder if mormons do this kind of thing when they spy? Maybe GM knows this is common practice after 80+ years in the church?

I've had a lot of experience in this department. I don't really mind the people I know are decent (and I do know some--I live in a not rich mormon area and a lot of them are actually different from the typical mormons)--so when they bring me treats or stop by to talk, I don't mind, but there are those who are very obnoxious.

My last VT (who died 3-1/2 years ago)--I only allowed her to come visit me in my last years of any association with the church. She was the only one in the ward who had my phone number and she wouldn't even give it to my HT (who was a previous SP). She got angry at her husband when he'd come home and talk about how they had talked about me in bishopric meeting.

I am a very private person for all intents and purposes--and people didn't even know my ex had left for 2 years after he did because I keep to myself. The only info they had on me is that I would go out and walk at night--so that is what they discussed in bishopric meeting. My VT told her husband--"Now you know why she walks at night--so you guys won't see her."

Nowadays, I flaunt my life. I'm sure the neighbors get a lot of mileage out of it . . . I'm laughing wickedly right now. (My gay ex lives there, too.)