The mormon church wrongly says that soliciting is a synonym for selling something.

NO, NOT CORRECT.

Think about it. We've all heard about polititians who go out to solicit campaign funds and votes.

A solicitor can seek finacial support or signitures. They can solicit friendship, goodwill, donations, or public acclaim.

Solicitors might only want to organize a neighborhood watch program. They could be trying to encourage neighbors to put out flags on veterans day or give support for a program to bring in garbage cans the minute they're emptied.

OR a solicitor might be selling vacuum cleaners or home security systems.

What do morg mishies do? They solicit interest in their church and sometimes are able to solicit new members who will tithe and give free services to the mormon church.

Soliciting means trying to push an agenda and get something from people who wouldn't have given without this effort.

That's what missionaries do. They solicit. Mormon missionaries are door to door solicitors.

No soliciting signs include mormons and mormons are silly headed not to realize the obvious.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2011 10:12PM by Cheryl.

Free Online Dictionary defines soliciting:

so·lic·it (s-lst)
v. so·lic·it·ed, so·lic·it·ing, so·lic·its
v.tr.
1. To seek to obtain by persuasion, entreaty, or formal application: a candidate who solicited votes among the factory workers.
2. To petition persistently; importune: solicited the neighbors for donations.
3. To entice or incite to evil or illegal action.
4. To approach or accost (a person) with an offer of sexual services.

In other words, they are soliciting members for their church. Personally, I also think they are selling eternal salvation for 10 percent of your gross income but by whatever definition, Mormon missionaries are soliciting. No doubt about it.

My gate sign now reads:

NO DOOR TO DOOR SALES OR RELIGIONS!

It's been a year and only 1 teenaged peddler rang the bell...

Even devoted TBMs report their missionary training was language and sales training.

Anagrammy

When Mishies came to my door a couple of months ago I told them I thought I should hang a 'no soliciting' sign on the door. The one guy said that it wouldn't stop them from knocking because they weren't soliciting. I told them that in fact they were soliciting; they were hoping to convert me to their church wherein I'd be convinced to pay 10% of my wages to obtain a temple recommend which would grant me entry to the temple where I'd be able to gain eternal life. (Whew, what a run-on sentence.) I told them they were selling Mormonism and they denied it stating they were sharing the word of the Lord. Additionally, they said a 'no soliciting' sign wouldn't stop them from knocking. Not even a 'no missionaries' sign. My job dropped upon hearing this. The missionary said, "You never know when someone will have a change of heart."

I told him of my 'change of heart' and that for 7 and 8 generations on both me and my husband's sides of the family Mormonism had been the dominant religion. My husband's great aunt was Brigham Young's second wife. But the sh!t stops now with us and our kids!

I can't believe those missionaries. Well, I believe they think it but can't believe they were so classless and boorish to admit it, right out loud like that. This is why people outside the church don't respect Mormons - why the church is such a hillbilly religion. Most people don't know and don't care what Mormons believe but they know what they see...a bunch of ill bred, low class people letting their freak flag fly and honestly puzzled that their particular brand of rude, arrogant weirdness doesn't appeal to decent people.

OMG that is toooooo funny!! :)

CA girl wrote

"I can't believe those missionaries."

Me neither.

NO is the word mormons don't understand.

And as CA girl pointed out, that's why so many people see mormons as low class from a freak hillbilly religion.

So selling snake oil isn't soliciting?

Local laws where I was from and where I managed large aprtment communties, legally defined proselytizing as not soliciting, the exemption is there because strong church lobbies helped make it that way. Churches can get permits to proselytize from the town hall/city manager, that they are supposed to produce whenever asked. I think the fee was $3 and all they had to do was sign a form kept on file in their name that said they were a non profit, tax exempt org named X church. And no one to my knowledge checked them out afterwrads, they just took their money and filed the form.

We had signs posted everywhere saying no soliciting, private property, but police I had to call a few times would only remove the salespeople, not the church people. Not until we got a fence and gate and required that they buzz the office to get in. After that, then if they were not invited, but got in anyway, they were trespassing and could be removed.

But if a private homeowner/landowner puts up a sign that says "No soliciting, No proselytizing" at the street or driveway, and they have no gate or fence to keep people out; can mishies come up on their lawn, up the drive, or on their stoop and ring their doorbell, anyway? If told to leave by the homeowner, do they have to go immediately? If the homeowner calls the police, can the police do anything but tell them to go? And how far do they have to go---to the sidewalk or street only?

Anyone know?

However, because I made a complaint to the police specifically against mormons, the chief has said he'd send an arresting officer if mormons bother me on my property.

I don't have a sign. But I would think that a No Soliciting sign would mean that mormon missionaries could be arrested for criminal trespass if the violate private property. That's what happens to nonmo religious solicitors in Temple Square.

Invited guests and deliveries only.
Try that.

Interesting...so Mormons don't want other religions soliciting on Temple Square. One could use that info to define no soliciting on their property.

That goes for close friends and family as well. I need more alone time than most people, and I tend to have a lot of side projects going on at once; At least give me a warning text.

It seems like TSCC members and mishies drop in at the worst times- during dinner, during a good movie or favourite show, or right in the middle of working on a delicate and tempermental dish. I know I don't HAVE to answer the door, but I'm one of those people who worries it could be a person in trouble.

If I get one more visit from the mishies or the local ward, a sign is going up. I shouldn't have to tell them more than twice I have no interest in their cult. It's rude to expect a stranger to drop what he or she is doing to listen a "message from god."

just asking/sayin!! :)

I'm sure part of the missionary thinking goes something like this:
When I die and on my say to the CK, I don't want someone to ask, "Why did you walk past my door even if I had a "No Solicitors" sign on it? If you had stopped and taught me the gospel then, I would have had the truth and been much happier for the rest of my life. Instead, I had to wait until I died to hear the gospel." I don't want to live with the guilt that I could have saved them sooner, so I'm going to bug them whether they want it or not.

It doesn't matter if local laws on no soliting includes religious salesmen or not.

It only matters that a renter or property owner is designating who can enter the property. If a mormon has reasonable evidence that they are UNWelcome, they are in criminal violation of trespass laws if they do not comply.

Mormons get away with breaking the law because no one usually calls them on it. Well, in my case, I will have them prosecuted and jailed if possible. There could be others like me anywhere, so mormons need to get a clue.

Today, I spoke with two Mormons who were going to door-to-door about preaching the gospel. I stated that they needed a permit through the City of Allen, but they refused to listen and argue about the issue. I told them that I do not have a problem with them going door-to-door, but you have to complete an application and have a background check done at the police station. They did not believe, and I called the police to have them stop. So, the police came by and talked with the Mormoms. At the end, they were force to leave and get the required permit to solicit in our neighborhood. The problem I have is anyone can pretend and buglarised a house. I'm only protecting my neighborhood and preventing this from happening in the future.

Good for you!

I recently came across this article and read your statements. I'm not part of a mormon church, however I have utilized door knocking and canvassing venues for long past employment and have had to read municipal ordinances prior to the task.

The thing I noticed in reviewing multiple code of ordinances listings for various communities, lawmakers spell out definitions and regulations for three primary categories: Solicitors, Canvassors and Peddlers. Some communities will also use Itinerate Merchandisers (which are typically solicitors from stands, such as the ice cream truck). The specifics for a legal definition of a solicitor is determined by each community, which may slightly vary by municipality but consistent. The mormon church visitor you encountered is actually correct when it comes to the legal definition because the verbage in most code of ordinances clearly does not include religious venues; such activity falls under the category "canvassing."

As far as a mormon church (or any religious canvassor) being mandated to abide by a "NO SOLICITING" sign varies by municipality. Most municipalities mandate all door knockers abide by such posting, while some may limit types of people, businesses, etc to such regulation. The best thing to do is to call your city clerk's office to find out whether the "NO SOLICITING sign applies to "Religious Canvassors."

Another fact regarding religious canvassors is that most communities require door knockers to obtain a permit. Such ordiances will also list Exemptions. Religious canvassors are part of that exemtion list since a Federal Court ruled against government entities requiring permits for religious canvassing. Such legal exemptions may create a 'loophole' for a church to be able to knock on your door unless the law has been carefully examined by a city attorney (for correct wording) prior to being presented to a city counsel for a final vote. Sometimes a city may exempt canvassors from the NO SOLICITING posting because political candidates going door to door are also canvassors and they will ensure they can get their way in the name of bi-partisanism.

My wife thinks I'm rude. I have no guilt about slamming the door in people's faces of hanging the phone up on them. She thinks I owe it to them to at least say something. Why? I think it's short, sweet and to the point to say nothing. Just close the door.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/2013 04:52PM by rationalguy.

However, each of us has a right to ban anyone we choose from entering out property. So if someone doesn't want local mormons or mishies on their porch, they are trespassors and can be arrested if they don't comply.

You'd think with all that "missionary training" there'd be room in there somewhere to be taught what no soliciting means!

I think there is training on what it means, and the training teaches them that it doesn't apply to them.

In the past, I've made signs specifically saying "NO RELIGIOUS SOLICITATION OR PROSELYTING" - they still knocked. When I pointed out the sign, they smugly told me that it didn't apply to them. It was the first and so far only time I've ever slammed the door in someones face.

What persistent missionaries (those who ignore door signs) don't realize is that they may be seriously disturbing or inconveniencing someone by knocking on their door. Last year when I was on crutches for several months it was a major undertaking to get to the phone or the door. You can imagine my fury when the interruption was for a solicitation. People might be sick, or resting or sleeping (especially if they work the graveyard shift,) they might be suffering from a migraine where any bright light or noise is agony, or they might have a hundred different reasons why they don't want to have to respond to random strangers. To ignore specific requests for privacy is both rude and insensitive.

This. When I first went inactive, my grandparents were still alive and living at home. My grandfather was starting to get really bad due to Alzheimer's. One day the missionaries had their mind made up that they were going to get in contact with me (even though I had left very specific instructions that I did NOT want to be bothered). They came over late in the evening, after my grandma had FINALLY got my grandpa settled into bed, and started going to town on the doorbell - I'm talking rapid-fire, non-stop ringing. I was properly pissed when I got to the door. Even after I explained why I was pissed, they didn't seem to see any wrong in what they had done. They were on the Lord's errand, afterall.

I don't give a rat's ass what the local codes say...

When I put up a fuggin sign that reads:


NO DOOR TO DOOR SALES OR RELIGIONS !!!

I mean peddlers, solicitors, politicians, canvassors, sales, and any other fuggin trespassers...

This sign would exempt NOBODY but invited guests...

Breedum F. Yung

My never-Mo dad has a sign on his door that says "If you are selling something or want to talk about Jesus, don't ring the bell unless you have an appointment." Missionaries still rang his bell - their justification was that they didn't want to talk about Jesus, they wanted to talk about Living Profits.

I requested my Homeowners Association place an "ABSOLUTELY NO SOLICITING" sign at the entrance of the subdivision. Hence, no Missionaries for YEARS.

My MP told us on the first day to obey the no soliciting signs/no trespassing/no salespeople signs on peoples doors. I went to Mississippi/Louisiana/Arkansas. If you ignore the signs in many areas there you may be greeted with a double barreled surprise at the door.