Posted by:
rowan
(
)
Date: February 15, 2012 12:59PM
I have this sign on the window inset of my front door.
STOP
Please read before knocking...
1. Do not knock if you are trying to sell me something. I have a house full of things that I can sell to you.
2. Do not knock if you are wanting to share your religion with me. Do not leave your "love gifts' or printed information.
3. Do not knock if you are a Republician wanting my vote. I am a Democrat, and I want yours.
4. Do not knock if you want a donation. I have my own charities that I support, and I will expect you to donate generously to all of them.
5. I consider people who drop in without calling first to be RUDE, PUSHY, and INTRUSIVE. Therefore, I treat them the way they deserve.
I know that my sign did not answer your question. I had to come up with the sign because no matter how I tried to explain how I felt, there was always the next "new" VT or HT knocking at my door, or leaving a "love gift" on my doorstep for me to trip over and fall.
My sign did stop the salespeople, and the Republicians, but it did not stop the HTs. It took my NeverMo husband telling them that they were "an unwelcome nuisance and to not come back" to stop them. That is because his sex organs were on the outside not the inside like mine!
Now that I have vented, I think a TBM who has brought you cookies to friendship is behaving dishonestly. How can you deal with a dishonest person? As long as they are TBM they will act, behave, believe, etc like a TBM. You can not reason with a TBM. If they had reason about them, they would not be TBM. Yes, they may be sweet, kind, but they are TBM bringing you cookies. Why arn't they taking the cookies to your Baptist neighbor? Because the Baptist neighbor is not on their list...you are! They are fulfilling their calling; their duty to the church and the Lord.
You could say, "It really hurts me deeply that you of all people would offer me false friendship and these cookies to try to manipulate me back into a religion which I believe with all my heart is false and based on the lies of a womanizing child-raping monster. How could you be so cruel to me?" Look sad and quietly close the door.
While this might stop that woman, you will have the next TBM who is fulfilling her calling and doing her duty to deal with.
You can explain all you want to. You can use perfect words to convey the perfect message. The TBM Morg-bot may hear but not listen or understand your words. All she will hear is Satan speaking anti-Mormon propaganda from your mouth, you poor-poor thing. You must have been offended, or want to sin, or did sin.
Now, she has material for her next F and T meeting. She can stand and bare her testimony about the faith-building experience with you, and glow in the approval of the other TBMs as they smile and nod while she speaks.
You can not win with a TBM. You are not in the same game, and you not playing by the same rules.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2012 01:02PM by rowan.