Questions for Mormons

Off Topic Politics and World Issues
21

[quote]byukid wrote:

[quote]John S. wrote:

  1. Why do some of you knock on my door, I tell you I am not interested and then come knock on it again a month later.

  2. Why is it that everytime I am at a friends and they agree to talk to you, you always want to come around dinner?

If you have answer’s for these questions or questions of your own post them here.[/quote]

I was going to start a thread like this, but I’d prefer if people pm’d me their questions so that I could avoid other people trying to give their answers instead.

That said,

  1. Missionaries are assigned to different areas, and every 4-6 weeks there’s an opportunity for a change in missionaries. We don’t always keep records of where we knock doors, so sometimes the same street gets “tracted” fairly often. Advice: tell them to put this street in their Area Book as a place not to go knock.

  2. Nighttime sucks in the states for missionaries. If we don’t have appointments to meet with people we’re basically left with the option of continuing to knock on doors (which pisses people off even more around and after dinner time), going to a park and walking around where no one will be out and those who are run away from us.

Like I said, if people want to have their own discussion about Mormons, have it here, but if you want to ask a Mormon, pm me. It’s just easier.[/quote]

The people in question one are the same ones. this has happened for the past 2 months. The second time they asked me if I had re-evaluated my position. Needless to say I was not polite the second time around. But will remember to have them put me on a do not knock list next time(if I didn’t scare them away).

Why don’t they go out for a bite to eat around dinner time? Or have a something set up that they can not knock on doors past 5 p.m. It is just strange that everytime they knock and my friends agree(because they are smart asses not because they are looking to join) they always try to set up the meeting at 6. Does the church not feed them or something?

A positive note is that they are less annoying then the jehovah’s witnesses it is like once a week with those assholes.

22

[quote]orion wrote:

[quote]byukid wrote:

[quote]John S. wrote:

  1. Why do some of you knock on my door, I tell you I am not interested and then come knock on it again a month later.

  2. Why is it that everytime I am at a friends and they agree to talk to you, you always want to come around dinner?

If you have answer’s for these questions or questions of your own post them here.[/quote]

I was going to start a thread like this, but I’d prefer if people pm’d me their questions so that I could avoid other people trying to give their answers instead.

That said,

  1. Missionaries are assigned to different areas, and every 4-6 weeks there’s an opportunity for a change in missionaries. We don’t always keep records of where we knock doors, so sometimes the same street gets “tracted” fairly often. Advice: tell them to put this street in their Area Book as a place not to go knock.

  2. Nighttime sucks in the states for missionaries. If we don’t have appointments to meet with people we’re basically left with the option of continuing to knock on doors (which pisses people off even more around and after dinner time), going to a park and walking around where no one will be out and those who are run away from us.

Like I said, if people want to have their own discussion about Mormons, have it here, but if you want to ask a Mormon, pm me. It’s just easier.[/quote]

Sooo, what do Mormons like to eat?

I think I should have something in the freezer now, anyone who travels to the atheist wasteland that is Europe deserves better than to walk in the park until they can go back home.

[/quote]

Food, dumbass…

23

[quote]UtahLama wrote:

[quote]pat wrote:

[quote]byukid wrote:
True, but things generally get out of hand pretty quickly. Once people start quoting the Journal of Discourses like it’s doctrine, people start quoting career apostates like they know more than I do, and then other people who aren’t Mormons answering questions for me, it just gets tedious to clean up and handle things. I’m fine to try, but I will take extra special care to make sure it’s clear what things are my opinion, what is official doctrine, and what is wild speculation (even from General Authorities).

But yeah, I guess… ask away![/quote]

It just wouldn’t be the same if people weren’t dicks…

Predictable responses:
“God doesn’t exist you idiot!”
“God exists, but you are going to hell because you don’t follow my religion”

Those two themes are sure to follow.
As for me, peace be on you. I got no issues with Mormon’s and if you knock on my door I will be glad to hand you a non-caffeinated drink.[/quote]

I let the Kid handle the heavy lifting as I am not Mormon…just surrounded by them.

The LDS scrips do not ban caffeinated beverages, just HOT caffeinated beverages.[/quote]

I had a Mormon fellow in my house who when asked, requested non-caffeinated coke…However, my brother worked with a couple of Mormon dudes he had mini-fridges packed to the breaking point with Red Bulls, so I guess it depends…
I always have beer or whiskey on hand, so obliging the no caffeine thing is easy :slight_smile:

24

[quote]pat wrote:
I had a Mormon fellow in my house who when asked, requested non-caffeinated coke…However, my brother worked with a couple of Mormon dudes he had mini-fridges packed to the breaking point with Red Bulls, so I guess it depends…
I always have beer or whiskey on hand, so obliging the no caffeine thing is easy :slight_smile: [/quote]

I thought Mormon’s couldn’t drink?

25

I’ll handle these tonight. I have plenty to say.

26

Where can I get one of those magic hats that other people aren’t allowed to look in?

27

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
At one time I owned personal copies of the book of mormon, doctrine and covenants and the pearl of great price ranging back the 19th century. Lotsa other stuff too. Read McConkie’s book from cover to cover. (Along with the Tanners massive work as well =] ). Fawn Brody’s “No Man Knows My History” is a must read. Absolute must. Whatever else may be said about ol Joe, he was one unbelievably fascinating character.[/quote]

For several reasons, I’m not a fan of “No Man Knows My History,” all of which (and more) are summed up by Hugh Nibley here > http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/transcripts/?id=47, but it comes down to this: Fawn Brodie speaks a lot of what Joseph Smith thought without a lot of evidence of why she thinks he thought that way. Her psychoanalysis is unimpressive to me.

Hugh Nibley is not a General Authority of the church. He was a scholar and professor at BYU, and a certified genius. He was fluent in several dozen languages, including a few dead and obscure ones. I like his work a lot, but it can’t be taken as doctrine, though it can be seen as highly informed.

28

[quote]orion wrote:
Sooo, what do Mormons like to eat?

I think I should have something in the freezer now, anyone who travels to the atheist wasteland that is Europe deserves better than to walk in the park until they can go back home.
[/quote]

Food. Some rare missionaries turn it down, but I doubt most will. Give them something unique, if possible, because we all like stories about how we ate some random food. E.g. I like telling people about having cow heart.

I can’t say this is true for all missionaries, but the thing I loved most about the mission was meeting people and getting to really know them and their situation. I frankly didn’t focus on teaching people, but simply getting to know them. If they had no interest in the church, but wanted to talk, I would talk and let them talk. It was always meaningful for me to hear someone’s life story.

29

[quote]Brother Chris wrote:
I slip caffeine pills into the water myself. Or, they just take a coke out of the fridge. That is a good question though, some Mormons nay on the caffeine others drink it, is one being strict or is the other one not following the rules? [/quote]

Well, officially there is no rule about caffeine. A little history on the Word of Wisdom, as it’s called, or the dietary guidelines of the church. It can be read in its entirety here: Doctrine and Covenants 89

So we draw from that:

  1. No alcohol (not unique to Mormons at the time nor now)
  2. No tobacco (unique back then, debatable now. It’s status as a useful herb acknowledged)
  3. No hot drinks (later clarified to mean coffee and tea, regardless of temperature, though herbal tea is accepted by most Mormons, and even green tea is grey area for a lot)
  4. Certain do’s are listed, including basically what boils down to eat your fruits and veggies, meat is for man, grains are okay
  5. Blessings for living this commandment.

So, the actual history: this revelation was received and for a while seen just as some suggestions. Joseph Smith himself still had the occasional drink or smoke even after this was revealed. Later on, this was adapted as a commandment for those who wished to enter the temple. Hot drinks were clarified.

Today there is somewhat of a division among Mormons. Generally accepted is the view that the Word of Wisdom is, at its core, trying to help free us from addictive habits that could destroy us. People have interpreted the banning of coffee and tea to mean no caffeine since they both contain it. This of course is a little silly, but if they feel that’s what it means, that’s fine for them, but they shouldn’t represent that as the standard Mormon view. I drink caffeine on occasion, and especially around workouts and study sessions, but I make a point of going without for a week or two at a time just to make sure I’m not falling into what could be a negative addiction.

There has been no official statement from any general authority on caffeine, though the use of energy drinks is strongly recommended against.

I think that sums that up nicely. Any more explanation needed?

30

[quote]fcrenshaw wrote:
Does a sign on your front door that says “Please don’t bother me, Mormons” keep them away?[/quote]

It depends. Honestly, we’re people too. Sometimes we’ve had a great day and we don’t care what a sign says. Sometimes it’s been a bad day and that sign just gives us an excuse not to knock. I’d try and judge- sometimes I’d just knock once and lightly to give the person a chance to just ignore us.

Honestly, just ignoring us works best. You wouldn’t be the first.

31

[quote]John S. wrote:
The people in question one are the same ones. this has happened for the past 2 months. The second time they asked me if I had re-evaluated my position. Needless to say I was not polite the second time around. But will remember to have them put me on a do not knock list next time(if I didn’t scare them away).

Why don’t they go out for a bite to eat around dinner time? Or have a something set up that they can not knock on doors past 5 p.m. It is just strange that everytime they knock and my friends agree(because they are smart asses not because they are looking to join) they always try to set up the meeting at 6. Does the church not feed them or something?

A positive note is that they are less annoying then the jehovah’s witnesses it is like once a week with those assholes.[/quote]

See, there is no do not knock list. But you might remind them that this street has been tracted and there are people that they may be passing by if they keep coming back to you. I rarely returned to tract a street unless I felt a pressing need to, so that may be part of it. Honestly, ignoring them works, and saves you and them time. We know when you look through the peephole, so if you look and leave, we’ll get the message (unless they’re just really persistent, in that case, please be rude so they learn the lesson about boldness versus overbearance).

We pay about 10K$ to go on a mission. This gets put into a general fund that pays for housing, gas, cell phone, and a monthly allowance. This is universal, and the allowance is based on where you live. This way, if you serve in Bolivia, you pay the same as someone who serves in Hong Kong, though your living expenses will be far different. So, a lot of times stateside missionaries get the shaft money wise and are left with not a lot per month to buy groceries and necessities. Any time someone feeds us, we’re very happy.

Also, we’re asked to be out and doing something all day, finding and teaching people or performing service. I’ll give you a standard day:

6:30 wakeup, 1/2 hour workout
7:00 breakfast, shower, get dressed
8:00 personal study
9:00 companionship study
10:00 out the door, proselyting
1:00 lunch
2:00 proselyting
6:00 dinner
7:00 teaching or proselyting, or hanging out at a member’s home
9:00 come back in, plan
9:30 write in journal
10:30 sleep

Proselyting includes knocking on doors, any teaching appointments we have, following up on anyone who was interested, performing service, etc. We try not to knock doors later at night, but sometimes we have nothing else to do. We just try and keep busy and find the people who are interested. And usually after knocking doors for 3-4 hours, we’d like to have a cooldown period at night, so we try and get our teaching appointments in then. They probably figure this: if they have a lesson at 6, they can stretch that for an hour, have dinner at 7 for an hour, and then only have two hours to “slay the dragon” (i.e. fill time). Just my thought.

32

[quote]John S. wrote:

[quote]pat wrote:
I had a Mormon fellow in my house who when asked, requested non-caffeinated coke…However, my brother worked with a couple of Mormon dudes he had mini-fridges packed to the breaking point with Red Bulls, so I guess it depends…
I always have beer or whiskey on hand, so obliging the no caffeine thing is easy :slight_smile: [/quote]

I thought Mormon’s couldn’t drink?[/quote]

A definite no-no.

33

[quote]SexMachine wrote:
Where can I get one of those magic hats that other people aren’t allowed to look in?[/quote]

The hat wasn’t magic- the seerstone was. Do some research.

34

I got to be really good friends with Elder Havens and Elder Meliville. The guys assigned to my area in North Dakota. They were absolutely serious about their mission (not all are) and very knowledgeable. We went out to dinner together on Elder Melville’s birthday. I’ll be right up front with ya bud. I view LDS doctrine as setting a new standard in self inflicted delusion, but the mormons I’ve known are decent, likable and patriotic to the core. There would never be a need for a draft again if the whole country belonged to a ward. They would be first in line to defend this nation.

What Fawn Brody did was report on the basis of exhaustive documentation. The black Knopf edition I had had footnotes everywhere. I also know Hugh Nibley. I could be wrong, it’s been a while, but I think he was int he middle of the controversy regarding Brigham’s Adam/God doctrine and the fake salamander letter if I remember right. I might not be though. Like I say, long time ago.

35

[quote]byukid wrote:

[quote]SexMachine wrote:
Where can I get one of those magic hats that other people aren’t allowed to look in?[/quote]

The hat wasn’t magic- the seerstone was. Do some research.
[/quote]

Of course silly me. The magic seer stone was IN the hat that no one was allowed to look in.

36

[quote]byukid wrote:

[quote]John S. wrote:
The people in question one are the same ones. this has happened for the past 2 months. The second time they asked me if I had re-evaluated my position. Needless to say I was not polite the second time around. But will remember to have them put me on a do not knock list next time(if I didn’t scare them away).

Why don’t they go out for a bite to eat around dinner time? Or have a something set up that they can not knock on doors past 5 p.m. It is just strange that everytime they knock and my friends agree(because they are smart asses not because they are looking to join) they always try to set up the meeting at 6. Does the church not feed them or something?

A positive note is that they are less annoying then the jehovah’s witnesses it is like once a week with those assholes.[/quote]

See, there is no do not knock list. But you might remind them that this street has been tracted and there are people that they may be passing by if they keep coming back to you. I rarely returned to tract a street unless I felt a pressing need to, so that may be part of it. Honestly, ignoring them works, and saves you and them time. We know when you look through the peephole, so if you look and leave, we’ll get the message (unless they’re just really persistent, in that case, please be rude so they learn the lesson about boldness versus overbearance).

We pay about 10K$ to go on a mission. This gets put into a general fund that pays for housing, gas, cell phone, and a monthly allowance. This is universal, and the allowance is based on where you live. This way, if you serve in Bolivia, you pay the same as someone who serves in Hong Kong, though your living expenses will be far different. So, a lot of times stateside missionaries get the shaft money wise and are left with not a lot per month to buy groceries and necessities. Any time someone feeds us, we’re very happy.

Also, we’re asked to be out and doing something all day, finding and teaching people or performing service. I’ll give you a standard day:

6:30 wakeup, 1/2 hour workout
7:00 breakfast, shower, get dressed
8:00 personal study
9:00 companionship study
10:00 out the door, proselyting
1:00 lunch
2:00 proselyting
6:00 dinner
7:00 teaching or proselyting, or hanging out at a member’s home
9:00 come back in, plan
9:30 write in journal
10:30 sleep

Proselyting includes knocking on doors, any teaching appointments we have, following up on anyone who was interested, performing service, etc. We try not to knock doors later at night, but sometimes we have nothing else to do. We just try and keep busy and find the people who are interested. And usually after knocking doors for 3-4 hours, we’d like to have a cooldown period at night, so we try and get our teaching appointments in then. They probably figure this: if they have a lesson at 6, they can stretch that for an hour, have dinner at 7 for an hour, and then only have two hours to “slay the dragon” (i.e. fill time). Just my thought.

[/quote]

Alright thanks for clearing that up. There is one more question I have and please don’t take this as an insult because it is what I heard other people say about the Mormon church.

Is it true that now/one time they thought that if you where bad you had black skin and the better person you became you turned white, or is that the Jahova’s wittnesses I am thinking of.

37

[quote]byukid wrote:

[quote]SexMachine wrote:
Where can I get one of those magic hats that other people aren’t allowed to look in?[/quote]

The hat wasn’t magic- the seerstone was. Do some research.
[/quote]

Someone hasn’t been paying attention when watching their Southpark.

38

[quote]John S. wrote:
Alright thanks for clearing that up. There is one more question I have and please don’t take this as an insult because it is what I heard other people say about the Mormon church.

Is it true that now/one time they thought that if you where bad you had black skin and the better person you became you turned white, or is that the Jahova’s wittnesses I am thinking of.[/quote]

Hahaha, pulling the punches. I’ll reserve comment because I want to see BYU’s answer.

39

When you go door to door, what is your goal and what is the basic script you use?

40

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
I got to be really good friends with Elder Havens and Elder Meliville. The guys assigned to my area in North Dakota. They were absolutely serious about their mission (not all are) and very knowledgeable. We went out to dinner together on Elder Melville’s birthday. I’ll be right up front with ya bud. I view LDS doctrine as setting a new standard in self inflicted delusion, but the mormons I’ve known are decent, likable and patriotic to the core. There would never be a need for a draft again if the whole country belonged to a ward. They would be first in line to defend this nation.

What Fawn Brody did was report on the basis of exhaustive documentation. The black Knopf edition I had had footnotes everywhere. I also know Hugh Nibley. I could be wrong, it’s been a while, but I think he was int he middle of the controversy regarding Brigham’s Adam/God doctrine and the fake salamander letter if I remember right. I might not be though. Like I say, long time ago.[/quote]

I would be willing to bet that your conception of our doctrine really comes from two things: our view on the nature of the Godhead, and our view on what man may become. Am I right? If so, I can accept that.

Brodie documented, but quite frankly affidavits from people several years after the fact, given to wildly anti-Mormon reporters are unimpressive to me.

Nibley, as far as I know, had no role in the Salamander letter controversy- that was a rather wealthy Bishop in Salt Lake City who got interested in purchasing what turned out to be a forgery. Adam/God was something from the discourses of Brigham Young.