Blond hair blue eyed Mormon missionaries exiled from South America?

Question

Just wondering what truth is in the statement that recently blonde haired blue eyed mormon missionaries were exiled from Venezuela, incognito nonetheless, as they had a bounty on their heads.

Maybe there is some truth in this, I always like to think there may be some truth in statements made by dinner guests but...this is pushing it.

Please if I am wrong to question and the poor little fellas had to flee the country risking life and religion...please set me straight. Any weblinks would be appreciated but, opinions are always welcomed.

Answer 1

The Mormons feared the climate in Venezuela was dangerous to Americans who are trying to force their religion and culture on the Venezuelan people.

Those poor little Mormons go to other countries and are forbidden to listen to the local music or watch T.V. in the countries they go to while on mission.

They can go to places forcing a foreign belief on others, but are too good to learn the other culture.

Answer 2

K, there is a BIG Difference between "South America" and Venezuela. There are thousands of LDS missionaries throughout South America (coming from all parts of the world including south america). The vast minority of those are in Venezuela. Besides, there is no "South American" Government that could enact such a contintent-wide policy.

I can't definitivly claim this, but it's my opinion that this would be a big enough news story that SOMETHING would come up on a google search, a news search, or a search of the utah newspapers.

Because nothing showed up, my guess is that it's a false rumor.

Answer 3

I have a brother in law who served his mission in Venezuela not too long ago (2000-2002). Since then, I have heard that North American Mormon misionaries are no longer being sent to Venezuela.

President Hugo Chavez's disdain of current U.S. leaders is no secret, and if leaders in the Mormon church felt the missionaries were in danger they most likely would have made necessary changes. This may have been translated by your dinner guest as "blonde hair blue eyed missionaries" seeing how they would stick out like sore thumbs. As far as I know, Mormon missionaries from the United States are not currently being sent to Venezuela. I do not have a web link source for you, sorry.

If I find one I will add it.

By way of being "exiled from all of South America", no this is not true. I served a mission for 2 years in Ecuador and am still in contact with various friends from there. They, as well as other South American countries, still have North American missionaries.

Answer 4

What a bunch of crap! I was a Mormon missionary in Central America and I didn't "force" my beliefs on anyone. People can watch hours of television where they are bombarded with all kinds of advertisements and messages, and there is no problem. But when someone knocks on their door and offers to share a message, suddenly they are being "forced." Just like you can change a channel or turn off your television, you can say "no" or close the door. Many people did exactly that and I took no offense.
Also, I keep in pretty close contact with other people who were in my mission, and none of them work for the CIA. I know a lot of Mormons and none of them work for the CIA, and never have. Neither do I. Returned Mormon missionaries would have an advantage if they were to do such a thing. But just like many rumors about Mormons (and other religions as well), that is just an urban legend to make something appear more sinister than it is. No one is blowing up Mormon churches either. I dare you to back up either of these rumors with verifiable facts.
Moreover, culture is not confined to television and radio. In fact, television is usually a waste of time in any culture. Ironically, I noticed that people there watched a lot of American shows and listened to a lot of American music, so how would that benefit me? I did not consider myself too good learn their culture. I immersed myself in their culture while I was there and as a result fell in love with Latin America. When I came back I continued to learn everything I could about their music and culture. I now have more music in Spanish than most Latin Americans, and I have a Bachelor's degree in Spanish as well.
Besides, who are you to judge us? Have you taken two years out of your life and left everything behind to go to a foreign land so you can interact with and SERVE those people? Oh yes, we also helped people who were left homeless by floods, and did many other service projects to make their lives better regardless of their faith. Shame on you for judging someone when you know nothing about them.
As for Hugo Chavez and his "21st Century Socialism", it all sounds very authoritarian to me, more of a step backward than a step forward. He makes no secret of his hatred for America and Americans, and (just like some people on Yahoo! Answers) he likes to make wild accusations about American involvement in Venezuela. It increased dramatically after a failed coup against him in 2002. Thus, it would not surprise me if missionaries from North America were reassigned to a different area. But I have heard nothing to substantiate this rumor. There was an area in my mission where they only sent missionaries from the local region because of local hostility towards North Americans. So it could be true, but like I said...just because it could be true doesn't mean that it is.

Answer 5

This is probably true because some countries do not like other countries coming in and trying to convert them. They are scared of other religions. Besides most of that part of the world are Catholics and would want little to do with mormons.

Answer 6

Mormon missionaries go to South America on their missions then return to the US and become CIA agents and go back to South America as CIA (they meet the qualifications, lived in another country for two years,speak their language) and the South Americans have been recognizing this for years now in fact they have been blowing up their Mormon churches down there for this very reason for some time now.

Answer 7

I don't see the point of pointing out that they were "blond hair blue eyed"...
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anyway... urban myth. Why would they be exiled? You can't just throw things on our heads.

Answer 8

Venezuela is 96% Catholic. I have trouble understanding why they need missionaries?
They're more Christian than the U.S.

Answer 9

I haven't heard that. But Chavez doesn't like gringos (his term) so maybe there is some truth to it.

But they shouldn't be there in the first place.

Answer 10

Maybe the missionaries shouldn't be spreading the word of anything.