Would you speak with an LDS (Morman) Missionary if they came by?

Question

My son would like to go on a mission next year, and is willing to work to pay the $6,000 to go, and sacrifice two years of his life because he loves the church and Heavenly Father. I would like to ask if he were to come to your door with his companion, would you give him any time to share with you about the LDS church?

Answer 1

Of coarse, I live in Utah and they come by sometimes. I always give them a drink of juice or water.... Just because I believe differently doesn't mean that I shouldn't act christian toward them.... : )

Answer 2

I would speak to any missionary that comes to my door or even if i see them i will wave to them and talk to them if i see them. I have a great deal of respect for those that do go on missions. However i am a member of the church, but i do have friends that are also friendly with the missionaries that do not belong to the church. So i would either send your son over to them or I would have them come over hear so they can here the gospel. I think that it could help and change there lives. I actually had a friend ask me questions of the church next thing that i knew was she was taking discussion and i had not sent the missionaries over there and then she was baptized and so was her mother. We are currently working on her father to see what will happen there.

Answer 3

I have Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses show up at my door every weekend along with other "missionaries" from various faith paths. I tell them all the same thing: I have a church home I am very happy with. Thank you for coming over, and then I shut the door. I'm sure other people might...but for me I have no need for any prosyltizers.

Answer 4

I had two missionaries come to my door once. They asked me if I knew anything about their church. I told them I had read the introduction to the book of Mormon and that I thought it was the biggest farce I had ever read. They told me I was wrong. And I said,"ok, well I believe what my church taught me and I don't believe that Joseph Smith found 'magical rocks' that told him how to write their book." They refused to respect my right to believe what I want to believe so I requested that they go ahead an leave. Paying the church money to go out and work for them is the biggest racket I ever heard of especially knowing how much money the LDS church has.

Answer 5

Without the wonderful missionaries my husband would not be a member right now (still great friends)!!!!!!!! I on the other hand went seeking for the missionaries to teach me, I actually requested that they come to my home so I could be baptized! First time I went to a LDs Church meeting I knew where I belonged!

Answer 6

As an agnostic, and provided the situation were one in which I felt comfortable (ie if he wasn't knocking just as I was ready to walk out the door / cleaning the oven / etc.), I would welcome him. I welcome anyone who is willing to share their beliefs with others. More information is not a bad thing, and someone who is willing to stand by the courage of their convictions deserves my respect. Having grown up on the East Coast, I know very little about the Mormons as there aren't that many around upstate New York.

As someone who has done door-to-door work (political/environmental) before: Tell him NOT to accept food/water from anyone. There are creeps out there, and one jerk can mean seriously bad stuff. Tell him also to be prepared to have doors slammed in his face, to be cursed at, et cetera, but tell him that every door he knocks on should be a new opportunity. Also tell him to look around before he starts and figure out where the bathrooms/water fountains/7-11s are so that he has a bathroom, water, and food. Being out in the middle of nowhere without basic necessities is lousy work, and you don't want to use a stranger's bathroom (I've done it, and I was lucky that nothing happened to me, but it's a risk you don't want to take.)

Hope that helps!

Answer 7

I, like the first poster, invite them in and offer them a drink. Many of my family members are Mormon (several are on missions,) so I always explain that if I am interested, I know how to get in touch with them. I spent many years in the church, so I have no need for them to share anymore info.

Answer 8

My experience with the Mormon missionaries is a lot more positive than with Jehovah's Witnesses. The sad reality for both though is when you bring them to the point where it is obvious that their doctrine is strongly contradicted by the Bible , its always "Well we have to go" I really like them though as far as motivation. Its too bad their religion is not more open as to the secret ceremonies and things. I guess that would be a major turn off if people knew the truth.

Answer 9

I always inform missionaries who approach my door that we both will be much more blessed if we don't speak about religion, but thank you for your compassion. God bless you.

I can see that they wish to help me, and therefore I would hate to disturb their peace with what I think about religions.

The HUGE truth that all ignore is this: If you could truly walk the walk, the talk would be quite unnecessary. Show me you loving your neighbor as yourself, and being like the lilies of the field and loving the sinner and praying for your enemies. If you want to spend time and effort convincing the world, there it is. You'd be irresistable.

Go for it.

Answer 10

Miss Julie, when your son comes to my door to teach me, I will wholeheartedly invite him and his companion in for cookies. I will call my wife and my daughter in to the room, get some cookies and milk (maybe some hot chocolate if it is cold out; I'm not a coffee fan myself).

Then, I will ask them to share their message of love to our family. I will believe all of it right up until the point where he says "Just as God has done in every dispensation in the past, he has called a new prophet in this dispensation to bring the world out of the Great Apostasy."

At that point, I will politely excuse myself, go to my bookshelf, and pull out my copies of History of the Church, Journal of Discourses, and the pre-1990 Temple Endowment Ceremony. I will ask him what Pay Lay Ale means. When he doesn't know, I will then ask him what it means when I draw my thumb across my throat. When he says it's a sign of murder or of death, I will then ask him if he ever thinks God would want his children to do that. He will likely say no. I will then ask if God would want his children to pretend to rip their hearts out of their chests. He will likely say no. I will then ask him if God would want us to do the other penalty sign where you pretend to cut your body in half at the midsection.

I will then ask him what he would think if he came across a church that had ever taught that those things were necessary to get into heaven. When he says he would never join such a Church, I will then have him read the pre-1990 Temple Endowment and ask him what he thinks of it.

I will then pull out my Journal of Discourses and find out what he thinks about Brigham Young teaching that Adam is our God and Father. I will also ask him why the Church used to teach that both God and Jesus were polygamous but stopped teaching that.

I am a real-estate agent by profession and have access to all sorts of information on buildings, condos, etc. I will show him the value of the Prophet's TAX-FREE villa in downtown Salt Lake City, valued at just under $2 million. I will ask him if he knows where his tithing goes. I will then show him some stockholder reports that I receive showing that the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns significant stock in companies ranging from Coca-Cola to Phillip Morris (cigarette company) to Budweiser.

Anyway, I will be very polite to your son and his companion, but I will not let them continue to pay 10% of their lifetime earnings into the Mormon Machine without a battle. If you want your son to continue to remain faithful in the LDS Church, you had better hope he doesn't come to California.

I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He is the only mediator between us and the Father. I know that we are the Lord's children. I have received witness of the Holy Ghost that the Lord loves us more than we can comprehend, and that he would never want to cause us to fear the wrath of His hand over rituals. I know God would never want to be mocked like that.

I know that the Bible contains the word of God, and that it has been translated correctly (I actually read Aramaic Hebrew). I know that the Book of Mormon contains many good principles drawn from the Bible. I know that God has called prophets in all ages leading up to and including Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, who "accomplished the law, and the Prophets". He is the way, the truth, and the life; and no man cometh unto the Father but by Him. This is my testimony, in Christ's name.

Amen.