Mormon Missionary Strategies

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[vmom]

I keep individually wrapped snacks and bottles of water for missionaries that stop by. I always ask where they are from and how old they are. I can then direct the conversation to them being about the same age as my children. I make sure to tell them our house is a safe place to come if they ever need anything, that I’m concerned for their safety and that I’ll be thinking about them as they travel. Most times I get “wow, you’re so nice.” To which I say that I would hope if it were my kids out there that people would be nice to them.

[scelestcx]

She nailed it!
Christianity : families are forever
Lds: families “can” be forever

[littlemj]

I'm a ex-mormon and it took the missionaries 10 months to baptize because of my mum. As soon as I was baptized I lost all contact with the missionaries and the people I thought were my friends. They didn't care about me at all. I was just a number. Recently I've had loads of friends requests from Elders and Sisters. Not really on Facebook groups as I'm in Scotland.

[siirifaniever]

Once a pair of Jehovah’s witnesses came to my door and talked to me, gave me a pamphlet and then asked if they could come again some time. I was startled by this question because it seemed rude to say a simple no so I took my time and awkwardly declined the offer. Little did these women know that the door to my apartment is a little wonky so I can hear everything clearly from the corridor and as they left and I closed my door they started talking with a very sly tone and laughing like ”it’s so funny how people always go so awkward after that question”. The tone was somehow very malevolent. And then they said ”what a shame, she would have been perfect”. It made me feel really weird, as if I was a target. I am quite a sweet and considerate towards others, and maybe that makes me seem very impressionable, if that’s what they meant with ’perfect’. And one time another pair came and just out of the blue they asked me if I ever felt hopeless in this world. It’s honestly a very personal question and I think it’s rude to ask a complete stranger such things.

[jeff-]

I served my mission in Hungary. Our most effective tool was English classes. Once a week we taught “free” English classes with an spiritual thought at the end.

[HH-kgfq]

The Mormon missionary told my friend that if they listened to the missionary talk for another day, they wouldn't get evicted.

[carlhawks]

I am friends with the local missionaries. They are welcome to come over when they want to talk sports and kick back. I figure it is a better use of their time than spreading unwitting lies about a cult to naive strangers.

[howlandowlle]

. Yep. I know something about this.
. My wife was diagnosed with cancer that was fairly advanced. A legitimately concerned Mormon friend in another city did the only thing she felt she could do to be supportive during a hard time and arranged for two missionaries to come do an anointing in our home. It was a sweet gesture on our friend's part, especially since we were and are not Mormon, and we accepted the offer believing all acts done with a sincere heart in the sight of God are good.
. The evening comes and the missionaries arrive. It is a congenial time and we talk comfortably about spiritual things. They set things up and do the anointing with appropriate prayers. It was all very fine and appreciated.
. Then, the pitch begins. Piggybacking on the blessing they came to confer, it seemed crass and disappointing. In the end I was compelled to rebuff them as politely as I could. They departed in suitable form, but any feeling of a blessing having been dispensed was tainted and I learned to not ever allow that to happen again.
. My wife died before the end of the year.

[thekathrynwest]

I was converted by what i like to say was a fluke situation. Met my now boyfriend in the church. Im now on my way out due to realizing what i was taught when i agreed to be baptized was only the very surface level of everything and had i had a stronger knowledge of the Bible and biblical Christianity i wouldn't have joined. I don't regret joining though as i learned a lot

[emilycarr]

I’m not Mormon, but was involved in a more "mainstream" Christian campus club during my university years. It was interesting to listen to this since we were also taught all of these same tactics. Underneath I always felt uncomfortable with the group’s methods. It feels so sneaky to make friends with someone when you have a hidden agenda. We should be making friends with people because we genuinely want to be friends with them.

[skepticalmel]

I'm an exjw atheist from 🇬🇪 and I just wanted to let every apostate from any religion know that ure not alone, they're are millions of people like you, you only feel alone Couse you haven't met them yet ;)

[rachelpatrick]

I think it's interesting that now the church is letting missionaries join groups on social media and connect with people based on shared interests because 1. when I was a missionary ONLY 8 YEARS AGO, we weren't allowed to use social media or even have a device that could access it, and 2. my most common criticism from other missionaries and mission leaders was that I should not try to connect with people based on shared interests or otherwise happen to mention anything about my self besides the fact that I was mormon. 3. I was also criticized for doing too much community service. My experience as a missionary was very unusual because I generally got acceptance from the people I taught and the local ward members (most missionaries in North America teach about 5 lessons a week; I averaged 30), but rejection from the other missionaries. They didn't like that I tried to connect with people and get to know them instead of just reciting memorized, role-played, and rehearsed "Preach my Gospel" lessons because they thought it was a waste of time, a sin, and a distraction, and they didn't like that I generally knew more about the scriptures than the general population did or that my background and education were very different from the people that I taught. They didn't like that I was fluent in French, had tested into college 2 years early, was from a large inner city neighborhood, had interests in fencing, biking, and history, and especially that I was going to college on a classical music scholarship. I was told to hide all of these things and that even thinking about them was a very serious sin when I was supposed to be dedicating all of my time and effort to the lord. To this day, my second mission president still thinks I'm a poorly educated farm girl from the midwest because I got so good at hiding the fact that I have a brain and a personality that he never found out anything real about me.

[lcd]

I remember when a pair of missionaries visited me in college the opened their missionary binder to an official photo of the church general authorities, "Wouldn't you like a group of wise people like this to advise you?" they asked. I was taken aback that they thought I, at this point, I had accepted that they were indeed wise men. I always had the impression that I was given mostly a presentation and not a heartfelt conversation about what they believed and why. A session or two after that they told me that because I haven't made progress in accepting their teachings that they wouldn't be seeing me again. In that, at least, I admired their honesty.

[BC_Mina]

I was preyed on as a young widow with multiple young children. My ward had sister missionaries, I was starved for friendship, and they were so friendly and helpful. They would help me fold laundry and watch lds movies with me. I felt like I was joining a community and extended family in joining the church. Once I was baptized, I immediately began to feel ostracized. People were kind at face value, but I really just felt like the poor young widow that everyone wanted “the dish” on. People didn’t actually want to be my friend. They just wanted brownie points for inviting me to events and helping me with menial things.

I was given the calling of being involved in the relief society activity committee, but I was only expected to sit there and watch silently. I was little more than ignored if I tried to give a suggestion or otherwise be included in planning.

Also, my ward was full of relatively young families that didn’t need for anything, and wanted for very little. I was amazed at how often I would see garments poking out from beneath sleeves, collars, and skirt hems. The vanity was so strong in that ward.

[AE-yzeh]

I got baptized because missionaries told me family is forever and I really liked that. I DIDNT KNOW THERE WERE TOO MANY REQUIREMENTS 😭😭😭😭

[anarchisttutor]

I would have been so much happier if I'd done service the whole time. Those were some of my best memories: helping dig a fishpond, help move a washing machine, etc.

[hclements]

I was a sister missionary just a few weeks after turning 19 years old. I truly believed in the Book of Mormon and my heart was very sincere. It is really painful for me to realize now what I was doing and how it really is manipulative. I don't think most missionaries are really at fault; they are victims to the cult--in fact some of it's worst victims (there is so much conditioning and control on a mission). They truly believe they are doing the right thing. Treating the missionaries with kindness can go a long way, and being rude to them may just reinforce their beliefs. Being treated with respect and having open conversations with people on my mission was actually what began my faith crisis and helped me get out of the church. I'm so grateful to those people. Be kind to missionaries! ❤️

[GabsareSarg]

I will share my sad story. The missionaries where really nice to me I almost got converted but then they asked me if I would pay every month to the church and if I "belived in their prophet" which of course I said no that's the truth. That's when I realized there was something funny about this. Then they gradually stopped talking to me. I though they were my friends honestly but their only objective was to get me converted and pay money. I still feel bad because I felt I was having friends. When they ended their mission they just ignored me. I feel like a fool. Sometimes random missionaries contact me. I guess they share the number to everyone (no privacy) and then they make fun of me by bullying me when I tell them I work on weekends and I cant attend their Church events, and they say Im lying because "no-one works on weekends." I cant believe this people.

[bruscifer]

I remember at the Mission Home they told us, " You are about to receive the best SELLS TRAINING IN THE WORLD! Fortune 500 companies are studying our methods" . I knew in the beginning we were trying to sell the Mormon Church. I never said anything but I always felt a little sneaky using those techniques. Like watching Papers for recent Obituaries. "Father contacting" on Supermarket parking lots. God I can't believe I did that, and did it a whole two years!

[msbee]

I never felt worse about myself than I did during the 6 months that I was a Mormon convert.