Totally not a cult
nice racism there
Technically, this is not generally condoned by the gospel as there is literally an entire section (in i think the Pearl of Great Price but i could be wrong, been a while) that most Mormons follow really well and gets drilled into most missionaries heads, that while we will of course do our best to try to save others who do not believe, we will respect their right to believe whatever the fuck they want.
Legit though, when the Mormons come to your door, be respectful. Especially to the elders (these are the guys, they aren’t brothers, they are elders.). They have to get in a specific amount of service hours. My mother is Atheist, when they come to the door, we let them in, we feed them (because they are dirt poor and likely thousands of mile away from home and have probably been living off of the same box of pizza from pizza hut for a week, especially in rural areas) we tell them at the beginning that we will not be joining the church and that we have a one prayer, on scripture rule, and that we respect them as we hope they respect us. Note, if you are female and home alone when elders come by DO NOT BE OFFENDED BY THEM ASKING IF THERE IS A MAN AROUND. They are not trying to be sexist. They are literally not allowed to stay if there is not. and there are steep penalties for violating this. Along the same lines, if you are a guy and you open the door and two sisters ask if there is a woman home, they are not crazy feminists, they literally can’t be there if there isn’t a woman. People on missions are generally late teens early twenties and need to be protected. Slamming a door in their face and being rude is seriously detrimental to them. If you have questions, you can ask. That is why they are there. If you want to know what to call them, ask. Ask about the holy trinity too, because they likely have a copy as well as a bible on hand whether electronic or otherwise and watching them get excited is fun. It is fine to learn about another religion without being part of the religion. If you see elders, ask about service hours they still need. Despite there formal appearance, they will work. There was a group of Elders in town that couldnt come by during the day while mom was home alone so they would watch for her car to leave, then come mow and weed eat. We were more rural so it was easier there for them to just do it and if you live somewhere a bit more guarded they will have to ask. They have helped us build fences, retaining walls, doll houses, you name it. I have met missionaries from Canada, Ohio, rural West Virginia, Canada, Mexico, and yes of course Utah. I am still in touch with one of the sisters that i met. I absolutely adore her. She is just as obsessed with Supernatural, BNHA, and WTNV as i am. Missionaries are people too, and can be wonderful to be around if you can see past the name tags. Besides that, some of the quirky things about their faith are just really interesting. Ask about sea turtle in relation with heaven and watch them light up. They are really enthusiastic, but they understand social cues. Find out if they are in their first location on their mission. Many missionaries have never been that far away from home. If they are in their first location it can be exhilarating but also terrifying. Imagine being shipped hundreds or even thousands of miles away from home to god only knows where to stay with random people you have never met, deal with room mates who may or may not be pests to live with and walk around all day, only to get doors shoved in your face. You don’t get to call home all that often. And it’s hard. Yeah, you enjoy it, but its hard. Along those lines, find out if it is their final destination. This can be a lot of fun for them. I have gone to church under two circumstances. My grandmother is in town, or it is a send off sunday and a missionary gets to go HOME. They are like a kid in a candy store, and while they love traveling and meeting new people, they are happy to go home. Have a little compassion next time there is a missionary at the door. It means a lot to them.
Sorry for the long post but seriously guys, don’t be jerks.
Showed this to my missionary friend to make sure there wasn’t anything she wanted added. Her response:
“You are gorgeous! And I have only the best memories with you. Remember the time Snyder put a whole piece of pizza In her mouth? good times.
Are you officially Mormon her? 😉 Lol! It’s okay if not. Whatever makes you happy ️️❤❤
Hmmm. I guess I’d just say like, recognize that they’re people too. We’re just a bunch of kids, doing our best in a place where we don’t know anything. And we are not perfect by any means! And don’t be afraid to let the missionaries know your intentions – like, you just want to give them water or something, not have a whole message lol! But we’re just kids too, I guess – I write stories, I play the uke, I have a personality outside of the nametag and it’s a problem I see in missionaries too, like, seeing people as people I guess.
Does that help? Did I answer the question?
I love you dearly, Cas!!❤❤❤❤❤ I miss you.
️️️️️️️,Dean”Like, legit. Give these poor kids a break. (Her mission ended just a few months ago and she went home to hawaii, its sad and i miss her)
reblogging for @saphirecross ‘s comment.
There are some insane members of the church that give us a really bad rep so I’m glad that they actually made a positive addition to this post. What I always say is that God is perfect, people certainly are not. There’s crazies in all religions and it makes me so sad when I see missionaries being turned away, yelled at, spit on, hit, etc,. THEY ARE 18-20ISH YEARS OLD. SOME OF THEM JUST GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL.
These are literal kids being harrassed because of false rumors and the 1% of extremists (if there’s even that many) that are being focused on. I’m going to be serving a mission in two years, and do you have any idea how much it scares me to think hat, as a ninteen year old kid who’s going to be away from home for two years, I could be hurt or harrassed just for spreading a message that brings joy to my life?
So please, PLEASE be respectful to missionaries as @saphirecross said.
Anxiety-prone-human 