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I've known--and been quite good friends with--LDS religious adherents here in Montana, and they've truly been some of the most pleasantly mild-mannered and funny ("funny haha") people you could ever meet. Definitely not the proselytizing types.
You do see missionaries out and about (almost always on bikes, I've noticed), but I've never really had one approach me, neither at home nor in the community.
There's a storefront LDS church in Journal Square here in Jersey City. During morning rush hours I've seen them out on the corner. They approach people who are waiting to cross the street to get to the train station, start a conversation, walk across the street talking with people and bid them good day as they go into the station. You could stand back and watch these guys walk back and forth across the street all morning. I've seen them talking with people on the trains sometimes too.
I've lived in the Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnati areas during various parts of my life, and while you would see them going around various places in public, they usually were only going to houses of people who were already LDS. One of them even knew that I am Jewish and never tried to convert me.
I read a piece recently that says the LDS church will be scaling back door-to-door mission work and focusing more on email and social media.
My dad used to enjoy having them come to the door. Being an Illinois native and a history buff he frequently knew more about the history of their church than they did. He was always respectful but quick to point out that what they had been taught about the history of the early church in Illinois was usually no more than half of the story.
Lots of history there in Illinois, made a trip to Nauvoo last year....
As far as the Missionaries you see two by two, white shirt and tie or young ladies. There is a huge influx right now. The Church changed the minimum age for young men from 19 to 18 and females from 21 to 19. Typically worldwide there are approximately 55-60,000 full time missionaries at one time. It is expected that it will jump to 85-100,000 because of the age change. They are focusing on people who ask for information, inactive members, and member referrals.
There's a storefront LDS church in Journal Square here in Jersey City. During morning rush hours I've seen them out on the corner. They approach people who are waiting to cross the street to get to the train station, start a conversation, walk across the street talking with people and bid them good day as they go into the station. You could stand back and watch these guys walk back and forth across the street all morning. I've seen them talking with people on the trains sometimes too.
Do they really do that? To advertise their religion I hope not. My god I would be annoyed.
When I moved from Detroit to rural CO, it was total religious culture shock. Where I grew up, Jehovas' Witnesses would make their rounds around town maybe once or twice a year, and the weirdest thing they ever did was ask to come inside.
...then I moved to CO. And moved to a college campus with LDS churches on 3 sides. Very interesting experience, lol.
So I'm curious: Where do you live (be as general or specific as you want) and do you ever encounter mormon prosletizers?
I lived in Skagway, AK for a few months while working and it was full of young Mormons. Several of the tour companies hire out of SLC and like Mormon kids because of their work ethic and ability to stick to their contract. The kids serving missions there were really cool and would help the locals with projects, etc. I've found them to be non combative and really good citizens.
Do they really do that? To advertise their religion I hope not. My god I would be annoyed.
Yeah. They only approached me once. I said "not interested" and they moved on to someone else. Most of the time when I'm walking to or from the train I don't look very "approachable," so they probably go after people who appear more interested in chatting instead. And it's not like they're out there every day. I see them once every few months. They must have quarterly quotas or something.
I don't have a problem with them, really. To me they're no different than the people who stand out there handing out flyers for their basement yoga studios, people looking to sign you up for some kind of charity, buskers, panhandlers, campaigning city council candidates, and all of the other background noise you'd find in front of a train station.
Yeah. They only approached me once. I said "not interested" and they moved on to someone else. Most of the time when I'm walking to or from the train I don't look very "approachable," so they probably go after people who appear more interested in chatting instead. And it's not like they're out there every day. I see them once every few months. They must have quarterly quotas or something.
I don't have a problem with them, really. To me they're no different than the people who stand out there handing out flyers for their basement yoga studios, people looking to sign you up for some kind of charity, buskers, panhandlers, campaigning city council candidates, and all of the other background noise you'd find in front of a train station.
I think thats fair.....
For those who do get irritated, keep in mind these are for the most part main stream young people (18-24) who choose to go on a two year mission 24/7, and pay for it. Thats right, they leave their homes, travel far away, study, teach and help people, dont get paid, and actually pay their own way.
I think I've encountered them everywhere I've ever lived, except NYC and LA. They're actually quite handy, as they also do regular volunteer work in the communities in which they live - I've used Mormon missionary volunteers fairly often in my work. They just can't talk about religion while they're at my organization. All of the Mormon missionaries that I've encountered have been male, and there just aren't that many other young men who volunteer in their community (there's a moral there somewhere!)
I've often wondered if the Mormon kids who get stuck doing their mission work in boring locations like small-town Iowa are disappointed in their posting. Wouldn't it be much more fun to go to an island in the Pacific or to Russia or someplace like that? I suppose having fun isn't the point - but if I were a young Mormon kid I'd try hard to go someplace exotic and not end up in Podunk Arkansas.
I've often wondered if the Mormon kids who get stuck doing their mission work in boring locations like small-town Iowa are disappointed in their posting. Wouldn't it be much more fun to go to an island in the Pacific or to Russia or someplace like that? I suppose having fun isn't the point - but if I were a young Mormon kid I'd try hard to go someplace exotic and not end up in Podunk Arkansas.
I suspect that an assignment in small-town Iowa is initially kind of disappointing to most young Mormons who wish to serve a mission, but with almost no exceptions, they come back after two years saying that their assigned area was the best in the world. And of course, they have no say in where they are sent, so "trying hard" to go to someplace exotic just doesn't happen. All they know is that they'll be sent somewhere far from home and family. I once ran into a young man from Mongolia who was serving a 2-year mission here in Salt Lake City.
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