I had a knock on my door yesterday morning so I ran downstairs, opened the door, and found myself in front of two well dressed young guys. They had their bikes parked behind them. Instantly I knew that they were of a particular religion and came to talk me about "religious" things.I guessed "Mormon" and it turns out I was correct, not that it was a difficult guess. The other religion around these parts that send their folks door to door are the Jehovah's witnesses, but they send older people. These two guys looked like about 19 or 20 years old. After spending a few minutes talking, I took a liking to them. Here they were on a Saturday, dressed smartly and going door to door talking to everybody who would open up to them about their religion, not a particular popular one around these parts. (This is East Tennessee and, if I had to guess, Southern Baptists are the majority around here. )
Do I agree with the Mormon doctrines (or the Jehovah's witnesses, for that matter?) Well, no, to be honest, but I do appreciate that these two guys take time to talk to other people about their beliefs. A lot of folks think that today's teens are too self absorbed but those two guys clearly weren't.
I wish them the best of luck and I do hope they find the answers they are looking for, and especially that they won't be stirred the wrong direction.
But hey, you guys? Could you maybe knock a little later next time? Say, after lunch?
19 comments:
What...you didn't invite them in for lunch? Morman missionaries are some of the nicest guys around. In fact every Morman I've ever met has been really nice. Not that I want them coming to my door or anything though.
Yes, Mormons send out ONLY their young men, called Elders, dressed in white shirts, black pants, and wearing badges, on missions of ONLY two years.
In contrast, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jesus' command at Matthew 28:19,20 pertains to all dedicated and baptized Christians. Therefore, you will see both young AND old, male AND female, out witnessing about their faith, and this is something they continue doing for the rest of their lives.
After all, Christians are supposed to be footstep followers of Jesus Christ, who witnessed about his father's Kingdom for the remainder of his earthly life, as did his apostles and other disciples in the first century.
I had wondered why its always young men!
Mormons don't exasperate me as much as Jehovah's Witnesses.
Jehovah's Witnesses differences
Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs:
A) They are at your door to recruit you for enslavement to their watchtower corporation,they will say that "we are just here to share a message from the Bible" this is deception right off.
B) The 'message' is their false Gospel that Jesus is ruling in heaven already since 1914.The problem with this is it's not just a cute fairy tale,Jesus warned of the false prophets who would claim "..look he is here in the wilderness,or see here he is at the temple"
C) Their anti-blood transfusion ban has killed hundreds if not thousands
D) once they recruit you they will "love bomb" you in cult fashion to also recruit your family & friends or cut them off. There are many more dangers,Jehovah's Witnesses got a bad rap for good and valid reasons.
99% of the world has rejected the teachings of the Watchtower Jehovah’s Witnesses, the darker truth is they are a destructive and oppressive organization.
--
Danny Haszard Jehovah's Witness X 33 years
http://jehovahwitness.vox.com/
Hey I love that cartoon. I have a sign on my front door that says no soliciting. I added another one that says, no thanks I don't want to go to your church with you, have a nice day. In my days as a southern human, the only faith (s) that have not at some point knocked my door and asked me to join or be saved by their religion is the Jewish and Musliam peoples...oh and the Vodoo and Pagen people don't go door to door either as far as I know (Witches tend to keep to themselves for the most part too). Athiests don't go door to door...but they do tend to get a little preachy, sometimes in public places...I don't know I just think we should all have a personal relationship with whatever we trust and belive in and well, leave it at that. That's why we build those church places...right? All this is tounge in cheek too, ya know? :) I do have a sign though, that's true...but they still knock anyway.
*wicked grins*
How nice of you to stand and listen to them... I'm not so nice unfortunately. Where's ya address man, got that tie for ya!
I really like to read their magazines. And I check all the scriptures with my Bible. They really do show a love for others.
susan: Considering I'm not too good around a kitchen, I would have had to order them a pizza. Then they would have stayed longer and, well, let's not go there... (grin)
cat: Both these groups have some admirable traits and I wanted to admit that, even though I don't agree with their doctrines.
Thanks for stopping by!
casdok: I did too, and now we know, thanks to cat.
danny haszard: I took a brief look at your blog and I'm sorry you went through the ordeal that you did. I hope you have (or find) the Lord's peace.
hmbt: ROFL!!! I love the idea of a sign, "no soliciting."
Seriously, though. I don't mind giving someone a moment of my time, and because I'm fairly familiar with these doctrines, I try to be polite and say that I couldn't possibly agreee with this or that for such and such reason, I do appreciate their dedication and example. Most of the time, that's enough for them and they politely excuse themselves.
chris h: LOL!!! You give them a piece of your mind? Or do you play the "oh, look, it a mormon! Quick hide behind the sofa?" (smile)
You serious about the tie? wow!!! That's really nice of you, even though I don't want to trouble you. Okay, I'll be selfish.... I'm sending you an email right now. (smile)
anonymous: They do show an apparent love for others, I'll grant that. However, they doctrines aren't based on scripture. They still do have traits that are admirable. Good luck in your search.
ANYONE who knocks on your door without first phoning is a guaranteed timewaster or someone who wants to check whether you're in to rob the place or someone who's going to stress you out. Take my advice and never answer the door to anyone who doesn't have a scheduled appointment!
Hey I drifted into here as your tree "avatar" (is that what you're ment to call it?) was really beautiful
wahey!!
:-]
ps cool blog template
do you know of all the myriad blogs I've seen you and only ONE other person use the same template as me ~ tu-duur!!
Mormons are very nice. Too nice, actually. It's creepy.
you are so kind.
I run off any and all solicitors with the 12 gauge...
Yeah I hear ya...
It is always such a drag to have to turn them away or listen to their religious talk, but I do admire their conviction and dedication.
I've had both Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormon elders knock at my door. In fact, when I taught and lived in Japan for two years, I became friends with some Mormon elders...mainly because I was just soooooo happy to find people who spoke English and who were also from North America! Of course, whenever we hung out, it was at events where they spoke to people about Mormonism. They always had to have a chaperone when in the company with females too. They were such lovely, lovely people. These two elders in particular...when I was sick, they even came over to my house in the rain and brought me some soup and orange juice! Very sweet young men.
Ooops! I just reread my previous comment and that last part just sounded soooooooooo wrong! LOL! Not intended in any weird way! I promise! :)
Gledwood: Nice to meet you! Boy, you sure have a lot of blogs... Thanks for the advice; I do need to be careful when someone knocks on my door. You like my "tree" avatar?" I have no idea where I got it, but I liked it so much, and it's certainly better looking than me. (smile)
diesel: lol! Well, now that you mention it...
bg: rofl!!! wow... If I EVER go visit you in Oklahoma, I'll make sure I give you six month's warning with daily reminders!!!
trish: Kind of a mixture between trying to be polite and wishing you were doing something else?
c: lol! No, it sounded perfectly okay. Besides, I agree. They certainly are nice people.
I'm still nominally a Mormon, though I managed to skip out on the whole missionary experience. My wife, OTOH, was a missionary in Michigan. Mormon women can and do go on missions, but they're not encouraged or expected to do so.
Most of the misshies are just kids doing what they think is right and what's expected of them. I'm polite to them whenever they show up at the door, though on one occasion I was reading the "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" book when they rang the doorbell.
What a pleasant place this is and what nice visitors you seem to have.
Just to redress the balance a little re. JW vs Mormon missionaries, Mormon missionaries are also female but you will mostly see young men (except in tourist spots like Temple Square, SLC where you cannot find a missionary that doesn't wear a skirt - I cleaned that up).
Mormons serve missions at all ages too, but in the middle years of their lives they tend to tend their families. Retired couples often serve missions all over the world. And Mormons believe in the dictum "every member a missionary", although that is not always strictly observed.
Its funny, isn't it, how each group thinks it has cornered the market on getting it right and is so much better than all the others?
I get called on by JWs and Mormons and find them pleasant enough and good company and I don't understand why some find religion so offensive. What a dull word it would be if we all stayed behind our battlements and refused to share what we thought was good.
I know I'm sort of late, but you might enjoy this (try to ignore his voice, I know it's kinda irritating, but it is totally worth it ^_^):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fic56JN7aIw
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