Reader Question:
I have a problem with Mormon missionaries coming to our door! They have sent three sets of people three times in the last week, and I cannot get them to understand that we are not interested in becoming Mormon! I don’t want to be rude or disrespectful to another person’s religion, but I can’t seem to get the point across! A simple “No, thank you” has not done the trick! What can I tell them to get them to stop coming back? It is the church in my town in Oklahoma, I know this is not directly related to this page. I came to this page through a friend’s facebook page! I am Catholic and do not wish to become Mormon nor does anyone in my family. I understand your message and beliefs but I cannot get the missionaries to stop coming to the door! Can you please offer me advice to get this to stop? I am sure this is not what you had in mind for questions on this page, but I am getting a little desperate here. I am not trying to be disrespectful to these missionaries, but I am not interested, and they do not seem to understand that! Thank you for your time and consideration, and I apologize if you have found this offensive, that is really the last thing I have intended!
Family Answer:
Thanks for your question. Sincere, honest questions are always a good thing.
To gather an answer to your question, we talked to our adult kids. We also asked our local missionaries, because we knew they could help us. The answer from our local elders was the same as from our family: Next time your local missionaries come to your door, be kind, be honest, and be direct. Explain to them that you are simply not interested and ask that they keep track of your request not to return to your address.
Also, understand that these are young men and women who at their own expense have left their families and friends to serve for up to two years. The elders in your area and missionaries around the globe are here to help strengthen others, and they do that in the best way they can, and sometimes they make mistakes and flub up. Watch for a typical day in their life. One young woman said (at Time 2:28 of “Women Called to Serve”), “Our purpose is not to shove our beliefs down other people’s throats and make them do things they don’t want to do, but it’s to invite them to come unto Christ and to strengthen, not to change the faith that they have, but to strengthen that faith.” A young man from England serving in New York (“Men Called to Serve,” Time 5:33) said, “Sometimes you walk down the street as a missionary, and you grow such a love for these people, and there are some people who, you know, they mock you, or they laugh at you, or they simply don’t want to talk to you. I think one of the hardest things about a mission is that you believe in something so much, and then others don’t seem to trust you or give you a chance. That’s pretty hard.”
I hope this answers your question and helps you understand us better and how to talk more effectively to Mormon missionaries wherever you find them.
And let us know how we may help you further! If you find that you have any questions about religious issues that you’ve been wondering about or that you haven’t been able to get good answers to, feel free to continue on discussion with us. It turns out that there are a lot of people with questions, and most of them have given up on churches as a source of answers. In our family, it is our experience that answers are out there, that God wants us to have them, and that they tend to be answers we like and have learned to appreciate. Working together with Heavenly Father allows anyone to find certainty in uncertain times.
-Dave and the MormonPanorama Family
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WebCredits—List of web resources used in this post but not explicitly credited above:
- Photo, ocean-woman-morning-fog-at-big-sur—www.lds.org/media-library/images/oceans?lang=eng&start=21&end=30
- Address, “Ask the Missionaries! They Can Help You!”, Elder Russell M. Nelson, LDS General Conference, Oct 2012—www .lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/ask-the-missionaries-they-can-help-you?lang=eng
- Photo, ocean-double-rainbow—www.lds.org/media-library/images/oceans?lang=eng#double-rainbow-760414
——– End of WebCredits ——–
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My pastor at Calvary Chapel made a point in his sermon last week of stating that church should be about one thing only, deepening a personal relationship with Jesus Christ of the Bible. Not even making friends or strengthening family or marriage relationships, just to learn about Jesus, that’s it, by studying the Bible, verse by verse. He said to do anything else puts the focus on us and our needs, not His. I think this is a real line in the sand. And instead of socializing with other believers outside of church, we should go into our room, shut the door, read the Bible and pray to Jesus, the one and only God. Not just the one and only God “for us”, the only one anywhere. What are your thoughts on this?
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Thanks for your question, Alan. Sincere, honest questions are always a good thing.
To gather an answer to your question, we talked to our adult kids. We also asked our local missionaries, because we knew they could help us. The answer from our local elders was the same as from our family: Part of a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ is trying to become like Him, to act like Him, to treat others as He did. Christ “went about doing good” and so should we. Christ served others all His life by being among them and commanded us to become like Him and follow His example: “Feed my lambs.” We believe that serving others as Christ would serve them deepens our understanding of Christ in real life application, not just in theory. By reading and studying the scriptures, you will find that Christ wants us to love and serve one another.
If you and I were to ask Christ directly, we think that He would say that the focus IS on us and our needs. What Paul calls “the heavenly gift” is the great Atonement worked on our behalf by the Savior. The ultimate aim of that gift is to bring us, the spirit sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father, back into His presence. To qualify for that, we must learn to be like the Savior; patient, obedient, kind, generous, and so forth. Studying Jesus’ life and works will help us understand what we must do, but practicing Christlike attributes in families, at church and elsewhere, will help us to become like Him. Thus, the most effective way to live the life of a Christian is not to shut ourselves away from others but to live and serve among our brothers and sisters here on earth.
I hope this answers your question and helps you understand us better and how to become more like Christ.
And let us know how we may help you further! If you find that you have any questions about religious issues that you’ve been wondering about or that you haven’t been able to get good answers to, feel free to continue on discussion with us. It turns out that there are a lot of people with questions, and most of them have given up on churches as a source of answers. In our family, it is our experience that answers are out there, that God wants us to have them, and that they tend to be answers we like and have learned to appreciate. Working together with Heavenly Father allows anyone to find certainty in uncertain times.
-Dave and the MormonPanorama Family
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