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Do Mormons still go door to door?


SparklyUnicorn
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I think I read somewhere that they're focusing more on online stuff and also doing charity work/service projects, but I'm not sure if it means door to door missionaries are going away completely.  I was visited by Jehovah's Witnesses in Brooklyn, but never LDS folks.  I asked the JW where she got her awesome long denim skirt. 

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We have both JW's and Mormons. The JW's are more regular, coming by a couple of times each year.  They are very nice people. We live less than two miles from a Mormon Temple and I've always been surprised at how few Mormon missionaries visit. Maybe since we have enough Mormon's to support a Temple, they don't see the area as a being in need. Like the JW's that visit, the Mormon missionaries are very nice as well. 

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There definitely has been an effort recently to allow missionaries to spend more time doing service instead of going door to door.  In addition to not annoying as many people, it also gives them something more worthwhile to do during the day when fewer people are home.  It really depends on where you live.  Some mission presidents (the person in charge of around 100-150 missionaries in an area covering part of a state, to many states, to any entire country, to several countries) seem to think there's value in having missionaries knock on door irritating people and finding almost no one to teach.  But other mission presidents don't. :) It also depends on the country- going door to door in some parts of the world is still common.

 

 

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Umm, It isn't just them that go door to door. I am lutheran and recently I heard from a pastor that sent out young people door to door just asking what they can pray for. They were not trying to convert anyone per say, they were just asking what they can pray for them. There was, of coarse, follow up later on to see if their needs had been met or if there was anything more they could do.

 

My grandmother is a JW and she told me just this week that she writes letters for JW's. I guess they send out letters now too to people that they have been in contact with. 

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I've never seen one here in Colorado Springs but we had both JWs and Mormons in Kansas City.  The Mormons were great - kind, friendly, patient with our kids, positive, non-confrontational.  They came once a week for a few months (they thought they were converting us, my husband thought he was converting them) :)  The JWs were not as great; I had to take the kids out when they came and they were pretty doom and gloom.

 

I'd much (much!) rather missionaries came by than people selling products.  At least missionaries in theory have your best interests at heart (they think).

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I've never had an LDS missionary at the door, but we get busloads of out-of-state Baptist teenagers during spring break. They park their buses/vans in our subdivision and I guess go door to door (they have pamphlets in hand, I've never been home when they get to my house).

 

I seriously hope there are not churches having kids raise funds for their spring break "mission trip" to walk around a suburban middle class subdivision handing out tracts.

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Yes sometimes still happens here.  Not nearly as often now.  Do I want people ringing my doorbell all day long?  No.  I'm glad this only happens once in a while now.  Still, I have actually had some great conversations with the people that would come by.  Sometimes regarding religion and sometimes about other stuff, too, like cooking or gardening (I'm terrible at both) or whatever else struck our fancy.  Usually they have all been really polite and friendly and have not pressured me regarding their faith.  We just talked.  Two really nice young women from the local LDS church actually helped me move a heavy piece of lawn equipment that was really stressing me out. They were very hot and tired (100+ degree heat) so we sat and visited afterwards and had a nice cool drink.  Quite a pleasant experience.  

 

 

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Umm, It isn't just them that go door to door. I am lutheran and recently I heard from a pastor that sent out young people door to door just asking what they can pray for. They were not trying to convert anyone per say, they were just asking what they can pray for them. There was, of coarse, follow up later on to see if their needs had been met or if there was anything more they could do.

 

My grandmother is a JW and she told me just this week that she writes letters for JW's. I guess they send out letters now too to people that they have been in contact with. 

 

Oh interesting.  They had the badges so I knew they were Mormon.  Otherwise, I wouldn't know the difference. Well except the JWs have very specific pamphlets so they are easy to tell.

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We get JW, LDS and people knocking with personal invitations from the SDA church quite often. 

 

They are genuinely pleasant and only knock once. If I don't feel like answering the door, I don't and they go away.  But generally, I just decline their pamphlets, offer them a drink of water and tell them thank you for stopping by.  I also let them know they can rest on my bench for a bit if the need a break. 

 

My son loves to have discussions with them.  He isn't confrontational, but asks them to have in depth conversations about their beliefs and to show him in the Bible where the passages are to back their belief system and the topic that they are there to discuss that day. They don't usually have the Biblical knowledge to back their beliefs (outside of point to passages in a pamphlet), so it does back them into a corner a bit, and I am sure they feel like they are put on the defensive even though he doesn't mean to. He wants them to know the answer. He is genuinely curious though why they go door to door to teach about a belief system that they can't discuss in an age appropriate, educated manor.  He is a youth pastor, so he has a pretty good idea of what an age appropriate response should be. Once he talks to them, they don't usually come back for quite a while, even though he encourages them to go ask the elders to get the knowledge and come back soon. He will even tell them when he will be home in the next few weeks, so they can come back. 

 

We are within a flat mile of a Baptist, LDS, SDA, JW, and some other church that I don't remember.  In the summer we get lots of door knockers.

Edited by Tap
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We get JW, LDS and people knocking with personal invitations from the SDA church quite often. 

 

They are genuinely pleasant and only knock once. If I don't feel like answering the door, I don't and they go away.  But generally, I just decline their pamphlets, offer them a drink of water and tell them thank you for stopping by.  I also let them know they can rest on my bench for a bit if the need a break. 

 

My son loves to have discussions with them.  He isn't confrontational, but asks them to have in depth conversations about their beliefs and to show him in the Bible where the passages are to back their belief system and the topic that they are there to discuss that day. They don't usually have the Biblical knowledge to back their beliefs (outside of point to passages in a pamphlet), so it does back them into a corner a bit, and I am sure they feel like they are put on the defensive even though he doesn't mean to. He wants them to know the answer. He is genuinely curious though why they go door to door to teach about a belief system that they can't discuss in an age appropriate, educated manor.  He is a youth pastor, so he has a pretty good idea of what an age appropriate response should be. Once he talks to them, they don't usually come back for quite a while, even though he encourages them to go ask the elders to get the knowledge and come back soon. He will even tell them when he will be home in the next few weeks, so they can come back. 

 

My kids were yelling through the house that someone was at the door.  Otherwise I would have ignored it.  LOL 

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Yes, though we seem to be on the 'no-fly' list after the last theological discussion that sparked when they visited. We have a good handful of LDS friends, especially through politics, and the general rule is to not engage one another on religious discussions unless one has a good long time to sit down :rofl:

 

We do get other groups door to door as well. Not heavily with any of them though, as the neighborhoods aren't very dense in this state and its inefficient.

Edited by Arctic Mama
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I read otherwise on-line, but two Mormons were at my door today.  So either what I read on-line is wrong or I now need to worry about who actually was at my door!

 

Probably what you read on-line was accurate for a certain area, but it's not accurate everywhere.  Some places for various reasons they don't go door to door (for example, I live in a gated community with very strict rules about no soliciting - for anything - and there are many, many gated communities all around me).  Other places they definitely do go door to door.

Edited by Butter
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Yes.

 

At our last address I made their DND list explaining to the very nice but very young and naive men that I was quite savvy to what a drug buy looks like and that I knew full well they were buying from the dealers in the park across the street. Not wanting to get reported to the mission leader meant they never came back. Here at our new place they are not infrequently standing around my street but I don't know that any have ever come to our door. I can tell they are Mormon because they have a uniform. The JW and other groups usually dress nicely but not all matchy matchy with printed plastic name tags.

 

At my old address, it was kind of a hassle to get solicitors because our door was one floor below our living space. Here at my new address, it's not such a bother. We get more church fundraisers (buy xy or z to support some mission or food bank) than we do proselytizers.

Edited by LucyStoner
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I've had LDS and JWs both in the last six months. Last week I had an elderly gentleman who wanted to share a Bible passage with me. They all got a polite No. I frequently see LDS missionaries out and about, but I live in an area with a large LDS population.

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We have both JW's and Mormons. The JW's are more regular, coming by a couple of times each year.  They are very nice people. We live less than two miles from a Mormon Temple and I've always been surprised at how few Mormon missionaries visit. Maybe since we have enough Mormon's to support a Temple, they don't see the area as a being in need. Like the JW's that visit, the Mormon missionaries are very nice as well. 

 

In our town, JW's and Mormons do not go door-to-door within a certain radius from their church/temple.  It could be the reason why they don't visit your home?

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When my DD was very young and we had just moved into a new house, the JW's came to call. I practically grabbed those ladies and dragged them inside because I was so desperate to talk to an adult! The sweet sisters came by about once a week for several years. They never converted me, and eventually seemed to stop trying, instead talking about their grandchildren and watching DD grow up.

 

We live near a temple, and we sometimes get LDS teens coming by. I think it's kind of the training wheels level of missions, because it's usually teens, accompanied by an adult. They're usually quite nice, earnest young men-and they've been very polite about not coming in the morning once I told them we homeschooled and we were doing school-although there was one time that a young missionary ended up helping DD with a Latin assignment. We've also had them jump in to help us when we're raking leaves or other outside chores, and I don't mind a religious discussion now and then when someone is demonstrating service and brotherly love.

 

I figure both the LDS and JWs are better neighbors than a lot of alternatives. The least I can do is say hi, be polite, and offer to pray for them as they do their mission service. Their version of faith isn't mine, but they're good folks.

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I'm Mormon so I don't get Mormon missionaries proselytizing to me. BUT, I've only ever answered the door to JWs once. I was very excited. My husband thought I'd gone off my rocker. :lol:

 

Our missionaries like to stop by to use the restroom and get water in the summer.  :lol: They know that we're home most of the time and the kids love talking to them.

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Oh heck yeah. I have gotten Mormons in the middle of a breastfeeding session ("WE ARE SO SORRY MA'AM YOU HAVE A NICE DAY!" and speedwalk all the way down the driveway), in a foreign country, Muslim majority when I was still a nondenominational Christian,  and when home alone in our lively suburb (fed and watered them at the door as they can't come in).

 

I enjoy talking about religion, and they are always polite about it. I think everyone has the right to go door to door. I love the idea of asking them for help with chores, LOL!

 

Also, we live pretty near a Temple. The kids weren't accompanied by anyone but one another. Lovely young men, wrong about god IMO but certainly thoughtful and polite in a discussion.

 

I don't enjoy speaking with the JWs as much as they are older and therefore, less respectful of me since I am younger than them and they want to tell me what to do. It is a harder pill to swallow. They aren't disrespectful, they just expect more respect from me even though it's my door and my house.

 

Whereas the Mormon boys are younger and have to shut up when I interrupt. I guess I take advantage of my age and I'm only 38. :D

Edited by Tsuga
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We seem to get a visit whenever they get a new crop of missionaries.  Last time it was some young women.  Other times we've had them from Arizona, and once an Irish fellow who was far too snappy a dresser for his role.

 

We get a JW lady usually once a month, she drops off the little magazine. 

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Not around here. Some friends of ours in our homeschool group are Mormon and told me they don't anymore. It might be a local parish by parish thing, though. I'm not sure if parish is the right word.

The right word for this context is Mission. The Mission President determines rules specific to the mission. A mission could be a small physical area, or a huge one covering several countries or states/provinces.

 

The word for a congregation is a Ward, or in an area with fewer members they would be a Branch.

 

I think they only go door to door here if they don't have any appointments or service projects or anything else to do. But it may have changed to none.... I'm trying to remember when we last had them knock on the door not realizing we are members.... it has been maybe 3 or 4 years.

 

And just some trivia for you.... they are now younger (or can be). A man can go on a mission now when he is 18, and a woman at 19.

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

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Oh heck yeah. I have gotten Mormons in the middle of a breastfeeding session ("WE ARE SO SORRY MA'AM YOU HAVE A NICE DAY!" and speedwalk all the way down the driveway), in a foreign country, Muslim majority when I was still a nondenominational Christian, and when home alone in our lively suburb (fed and watered them at the door as they can't come in).

 

I enjoy talking about religion, and they are always polite about it. I think everyone has the right to go door to door. I love the idea of asking them for help with chores, LOL!

 

Also, we live pretty near a Temple. The kids weren't accompanied by anyone but one another. Lovely young men, wrong about god IMO but certainly thoughtful and polite in a discussion.

 

I don't enjoy speaking with the JWs as much as they are older and therefore, less respectful of me since I am younger than them and they want to tell me what to do. It is a harder pill to swallow. They aren't disrespectful, they just expect more respect from me even though it's my door and my house.

 

Whereas the Mormon boys are younger and have to shut up when I interrupt. I guess I take advantage of my age and I'm only 38. :D

Jws aren't all old ya know.

 

This thread is cracking me up.

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The right word for this context is Mission. The Mission President determines rules specific to the mission. A mission could be a small physical area, or a huge one covering several countries or states/provinces.

 

The word for a congregation is a Ward, or in an area with fewer members they would be a Branch.

 

I think they only go door to door here if they don't have any appointments or service projects or anything else to do. But it may have changed to none.... I'm trying to remember when we last had them knock on the door not realizing we are members.... it has been maybe 3 or 4 years.

 

And just some trivia for you.... they are now younger (or can be). A man can go on a mission now when he is 18, and a woman at 19.

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

Thanks.

 

Ward is the word I was looking for, but it sounds like it was still the wrong word. LOL I guess the Mission President for this area has a no door-to-door rule at the moment, if I understand correctly.

 

:)

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We get them on occasion. Maybe once every year or two. I'm polite but firm and I have not had any argue with me yet.

 

We did recently get a JW family--a family! They were about the sweetest, most wholesome looking people ever. I felt bad telling them I wasn't interested.

 

My high school boyfriend's mom was a JW. She had a very young son with Downs Syndrome, and when he died she handled it with a grace I had no idea existed. She was truly a spectacular woman. Of course, it being California, they still grew pot in the backyard but...she was, as they say, good people. :)

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Yes, we do in general, though certain areas may have different rules based on specific circumstances. Though teaching, following up with contacts, and opportunities for service are going to take precedence, with tracting coming in if there is time remaining.  :)

 

I once had a nice young JW man come by my door.  We had a pleasant conversation, and he seemed pleased and excited to hear that we already did regular scripture study in our home and attended church regularly, until he asked me where.  You would have thought that I had suddenly sprouted horns.  Every week for the remaining time we lived in that house, I would see him coming up my street and skip my house.

 

I guess the JWs figure that Mormons are irredeemable?

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I don't think I've had any in the last few years, but we always mostly got JW's here anyway.

 

When I was kid there were some JW's that would drive out to our hobby farm once or twice a year, my father would happily chat to them for as long as they liked but they knew that as soon as they brought up religion they'd be politely asked to leave.

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I wonder what the statistics are of the number of people who convert to xyz because an xyz member stopped by??

It's pretty low, which is why the door-to-door tactic is mainly a last resort method in many mission areas, if they don't have their time filled teaching people who were introduced to the religion through friends or family, or performing service for whoever they can find who needs some help, etc.

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I wonder what the statistics are of the number of people who convert to xyz because an xyz member stopped by??

 

That's part of why tracting is often something LDS missionaries do if there is time after they do other stuff (service, teaching scheduled lessons, etc.).  While many people DO convert because someone knocked on their door (I know a few personally!), the majority are people who knew someone already in the Church and were introduced to the missionaries that way.

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Yep, had a couple of them show up about 2 weeks ago. Usually I don't mind too much, but one was a bit obnoxious. I doubt they will be back. I think in general, that church really needs to stop the door-to-soliciting. It's just not that safe in some places! Seriously, who is going to let two strangers into their home? And who wants to talk about religion on their porch? I don't get it.

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Yes, we do in general, though certain areas may have different rules based on specific circumstances. Though teaching, following up with contacts, and opportunities for service are going to take precedence, with tracting coming in if there is time remaining.  :)

 

I once had a nice young JW man come by my door.  We had a pleasant conversation, and he seemed pleased and excited to hear that we already did regular scripture study in our home and attended church regularly, until he asked me where.  You would have thought that I had suddenly sprouted horns.  Every week for the remaining time we lived in that house, I would see him coming up my street and skip my house.

 

I guess the JWs figure that Mormons are irredeemable?

 

Not at all!! Some have had the experience of Mormons trying to convert us when we're at the door (turnabout is fair play :D!). I would guess that the brother just figured you guys were happy with your beliefs.

 

I love it when Mormons come to my door. They're always young men who are kind and polite. The last pair that came to my door seemed impressed that we took our children out in the ministry.

 

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