Because being Mormon fixes everything, right? right?

[freejoytoo]

There was a girl at school who was Mormon. She said it was all crazy and the double standards for boys and girls were ridiculous. She left as soon as she could.

[marmalade]

Concur. The way Ma wrote that excerpt makes it even worse. It's so cold that it's....scary.

[Jessica]

Where would you even forward it to

What ward and stake is he currently in? Each stake is part of a mission zone (ie "California: San Jose Mission", "Peru: Lima Mission") and each mission has its own "president" that oversees all the missionaries. It's also broken down to different zones and each zone has its own leader. If you can get me the name of the ward/stake he's in I can look it up online (I still have an LDS account) and get the phone number for a stake president who will have the number for the mission president.

[ADoyle90815]

That was also my reaction. I guess this blogger takes that Mormon belief literally about children who die before they're baptized at 8 are automatically going to the celestial kingdom because they're not accountable for any sins. Obviously, most Mormon moms aren't like that at all, as they take things like car seat safety very seriously. That blogger probably thinks the other mothers in her ward are helicopter parents for obeying car seat laws.

With that son, I do think the person in charge of the mission should be notified about what is on his blog, as that could decrease the number of convert baptisms they get. After all, if that missionary is the only Mormon some people meet, they would think all Mormons are racist assholes like him.

[emmiedahl]

He is not saying a whole lot that is not mainstream LDS belief. Go to church even if it means missing work? Yeah, they believe that. Tithe even if you are already in the red? Yep. Make what they judge the morally right decision even if it destroys your life? Of course.

The mother posted something on her blog about Obama looking creepy. I will have to dig it back up, I saw it last night but I was more upset about the car/toddler incident.

[dorothybaez]

Holy Shit

Double holy shit.

[Lemonbalm]

I have found a hilarious thing. One of the Elders in my district that is going to NYC with me is terrified of large groups of people. He's terrified. He hates going to do laundry because he doesn't like being in a large group of people in the laundromat. He hates standing in line to get a good seat for the devotional because he's terrified of that many people. When we're all trying to squeeze through the double doors to get in there, it's actually quite a funny sight. He gets really uncomfortable, which makes me laugh.I can only imagine when we get off the plane in JFK... It's gonna be so awesome... so awesome...... And I'll laugh at him.

:shock:

[Guest Anonymous]

:shock:

What a gigantic asshole.

[Samantha]

What a gigantic asshole.

Typical for all the mormons I have met. In my experience, mormons do not understand personal boundries or that not everyone is extroverted and likes being around people. :roll:

[duplessis3]

We inadvertantly discovered Mormon Missionary Be Gone. We are Uu raving liberals. One night i was leaving with one of my sons and my husband was standing in the yard with the other one (so they knew someone was home.) When two missionaries came by. They read the bumperstickers on the back of my husband's car "love makes a family" etc and looked at each other, then walked to the next house. Without looking at my husband or kid.

[E Street Fan]

That is very much the image that the church tries to put out. In personal relationships I have found that there is a great deal of superiority and the general belief that everyone else is doing it wrong.

That's also the impression I get. The superiority complex starts right at the beginning. They ain't my elders and they're sure not my sisters, either.

[flojo]

:shock:

Why are they sending someone like this to NYC?

[bananacat]

Reading his blog is painful. Not only is it condenscending, but he says a lot without saying much. Amazing how someone seems to feel contempt towards those he is supposed to be helping.

I have a dear friend who is a Mormon (very liberal one at that) and she said to me that the point of missionary work isn't a contest to convert souls but it is supposed to be a personal journey to strengthen one's own faith. I'm not sure if that is what is taught across the board, just her experience or that this Elder Denton just really has no clue...but if it is he's doin' it wrong.

Btw said friend was a missionary in a town in Pennsylvania known for a scandal involving child molestors running free around a University's sports team. She has a lot of choice things to say about that place!

I don't really think this is all that much better. It's wrong of her to proselytize to other people and just for her own selfish journey of self-discovery. If she can't see that it's wrong to use people like that, I can't really view her in a much better light. At best, it's condescending.

[emmiedahl]

I don't really think this is all that much better. It's wrong of her to proselytize to other people and just for her own selfish journey of self-discovery. If she can't see that it's wrong to use people like that, I can't really view her in a much better light. At best, it's condescending.

Considering that they get in trouble for not converting people while there is no measure of their spiritual growth whatsoever... I would say conversion is probably the goal.

[Jessica]

In my experience, mormons do not understand personal boundries.

Well, yeah, bishops can ask teenagers if they masturbate or divorced adults if they have issues with watching porn or what kind of underwear they have on. And because they're the BIIIIISHOOOOP, it's a-okay!

[freejoytoo]

:shock:

:shock: How can such dickish people exist? It's depressing. Yeah, anxiety issues are just hilarious.

[Peas n carrots]

I don't really think this is all that much better. It's wrong of her to proselytize to other people and just for her own selfish journey of self-discovery. If she can't see that it's wrong to use people like that, I can't really view her in a much better light. At best, it's condescending.

I can see where you are coming from...it can be interpreted as self serving. I'm not sure of her mindset at the time or the extent she proselytized, and I was under the impression that at least in her case there was no pressure to convert people but more being supportive of those who wanted to explore Mormonism. I think she views the experience for herself and others as a way of being exposed to a wide gamut of people, and learning about different cultures etc and how to communicate and build bridges in those communities. But I can see what you mean and I can see how it would come across as taking advantage of people for personal enrichment.

Considering that they get in trouble for not converting people while there is no measure of their spiritual growth whatsoever... I would say conversion is probably the goal.

I was taking her word, as I honestly know little about Mormonism. I wont deny that the goal was conversion, though IIRC she didn't have any conversions. She's not exactly a typical Mormon girl...she's a single mid-30's woman who is pro gay marriage and has liberal views on many issues. She's never even discussed Mormonism with me the entire time I've known her. She may or may not have intended to convert, but that is the story she gives these days. At least she doesn't try to with her friends and neighbors these days!

Is it true of both the female and male missionaries there are certain quotas? Are they geographically dependent...I would guess it would be extremely difficult to convert in the Bible Belt vs. New York.

[quinoa mama]

well we been doin stuff up in heeyuh. Lately Elder Cortes has taken to talking like a street ghetto black guy. And it's not only really weird and annoying, but also rubbin off on me. So that's cool. Except not.

I have no words to elaborate on this one.

[quinoa mama]

Am I detecting some self awareness?

This week and just recently in general, I've been studying humility trying to get a handle on it. After much studying, it still pretty much eludes me entirely. Maybe someday I'll understand, but I'm not putting any money on it. So if any of you people out there know how to cultivate humility, by all means let me know.

[Hane]

Am I detecting some self awareness?

He's the oldest son in a Super-Devout Mormon Family, and a missionary. I'm thinking the humility thing is never, ever gonna stick.

[Vex]

'Aprubt' seems like a SOTDRT fail to me. He's obviously heard people say it and has probably never read it. He is such a prick. What he said about the other missionary with anxiety made me so angry. I sometimes struggle with the same anxiety in large groups of people and it's a dreadful feeling. New York is about as crowded as it gets in America, what a rotten place for that poor man to be. He shouldn't have been placed there.

I don't get the post about Angelo. He talks about how he refuses to stop calling him his brother, then later on he states Angelo is 5 years old. From what I read before he stated his age, I assumed Angelo was perhaps a teenager, and had been disowned for something like leaving the church or being gay. Does anyone know the back story?

I cannot believe the mother's story about the daughter who fell out of the moving car. She is so, so lucky that the kid was able to hang on. While I was reading that my jaw literally dropped and my mouth stayed open for the duration. How could anyone be so irresponsible? As far as I know it's now illegal to not have seat belts on in most states, but the cops don't seem to enforce it. Here, the vast majority of people obey the law, and the cops usually come down hard on people who they catch without seat belts.

[Hane]

'Aprubt' seems like a SOTDRT fail to me. He's obviously heard people say it and has probably never read it. He is such a prick. What he said about the other missionary with anxiety made me so angry. I sometimes struggle with the same anxiety in large groups of people and it's a dreadful feeling. New York is about as crowded as it gets in America, what a rotten place for that poor man to be. He shouldn't have been placed there.

I don't get the post about Angelo. He talks about how he refuses to stop calling him his brother, then later on he states Angelo is 5 years old. From what I read before he stated his age, I assumed Angelo was perhaps a teenager, and had been disowned for something like leaving the church or being gay. Does anyone know the back story?

I cannot believe the mother's story about the daughter who fell out of the moving car. She is so, so lucky that the kid was able to hang on. While I was reading that my jaw literally dropped and my mouth stayed open for the duration. How could anyone be so irresponsible? As far as I know it's now illegal to not have seat belts on in most states, but the cops don't seem to enforce it. Here, the vast majority of people obey the law, and the cops usually come down hard on people who they catch without seat belts.

Angelo was a foster child the family had for almost a year. He was a toddler when he was placed with them, and then, after many months, his biological grandmother and her Native American tribe wanted him back. The story is quite sad, from all perspectives.

And the Evie falling out of the car thing? "No eating in the car EVARRRR" is a Big Rule, but seatbelts and locking the doors=optional? So far, in skimming the mom's blog, I've seen Evie nearly getting killed falling out of a car, being beaned by a steel doorway (with a illustrative pic of the poor baby with a purple lump on her head but no trip to the ER), and Evie eating Mystery Berries, with nary a call to the Poison Control Center. I hope to God the poor lamb survives to adulthood.

And did anyone catch the post about her son being called into the principal's office for pinching a little girl? Mama was FUMING--because how dare the Mean Old Principal ruin the last day of school by disciplining HER child for hurting another kid? And, of course, all her fangirls piled on and agreed with her.

I swear these Western US Mormons have their own culture. It's all "OUR way is SWELL," and it doesn't even OCCUR to them to look at things through the eyes of other people and cultures. I've seen this attitude in many other mainstream Mormon blogs and postings. This gal has NO filter, and it never dawns on her that many people would be shocked by the stuff she puts out there.

[DarkAnts]

Angelo was a foster child the family had for almost a year. He was a toddler when he was placed with them, and then, after many months, his biological grandmother and her Native American tribe wanted him back. The story is quite sad, from all perspectives.

And the Evie falling out of the car thing? "No eating in the car EVARRRR" is a Big Rule, but seatbelts and locking the doors=optional? So far, in skimming the mom's blog, I've seen Evie nearly getting killed falling out of a car, being beaned by a steel doorway (with a illustrative pic of the poor baby with a purple lump on her head but no trip to the ER), and Evie eating Mystery Berries, with nary a call to the Poison Control Center. I hope to God the poor lamb survives to adulthood.

And did anyone catch the post about her son being called into the principal's office for pinching a little girl? Mama was FUMING--because how dare the Mean Old Principal ruin the last day of school by disciplining HER child for hurting another kid? And, of course, all her fangirls piled on and agreed with her.

I swear these Western US Mormons have their own culture. It's all "OUR way is SWELL," and it doesn't even OCCUR to them to look at things through the eyes of other people and cultures. I've seen this attitude in many other mainstream Mormon blogs and postings. This gal has NO filter, and it never dawns on her that many people would be shocked by the stuff she puts out there.

In Utah the mormon culture is even worse. Its "Our way is the ONLY way". They are encouraged to use social pressure to convert people. Even the children are encouraged to do this. I was called an atheist by several kids in my 3ed grade class. They did not even know what an atheist was. They also said that their moms told them not to play with me because I was evil.I was also accused once of devil worship more then a few times because I was not following "their god". I was picked on and tormented because of my faith at the age of 9. The principal allowed the other students to bully me. They would throw sand at me, hold school doors closed, push me, follow me home and call me names the entire way exc. I told the teach and principal what was going on. My parents did the same thing. We both got the "boys will be boys" response. When I fought back I got suspended. This went on for 3 years. It has shaped who I am as a person. I have many misgivings about the mormon church since they use social pressure to try and convert people. My family is christian and I was raised ELCA lutheran. I knew that they were wrong. But, it still leaves a big emotional scar. I an no longer christian just religious. That came after running into evangelical asshats but thats another story for another time.

[nomoxian]

Why are they sending someone like this to NYC?

According to True Believers, it is god who knows where people should go and he lets the church leaders know... so if you're going to blame anyone...... :lol:

[emmiedahl]

According to True Believers, it is god who knows where people should go and he lets the church leaders know... so if you're going to blame anyone...... :lol:

There is a similar system with "callings". It is what most of us call church volunteering, but they are (as a Mormon put it to me) "voluntold". God supposedly tells the leaders that so-and-so needs to run the church nursery or be in charge of scrubbing the toilets or whatever. Sure, you can say no, but you are saying no to GOD. It is not looked nicely upon. It is not ironic at all that the wealthier Mormons are called to be in charge of shit and the poorer ones are called to scrub bathrooms.