Questions to ask Mormon missionary?

[merrily]

So I have finally been visited by Mormon missionaries- one from Texas and one from Utah. They seemed nice, and they seemed so shocked when I know the name of their founder and when I told them I was a gasp! agnostic. I wished I had the nerve to ask them why they believe that gold plates found in the US are credible :shrug:. Can the Hive Vagina suggest me questions I can ask them if they ever come a'calling again?

[patsymae]

If Jesus had really come to the Americas after the Resurrection and preached to the Native Americans, don't you think somebody would have noticed?

[HOTW]

I'd ask them why the Mormon Church allowed themselves to pander to the US Gov't to take away the right of women to vote in order to join as a state...

[Verin Sedai]

Ask about the Book of Abraham. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Abraham

[Hane]

Ask them why they aren't promoting the Eleventh Article of Faith (which says people should be allowed to worship as they choose)--and why their own church has so many versions of the First Vision.

[Dandruff]

Ask them if they have a quota and, if so, what happens if they don't meet it.

[Terrasola]

Ask them to explain:

* the Adam - God doctrine,

* Doctrine and Covenants 132 (i.e. polygamy, which the LDS still believe is practiced in the Celestial Kingdom / heaven), and

* why women need men to attain the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom.

[RosyDaisy]

Nothing. Seriously. Just say that your not interested and bid them good day.

[Rachel333]

This might be unpopular, but I'd say be nice with your questions. They're probably not even going to know about everything raised here; the Adam-God doctrine really isn't taught anymore at all, for example, which doesn't mean it's not relevant, but they might not know much about it, and I sort of doubt they'd care much about suffrage and Utah statehood. I'm not saying don't ask hard questions, especially if you're genuinely interested in what they believe, but I think it's really obnoxious when people try to trap a couple of teenagers just following orders for their church with a bunch of "gotcha" questions (agh, I feel like Sarah Palin now :lol:). It's a waste of time for everyone, for one thing.

When I talk to missionaries (LDS and other) I absolutely will talk about what church policies and doctrine I disagree with, but I do it because I like talking about that stuff and I really am interested in them as people, not because I'm trying to win a debate or deconvert them, and I've always had really good experiences. The last time I sat down and talked with a pair of sister missionaries we ended up hugging goodbye and they told me they thought I might know more about some aspects of the church than they do.

I also know that it can be pretty tough being an LDS missionary and there's a whole lot of social pressure on men to serve a mission even if they don't want to (and it sounds like that's becoming more and more true for women as well now that they lowered the age requirement), so I do tend to have more sympathy for them than for your average proselytizer.

[treemom]

I think it is obnoxious to go door to door and try to convince people you know the one true way. It isn't obnoxious to expect those people who know the one true way to know the history of that way.

[treemom]

I opt for the I am not interested and shut the door in their face.

[Rachel333]

I think it is obnoxious to go door to door and try to convince people you know the one true way. It isn't obnoxious to expect those people who know the one true way to know the history of that way.

I don't disagree, but to me the stuff I've seen in places like /r/atheism go beyond that. They talk about "trolling" missionaries and trying to make them as uncomfortable as possible and just seem very smug about it all. Their stories kind of reminded me of those fantasy chain e-mails where the brave Christian student stumps the evil atheist professor. A lot of them are purposely seeking out the missionaries, too, as there aren't many going door-to-door these days.

Like I said, it's not that I don't think you should discuss hard topics at all. The last time I talked with some missionaries (two years ago) I found out that they had no idea that the GA's do get paid--they thought that, like local leadership, it was all volunteer. One just seemed a bit uncomfortable, the other admitted that the idea did bother her and she was going to ask about it (she was a recent convert herself). I've talked about how much the priesthood restrictions (both for women and historically for black people) bother me. It's just that to me it's important to still be nice to them no matter what, especially since I've seen so many people be pretty mean to them.

What about other missionaries? I'm actually asking here since this is making me think. Would you bring up something like Aisha right away with a Muslim proselytizer? I probably wouldn't, but then I tend to be very non-confrontational. I have had Muslim acquaintances give me tracts and I pretty much just said "thanks, I'll read them later."

[treemom]

I pretty much shut the door on everyone's face.

[missbrooklyn]

ask them if they truly believe that Elohim (Heavenly Father) really descended from Kolob to do the horizontal nasty with the Virgin mary in order to conceive Jesus. That one floored me, and I am not even Christian.

[Rhetorica]

This might be unpopular, but I'd say be nice with your questions.

This advice really resonates with me. Having been born and raised Amish Mennonite and then part of a more mainstream fundie (fundie-lite) group for several years after that, it was the kind but unconvinced people who made the biggest impact on me. Confrontational people only confirmed my naive perception that everyone "out there" was unloving and antagonistic--their actions confirmed my/our martyr mindset. Nothing got my attention more than someone who was genuinely interested in me even though they didn't buy what I was selling. They didn't fit our pattern of how people "out there" behave. Even if we lost touch, they continued to influence me years later when things started falling apart and I couldn't put off the questions any more.

[treemom]

I am a lot kinder to people who don't start their experiencing in knowing me by being so presumptuous to assume they know the right one way and I don't and also that I need salvation.

People who actually know and these issues come up I am pretty nice to. But I don't really show interest in door to door salesmen who are only selling their bullshit god.

[treemom]

Edited because I just need to google.

[treemom]

Ok I googled so now I know what Amish Mennonite is. But I have never experienced the door to door selling of either group or this hybrid thing. In general I found Amish to be assholes, but for totally different reasons.

[gezykah]

I haven't had a Mormon knock on my door since high school but I have had a number of encounters with them in public. My standard response when dealing with Mormon missionaries is to ask them how I got my skin color then walk away. I once had a black Mormon try to stop me when I was walking to work and I asked him how we got our skin color then walked away. I've found it's the most effective way of ending the situation quickly.

If I'm having a conversation with somebody where we are exchanging ideas I'm not as blunt. I love learning about different beliefs and cultures. There's a big difference between somebody sharing their beliefs with me and trying to change mine.

[jaynie]

If I'm having a conversation with somebody where we are exchanging ideas I'm not as blunt. I love learning about different beliefs and cultures. There's a big difference between somebody sharing their beliefs with me and trying to change mine.

That's exactly it. Being proselytised at is imo deeply unpleasant, and although I try to be nice in general, its really hard not to get snippy with someone whose opening gambit is that they know more about my life than I do. Last time I ran into Mormons doing their thing they interrupted my happy daydreamy little walk to tell me that I was deeply miserable and lost in life and should come to their church to find bliss and purpose. That's incredibly rude. I was polite as it happens, but I don't fault people for getting argumentative any more than I'd fault people for arguing with, say, pushy kiosk people in malls. As far as I'm concerned, they started it.

I'm perfectly happy to have an friendly, voluntary conversation though.

[merrily]

I can't exactly slam the door on them, cause the landlady invited them to come in, and I have a feeling she would invite them over in the future, so it's nice to have some friendly questions to ask them.

[dora]

I had a friend who was a Mormon (sadly no longer my friend, and also not a Mormon), and so used to have a bit to do with the local ward. I had two lots of missionaries around to dinner. I make it clear that we are happy with our faith but I am interested in finding out about what they believe, mostly because it relates to the culture my friend grew up in. Also, they are usually cute young guys with adorable accents. I like to hear about what life is like in Utah or Perth or whoever they've come from.

I think I suprise them by being respectful and polite, and knowing a lot more about their faith than they expect me to.

[Arete]

I usually close the door politely on the Mormons, less politely on the JWs, and tell the Evangelicals to go away. I have no problem putting their proverbial feet to the fire on their church doctrines if they insist on not leaving, because most of them believe the rest of us have never studied our own faith or theirs and are just living in complete ignorance on the question of faith. If I have to have a conversation, I am definitely going to point them to their harder doctrines or inconsistencies. They came to ME uninvited. With missionaries, these are not conversations entered with the agreement of both parties for the purpose of everyone learning something.

[treemom]

I don't slam the door. I do the same thing I do with telemarketers. I say thank you but I am not interested and immediately shut the door. I feel that is appropriately polite.

I have told them I have no interest and as they are uninvited and unwelcome I don't need to pretend like they actually are invited and welcome.

[HereticHick]

I was once cornered by an overly earnest missionary while walking down the street in a European city. He was SHOCKED that I recognized his "uniform." I just told him "No thanks, I'm a Unitarian." and he said "What's a Unitarian?." I told him, politely, that we were a small faith tradition, but very important in early American political and religious history, and we've produced 3 Presidents to their none, and frankly, if he didn't know any of this he had no business being a missionary.