askandanswer

Community activities too.  Just be a presence in the town.  We did various church activities and invited the community.  "Meet the Mormons" kind of thing.  We also did a lot of street contacts.  We'd just say, "Can we ask you a couple questions?" and ask a series of questions leading to a doctrinal truth like eternal families.  Really, the best thing is to put yourself out there. In a small town, everyone knows the missionaries.  You stand out, and so use that to your advantage.  Wave.  Be overly helpful.  Chat. Get to know people's names who you run into regularly.  We used to ride the bus every day, and chat with the bus drivers and passengers.  Captive audience. 

Yes, perform service - for charities (including other churches), for individuals, for anything at all.  It may take several sets of missionaries before the good will and reputation build to a point where people are moved to action, but that seems like the way to go.

Service is always good. We did service at a soup kitchen ran by a Pentecostal preacher. We mentioned briefly that part of the word of wisdom was not drinking coffee. 3 weeks later he told us he quit coffee x) In every single one of his pre-meal sermons he talked about and testified of the truth that us missionaries spoke. 

Tracking is generally a waste of time. 
Your son should contact local administrators or charities and get involved in service projects. Just wearing the name tag is high visibility and they’re doing the right thing too.
Remember that people who are involved in helping others are more likely to be receptive to the Church’s message. 

“Book of Mormon Rainbow Edition (All ‘L’s, ‘G’s, ‘B’s, ‘T’s and ‘Q’s are in red text)”

Yeah, because you're 146 years behind due to all that red tape.

Congratulations Grunt, I'm very happy for you and I hope that you and your family are as well. I'm sure there are a great many people absolutely delighted by your decision and most of all a recently returned missionary in Ireland. There's a lot of great stuff ahead of you and I'm sure you will now be an even greater strength and help to your ward and those around you.

Apparently you weren't paying attention (or your subtraction skills need work) - she was born on Joseph Smith's birthday.  Joseph Smith was born 23 December 1805.

Joseph Smith's birthday.  Now you can never forget my baptism date.

My home teacher was bemoaning that his hometown was going downhill...Cardston Alberta.
Oh, I asked, People moving into town? I was picturing hippies, drug users etc. Canada is legalizing pot soon so...
Yes, he said wearily, you should see church these days.
Wow, I thought, the hippies are coming to church?
Yes, he said, So people are moving to Cardston to be near the temple. At church, you can barely get a seat! We have filled the building with chairs. You can't get a seat! And there are tons of people I don't know!
Ah, the real problem! People I don't know in my church. Mormon problems. The shock that occurs when small town people have to deal with people they don't know!

We were babysitting my 3 yr old niece.  She was excited to come to church.  So excited, in the middle of the sacrament she came running up the aisles screaming "Uncle [NT]!  I went pee-pee on the potty!" at the top of her lungs.

Happy Belated Birthday @pam! I may not be able to produce a baptismal certificate, but how about if I promise not to eat any ginger bread cookies for the next year?

Acute, feminine angles are far cuter that male. An obtuse angle is not acute angle 

You're doing better than me.  I used to explain things to the best of my knowledge, then I would read something that shed more light on the subject.  I've since just become really comfortable saying "beats me, BUT the answer to that question is on LDS.org."  

The age and arthritis might be a good reason not to assist with cleaning the chapel but I don't think they would be a good reason to leave the church.

I’m in agreement with your notion that some speculation is damaging.   As an investigator, I’m often confused by things that are put forth as fact when they are really beliefs or suppositions.  Without revelation, how would we know some of these things and do they really matter with regard to our worship and pursuits?

The age and arthritis might be a good reason not to assist with cleaning the chapel but I don't think they would be a good reason to leave the church.

You have a fountain pen in your house?! I'm sorry Gator, I just lost so much respect for you. I thought you were a nice guy.

We know how men are created.  I will review this process because it requires gender.  A sperm from a male will penetrate the egg of a female and human life begins as a lower creature of a single cell called a zygote.   This single cell will evolve through a process and a lower form creature will become more and more complex.  If this evolutionary process is successful the recognizable form of a human will be born as an infant child – but evolution is not through yet.  Before a child becomes a man, evolution will continue.
As well as I understand scripture even Jesus was “conceived” as a lower form creature of a single cell and over the course normal for the gestation of a single cell to evolve into an infant human.
The scriptures giving an account of “creation” tell us that the “first” human evolved from “dust”.  There is no creature alive today that has any lower origin.
I thought I would tell a little story.  There was this young boy that came to his father and asked, “Father, where did all the people come from?”  The father told the boy that a long time ago there was a man named Adam who had a wife named Eve.  They lived in a garden and did something that got them kicked out of the garden.  After being kicked out they had children and the children had children and so on and so on – and that is where all the people came from.
About an hour later the boy returned to the father and said that the father had lied.  The boy had asked his mother and the mother said that all the people evolved from monkeys and apes.   The father looked lovingly at the boy and said, “Son, I did not lie to you and neither did your mom – she was just describing her side of the family.”
 
The Traveler

You have a fountain pen in your house?! I'm sorry Gator, I just lost so much respect for you. I thought you were a nice guy.

Several of us are examining these questions under the broader context of the Creation and Garden Stories. You are more than welcome to look in and participate in the discussion.
I should warn you, though, that it is not a doctrinal discussion, but rather the sharing of varied perspectives seen as if through a glass darkly. It is also a ponderous discussion in that we are on the third page of sharing and have yet to finish with Day One of the creation.
Thanks, -Wade Englund-

The age and arthritis might be a good reason not to assist with cleaning the chapel but I don't think they would be a good reason to leave the church.

The age and arthritis might be a good reason not to assist with cleaning the chapel but I don't think they would be a good reason to leave the church.