You cant even go to a book store

[jolee65]

My husband came home today from work and told me he was at a book store, he might have time in the day to stop at a book store and look for his favorites religion or politics. He was trying to sqweeze past a older gentlemen in the same subject, religion.

The older gentelmen asked him what he was looking for my husband told him he was just looking to see if they had anything he wanted , so the older gentelmen asked him what his religion was my husband replyed LDS , he said oh your a Mormon David said yes the older gentelmen asked have you attended long my husband said all my life , the older gentelmen said you need to find another religion because your wrong, LOL

Tell me how you really feel,...LOL

It really upset him , me I dont care what people think , they can say what they want. But he was totally beside himself about it and went on for awhile questioning why someone would do that .

has anyone had this happen to them and how did you react?

[KristofferUmfrey]

My husband came home today from work and told me he was at a book store, he might have time in the day to stop at a book store and look for his favorites religion or politics. He was trying to sqweeze past a older gentlemen in the same subject, religion.

The older gentelmen asked him what he was looking for my husband told him he was just looking to see if they had anything he wanted , so the older gentelmen asked him what his religion was my husband replyed LDS , he said oh your a Mormon David said yes the older gentelmen asked have you attended long my husband said all my life , the older gentelmen said you need to find another religion because your wrong, LOL

Tell me how you really feel,...LOL

It really upset him , me I dont care what people think , they can say what they want. But he was totally beside himself about it and went on for awhile questioning why someone would do that .

has anyone had this happen to them and how did you react?

Give a hearty laugh like he's joking around, playfully ask, "What religion are you?" When he answers, stop smiling, look him dead in the eyes, and say, "Well, sir, I think you are wrong." keep looking him dead in the eyes until he fidgets and goes away.

No need to get upset.

Edited December 22, 2008 by KristofferUmfrey
commas

[Jenamarie]

"I appreciate your concern. Have a good day."

I just leave it at that.

[Soulsearcher]

I have had it happen most of my life, sadly though it was the LDS part of may family telling me i was wrong being Catholic.

[Guest JHM-in-Bountiful]

I first joined the church in 1989. Around 1993 I became inactive and eventually had my name removed from the church records. I would often go into "CHRISTIAN" book stores and purchase any book that was anti-LDS. I even saw videos that discussed and showed many things pertaining to what happensinside the temple. I remember one time I told a clerk that I left the LDS church and she was so happy for me. Once I had access to the internet in 2000, my anger of the church really grew. The internet allowed me to hear an actual recording of the entire endowment session in the temple.

Then everything changed in 2007. I came back to the church, and no longer look at anti-LDS websites.

[a-train]

"Just any old religion or does it only matter that its not Mormon?"

-a-train

[NeuroTypical]

We have an 11 yr old girl checking our church out. She heads to another state for a few weeks every now and then to visit her mother, and comes back full of this stuff. Last week, she let everyone in Sunday School know that mormons are going to hell. The teacher gave her the chance to give the closing prayer, and she prayed that we could all stop being mormons.

Her dad sighs, and says yes, every time she comes back from her mom's place, she's full of this stuff. It isn't just Mormons, it's everyone who is going to hell.

Poor girl - what an awful situation to be in.

LM

[jolee65]

I have had it happen most of my life, sadly though it was the LDS part of may family telling me i was wrong being Catholic.

Well I dont believe that should happen either, I think its good to know other religions and what they believe in order to get a perspective on what your looking for.

My mom was a member of the LDS church and left for another, it was a shock at first but if shes happy then thats all that counts.

[Misshalfway]

I don't know.......sounds like a perfect opportunity to ask some questions and open a dialogue about the religion and maybe invite the Spirit to teach in the discussion. Most likely this man has a warped understanding of what we believe anyway. He might have left the bookstore that day with his eyes opened and heart softened too.

[jolee65]

We have an 11 yr old girl checking our church out. She heads to another state for a few weeks every now and then to visit her mother, and comes back full of this stuff. Last week, she let everyone in Sunday School know that mormons are going to hell. The teacher gave her the chance to give the closing prayer, and she prayed that we could all stop being mormons.

Her dad sighs, and says yes, every time she comes back from her mom's place, she's full of this stuff. It isn't just Mormons, it's everyone who is going to hell.

Poor girl - what an awful situation to be in.

LM

Thats got to be tough and shes so young, im sorry to hear that

[jolee65]

I don't know.......sounds like a perfect opportunity to ask some questions and open a dialogue about the religion and maybe invite the Spirit to teach in the discussion. Most likely this man has a warped understanding of what we believe anyway. He might have left the bookstore that day with his eyes opened and heart softened too.

he did tell my husband he has LDS friends im wondering if he shared his opinion with them to.

[Palerider]

Living here in the section of the Bible Belt....when I hear that I always ask them what is their religion....I always have fun with this....:)

[blessedinarizonia]

I am a convert and I didn't know that people thought less than kind of us. On one summer day my Aunt and I had gone to the mountains to see a display of "Mountain Men" shooting. They were dressed in skins and caps. There was food and shooting. All had a good time. On the way home my Aunt, whom I loved dearly, said don't tell your cousin Howard that you are Mormon. Shocked I asked why and she told me that they don't believe in Christ. I was speechless. Finding my tongue I told her of course we do. She said we didn't, but we were just told to say that. She has been gone for years now but I still can remember the shock I felt that day. I still can't believe people believe and say the things they do and not know any better

[jolee65]

I am a convert and I didn't know that people thought less than kind of us. On one summer day my Aunt and I had gone to the mountains to see a display of "Mountain Men" shooting. They were dressed in skins and caps. There was food and shooting. All had a good time. On the way home my Aunt, whom I loved dearly, said don't tell your cousin Howard that you are Mormon. Shocked I asked why and she told me that they don't believe in Christ. I was speechless. Finding my tongue I told her of course we do. She said we didn't, but we were just told to say that. She has been gone for years now but I still can remember the shock I felt that day. I still can't believe people believe and say the things they do and not know any better

Oh I know thats always a shocker but we know differently dont we;)

[Islander]

I always ask: "Have YOU considered the possibility that it could be YOU the one that is WRONG."

[FunkyTown]

We have an 11 yr old girl checking our church out. She heads to another state for a few weeks every now and then to visit her mother, and comes back full of this stuff. Last week, she let everyone in Sunday School know that mormons are going to hell. The teacher gave her the chance to give the closing prayer, and she prayed that we could all stop being mormons.

Her dad sighs, and says yes, every time she comes back from her mom's place, she's full of this stuff. It isn't just Mormons, it's everyone who is going to hell.

Poor girl - what an awful situation to be in.

LM

Hahah. I love this girl. Tell us what you really feel.

Of course, you realize that this is the type of person who will have the greatest testimony if we can let the Holy Spirit work through us, right?

[Gwen]

I don't know.......sounds like a perfect opportunity to ask some questions and open a dialogue about the religion and maybe invite the Spirit to teach in the discussion. Most likely this man has a warped understanding of what we believe anyway. He might have left the bookstore that day with his eyes opened and heart softened too.

lol once he gets through the first discussion he'll never make that mistake again with you or any other mormon.

[Heavenguard]

I have a friend, she is probably the most confrontational person I know, and has the EQ of a gnat.

She told me how one time she was at school studying for an upcoming exam in a common area, and a pair of LDS fellows set up a table with some tracts and the like. She said she couldn't stand giving them the opportunity to talk to people, so she went up to them and just started challenging them right up till the time of her exam, at which time she said she had to go and left them.

But then again, she's also the type to tell the homeless to get a job ... so ... I suppose I shouldn't be surprised ...

[Hemidakota]

My husband came home today from work and told me he was at a book store, he might have time in the day to stop at a book store and look for his favorites religion or politics. He was trying to sqweeze past a older gentlemen in the same subject, religion.

The older gentelmen asked him what he was looking for my husband told him he was just looking to see if they had anything he wanted , so the older gentelmen asked him what his religion was my husband replyed LDS , he said oh your a Mormon David said yes the older gentelmen asked have you attended long my husband said all my life , the older gentelmen said you need to find another religion because your wrong, LOL

Tell me how you really feel,...LOL

It really upset him , me I dont care what people think , they can say what they want. But he was totally beside himself about it and went on for awhile questioning why someone would do that .

has anyone had this happen to them and how did you react?

Reply - "Really! Pardon me, but what is your belief or religion again?"

[Captain_Curmudgeon]

Speaking from considerable experience, when you tell people you are from Utah, they will just about always ask if you're Mormon. I regard it as normal curiosity. We get a lot of press, you know.

Here in Utah, I often ask people just so I know how to talk to them. If they're not Mormon, then they're not going to get my usual jokes. Shoot -- just remembered: even if they are, they're not going to get a lot of them.

[OtterPop]

First, it is certainly rude and wholly unacceptable behavior to tell a stranger in a bookstore that he is wrong about his religious beliefs.

But, remember, the LDS church teaches that everyone else is wrong about theirs. The church sends out missionaries to tell peole that they are wrong about their religion. Before someone jumps on me for saying this so bluntly, I ask you: Are missionaries taught to ask if the strangers they approach are satisfied and happy with their spiritual lives? If the person says that they are, do the missionaries simply move on? Some do, I'm sure -- but some certainly don't. Which is more offensive -- to have a stranger tell you in public that your religion is wrong? Or to come to someone's home, knock on their door, and tell them that, regardless of what religion they are, you have a better one to offer?

People on this board have told me directly that I have made the wrong decision in my life because I left the LDS church. That's more acceptable than the man in the bookstore, because I have chosen to be part of this discussion. People have told me I only "think" I am happier outside the LDS church. People have told me that I will regret my decision in the hereafter. I still wonder frequently just exactly how so many Mormons have more insight into my life, my spiritual experiences, and my relationship with God than I do.

It's unfortunate that your husband experienced rude behavior from someone in a bookstore -- but it should give him some insight into what it's like to have your deepest, more important self dismissed out of hand by someone who doesn't even know you. Happens to me frequently.

[FunkyTown]

First, it is certainly rude and wholly unacceptable behavior to tell a stranger in a bookstore that he is wrong about his religious beliefs.

But, remember, the LDS church teaches that everyone else is wrong about theirs. The church sends out missionaries to tell peole that they are wrong about their religion. Before someone jumps on me for saying this so bluntly, I ask you: Are missionaries taught to ask if the strangers they approach are satisfied and happy with their spiritual lives? If the person says that they are, do the missionaries simply move on? Some do, I'm sure -- but some certainly don't. Which is more offensive -- to have a stranger tell you in public that your religion is wrong? Or to come to someone's home, knock on their door, and tell them that, regardless of what religion they are, you have a better one to offer?

People on this board have told me directly that I have made the wrong decision in my life because I left the LDS church. That's more acceptable than the man in the bookstore, because I have chosen to be part of this discussion. People have told me I only "think" I am happier outside the LDS church. People have told me that I will regret my decision in the hereafter. I still wonder frequently just exactly how so many Mormons have more insight into my life, my spiritual experiences, and my relationship with God than I do.

It's unfortunate that your husband experienced rude behavior from someone in a bookstore -- but it should give him some insight into what it's like to have your deepest, more important self dismissed out of hand by someone who doesn't even know you. Happens to me frequently.

Yep. If we're going to give it, we should be able to take it. I've certainly had more than my share of people say this sort of thing to me. I usually look at them and say, "May I ask why?"

And then I proceed to explain my viewpoints. Which then becomes bible bashing. Which then results in them getting frustrated and walking off.

Maybe I should learn not to bash.

[OtterPop]

FunkyTown -- I'm curious. Why does explaining your viewpoints involve "bible bashing"?

To be clear, I don't mind. I don't believe in the Bible, but I'm assuming that you do, to some extent.

[jolee65]

I have had family tell me my religion is wrong but I dont care what they think, im not that sensative.

People can go to what ever church they want it makes no difference to me, I wouldnt care if that man was (denomination) you name it theres enough to choose from , I see it as this is the one I chose.

But it nice even though you moved on to another church you still come to see us.

Edited December 24, 2008 by jolee65

[ADoyle90815]

I was raised with the idea that someone's religious beliefs are a private matter, so I think that the person who said those things in that bookstore was extremely rude.