Missionary Work - Help!

[lovrie]

I need help in understanding missionary work.

This may seem silly, but hear me out:

I am planning on becoming a member of the church soon. Spirituality has always been a sensitive issue for me- I was raised non-denominational christian and growing up, I always felt bothered by my unanswered questions in the faith and turned away from God for some time. When I met my friend, a member, one of the first things I noticed about him was how nonjudgemental he is. And how much compassion he has for people. So naturally, I wanted to know about his spiritual beliefs. When I found out he was a mormon, I didn't know what to think. I'm from the south so I had never met a mormon before, and for some reason I thought they only lived in Utah

But he never preached or boasted about his beliefs, he just answered my questions that I had about his life and his relationship with the Father. Pretty soon I started going to church with him, reading scriptures and praying with him, and now here I am, ready to be baptized.

My problem?

Missionary work. Now, while I was attending church I was very put off by the missionaries. They would follow me around after sacrament meeting and kind of corner me and make me feel uncomfortable. I tried to express in the nicest way that I was learning about the gospel on my own, with my friend and his family, and that yes I was happy coming to church, but they didn't seem to get the picture. They kept calling me and they even came to my friends house to see if I was there and they could talk to me. It felt like .... stalking almost!

Also, when I told my boss that I was joining the church, he expressed extreme displeasure. When I inquired as to why, he said that the only time he had ever met anyone mormon was when two missionaries knocked on his door and pretty much let themselves in. The experience he said he had with them was very unpleasant and his only impression of the church now is a bad one, and I found that really unfortunate.

Now, I love spreading the gospel. I know that it is a wonderful thing to see someone hear the gospel and accept it. I just wish that- instead of spending all of that money on sending out a 19-21 year old who may or may not be emotionally or spiritually mature enough- we could do HUGE service projects TOGETHER. That way, people in our communities would associate our church with these good works and would want to know more us, instead of being so put off by the door to door knocking.

The more I told people about my decision to join the church, the more bad experiences I heard with the missionaries. I just think that so many people that I've talked to, who have never been exposed to the church, have found the missionary work to be extremely business-like.

Personally, I felt like the missionaries were only talking to me because they could get another number on their baptism counter (I don't mean that in an unkind way! I just really felt like I was being used.) I didn't feel like I was being listened to at all and I felt sick to my stomach every time I saw them. When I did give them a chance I felt like all they could talk about was, "Well, since you come to church so much, when are you going to be baptized? Let's set a date!"

I didn't like it at all. And I guess I'm just wondering how you all feel about missionary work and how I should be understanding it. Is everyone happy with the way missionary work is done? Or is there room for change?

I'm just curious and I really hope I don't offend anyone. I think it would be interesting to hear from people who have served to see the other point of view.

Thank you!

[lchri134]

It is a good idea to have service projects together and most churches have some service projects going on that invite people non-members to join in. But the fact of the matter is that missionary work is an essential part to this church. It is unfortunate that the people that you have talked to have had a bad experience with the missionaries. But there is no possible way that we could have as many members that we do without the missionary work. My Father was converted by missionaries and I am eternally grateful for the missionary program. The is changes made in the missionary program every once in a while, but mostly it teaches missionaries to use the spirit as their guide. I understand that sometimes missionaries may get a little overzealous but they just want to share what they know with others.

[Dravin]

If your missionaries made you feel like you were simply a statistic to them then they probably need/needed to rethink why exactly they were doing what they were doing or adjust their approach some.

Missionary work. Now, while I was attending church I was very put off by the missionaries. They would follow me around after sacrament meeting and kind of corner me and make me feel uncomfortable. I tried to express in the nicest way that I was learning about the gospel on my own, with my friend and his family, and that yes I was happy coming to church, but they didn't seem to get the picture. They kept calling me and they even came to my friends house to see if I was there and they could talk to me. It felt like .... stalking almost!

Because a lot of people aren't fully comfortable at church and it helps to have a chaperon of sorts, also sometimes people talk about their ideas and pet doctrines instead of true doctrine and its helpful to have somebody who can inform one of the difference, ideally that's a member that the person knows but that isn't always to case. As far as learning about the gospel on your own at some point you are going to have to sit down with the missionaries and take the lessons, this also plays into why they were stopping by your friend's and trying to talk with you.

I just wish that- instead of spending all of that money on sending out a 19-21 year old who may or may not be emotionally or spiritually mature enough- we could do HUGE service projects TOGETHER.

We can do service projects and have the missionaries go out, they aren't mutually exclusive and quite frankly one of the purposes of missionary work is that those 19 to 20 something year olds generally gain spiritually and emotional maturity as long as proclaim the gospel. You may or may not be aware of this but the missionaries pay (or their family or someone else) for the missionaries to be out it isn't coming out of tithing and the missionaries are serving and aren't being paid, in a very real sense the missionary effort is a huge service project. Additionally one of the things they should be doing is service while they're out there, be it volunteering to rake lawns or something else.

I realize that you have a friend and thus missionaries out trying to contact people doesn't have much bearing on you but there are people who heard about and joined the church because of a pair of guys or gals in Sunday dress stopped by. Your situation is the ideal, being introduced to the gospel through a friend but that isn't always the case.

Have you talked to your friend about how you are feeling? He may be able to help you understand where the missionaries are coming from particularly if he served a mission himself or at least be able to mediate a little with the missionaries your discomfort and where you are coming from. Also reading their manual: Preach My Gospel might be helpful in understanding not only the doctrines they need to teach you but where they are coming from.

[ryanh]

I know that it is a wonderful thing to see someone hear the gospel and accept it. I just wish that- instead of spending all of that money on sending out a 19-21 year old who may or may not be emotionally or spiritually mature enough

Yep, I was pretty immature at 19, and still, I felt like one of the more mature ones! Isn't it marvelous, that even though the Lord has chosen dolts like I was, the stone cut without hands continues to roll forward and fill the earth? Despite all the lackings of missionaries, the Spirit is with (many) of them, and the LDS church continues to grow at astonishing rates. If this were not the restored church, I would expect that the missionary program sending out young missionaries would be its downfall, not one of its strengths.

The more I told people about my decision to join the church, the more bad experiences I heard with the missionaries. I just think that so many people that I've talked to, who have never been exposed to the church, have found the missionary work to be extremely business-like.

The thoughts that jumped into my mind were pre-conceived notions, self-fulfilling prophecies, etc. I had doors slammed in my face by many people that wouldn't even let me get a friendly "hello" completed. They didn't know me, they didn't know the love I felt for them, they didn't know how much I wanted to serve my Father and them, yet they left our short interaction with a bitter taste in their mouth. Their perceptions had little to do with me or previous missionaries, and a whole lot more to do with other influences.

The missionary program of the Church is inspired of the Lord. No question about that in my mind. The missionaries are flawed humans, just like all of us are, but what perfect people are HF supposed to put out there?

It's too bad the missionaries in your area aren't a little more sensitive to your feelings. They may need a little bit more of a blunt statement to 'help' them get it. If they were not anxious for your best interests, I doubt they would be seeking for you to get baptized. Yes, every missionary wants to be successful, but wants to be successful at helping people, not serving their own interests – were they only wanting their own interests, they CERTIANLY wouldn’t be on a mission!!!

[lovrie]

Thanks all for the replies.

I was just seeking to better understand missionary work and... well, missionaries in general since I am pretty unfamiliar with it all.