second coming

[bigfoot]

so a catholic priest runs into the popes office and says:

"I have some good news and I have some bad news"

Pope, "what is the good news?"

Priest, "well, Jesus has returned to the earth?"

Pope, " oh my goodness...that is great news!! what is the bad?"

Priest, "well...He is in Jackson County, Missouri"

[skippy740]

wow bigfoot... I didn't think that sharing the gospel online included posting online jokes too! (And an old one at that.)

[Melissa569]

skippy-- Hey, never trust a spiritual teacher who doesn't have a sense of humor :)

[Wingnut]

skippy-- Hey, never trust a spiritual teacher who doesn't have a sense of humor :)

I don't think skippy (or those of us who thanked his post) have a problem with bigfoot having a sense of humor. The problem is that it is not sharing the Gospel, as he is specifically supposed to be doing while online.

[bigfoot]

well I thought it was funny and i wanted to share it. I don't see anything wrong with that, I am not a robot. Plus it only took me about 30 seconds to write.

[beefche]

well I thought it was funny and i wanted to share it. I don't see anything wrong with that, I am not a robot. Plus it only took me about 30 seconds to write.

bigfoot, you've heard that saying "Every member a missionary", right? Well, you will soon recognize a saying for missionaries..."Every member a mission president." Give us time, we'll soon find other ways you should be spending your time and energy.

[Mahone]

Oh come on, give the guy a break. If you don't socialise with the people you're trying to interact with on your mission (members and non-members, online and offline alike), and only ever speak about the gospel, you're not going to get very far. As he said, he isn't a robot and no-one likes to see missionaries acting as such. It's preferable to be able to see missionaries as normal people too.

Besides, anyone who has served a mission will tell you that spending 100% of your time focusing on only the gospel would drive you insane. Missionaries are still people, they need variety in their lives like everyone else. Let him tell a joke... it was even somewhat gospel related if that helps...?

I also served a mission which wasn't within the "norm". My mission president received quite a number of complaints about my companion and myself because we looked like missionaries in every single way, but didn't have quite the same rule set due to the nature of the mission. Because we looked like "normal" missionaries however, it was simply assumed we did have the same rule set, and therefore we must have been being disobedient. Except they were wrong, every time, and I got kind of fed up with it. You give up two years of your life to serve the church, and you simply get loads of complaints from the members?

</rant>

Edited November 4, 2010 by Mahone

[Melissa569]

Oh come on, give the guy a break. If you don't socialise with the people you're trying to interact with on your mission (members and non-members, online and offline alike), and only ever speak about the gospel, you're not going to get very far. As he said, he isn't a robot and no-one likes to see missionaries acting as such. It's preferable to be able to see missionaries as normal people too.

Besides, anyone who has served a mission will tell you that spending 100% of your time focusing on only the gospel would drive you insane. Missionaries are still people, they need variety in their lives like everyone else. Let him tell a joke... it was even somewhat gospel related if that helps...?

I also served a mission which wasn't within the "norm". My mission president received quite a number of complaints about my companion and myself because we looked like missionaries in every single way, but didn't have quite the same rule set due to the nature of the mission. Because we looked like "normal" missionaries however, it was simply assumed we did have the same rule set, and therefore we must have been being disobedient. Except they were wrong, every time, and I got kind of fed up with it. You give up two years of your life to serve the church, and you simply get loads of complaints from the members?

</rant>

VERY much agreed. I don't mind if a missionary wants to tell a joke. Weather you're a sales person, a missionary, or what--- If you can't lighten up and talk about normal things with people around you-- you're going to drive people away. Even Jesus lightened up here and there.

In real life, sure, I've had missionaries who just sit there all stiff, with blank expressions, and do absolutley nothing but recite gospel quotes like one of those automated telephone response systems, with no personal touch going into their teaching visits. But I've also had missionaries who help me cook, help me do work, laugh and joke with us, look us in the eyes like we are actual people, and share their personal experiences...

If I can't connect with someone (even if only for a short while), then I can't have a truly meaningful discussion with them about something as personal as religion... Lightening up puts people at ease! Acting like an automated machine scares people. Only when people are at ease do their defensive walls come down, and they open up to what you have to say.

The smart missionaries learn that very quickly, and they seem to reach into people's (religious) hearts more effectively. You feel amazing and happy after they leave your home, and you look forward to their next visit. They make you feel like they are representing something that you DO want to be part of.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Melissa569

[pam]

Weather you're a sales person, a missionary, or what

What does the weather have to do with being a missionary?

[findingmyway]

I am on a roll , and havent stop laughing with these jokes.