Is this normal?

[Uriel]

I had my second meeting with the missionaries today. It went well, but they said that they had prayed about it and decided that 9/27 would be a good baptism date for me if I was ready.

The thing is, I'm not ready yet and that seems awfully soon. Is it normal to set a baptism date so quickly and even when I am still uncertain about the LDS church?

[Suzie]

Uriel, if you are not ready make sure to tell the missionaries to give you some more time to discuss whatever issues you have. As much as I believe they have good intentions, it is also a life changing decision that ONLY YOU can make so don't be afraid to tell them how you feel.

[tubaloth]

Two months away is to soon? I do find it strange that they want to do it on a Tuesday (Sept 27th is my birthday).

The point is they want you to have a goal. They want you to have something to look forward to. But really that is all that is. If Aug 27th comes around and you don't feel like you will be ready then you can change the date. For now Sept 27th sounds like a great day! (I'm kind of bias, sinces I came into the world that day).

[Gwen]

I understand the wanting to have a goal to work toward but that approach won't go over well with some ppl. It would be to pushy for me.

I agree to tell them, thank you for the thought but that is for me to pray about and decide what is the best date if that is what I feel god wants from me.

I think it would be different if they asked you to pray about it and pick a tentitive date, making sure you knew it could be changed at any time.

[Guest gopecon]

Yes, this is normal. Missionaries use the Spirit to convert, not doctrines. Once someone has felt the Spirit confirming the truth of what they are learning, then they are encouraged to invite them to baptism with a specific date. There's nothing wrong with requesting a different date, or declining the invitation if you are not ready. As Tubaloth said, the date is used so that you (the investigator) can have something concrete to consider, pray about, and work toward.

[Dravin]

I had my second meeting with the missionaries today. It went well, but they said that they had prayed about it and decided that 9/27 would be a good baptism date for me if I was ready.

The thing is, I'm not ready yet and that seems awfully soon. Is it normal to set a baptism date so quickly and even when I am still uncertain about the LDS church?

They did say, "... if you were ready." If you're not ready by that time (or don't think you can get ready by that time) tell them. They won't drag you to the font. Personally the second lesson hard baptismal commitment was not something I liked to do but the idea (I tended to go the conditional route, "Will you commit to baptism when you gain a testimony of..."), as others mentioned, is to kinda get you moving in the right direction and not to necessarily set the date in stone.

Particularly at the second lesson as you may have concerns or difficulties in the course of preparing for baptism that 'derails' the proposed date (and it's a proposal not an order no matter how confident they may have sounded).

[Uriel]

They did say, "... if you were ready." If you're not ready by that time (or don't think you can get ready by that time) tell them. They won't drag you to the font. Personally the second lesson hard baptismal commitment was not something I liked to do but the idea (I tended to go the conditional route, "Will you commit to baptism when you gain a testimony of..."), as others mentioned, is to kinda get you moving in the right direction and not to necessarily set the date in stone.

Particularly at the second lesson as you may have concerns or difficulties in the course of preparing for baptism that 'derails' the proposed date (and it's a proposal not an order no matter how confident they may have sounded).

Yeah, they did say "if you were ready". I understand that they are trying to make me feel welcomed and trying to give me something to work towards. It was just so unexpected. It was right at the end of the lesson and we hadn't talked about anything like that. Just kinda caught me off guard. I told them "maybe, but I don't think I'm there yet."

Sorry if I seem put off, I was just surprised at how suddenly this came up.

[Dravin]

Sorry if I seem put off, I was just surprised at how suddenly this came up.

No need to apologize for seeming put off. Heck, no need to apologize if you are indeed put off. I can understand why it's a bit of a shocker. You're just starting to get your feet wet and they propose that you jump into the pool by X date when a lot needs to happen between dipping your toe and jumping in.

[dahlia]

I had my second meeting with the missionaries today. It went well, but they said that they had prayed about it and decided that 9/27 would be a good baptism date for me if I was ready.

The thing is, I'm not ready yet and that seems awfully soon. Is it normal to set a baptism date so quickly and even when I am still uncertain about the LDS church?

Hey, my elders showed up one night and said that they'd prayed on it and that Dec 15 was my baptism date. This was maybe 2.5 months after meeting with them, I think. Me, being grown and in charge of my life, said, no, but thanks anyway. I knew I wasn't ready (see my previous posts about that). Plus, we are in a strange ward where a lot of members leave for Christmas. Between me needing to get the grades out at the end of term, and people leaving for Christmas break, there was no way 12/15 was going to happen.

Once I understood I didn't have to be perfect to be baptized (I leave perfection to the folks here), and once I got school stuff out of the way, I agreed to a January 15 date and it was done.

Tell them that you need more time. Who knows, you may realize you don't need as much as you think. Get baptized when you feel the spirit, not based on what anyone else, including your elders, tells you.

[rameumptom]

They set it as a goal, nothing in concrete. As you approach the date, if you do not feel ready, they can move it further back.

[Blackmarch]

I had my second meeting with the missionaries today. It went well, but they said that they had prayed about it and decided that 9/27 would be a good baptism date for me if I was ready.

The thing is, I'm not ready yet and that seems awfully soon. Is it normal to set a baptism date so quickly and even when I am still uncertain about the LDS church?

if you're really not ready then let the missionaries know.... however from my experience we never feel quite ready when we are called to follow Lord's, at some point we have to take a step of faith.

[Someday]

I had my second meeting with the missionaries today. It went well, but they said that they had prayed about it and decided that 9/27 would be a good baptism date for me if I was ready.

The thing is, I'm not ready yet and that seems awfully soon. Is it normal to set a baptism date so quickly and even when I am still uncertain about the LDS church?

Uriel,

I have met people on the street one minute and 60 minutes later they are ready for baptism. I have met others that took half a lifetime. There is no "one size fits all" date. If the missionaries feel this is the "right" date and you don't, tell them honestly. Of course, I think a lot of this will have to do with what you consider "ready" to mean. Do you know everything there is to know? (I know I don't and I'm 37 and was born into the church, so don't worry about that!). If you haven't done so already, pray about it. If you do so with an open mind and an open heart, the Lord will tell you whether you are ready for baptism.

Good luck.

[Uriel]

Update

Thanks for all the support guys. Just to let you know, I met with the missionaries again yesterday and I feel a lot better about the date than I did last week. I prayed about it so maybe that had something to do about it. Also I've been having a pretty stressful week so I just took it kinda badly. The missionaries I've been seeing are great and I feel blessed to have people so knowledgeable and understanding.

So thanks for all the support!:)

Uriel

[mnn727]

I prefer the way mine asked me "If you discover if what you are being taught is true, do you have anything against beiong baptised."

I understand the 'pick a date' thing, but many people resist it, I would have; possibly to the point of telling them to get lost. They way they asked me was perfect in my opinion.

[Xenithar]

Update

Thanks for all the support guys. Just to let you know, I met with the missionaries again yesterday and I feel a lot better about the date than I did last week. I prayed about it so maybe that had something to do about it. Also I've been having a pretty stressful week so I just took it kinda badly. The missionaries I've been seeing are great and I feel blessed to have people so knowledgeable and understanding.

So thanks for all the support!:)

Uriel

That's great Uriel!

[dahlia]

I prefer the way mine asked me "If you discover if what you are being taught is true, do you have anything against beiong baptised."

Boy, I struggled with this one. I was about 90% ready to be baptized, but still hesitating. I kept reading this over and over. I agreed with it, but I still struggled. It still gives me the shivers.

[skippy740]

A talk given to missionaries many years ago. It was what guided and molded my missionary service.

The Challenging and Testifying Missionary

Were I a young missionary again I would challenge almost everyone I met and I would do it almost every hour of the day. I wouldn't care how many would turn me down because I would know in the manner I could lead many hundreds of people into the Church. We are prone to like our gospel presentations cut and dried. We say we shall teach so many lessons and then next week our investigators will be ready for the challenge. When a person is ready for the challenge, they do not need the challenge. Don't you understand that? How can you see the Challenge for next week, why not today? When you look into the faces of people and see any kind of response, that is when you are to give the challenge - at the drop of a hat. This is what you must inculcate into the minds of your missionaries and get them out of the idea that we must solely by indoctrination teach the gospel to the people.