Invited the missionaries now what?

[Questioner87]

I've invited the missionaries round (I'm just waiting for their reply)

What can I expect when they come round?

What are good questions to ask them?

Thanks.

[Roseslipper]

all questions are good....ask away....Their there to help you and teach you.and answer your questions...dont sweat it....Its all good.

They have been set apart to teach the Gospel.....

When will they be coming over???

[Roseslipper]

yvw

[Dravin]

Some things to keep in mind with questions:

1) Missionaries are set apart to teach the gospel, they are not experts in Church History. So don't expect expertise in this area. They'll know a basic outlay, and you might just happen to have a missionary who really knows his Church history but by and large they'll be out of their depth if you want to go into deep details.

2) Similar to the above they are not experts on obscure doctrinal hypotheses. Now you won't necessarily know what is obscure or not so if you have a question ask it, but they may not know the answer to a question because it isn't really a settled point of doctrine.

3) If they don't know something but you feel it is important, ask them to look into it for you. The answer may still be, "I don't know." or "It hasn't been revealed." but they might just find an answer for you. This applies regardless of if it's a question that falls into the above two categories.

What are good questions to ask them?

Well from my perspective those questions that help lead you to develop (or strengthen) your faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and help you develop a testimony in the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Gospel. It's a highly personalized thing, some have to ask questions about subject X while another has questions about subject Y. One thing is if you don't understand something they are teaching you then ask them to explain it some more. It is much better for them to get halfway through what they planned on covering with you having a solid understanding than to cover everything they planned but with you not understanding half the concepts they presented you.

Edited July 10, 2013 by Dravin

[Roseslipper]

Some things to keep in mind with questions:

1) Missionaries are set apart to teach the gospel, they are not experts in Church History. So don't expect expertise in this area. They'll know a basic outlay, and you might just happen to have a missionary who really knows his Church history but by and large they'll be out of their depth if you want to go into deep details.

2) Similar to the above they are not experts on obscure doctrinal hypotheses. Now you won't necessarily know what is obscure or not so if you have a question ask it, but they may not know the answer to a question because it isn't really a settled point of doctrine.

3) If they don't know something but you feel it is important, ask them to look into it for you. The answer may still be, "I don't know." or "It hasn't been revealed." but they might just find an answer for you. This applies regardless of if it's a question that falls into the above two categories.

Well from my perspective those questions that help lead you to develop (or strengthen) your faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and help you develop a testimony in the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Gospel. It's a highly personalized thing, some have to ask questions about subject X while another has questions about subject Y. One thing is if you don't understand something they are teaching you then ask them to explain it some more. It is much better for them to get halfway through what they planned on covering with you having a solid understanding than to cover everything they planned but with you not understanding half the concepts they presented you.

True, but if they dont know the answer they will find it out for you...again dont sweat it....

[Dravin]

True, but if they dont know the answer they will find it out for you...again dont sweat it....

If there is an answer to be had and if they have access to someone who knows the answer. My point is not, "Don't ask them questions." it is, "Keep in mind who you are asking the questions."

Edited July 10, 2013 by Dravin

[Questioner87]

Some things to keep in mind with questions:

1) Missionaries are set apart to teach the gospel, they are not experts in Church History. So don't expect expertise in this area. They'll know a basic outlay, and you might just happen to have a missionary who really knows his Church history but by and large they'll be out of their depth if you want to go into deep details.

2) Similar to the above they are not experts on obscure doctrinal hypotheses. Now you won't necessarily know what is obscure or not so if you have a question ask it, but they may not know the answer to a question because it isn't really a settled point of doctrine.

3) If they don't know something but you feel it is important, ask them to look into it for you. The answer may still be, "I don't know." or "It hasn't been revealed." but they might just find an answer for you. This applies regardless of if it's a question that falls into the above two categories.

Well from my perspective those questions that help lead you to develop (or strengthen) your faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and help you develop a testimony in the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Gospel. It's a highly personalized thing, some have to ask questions about subject X while another has questions about subject Y. One thing is if you don't understand something they are teaching you then ask them to explain it some more. It is much better for them to get halfway through what they planned on covering with you having a solid understanding than to cover everything they planned but with you not understanding half the concepts they presented you.

Thank you. That's very helpful! I'll use that! I suppose it's important to remember that they're still human, so they might not have an answer to everything :)

[dahlia]

I suppose it's important to remember that they're still human, so they might not have an answer to everything :)

Speak for yourself.

Seriously, you must have one or two 'low hanging fruit' questions you've always wanted to ask. I had a whole list, but when they got here and I started asking them, I realized they had a lesson they wanted to teach and I had kind of thrown them off their game. Let 'em teach the lesson, then your questions can go from there.

Many moons later, one of my missionaries told me that he and another elder agreed I was the most difficult convert they'd dealt with; not because I had major WOW or other problems, but because I always had questions for them. Don't be a PITA like I was.

[NightSG]

What are good questions to ask them?

Try "Would you like some fresh peanut butter cookies?"

That one always works.

Easy 1 2 3 Peanut Butter Cookies - Recipe - Cooks.com

[Dessalines]

I would ask you my friend to please research a bit about the church's history by other sources then the church itself. That is not something extravagant at all to ask, for a simple job interview for example they require different sources of people who might know important facts about you, they won't only listen to family members for example.

Please use the many different tools we now have, the internet, libraries, read and ask the uncomfortable questions to the missionaries. It's not real investigation if all you are listening to is one side.

[skippy740]

Investigation of the LDS faith is simple: Put Moroni's challenge to the test.

Moroni 10:3-5

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

With this witness, everything else becomes clear.

Without this witness, nothing else matters.

That's not to say that there aren't good questions to ask. But what's important is this question: "Does God want you to join the LDS faith?"

If yes, does anything else matter?

If no, does it still matter?

If you are still having cognitive dissonance after the trial of your faith, we can help to clarify and add insight. But without a witness, it just becomes that much harder.

[Lakumi]

I would ask you my friend to please research a bit about the church's history by other sources then the church itself. That is not something extravagant at all to ask, for a simple job interview for example they require different sources of people who might know important facts about you, they won't only listen to family members for example.

Please use the many different tools we now have, the internet, libraries, read and ask the uncomfortable questions to the missionaries. It's not real investigation if all you are listening to is one side.

oh I'd be more inclined to ask my local Catholic priest about the horrific things that church has done.

[Lakumi]

Investigation of the LDS faith is simple: Put Moroni's challenge to the test.

Moroni 10:3-5

With this witness, everything else becomes clear.

Without this witness, nothing else matters.

That's not to say that there aren't good questions to ask. But what's important is this question: "Does God want you to join the LDS faith?"

If yes, does anything else matter?

If no, does it still matter?

If you are still having cognitive dissonance after the trial of your faith, we can help to clarify and add insight. But without a witness, it just becomes that much harder.

I think the person means a historical standpoint, rather then a faith standpoint...

Which, not sure how that really falls into if one believes in God or not... but the anti-Mormon sites and such bring it up a lot

[Just_A_Guy]

Oh, I completely agree. Do your homework, by all means. Just make sure part of that includes FAIR and FARMS. The Mormon History Association is also great (and, unlike the first two, not apologetic in nature).

And don't expect a nineteen-year-old missionary to answer your questions with the same intellectual sophistication as a historian would. Knowing God and knowing history aren't necessarily the same thing, and missionaries are taught to focus on the former.

[estradling75]

When it comes to history I think this quote by Dr. Jones can sum it up

Archaeology is the search for fact... not truth. If it's truth you're looking for, Dr. Tyree's philosophy class is right down the hall.

Archaeology is history.

Searching history will give you facts... What those facts mean is subject to interpretation. A big thing that colors such interpretation is does the person believe or otherwise think that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God? The missionaries are there to help you find an answer to this important question through use of the Book of Mormon and prayer (study and faith). Once you have an answer it greatly colors the light in which you view the historical facts. (both Pro or Con)

[prisonchaplain]

I majored in history in college, and chose it as an area of concentration in my grad studies. Nevertheless, objectively, who researches a religion's history when searching for a spiritual home? Study what it teaches. Observe its practioners. Compare it to what you already know (maybe you grew up in a church--or your family identifies with one). If you believe there is a God (or Higher Power) pray an open ended, "God is this the way I should go?"

I would argue that if someone already has a faith, don't change quickly or easily. Let God overwhelm you in the convincing. Abraham, Moses and the Apostle Paul were all tough converts. On the other hand, I perceive that Judas was a soft one--and he turned when doubts came. All that to say, don't get baptized until you are completely certain spiritually, and largely convinced intellectually that the new faith is the Truth.

[Maureen]

Don't be a PITA like I was.

What's a PITA?

M.

[Suzie]

What's a PITA?

M.

Pain in the a..

[skippy740]

Pita - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oh... did you mean that other definition?

[jerome1232]

Pita - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oh... did you mean that other definition?

Where's the laugh button when I need it

[Suzie]

Pita - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oh... did you mean that other definition?

When Dahlia wrote that I assumed automatically she meant "pain in the a.." now if she means your PITA definition, I'll talk to my bishop.

[Just_A_Guy]

Pain in the a..

. . . chilles tendon?

[Suzie]

. . . chilles tendon?

Appendix.

[mordorbund]

I assumed it was "People for the Inhumane Treatment of Animals".

Isn't Dahlia fomenting for change?

[dahlia]

I assumed it was "People for the Inhumane Treatment of Animals".

Shame on you!