Conversion and anti-Mormon family

[Jane_Doe]

Hi everyone,

I know a lot of people on the board are converts, and I was wondering if anyone has had experience/advise dealing with the anti-Mormon family obstacle course.  This is a conversation I'd rather have via PM, if anyone is interested.

Thanks in advance!

[anatess2]

I've posted a lot of my experiences here with my large devout Catholic family.

[NeuroTypical]

Feel free to PM me.  My dad was very irreligious, and was loud about several things with me. 

[Guest MormonGator]

Yup, absolutely. Think about this way: If your son or daughter said they were going to join a church that you know nothing about, how would you feel? In fairness, probably the same way some of our parents/friends felt. 

[Jane_Doe]

Just now, MormonGator said:

Yup, absolutely. Think about this way: If your son or daughter said they were going to join a church that you know nothing about, how would you feel? In fairness, probably the same way some of our parents/friends felt. 

But when they know nothing by stereotypes and refuse to learn...

[Guest MormonGator]

1 minute ago, Jane_Doe said:

But when they know nothing by stereotypes and refuse to learn...

Welcome to my world. 

Simply put, you need to push it aside and never talk about the subject. I know that's not what you want to hear, but the truth is that some people you will never convince and it's best to avoid the subject completely. Not the person, just the subject. If the other person keeps bringing it up, tell them simply, kindly and firmly that you will no longer discuss the subject because no good can come from it. Then, you need to be the bigger person and move on. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, MormonGator said:

Yup, absolutely. Think about this way: If your son or daughter said they were going to join a church that you know nothing about, how would you feel? In fairness, probably the same way some of our parents/friends felt. 

Not exactly fair.

We have several family member whom we care a lot about who have chosen to become atheist, irreligious, or join another faith (Christian and non-Christian).  While we certainly have our opinions, we do everything we can to at least be polite and loving.

[Guest MormonGator]

50 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

Not exactly fair.

We have several family member whom we care a lot about who have chosen to become atheist, irreligious, or join another faith (Christian and non-Christian).  While we certainly have our opinions, we do everything we can to at least be polite and loving.

No, it's not fair. Not at all. 

But sadly it's how many non member families feel towards the church. And, it's probably how some LDS families feel (gladly, not yours @Carborendum) when someone in their family leaves the LDS church. 

Edited February 7, 2017 by MormonGator

[prisonchaplain]

Just to complicate things further...often the best people to bring new members into a church are the very recent converts. Quite often "unbelievers" travel in circles with other unbelievers. After conversion, many will want to know what happened. Sometimes those conversations lead to more conversions. So, whatever the tactics, if one believes s/he's discovered capital-T Truth, then wouldn't it be worth it to risk losing pleasantness to share it? How that looks depends on the individual and the relationship, but how can we reconcile "Go and make disciples," with being silent about my eternal-life change and my discovery of ultimate reality?

[Sunday21]

Sigh..members of my family used to call and read excerpts from the latest atheist best sellers. Oh well. I would just be polite and say, how interesting. My family refer to members of my ward as 'those people'. Can't please everyone!

[Guest MormonGator]

14 hours ago, Sunday21 said:

 Can't please everyone!

So true. That's a tough lesson to learn, but the quicker you learn this the better. 

[Jane_Doe]

*Shout out time!*

I want to thank everyone who has been so fantastically supportive and helpful on this forum.  The love has been amazing Thank you all so much!