tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post7805608407062433531..comments2024-01-02T07:46:37.119-08:00Comments on SmorgZone: Mormon Encounters: Part 3 - Going to the Mormon ChurchSmorghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01604438508775705758noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-18734908960445261762013-01-01T14:52:45.358-08:002013-01-01T14:52:45.358-08:00Hi Sam:
Not really. :) They all dropped off the f...Hi <b>Sam</b>: <br />Not really. :) They all dropped off the face of the earth. Not a bad thing. I'm sure they're all busy and have too many friends to keep up with... and I already know enough about Mormonism to not care for more. I still drop fruits or other goodies off for the active missionaries at one of their historic sites in town every now and then, but I turn down all invitation Smorghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01604438508775705758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-72354584686759867552012-12-06T15:30:36.152-08:002012-12-06T15:30:36.152-08:00So do you still keep in touch with those missionar...So do you still keep in touch with those missionaries? Some must have been released by now?<br /><br />- Sam JenksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-58895068370687623452011-10-18T10:55:30.745-07:002011-10-18T10:55:30.745-07:00Hallo Georg: To be honest, I'd love to help th...Hallo <b>Georg</b>: To be honest, I'd love to help these missionaries escape from this controlling religion... But I think they're stuck between a rock and a hard place. It seems their entire families belong to the church, and it is a big stigma in that community if someone fails to complete his/her mission. :oP So I'm not trying too hard to deconvert them at all. <br /><br />I think Smorghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01604438508775705758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-25738472710419299062011-10-16T18:43:09.842-07:002011-10-16T18:43:09.842-07:00"It seems like a lot of emphasis is placed on..."It seems like a lot of emphasis is placed on appearance and not enough on what the person feels inside."<br /><br />This comment really stuck out to me as being 100% accurate of my experiences with Mormonism.<br /><br />I love reading about your experiences with the missionaries having spent two years converting immigrants along the Texas border before realizing I did not believe any D-Trainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17473393837732916277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-88721648526299872662011-10-15T12:12:26.620-07:002011-10-15T12:12:26.620-07:00Bonjour Smorgy,
Just finished reading Part 4 and ...Bonjour Smorgy,<br /><br />Just finished reading Part 4 and 3 and thought it might be a good idea to say 'hi'. <br /><br />I think you enjoyed yourself, it was food for your little grey cells and the company of some girls .........<br /><br />What about proposing them a kind of competition. They talk about what they belief and you give them your idea of the picture. Who will be the first Georghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05379915142029115257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-88081523128620743402011-10-14T15:26:56.604-07:002011-10-14T15:26:56.604-07:00Hiya Eyes: Thanks! :oD I'm glad you and others...Hiya <b>Eyes</b>: Thanks! :oD I'm glad you and others aren't finding this a boring read yet. Proof-reading the thing I worried that 1 Nephi has been rubbing off on me with the longwindedness... But then I remembered that I was longwinded even before I started reading the BoM. :o( No excuse there!Smorghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01604438508775705758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-76792793396394647792011-10-14T07:46:01.908-07:002011-10-14T07:46:01.908-07:00Escape? They may need your help!
I'm in great ...Escape? They may need your help!<br />I'm in great awe of your insightful writing in this series, Smorgy. Really interesting and thought provoking.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-17560057438644937922011-10-13T13:55:00.460-07:002011-10-13T13:55:00.460-07:00Hiya Drew: I hope my missionary sisters don't ...Hiya <b>Drew</b>: I hope my missionary sisters don't give up on me easily, too. The more hours they spend being utterly evangelically unsuccessful with me, the less hours they have to coax someone else not as immune to cults of personality into joining the church. ;oP I plead guilty! <br /><br />I must say, though, these Mormons are a really patient and forgiving bunch toward anything Joseph Smorghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01604438508775705758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-17560131715903539842011-10-13T05:10:29.045-07:002011-10-13T05:10:29.045-07:00How interesting to read your perspective! You are...How interesting to read your perspective! You are too much of a critical thinker to be a Mormon (obviously!).<br /><br />You have several excellent insights here but this is one of my favorites:<br /><br />"What sort of church would pressure their missionaries to prioritize acquiring more tithe-paying labor-giving Mormons over showing investigators (those the missionaries try to convert) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-14020955796119679842011-10-11T21:21:47.380-07:002011-10-11T21:21:47.380-07:00Fascinating.
Those girl recruiters sound pretty t...Fascinating.<br /><br />Those girl recruiters sound pretty tenacious. I don’t think they are going to give up on you easily!<br /><br />All organized religions have certain rituals that, over time, become hardened and stale. I have never attended Mormon service, but I can attest that much of the Presbyterian ritual is hardened and stale, too. My father says that enshrined church ritual, such Drew80https://www.blogger.com/profile/17848576924497372868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-56869546491687125942011-10-11T10:45:28.826-07:002011-10-11T10:45:28.826-07:00Hiya Dad: I'm both relieved and horrified at t...Hiya <b>Dad</b>: I'm both relieved and horrified at the same time. Relieved for making accurate observations, and horrified that the observations were accurate. :o(<br /><br />Hiya <b>Ahab</b>: It's a weird thing, ay? So similar and yet so hostile toward each other they are. I got a kick out of reading about the '<i>great and abominable church</i>' in 1 Nephi... The sisters wouldnSmorghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01604438508775705758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-6458967589322259302011-10-10T19:52:42.007-07:002011-10-10T19:52:42.007-07:00"...it is becoming clearer and clearer to me ..."...it is becoming clearer and clearer to me that the LDS dogma is much more enthusiastic about rites and rituals than it is about people's spirituality and integrity."<br /><br />I'm an ex-Catholic, and Catholicism felt the very same way to me. I've mentioned over at Cognitive Dissenter's blog that Mormonism and Catholicism have more negative things in common than Ahabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14675629709031865432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768110968262106410.post-16396142382378231162011-10-10T14:44:28.746-07:002011-10-10T14:44:28.746-07:00I can't tell you how spot-on you are with the...I can't tell you how spot-on you are with the following lines....<br /><br />"nice if vaguely creepy in a smothering sort of way."<br /><br />"it just sounded.... confined and controlled"<br /><br />"Spontaneity was tacitly checked at the sanctuary doors, apparently."<br /><br />"It felt as if the whole place was under an omerta one doesn't dare break Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com