ITT(In This Thread) You are a mormon about to open his mission call

[marshalolson]

congrats ... have a great time, and best wishes.
if you guys need any extra reading, check out jon krakauer's "under the banner of heaven"

[Blurred]

There are both good and bad things about religion. I don't think bagging on a guy for spreading the word of god is honorable. I think a lot of people become non-believers simply because of HUMAN intervention in how THEY think we're supposed to act/believe in a higher power.

I went to church on Xmas eve, and the first thing the pastor started talking about was his thoughts on Iraq, and how we shouldn't be there. I'm obviously opposed to that viewpoint, however, I know that god isn't going to judge me any differently because I disagree with the beliefs of someone who has been put in a religious position of respect in a simple human perspective. I know what's right in my heart, and I believe God instilled that in me. I don't need the church or any other lowly human to tell me any differently, but that doesn't make me jaded towards the church or religion, but only towards some fool using his position to push his agenda.

As far as a man going on a mission, you can disagree with his beliefs, but I don't think you should disrespect him for it.

Good luck Hopped.

[Bandit Man]

i am very nervous i hope my dad calls back soon so i can open this big white envelope!

Seriously though, I'm about to open my mission call and go somewhere for two years

Why oh why would you post something like that here? Discussion of a LDS mission in the Maggot-Minion forum? Certainly there is some good ski advice here, but I would limit it to that...

On another note, enjoy Brazil and the two years. Work that much harder for all the folks who would rather spend time convincing you that you are wrong instead of living a life devoted to something other than themselves...

"Onward, ever onward..."

[powstash]

not allowed

No shorts eh? Oh well, there are worse things in life than not wearing shorts for 2 years.

Since I'm the best at killing threads, please let this thread dive down.

Powstash <------- generally the last guy to post before a thread makes a kamukazi dive for the depths of thread page 50

[yentna]

Good luck to you.
- I'm also an ex-mormon whose family is about 50% devout, and after much stress we've all agreed that we are free to make our own choices, religious or not. My sister will ride her bike three miles in a skirt to go to church if that's what she needs to get there, and I say more power to her. If that makes her happy, so be it, I won't say anything to her otherwise. If leaving the church is what made me happy, she won't try to change my mind. And when the missionaries show up at my door and I ask them to leave me alone, they do. (Usually. The good ones.) Ergo, good on you for going. Sticking up for your beliefs.
So, remember that while some people may be receptive to your message, don't try to force the issue with those that aren't. Listen to what people are saying and respect their choices; they'll respect you more if you do. You'll have some conversions I'm sure, and when you get back just be happy that you did the best you could and leave it at that.
Best wishes to you, work hard and grow in ways that make you a better person.
(Oh, P.S., when you come back, try not to be one of those people that are highly judgemental of those that are different than you, just because you served a misison. THOSE are the missionaries/RMs I can't stand. From this thread and the fact that you are on this board, I don't think you'll be like that but I thought I'd drop the warning anyway.)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!

[zion zig zag]

Good luck man. One word of advice, no matter how lonely you are when you get home (because you won't have a companion with you 24/7) give it a couple of years before you get married.

[Red Baron]

Yenta, I had a co-worker do exactly what you described; he left as a friend, (I even went to his sacrament service (is that what its called?) and when he came back, it was not possible to have a conversation with him that did not revolve around his religion and beliefs. He went to Madagascar, I wanted to know what it was like, but all I ever heard was stuff straight out of the D & C...

Anyway, probably half of my office has served a mission, and I think they are all better, more worldly people because of it, so props to you for signing on, and best of luck!

[yentna]

Good luck man. One word of advice, no matter how lonely you are when you get home (because you won't have a companion with you 24/7) give it a couple of years before you get married.

No kidding! It's not the stuff real marriages are built on - patience is a virtue.

Red Baron - it's true. Sigh. But give them a couple months and many of them come back down from that holier-than-thou attitude, realize there's more to life than mission stories (though honestly we can't blame them TOO much since they have little else to talk about, being as that was their reality for the last two years), and open the minds a bit more, we hope. Heh.

Anyway, once again, GOOD LUCK TO YOU ON YOUR MISSION - MAY IT BE ALL YOU HOPE AND DREAM AND MORE.

[Stoysluttie1]

Congrats to you.. Brasil should be a good place to go. We have a friend who served in in brasil and came back a wonderful dancer and fluent in the language. he also brought back some pretty sweet music!

BRING BACK SOME PRETTY SWEET MUSIC AND LEARN TO DANCE!!!

[splat]

There are both good and bad things about religion. I don't think bagging on a guy for spreading the word of god is honorable. I think a lot of people become non-believers simply because of HUMAN intervention in how THEY think we're supposed to act/believe in a higher power.

I went to church on Xmas eve, and the first thing the pastor started talking about was his thoughts on Iraq, and how we shouldn't be there. I'm obviously opposed to that viewpoint, however, I know that god isn't going to judge me any differently because I disagree with the beliefs of someone who has been put in a religious position of respect in a simple human perspective. I know what's right in my heart, and I believe God instilled that in me. I don't need the church or any other lowly human to tell me any differently, but that doesn't make me jaded towards the church or religion, but only towards some fool using his position to push his agenda.

As far as a man going on a mission, you can disagree with his beliefs, but I don't think you should disrespect him for it.

Good luck Hopped.

Lessee, you went to church, but the pastor is a fool because he promotes an agenda that does not include killing, yet you say that bagging on a guy for spreading the word of God is not honorable. It does warm my heart to know that God instilled in you your support of the war effort. I'm surprised he doesn't send more priests and ministers to the front lines.

[Mcwop]

Thought you could have understood we were talking about religious proselytizing.

Convert the unwashed heathens! Enlighten the world to the one true way! (Hope they don't have it right while you're actually wrong...)

I see religious and political proselytizing as the same exact thing. Some with political agendas see the other side as politically unwashed heathens, and try to enlighten people to their one true way.

Peace out.

Edit - Hopped - sorry for taking the thread on a bit of a tangent. Good luck. I am sure you will learn a lot about others as you will yourself.

[hopped]

(Oh, P.S., when you come back, try not to be one of those people that are highly judgemental of those that are different than you, just because you served a misison. THOSE are the missionaries/RMs I can't stand. From this thread and the fact that you are on this board, I don't think you'll be like that but I thought I'd drop the warning anyway.)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!

Trust me, I can't stand them either. I would hope to be slapped if I came back acting that way. I've had friends who have chosen to go and not to go on missions(in Provo, this decision determines how you are treated by the populace, non RMs are judged VERY harshly- especially by girls taught incorrectly that marrying a non-RM is "settling" or that they just aren't as good.) and seeing the way they are treated makes me sick. I would never adopt that holier-than-thou attitude towards anyone.

Thanks for all the stoke in this thread, guys. Sorry for sparking debate, that wasn't my intention, it was simply to share with my maggot bretheren something really big in my life.

[Duker]

[QUOTE=hopped(in Provo, this decision determines how you are treated by the populace, non RMs are judged VERY harshly-
.[/QUOTE]

provo is a very very scary place. even for me.

[Blurred]

Lessee, you went to church, but the pastor is a fool because he promotes an agenda that does not include killing, yet you say that bagging on a guy for spreading the word of God is not honorable. It does warm my heart to know that God instilled in you your support of the war effort. I'm surprised he doesn't send more priests and ministers to the front lines.

Merry Christmas Jane Fonda. Where are my skis?



Edit:I'm not here to shit in hopped stoke.

[splat]

Sent them to CUBUCK. You can watch him ski them at Vail tomorrow.

[summit]

hopped, that's got to be exciting. Congrats.

summit, bad form man. This kid is about to dedicate 2 years of his life to service. A very selfless act.

He brought this up in an innapropriate forum and he knew what sort of reactions he could expect.

Sorry. I dont consider that a service Jared. A missionary is a door to door salesman and a telemarketer who is trying to impose his beliefs instead of sell vacuum cleaners or magazine subscriptions. Missionaries can actually be more insistant and harassing than salesmen.

For the record I hold the same lack of respect or the Republican and Democrat canvasers who call my phone and knock on my door to try and convince me to think like they do.

People will persue an idea or belief on their own if they are interested. That is the way it SHOULD be.

I hated myself when I was a telemarketer because I was imposing myself upon others. I feel that my work in volunteer search and rescue and volunteer dive rescue helps pay my debt back to the society I harassed and allows me a way to give back to the community I love.

Very few people outside the Mormon faith will have much respect for Mormon missionaries. Don't expect me to applaud him. The standard line for dealing with a door to door Morman or Jehovas Witness or what have you is: "I'd be happy to discuss your faith with you so lon as we do it over a bottle of whisky at the tittie bar."

If he wants to actually do something that is a "service" (to anything more than his church) and that is "selfless" I suggest that he volunteer for the Red Cross or the Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity or a soup kitchen or another volunteer service organiation.

[Blurred]

Sent them to CUBUCK. You can watch him ski them at Vail tomorrow.

Will he have any problems skiing those straight with the mis-aligned topsheets?

[Duker]

If he wants to actually do something that is a "service" (to anything more than his church) and a "service" I suggest that he volunteer for the Red Cross or the Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity or a soup kitchen or another volunteer service organiation.

I really shouldn't get into this but heres a bit of insight into the LDS missionary program. Missionarys do spend the majoritry of there time proselyting. However, Each missionary Does a minimum of 4 hours of service a week. It varies from mission to mission but the general rule is 4. The service is usually Community service, Such as working in a hospital or rest home, or helping with a blood drive. Some missions are service only missions, Especially in areas where proselyting isn't allowed like main land china. When a disaster strikes, such as a hurricane or a earthquake often times the mission president will suspend teaching and the missionaries will work very closely as laborers for organinzations such as the red cross until the area is cleaned up and stable again.
Summit I respect the fact that you want to be left alone, But missonaries arn't out there hurting the world. In many ways they are helping it.

[hopped]

He brought this up in an innapropriate forum and he knew what sort of reactions he could expect.

Sorry. I dont consider that a service Jared. A missionary is a door to door salesman and a telemarketer who is trying to impose his beliefs instead of sell vacuum cleaners or magazine subscriptions. Missionaries can actually be more insistant and harassing than salesmen.

For the record I hold the same lack of respect or the Republican and Democrat canvasers who call my phone and knock on my door to try and convince me to think like they do.

People will persue an idea or belief on their own if they are interested. That is the way it SHOULD be.

I hated myself when I was a telemarketer because I was imposing myself upon others. I feel that my work in volunteer search and rescue and volunteer dive rescue helps pay my debt back to the society I harassed and allows me a way to give back to the community I love.

Very few people outside the Mormon faith will have much respect for Mormon missionaries. Don't expect me to applaud him. The standard line for dealing with a door to door Morman or Jehovas Witness or what have you is: "I'd be happy to discuss your faith with you so lon as we do it over a bottle of whisky at the tittie bar."

If he wants to actually do something that is a "service" (to anything more than his church) and a "service" I suggest that he volunteer for the Red Cross or the Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity or a soup kitchen or another volunteer service organiation.

I'm sorry my post didn't conform to your stringent requirements for threads here. I do do service- I have volunteered twice a week at the Food and Care Coalition in Provo for the last semester, and if you didn't know, Mormon missionaries do more than canvass neighborhoods knocking on doors. Door-to-door tracting is extremely ineffective and is only done once referrals are run out. Missionaries also spend a lot of time giving service to members, investigators, and random people who ask for it.

Regardless, instead of feigning interest and disrespecting someone's belief, perhaps a simple "No thank you, I'm happy with my current spirituality/faith/atheism, etc." would suffice?

You say "Missionaries can actually be more insistant and harassing than salesmen." Is this from experience or just what you've heard? I'm genuinely interested, because if you're being bothered after telling them you aren't interested, they are breaking mission rules and should be repreimanded. I've yet to hear from someone who has had their door knocked down repeatedly after expressing their disinterest.

Sorry my choice offends you so, Summit. I sincerely wish it didn't. As I've continued to say, I was stoked and wanted to share it. If I could close this thread I would. It's not going anywhere upward from here. Thanks for the congrats, guys. If you want to continue the flames to me or eachother please do it in PMs and just let this drop to the bottom. It really wasn't my intention to start crap.

goodnight goon

[splat]

Weak cheap shots to vamp at any wrongly perceived (on your part) sensitivity on the Bros?
You'll have to do better.
I can't speak for the guys skiing them. You should ask.

[RideTheRide]

[QUOTE=Bandit Man]Why oh why would you post something like that here? Discussion of a LDS mission in the Maggot-Minion forum? Certainly there is some good ski advice here, but I would limit it to that...

Maybe the dude can't "officially" ask but he may be looking for pictures of what a guy can expect to find in Brazil. Maggots seem to have a gift of finding the pics. Two years in Brazil, nice if it can mean surfing, kitesurfing (which is great in some areas of Brazil) and beaches.

[backpack]

I've yet to hear from someone who has had their door knocked down repeatedly after expressing their disinterest.

I think you're being unfairly attacked for a relatively innocent post, but you really need to open your eyes if you believe that.

After about 8 years of missionaries stopping by at least once a year, sometimes more than that, they finally stopped coming to our house. My old pastors, who you would think with the way they brought missionaries in and sat them down to talk for hours would have gotten the message across that they weren't interested, were visited no less than 3 times in the four years they were at my church. (I only heard about three of them... there may have been more.)

The funny thing is, at one point the missionary visits were so frequent that the non-members in our neighborhood (there were [and are] few), would call everyone else in the area as soon as missionaries were sighted so we could either leave, not answer the door, or at least prepare a polite rejection line.

It's entirely possible that these experiences were the result of a few overzealous mission presidents or neighbors who kept requesting that we be visited or some such thing. That doesn't change the fact that in my experience and from what I've heard from friends the "one visit and it's over" claim doesn't hold up in the real world, regardless of what the official line may be.

Don't take this post too seriously or anything, and feel free to write it off as random ramblings if you're offended in any way. I often don't post this stuff because I don't want to sound accusatory; you don't need to defend and rationalize the actions of others. It's just some examples to illustrate a point.

Again, have fun and be safe in Brazil.

[AltaPowderDaze]

to address a few topics here:

my friend Zach went on his mission in brazil and came back a very non judgmental person. he spent time spreading the word and building things. he spoke mostly of how friendly the people there were and how he enjoyed them teaching him about their way of life, language included. Zach took pride in understanding people and where they come from. i can't remember a time that he tried to convert me or someone else he knew wasn't open to the idea for that matter. he did get mixed up with a younger girl and get pretty close to marriage, but he came to his senses before it was too late.

hopped, Zach said that there was some pretty good bouldering around where he was. i hope you take out of the experience as much as you put in. enjoy your time there.

[Meconium]

he did get mixed up with a younger girl

...........

[AltaPowderDaze]

sorry. to clarify, the younger girl incident was after he came back, true to rm pattern. there was only a few years age difference, but she was very immature and not a very good hearted person.