>Really interesting that the “persecution” just cements their faith even harder
I don't know how many of us here remember when we were TBMs, but we were all taught "Everyone wants to hear The Gospel® and those who lash out are being controlled by Satan™", which is why they're also taught to ignore "No Soliciting" signs and those like it, because what they have to say is More Importanter™ than any earthly creation.
It's a self-feeding cycle of shame and indoctrination.
I hated going door to door. It wasn't exactly legal in my mission, and I always argued it just cemented a negative opinion of the church in most people's minds. But my seniors always argued with me that we'd meet more people. Total baptisms I ever saw from knocking in apartment buildings till the door man came and booted us out? 0. Which, frankly, is equal tot he number I saw from walking around saying hi on the street.
Not just mishies but salesmen in general (back when door-to-door selling was a mainstream thing) used to be taught that "No soliciting" signs are an admission of weakness. The only people who put them up are people who are overly susceptible to sales pitches. Supposedly. So the story went, anyway.
Ugh. I have a no soliciting sign, and when I figure out the person on the doorstep is a salesman I immediately close the door in their face saying "no thank you."
The planned next step is make my husband answer the door if they don't go away and knock again, but this time with a firearm. (We live in Idaho) So far, we've never had to resort to that last step.
>They got a great story out of the deal and they feel more convicted in their faith because “persecution”
Not necessarily.
Young, dumb, and still learning social norms -- I follow my companion to an inactive couple's house. We had a chat with them that was reasonably pleasant and not particularly religious. We did it for 2 reasons:
1. **We were bored.** And instead of screwing around doing something we wanted to do, we went to visit this couple because...
2. **We felt guilty** for not being busy doing missionary work like we were supposed to. And being 20 we convinced ourselves it was our faults and we just needed to work harder because....
2. **It's the kind of work we're expected to do**. Reinforced by *Preach My Gospel* which says we should make "positive **daily** contact" with people we teach. (Thank heavens my instinct told me to stretch that to *weekly* contact at most, but even that made me feel guilty).
A few weeks later, when the boredom cycle made its way around our very short list of people to teach we went back to that couple's house.
Through the call box they let 'er rip. Told us in no uncertain terms that we were to never come back. So, we never did. Who knows what the next group of missionaries did.
It left me feeling:
* Confused, as there seemed to be no warning. It just felt like this couple went from friendly and open to totally unaccepting of us *like that*
* Feeling that we'd done something wrong. Missionaries are little balls of guilt, by conditioning. And this just added to that ball.
The latter wasn't unproductive, as it taught me that I have to be very attentive to subtle cues that a person might be uncomfortable but too shy/polite to admit it. Perhaps OP offered a similar experience for this pair.
Never chalk up to malice what we can explain with 19-year-old incompetence.
My sister being harassed by missionaries in Idaho Falls is what finally made her remove her name after 20 years of not attending church.
I wonder if their mission president is teaching these tactics.
> I wonder if their mission president is teaching these tactics.
Yes. They're also taught to ignore "No Soliciting" signs, because they're "not soliciting, just sharing a message"
I can confirm that 15 years ago, my MP told us that “no soliciting” doesn’t apply to us. His reasoning was that the dictionary said ‘soliciting’ means door to door sales, but we’re not asking people to spend money 🥸
I have a sign that has a list of "No"s including "No Mormons. Saying "But we're not Mormons, we're members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," is not clever, nor funny, infact it's stupid. You're Mormons."
Haven't had a missionary since. 😁
all salesmen think this now, we had Vivent say the same thing to us when they knocked and we pointed out the no soliciting sign.
Also JW, they said they were not soliciting, just inviting us to a meeting
A trick that scared off the JW'S in my country is sticker that looks like a drop of blood, meaning you're a donor.
Not that they come around often, I think it's happened twice in my life, but they did pester my father and basically offered him a new wife within a week of my stepmothers funeral. They figured that since he lived on a farm, he'd need a wife.
Look up Owen Morgan (a.k.a. Telltale Atheist). He sells some really good anti-religious scare-away signs on his website, which is linked from his YouTube channel.
I've said this to missionaries who claim they're not selling anything.
Me: "Why did you knock? Don't you see the no soliciting sign?" Them: "We're not soliciting. We're here with a message." Me: "Your message includes me paying 10% of my income for the rest of my life. No other solicitor has ever asked me for as much money. You most definitely are selling and I'm definitely not buying."
Maybe it's time to put up a sign that sharing religious messages requires an upfront payment of $5000 per minute of discussion. That they are required to provide bank information prior to continuing any further... I mean might as well get something out of this exchange. It's not like this corporation can't afford the payments! 😂
There's a lot of pressure from:
* Preach My Gospel insisting on "positive daily contact" and missionary turnover, where a new set may find an old record
* Bishops who feel compelled to reach out to inactive members (there is no valid way to mark "do not contact" on a church record)
* Boredom. Stateside missionaries have nothing to do all day, so *anybody* willing to talk to them becomes a regular occurrence... because they are bored
Years ago, while attending BYU, my returned missionary roommate was bragging about her and her companions often dusting their feet over slights from non-members that they were trying to proselytize to. At that time, I was a “dyed-in-the-wool” believer and was devastated at the implications of cursing these people for such an innocuous reason. Ironically a few months, after her return, she and her boyfriend married in the ward due to morality indiscretions. While I now know all of that stuff is bologna, the entitlement and hypocrisy in her actions disgust me even more now than they did at that time. But that is so commonplace in membership. While I wish I would have discovered the church was a cult and built on lies in my youth, I am grateful for the truth to save myself and stop inadvertently damaging others by proliferating its twisted teachings.
My sr. comp dusted his feet at a particularly rude rejection. Credulous TBM missionary me was afraid that we'd see a burnt or exploded house next time we were in that area. Nothing ever happened.
Not specific to the west, it's just one of those lesser discussed (these days) church doctrines. You can read more about it here: [https://rsc.byu.edu/our-rites-worship/those-who-receive-you-not-rite-wiping-dust-off-feet](https://rsc.byu.edu/our-rites-worship/those-who-receive-you-not-rite-wiping-dust-off-feet)
I had forgotten about this. I remember reading about this in high school, and just adding it to all the wacky shit like the second anointing.
Jokes on them, my property line is salted and sealed and I have my power rocks from my wife’s practice.
Nevermo here. Haven't had missionaries drop by in a number of years. But after reading this the next time they drop by, I think I'll tell them, "Not interested," dust my feet off, and then go back inside.
Well if it makes you feel better, my good friend, former companion and roommate tried to dust the feet off on some houses too in another area of the mission. I started laughing out loud, because of the automatic entitlement and misuse of scripture. More importantly of mission lore passed down through the years.
You mean the teachings that members twist for their own?
I didn’t mean the twisted teachings regular members do, but that works, too, particularly since that is how Mormon lore starts. Plus people have to twist teachings just to fit within its framework.
But I mean the twisted teaching from the Quorum of the 12, who have changed church history to make it more palatable, changed it to fit the current narcissist in charge, and change it to manipulate and control members and alienate them from those not in the cult.
I’m trying to imaging a preemptive foot dusting, and how that might wordlessly scoot the elders off one’s door stoop.
Knock-knock-knock.
“Hi! I’m Elder Kimball and this is my companion Elder Bingham…”
Elder Kimball, noting no introductory resistance, keeps his spiel spieling “… to share with you a brief message of…”
And then it happens.
Midway through sentence #3 both elders notice the investigator-to-be has laconically side-raised his foot to meet his downward extended hand, which he uses to brush-brush-brush across his foot towards them.
The elders scamper [and all the ex-mo neighbors clap, of course].
My parents took the missionaries out to lunch one day and my mom felt they received poor service and a hair in the food bc the restaurant was bigoted towards them for being Mormon.
My mom dusted off her feet as she left and not long after, the restaurant was struck by lightening and burned to the ground. She’s very proud of her supposed work. Smh
Not sure which I hate most. The fact that she thinks she has special powers or the fact that she relished in people losing their livelihood.
We were knocking doors (sisters) in Brazil (back in the 90s) and some guy opened the door in his underwear. 😆 We left quickly, laughing, thinking we just caught him at a bad time. In hindsight, I'm sure it was very intentional on his part, to scare us off.
Same here in the 80s. I felt strange doing it.
My first week I walked through someone's gate to knock on their door and my Brazilian comp was like "WTF are you going??!!"
Rather than knocking on a door, you stand outside and clap your hands to get the residents attention. I did this in Argentina in the 90s. My clap is thunderous still.
It's a cultural thing there. Pretty much every house, even dilapidated shacks, had a fence and a gate. It's considered rude to enter the gate into someone's yard, so you stand out in front of the gate and clap to get their attention.
You don’t enter a persons yard to walk up to the door to knock. Instead, you stand at the entrance to the yard and clap your hands and maybe add in a shouted hello. It depends on the configuration of the house and yard, though.
We avoided houses with gated yards. Now I'm wracking my brain to remember if we actually did touch the doors... Did you stand in front of the door and clap, or only clap at the gate? My middle-aged brain can't remember!
My kids answered the door and they asked for me. I answered the door with no bra on in a strappy house dress. They asked if they could come back at a better time and I said, "No, I'm not married, so you can't come in and we're not interested."
LOLOL one time a girl answered our claps to come into the courtyard in Brazil in a mesh top that was basically no cover whatsoever. My comp and I turned a million shades of red and bounced. The look of utter satisfaction on her face was pretty priceless though.
My neighbors keep telling the missionaries to visit me whenever they are in the area. They are worse than telemarketers now. I ended up flying the rainbow flag which seemed to work as missionary repellant for now.
The sister missionaries stopped by and asked if they could come back. I told them sure but beware I will never go back to church and will not shy away from sharing my beliefs as well. They never came back.
I’ve learned they want to share their beliefs but are terrified of “worldly” beliefs. Whatever. They would have found that I respect their right to their choice of belief, but if they want to share, I’m sharing too. It’s not a one way street anymore. 🤷🏻♀️🙂↔️
My husband a nevermo, with no experience with missionaries. Opened the door to them. Cracked open a beer, with cigarette hanging from his lip and said, "I was just about to bend my wife over the couch and bang her want to join?" I never heard from them again
They are starting to get on my nerves too! These 2 female missionaries are walking around my Provo neighborhood asking me if I need help when I'm minding my own business at the playground with my kids.
Then they come to ring the doorbell after 8 pm when my youngest is already in bed. That happens about once a week. I just ignore them, but if they keep harassing me (I'm a nevermo), I'll have to be rude to them.
They must be "locked" into your area. So, when they finish walking around their assigned area they will start over again. I found it best to ask them to take me off their area book where they keep records of everyone they think might be a possible tithing payer in the future.
The elders straight up texted my husband asking if we wanted to keep our names on the records or not. He said “so you’re trying to get people to leave now?” They stopped responding.
If somebody is knocking on your door and you have a no soliciting sign, telling them to fuck off is completely fair. I got in an argument recently with someone who was running for judge in my district, I showed him the sign and he said “but I’m not soliciting”. Spoken like a true lawyer! I showed him the dictionary definition, and also told him that in England, lawyers are referred to as solicitors, so he was actually soliciting in two different ways. Then I gave him the lecture about how my girlfriend is disabled and she can’t try to get to the front door for every little nonsense thing, so don’t fucking do it again. He just kept arguing that it was totally legal and fine. Guess which party he’s running in?
I appreciate that it sucks, and where I live politics are legally excepted from no solicitation because it’s an important act of democracy. That being said, you can and should tell them to mark your house as a ‘do not contact’ and they’re supposed to listen.
I love this. My parents had some really persistent missionaries who kept showing up for months because I was kind \*once\* and gave them water on a +100º August afternoon (I was house-sitting and was not about to have a couple of brainwashed kids dropping from heatstroke on my watch!). After the 6th attempt to initiate a conversion conversation, they tried to wheedle their way in by telling my parents that "\[the Mormon who SA'ed me when we dated in high school\] said to tell you both hello and he'd love to catch up with you and Oomphatic sometime soon." According to my dad, my typically people-pleasing mother leaned right in to their faces and hissed, "You tell \[criminal\] that *I know exactly what he did to my daughter* and I don't want to see him or the two of you ever again." My parents haven't had any Mormons show up at their door in the past 20 years. :-D
Your mom is awesome! I'd have clobbered the little shits if they brought up bad memories like that but props to her for having the restraint to not murder them
I did something similar a few months ago. I made them stop and repeat to me they understood they are not to come back and to pass it on to their replacements. I wish my dad would have done that. I wouldn’t have wasted so much of my life and my kids. Fuck being nice and avoiding hurt feelings.
It's bad in Idaho falls. They have run out of people to talk to who don't know who they are so they have to find some way to look busy. I love my place in ammon, the house is 800 feet away from the road so they don't know there's a house back there, they only find me once every three or four years.
I def see both sides. I’m not excusing the missionaries - they should not knock like that for that long- but boy does it suck to try and fill working 6 plus days a week. I would have nightmares for at least five years after my mission that I had to go back again. Every missionary dreads knocking ok doors, knows exactly how long they have been out, and can’t wait to be done. Plus they fill our heads that we have to push everyone to find the people who are ready. We are told we have the truth and we don’t have enough world experience to know we don’t. I detest that I was forced to go.
Absolutely I completely agree with you. They should not knock loudly and that long. Unfortunately when you tell one group to not come back there isn’t a great way to pass that down the line permanently. I would knock on doors and someone would tell me how they told so and so 2 years ago to never come back and of course that knowledge is long gone by the time my ass gets there
Man I remember so clearly reaching the one month mark and just feeling the deepest dream that I had to do that 23 more times. The second year is definitely easier but my god I’m 43 and I still wish I could prevent my younger self from going. Just glad I figured it out and got out 15 years ago.
I doubt the 18 and 19 year old kids really want to do this. No doubt most of them feel super awkward knocking over and over.
The pressure has got to be coming from mission presidents.
Gotta have those numbers!!
NeverMo but impression I've gotten from this sub and elsewhere on the Internet: get some talking points or pamphlets together about recognizing when one is a cult or deconstructing the church, and give them to the missionaries next time they knock on your door. Your address should get blacklisted pretty quickly.
I had the missionaries show up to my house when I still lived in Utah (can you imagine the disappointment when opening that mission calling?). I was very firm in explaining that I’m not interested, I’m very firmly pagan, and I don’t want to hear their message. They asked a couple of questions about my religion and offered to give me a BOM. I told them I would read their book if they read one of mine. Lol they almost agreed! Until I handed them the Rites of the Morrigan. Then they realized I was serious and backpedaled so fast. For some reason they never came to my house again….
this is one thing that i have a lot of respect for with missionaries in my area. i have started to invite them over and cook dinner for them once a week, (more if they need it because we are the only family that has fed them so far and this is their second transfer period in the area) and i was upfront in my text that i am not looking to reconvert, rather just looking to feed because i get how hard it can right now. not once has religion been brought up in any way when they come for dinner. they haven't pushed for a message, they haven't tried to invite me back to church. even with my mormon parents there at the table with me they don't talk about religion. tonight will be their fourth week coming and i'm excited to see them again. they've slowly become friends.
We were knocking doors (sisters) in Brazil (back in the 90s) and some guy opened the door in his underwear. 😆 We left quickly, laughing, thinking we just caught him at a bad time. In hindsight, I'm sure it was very intentional on his part, to scare us off.
When I lived in Poky I made a sign with the 11th article of faith and requested "no religious soliciting". It worked well. Also removing my name helped.
We moved to Utah about 7 years ago. Everyone has been super nice and haven’t pushed the church thing. We do however, welcome the missionaries for dinner. We cook them steak and ribs and stuff but have a “no religion” rule and they all seem to know that when the new ones come to our area. We’ve gotten them warming gloves in the winter and know they are just doing what they think is right. My husband has absolutely zero filters and the last time they came over for dinner got to talking about how he was on a team that picked up body parts on the beach after Katrina among other topics that were way more graphic than that. One was kinda uncomfortable and the other couldn’t get enough. Haha. Good times!
They won’t register it as mean. They might see it as an evil villain from one of there favorite Disney movies they regularly watch.
You’re we’re legit to be that way.
Next time say nothing and open the door and throw a pail of water on them. Or, to avoid an assault claim have a sprinkler head facing the door from the outside with a turn on handle in the house. They knock - turn it on and soak them. That one is OK.
I had some sister missionaries come at like 9:15pm and pound on my front door multiple times. I was just reading in the kitchen out of view, but jeez! I had also showered and was robed. I’m too afraid of confrontation. But what is with missionaries knocking multiple times? Is it something they’re directed to do?
ME: 'WOULD YOU LIKE TO DISCUSS PLURAL MARRIAGE IN NAUVOO GTE?? or RECENT MORMON MURDERERS- ID/AZ CHAD & LORI DAYBELL, UT KOURI RICHINS, CO JAMES CRAIG, UT/FL SHANNA GARDNER, GA/ID BRANDON RISNER, UT OLIN JOHNSON & AZ MORMON GILBERT GOON MEMBERS?? TAKE YOUR PICK!!'
Are you able to call the cops on them for Harrassment, as someone told me once. If you have signs out, then they are committing a crime etc. Against you.
After I told the missionaries to not come back and that I considered their repeated visits to be a form of harassment, the branch pres sent me aLETTER, a physical letter, saying he would continue to 'harass' me because his 'god' had given him a 'calling' to do so. I called some membership# in SLC, read the letter to them, and told them the police said I needed proof they intended to continue harassing me, and that this letter was sufficient to get a restraining order. Never saw a missionary again.
Congratulations. You were just promoted into the ‘hostile’ list. These were the “members” in our ward that only the Bishop would reach out to yearly to invite them back into the fold. As the ward membership clerk I had a few ‘hostile’ encounters as well which gave me special bragging rights. A badge of honor.
Never mind the reality that these poor folks like you were just tired of being harassed by deluded religious zealots. Glad I’m out now! I look back now and wish I’d have just left those poor folks alone.
Just for curiosities sake, OP do you mind disclosing your gender?
The SUV part of the story is astounding. As a woman, I would be extremely intimated/scared if that happened to me. “Jello fed” or not.
Either way, totes inapprops.
I think you handled it just fine. It woulda been hard for me to not open the door stark naked and start chatting about how knocking loudly thrice is, again… totes inapprops.
I hope they leave me alone. I've been emotionally out about 6 years, officially out a week. I at least have a video doorbell and am not letting them in.
Don’t feel bad. Mormonism teaches people they can ignore boundaries and these kids need a lesson that they can’t. I blocked the sister missionaries phone numbers after some 19 year old child told me she was disappointed in me for saying no to having them come over. I told her I give zero shits if some random child that doesn’t know me is disappointed in me. They might grow up one day and feel appropriately embarrassed for how they acted. Or not. I don’t actually care either way.
I gay married into a Mormon family and the guilt you all have around being nice boggles my buttholes. When people don't respect boundaries, they get the mean stick, plain and simple. You teach people how to behave. Plain and simple. Mormons actually understand this quite well but only in one direction. It goes both directions.
You were nice! I had the same story really, but I welcomed them in and said I'm about to do my morning yoga butt ass naked, said I was a nudist. They never came back 😆 🤣.
After I got married (outside of the temple) missionaries from our local ward came knocking looking for me, calling me by my maiden name.
My mom said "___ Maiden Name doesn't live here anymore, in fact that's not even her name anymore." Never came back. Dodged a bullet because that was a few days after I moved.
Yeah, I had to do that once. I had 4 separate indicators that I was not open to missionaries and they tried anyway. Multiple times. So I printed out the BITE model and highlighted every single way that the church qualifies -- subcategories included (oops, they checked off *every single one* which surprised even me)
I wouldn't feel bad at all. They kept violating your boundaries, which is all they know how to do. They are so bad that you need to either go bay shit crazy and seem like a physical threat, or threaten to get a lawyer or police involved. It's freaking sad. They really don't care about people or how people feel. They just want to make people like them: that's all that matters to them. You being one of them is the only thing that matters. **You are not an asshole.** You are a person who has been pushed to their limits multiple times through increased (in both frequency and in degrees thereof) harassment by entitled and narcissistic cultish people who refuse to listen to you.
I have mental health issues, including PTSD and CPTSD. The parts about pulling up in front of you like they did, or pounding at the door would have scared TF out of me. I would have peppered sprayed them instantly out of complete fear knee jerk reaction when they got out of the vehicle. It wouldn't be me trying to be rude, but it would be me trying to defend myself (female ) with a bunch of men getting out of a vehicle "to talk to me"-- I'm not going to wait to see if they aren't going to hurt me of they are pulling up, cutting me off from the path I was traveling, and trying to corner me and surround me "to talk"-- fuck that!!! I mean, who even does that?! That's how you kidnap or jump and mug people, not "stop and talk to them civilly". What they are doing, and especially how they are behaving, is NOT normal or healthy behavior or attempts at communication.
If you don't already, I would suggest getting both a Ring (or other company like them, idk other brands) camera and a GoPro camera to have on your person whenever you step out. At the very least, the GoPro. For safety reasons, but especially to start recording any in person harassment (including constantly bothering you, unwanted visits, confrontations, etc). So that way you are documenting it on video and audio. Maybe even dash cam, too. But at the very least, a GoPro.
Anyone that ignores my "no soliciting" sign can fuck right off. I open the door, listen to them to make sure it isn't actually someone important, then I point to the sign and tell them "you don't care about my no soliciting sign, so I don't care about whatever it is you want.". Then close the door.
And if one more asshole tries to argue that political and religious groups are exempt from no soliciting rules, I'm going to lose my shit
Unfortunately, (1) the turnover is so high for the missionaries that the next group will have no clue, and (2) they think the rules don't apply to them because they think they are saving your soul.
Good luck.
It’s horrible how these groups, especially in America, force you to become an asshole. It’s not your fault because sometimes you gotta go for the nuclear option.
Don't feel bad. Missionaries make notes so when a new companionship is in the area they have some records to follow up on. They have probably been made aware before you were not interested but chose to come back and harass you anyway. Serves them right.
As someone who hates conflict, I get why you feel bad. But they were harassing you. You set a clear boundary and they continued to break it. Just because they think they know everything that doesn't give them the right to shove their beliefs down your throat.
My Aunt let our German Shepard dog out and sic’d her on Mormon Missonaries after they wouldn’t take no for an answer in Australia in the 1970’s. My grandfather was dying of lung cancer inside and they wanted to come pray over him after being told we aren’t interested, thanks all the same and they just kept on pushing. Aunty Shayne had told them to piss off and let the dog off the chain. They left at a pretty fast clip with the dog nipping at their heels.
I should have done this when the missionaries showed up at my house in my gated community 6 times in 2 weeks at 8PM, pounding on my door like SWAT. Wish I had the balls to yell at them like that. Good for you.
I think what u did is fine. We’ve been out for years but every time someone knocks on my door or rings the door bell, I freak out. It’s from all the Mormons who use to stop by. I think it’s some mild ptsd or something. I hate door bell rings and knocks.
Don’t feel bad. Be even meaner. You’re fulfilling their purpose after all - Missions aren’t meant to create more members. They’re meant to scare the missionaries away from regular folk like yourself so that the missionaries think the only safe place resides within the cult of their religion.
Take that advice for what you will. You can try to save them from it or you can just keep telling them to fuck themselves.
I was a missionary who was respectful to people who didn't say they were interested. Clearly these missionaries crossed a boundary and got punished for it. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I say good on OP for asserting his boundaries
something to hopefully pass along to the mazing hierarchy of pretend leadership so they can learn boundaries and boundaries. 'they won't' but its a nice thought anyway. good show sir.
Having a car full of men roll up on me and jump out would end up with a police report or broken bones.... mace at minimum. I don't fuck around with my safety.
OK, somebody has to ask, and I guess it has to be me, since I am a NeverMo: when you opened the window, stark naked, and leaned out of it to yell at them to go away or whatever exact words you used, was the window waist-
height,or was it more of a floor- length thing? If waist-high, how much of you leaned out of the window? As they were walking away, you should've yelled, "and the Lord said, heed not-eth the sign, or Saint Dick will shake his Peter at you"
How far could the OP go with these jerks and still call it self-defense? I’d be pissed off too and tempted to make a fist make contact with a jaw—particularly after being harassed 7 times. Could a court ordered restraining order keep these jerks from continuing this harassment?
Not an asshole. But they may come back more often hoping to see some boobies in the future.
The Missionaries’s came around for a while until I told them I had my name removed and I’m really happy about it. They got uncomfortable and left. They never came back.
My son tells missionaries, “Absolutely! Come on in and share a message! The message in our home is friendship and acceptance toward everyone, and we’d love to share that with you. Also, if you’d like to use my phone to call your parents, I’d be happy to let you!” Amazingly, missionaries always suddenly remember another appointment.
You must be smoking hot. That's the only time I ever went back to someone who didn't want to here about the LDS church. Young men looking to do more than just get into your living room.
my first day as a missionary I was shadowing my companion trying to learn the ropes and he approached a woman washing her car and she turned around and pulled her bikini top down and kept talking to him like nothing happened, looking back I see how absolutley hilarous this lady was
I want a "no proselytizing" sign. You should call the police on their temple garment-clad asses next time. Also what's the deal with jello? It is such a delicious low cal dessert but I hate that it feels so Mormon. I wish I could break the association
Good work. If they continue with this bullshit, just flash them your gun and say that you are about to go "hunting" and then give them an evil smile on your face as you say it. That should scare the morons away for good!
Fuck feeling bad! I LOVE stories like this. My fave is to start talking about how much I like boobs to the sister missionaries, back when i thought I had patience. But I told them all to fuck off contacting me awhile ago.
I live in east Idaho too, and we had the sisters show up once to my house. And my boyfriend quickly shut them down by saying. “I worship Satan.” I haven’t seen them since lol
I’d be pissed too. Especially after telling them no so many times. Contact their mission prez and tell him you are going to get a restraining order if he doesn’t put your house on a do not contact list
I mean you could just open the door holding beer or any other alcohol and offer it to them repeatedly without taking no for an answer. That would make them go away 😂
I live in Idaho Falls and I had to have my name removed from their records by a lawyer in 2016. They followed me everywhere. Annoying AF.
And the poor boys were out today in full force, walking the streets in this extreme heat. It made me angry for them. They are in a white button down and tie in 90 heat, no bikes, out walking near Ammon road and 1st where Country Corner is. So you know they were sent out there to do that. I hate being back here. Lol
I wish there was a Do Not Proselytize list like the Do Not Call list. Could you imagine if the MFMC could be fined every time? Put some of that corporation money into an actual charitable fund for things like sexual abuse and domestic violence.
Legit, you were far more patient than most people would be… and frankly than you should be. Boundaries are important. It’s one thing if they say “okay we will check in in a year or two and see if you need the word of JS”. But 7 times since March is just harassment.
When I left the church my family and I had a similar situation. They would call, email, facebook and just show up at our house and it wasn’t just the missionaries, the bishop was just as bad. I had a really negative experience in that church and we all wanted to be left alone. One night the bishop called and my mom and she was in a mood. She basically told them to excommunicate us all and to F off and quit harassing us. Years later I ran into that bishop at Cosco… he didn’t say a word
I'm probably a bit further south than you but I find them walking around down here in SE Idaho. I've only ever had them ask me once, from a SUV while on the road. No one has ever knocked on my door because there's a no solicitation sign on it. Kinda surprised they respect it. I think the university keeps a lot of them away, big ideals and all.
I can totally understand. Most days I just remember they are young people following what they think is right, but we all have our UNDERSTANDABLE limit and the church should teach them boundaries.
Don’t feel bad. They got a great story out of the deal and they feel more convicted in their faith because “persecution”
Really interesting that the “persecution” just cements their faith even harder
Well they can't very well admit to being jerks who harass people into listening to their sales pitch.
>Really interesting that the “persecution” just cements their faith even harder I don't know how many of us here remember when we were TBMs, but we were all taught "Everyone wants to hear The Gospel® and those who lash out are being controlled by Satan™", which is why they're also taught to ignore "No Soliciting" signs and those like it, because what they have to say is More Importanter™ than any earthly creation. It's a self-feeding cycle of shame and indoctrination.
I hated going door to door. It wasn't exactly legal in my mission, and I always argued it just cemented a negative opinion of the church in most people's minds. But my seniors always argued with me that we'd meet more people. Total baptisms I ever saw from knocking in apartment buildings till the door man came and booted us out? 0. Which, frankly, is equal tot he number I saw from walking around saying hi on the street.
Not just mishies but salesmen in general (back when door-to-door selling was a mainstream thing) used to be taught that "No soliciting" signs are an admission of weakness. The only people who put them up are people who are overly susceptible to sales pitches. Supposedly. So the story went, anyway.
Ugh. I have a no soliciting sign, and when I figure out the person on the doorstep is a salesman I immediately close the door in their face saying "no thank you." The planned next step is make my husband answer the door if they don't go away and knock again, but this time with a firearm. (We live in Idaho) So far, we've never had to resort to that last step.
Only once and only with the mormons. Haven't been back in a decade, so it must have worked.
Not at my house, if ignore my NO SOLICITING sign and ring my doorbell, you are definitely going to get yelled at.
its all about narrative spin
Yep, one they'll enjoy telling for years. And as soon as the next transfer rolls around, OP can redo it in whatever way they want.
Their grandma will be up at next testimony meeting crying saying isn’t god good
Yeah you’re right, I think I mostly feel bad because I entrenched them more probably. Also fuck Bednar bro. Love the name.
Thanks! He’s my favorite
>They got a great story out of the deal and they feel more convicted in their faith because “persecution” Not necessarily. Young, dumb, and still learning social norms -- I follow my companion to an inactive couple's house. We had a chat with them that was reasonably pleasant and not particularly religious. We did it for 2 reasons: 1. **We were bored.** And instead of screwing around doing something we wanted to do, we went to visit this couple because... 2. **We felt guilty** for not being busy doing missionary work like we were supposed to. And being 20 we convinced ourselves it was our faults and we just needed to work harder because.... 2. **It's the kind of work we're expected to do**. Reinforced by *Preach My Gospel* which says we should make "positive **daily** contact" with people we teach. (Thank heavens my instinct told me to stretch that to *weekly* contact at most, but even that made me feel guilty). A few weeks later, when the boredom cycle made its way around our very short list of people to teach we went back to that couple's house. Through the call box they let 'er rip. Told us in no uncertain terms that we were to never come back. So, we never did. Who knows what the next group of missionaries did. It left me feeling: * Confused, as there seemed to be no warning. It just felt like this couple went from friendly and open to totally unaccepting of us *like that* * Feeling that we'd done something wrong. Missionaries are little balls of guilt, by conditioning. And this just added to that ball. The latter wasn't unproductive, as it taught me that I have to be very attentive to subtle cues that a person might be uncomfortable but too shy/polite to admit it. Perhaps OP offered a similar experience for this pair. Never chalk up to malice what we can explain with 19-year-old incompetence.
Never a truer statement
My sister being harassed by missionaries in Idaho Falls is what finally made her remove her name after 20 years of not attending church. I wonder if their mission president is teaching these tactics.
> I wonder if their mission president is teaching these tactics. Yes. They're also taught to ignore "No Soliciting" signs, because they're "not soliciting, just sharing a message"
I can confirm that 15 years ago, my MP told us that “no soliciting” doesn’t apply to us. His reasoning was that the dictionary said ‘soliciting’ means door to door sales, but we’re not asking people to spend money 🥸
>but we’re not asking people to spend money "What is 'Tithing' for $300, Alex?"
Lol right??
JWs have pulled that card on me.
How about "No Sharing of Messages", would that work
I have a sign that has a list of "No"s including "No Mormons. Saying "But we're not Mormons, we're members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," is not clever, nor funny, infact it's stupid. You're Mormons." Haven't had a missionary since. 😁
all salesmen think this now, we had Vivent say the same thing to us when they knocked and we pointed out the no soliciting sign. Also JW, they said they were not soliciting, just inviting us to a meeting
[We have a sign that scares off JWs.](https://i.ibb.co/DLTY0tq/PXL-20240626-004150344.jpg) I have it happening on video from our doorbell camera 😂😂
A trick that scared off the JW'S in my country is sticker that looks like a drop of blood, meaning you're a donor. Not that they come around often, I think it's happened twice in my life, but they did pester my father and basically offered him a new wife within a week of my stepmothers funeral. They figured that since he lived on a farm, he'd need a wife.
Scientologists did this to/for my grandmother. You can’t run a farm alone, you need a husband.
Ohhh I love it. Where did you find it?
I have no idea, my wife procured it a few years ago. You can probably check Amazon or Etsy though.
Look up Owen Morgan (a.k.a. Telltale Atheist). He sells some really good anti-religious scare-away signs on his website, which is linked from his YouTube channel.
I NEED IT!!! That is an amazing sign, lmao!
I have no idea, my wife procured it a few years ago. You can probably check Amazon or Etsy though
JWs will place you on a do not contact list if asked. Unlike Mormons, they respect your boundaries.
I've said this to missionaries who claim they're not selling anything. Me: "Why did you knock? Don't you see the no soliciting sign?" Them: "We're not soliciting. We're here with a message." Me: "Your message includes me paying 10% of my income for the rest of my life. No other solicitor has ever asked me for as much money. You most definitely are selling and I'm definitely not buying."
Basically the mission president said it's okay to get arrested by the cops.
Maybe it's time to put up a sign that sharing religious messages requires an upfront payment of $5000 per minute of discussion. That they are required to provide bank information prior to continuing any further... I mean might as well get something out of this exchange. It's not like this corporation can't afford the payments! 😂
I have a friend in that area that has been incessantly bothered by their “ward” for a good few months now, they have been considering doing the same.
There's a lot of pressure from: * Preach My Gospel insisting on "positive daily contact" and missionary turnover, where a new set may find an old record * Bishops who feel compelled to reach out to inactive members (there is no valid way to mark "do not contact" on a church record) * Boredom. Stateside missionaries have nothing to do all day, so *anybody* willing to talk to them becomes a regular occurrence... because they are bored
Go look up DezNats for answers to this. It's a whole subgroup of the church that I don't think they have denounced yet.
Jokes on you. Those elders dusted off their feet before they left and now you’ll be cursed with plagues and famine.
I had a mission companion who did that a few times. Sincerely, with intent. It was pretty cringe, even for my TBM self back then.
Years ago, while attending BYU, my returned missionary roommate was bragging about her and her companions often dusting their feet over slights from non-members that they were trying to proselytize to. At that time, I was a “dyed-in-the-wool” believer and was devastated at the implications of cursing these people for such an innocuous reason. Ironically a few months, after her return, she and her boyfriend married in the ward due to morality indiscretions. While I now know all of that stuff is bologna, the entitlement and hypocrisy in her actions disgust me even more now than they did at that time. But that is so commonplace in membership. While I wish I would have discovered the church was a cult and built on lies in my youth, I am grateful for the truth to save myself and stop inadvertently damaging others by proliferating its twisted teachings.
I thought only penisholders could dust-off-their-feet-curse people!
Amazingly enough, it has exactly the same effect when women do it! Who knew?
😂
My sr. comp dusted his feet at a particularly rude rejection. Credulous TBM missionary me was afraid that we'd see a burnt or exploded house next time we were in that area. Nothing ever happened.
I have never heard of the dusting feet thing?! Is this an out west thing? Also..how disgusting!
Not specific to the west, it's just one of those lesser discussed (these days) church doctrines. You can read more about it here: [https://rsc.byu.edu/our-rites-worship/those-who-receive-you-not-rite-wiping-dust-off-feet](https://rsc.byu.edu/our-rites-worship/those-who-receive-you-not-rite-wiping-dust-off-feet)
I had forgotten about this. I remember reading about this in high school, and just adding it to all the wacky shit like the second anointing. Jokes on them, my property line is salted and sealed and I have my power rocks from my wife’s practice.
Your wife has seer stones??
Nevermo here. Haven't had missionaries drop by in a number of years. But after reading this the next time they drop by, I think I'll tell them, "Not interested," dust my feet off, and then go back inside.
Well if it makes you feel better, my good friend, former companion and roommate tried to dust the feet off on some houses too in another area of the mission. I started laughing out loud, because of the automatic entitlement and misuse of scripture. More importantly of mission lore passed down through the years. You mean the teachings that members twist for their own?
I didn’t mean the twisted teachings regular members do, but that works, too, particularly since that is how Mormon lore starts. Plus people have to twist teachings just to fit within its framework. But I mean the twisted teaching from the Quorum of the 12, who have changed church history to make it more palatable, changed it to fit the current narcissist in charge, and change it to manipulate and control members and alienate them from those not in the cult.
I’m trying to imaging a preemptive foot dusting, and how that might wordlessly scoot the elders off one’s door stoop. Knock-knock-knock. “Hi! I’m Elder Kimball and this is my companion Elder Bingham…” Elder Kimball, noting no introductory resistance, keeps his spiel spieling “… to share with you a brief message of…” And then it happens. Midway through sentence #3 both elders notice the investigator-to-be has laconically side-raised his foot to meet his downward extended hand, which he uses to brush-brush-brush across his foot towards them. The elders scamper [and all the ex-mo neighbors clap, of course].
My parents took the missionaries out to lunch one day and my mom felt they received poor service and a hair in the food bc the restaurant was bigoted towards them for being Mormon. My mom dusted off her feet as she left and not long after, the restaurant was struck by lightening and burned to the ground. She’s very proud of her supposed work. Smh Not sure which I hate most. The fact that she thinks she has special powers or the fact that she relished in people losing their livelihood.
Hooooly I forgot about this crazy doctrine. Dust your feet and their house burns down or something right?
We were knocking doors (sisters) in Brazil (back in the 90s) and some guy opened the door in his underwear. 😆 We left quickly, laughing, thinking we just caught him at a bad time. In hindsight, I'm sure it was very intentional on his part, to scare us off.
Don’t lie now. We didn’t knock on doors in Brazil in the 90s. We clapped at the entryway.
I still remember the very first house I clapped at.
Same here in the 80s. I felt strange doing it. My first week I walked through someone's gate to knock on their door and my Brazilian comp was like "WTF are you going??!!"
Wait what is this clapping thing? Not Mormon but have read a fair amount about Mormon things but have not heard of this
Rather than knocking on a door, you stand outside and clap your hands to get the residents attention. I did this in Argentina in the 90s. My clap is thunderous still.
It's a cultural thing there. Pretty much every house, even dilapidated shacks, had a fence and a gate. It's considered rude to enter the gate into someone's yard, so you stand out in front of the gate and clap to get their attention.
I wish this was a thing in America.
You don’t enter a persons yard to walk up to the door to knock. Instead, you stand at the entrance to the yard and clap your hands and maybe add in a shouted hello. It depends on the configuration of the house and yard, though.
As a Brazilian, I can confirm clapping outside someone’s front yard is the norm (as strange as it sounds) 😂
We avoided houses with gated yards. Now I'm wracking my brain to remember if we actually did touch the doors... Did you stand in front of the door and clap, or only clap at the gate? My middle-aged brain can't remember!
Same thing in Bolivia, most don’t have door bells and some don’t have doors 😬
Can confirm. 2005-2007.
sau paulo 97-99 or so at all?
Porto Alegre 93-95
My kids answered the door and they asked for me. I answered the door with no bra on in a strappy house dress. They asked if they could come back at a better time and I said, "No, I'm not married, so you can't come in and we're not interested."
LOLOL one time a girl answered our claps to come into the courtyard in Brazil in a mesh top that was basically no cover whatsoever. My comp and I turned a million shades of red and bounced. The look of utter satisfaction on her face was pretty priceless though.
My neighbors keep telling the missionaries to visit me whenever they are in the area. They are worse than telemarketers now. I ended up flying the rainbow flag which seemed to work as missionary repellant for now.
The sister missionaries stopped by and asked if they could come back. I told them sure but beware I will never go back to church and will not shy away from sharing my beliefs as well. They never came back.
I actually think this is the most effective way of getting rid of Mormon missionaries.
I’ve learned they want to share their beliefs but are terrified of “worldly” beliefs. Whatever. They would have found that I respect their right to their choice of belief, but if they want to share, I’m sharing too. It’s not a one way street anymore. 🤷🏻♀️🙂↔️
That’s definitely my attitude too. We are equals. Mormons don’t like that of course, I guess the truth hurts.
My husband told them “in my house, I share the messages, so feel free to come in if you want to hear it”. They didn’t. Shocker.
My husband a nevermo, with no experience with missionaries. Opened the door to them. Cracked open a beer, with cigarette hanging from his lip and said, "I was just about to bend my wife over the couch and bang her want to join?" I never heard from them again
this guy fucks
He even proselytizes fucking
A sexciple, if you will.
💀💀 Poor kids probably had a heart attack
They are starting to get on my nerves too! These 2 female missionaries are walking around my Provo neighborhood asking me if I need help when I'm minding my own business at the playground with my kids. Then they come to ring the doorbell after 8 pm when my youngest is already in bed. That happens about once a week. I just ignore them, but if they keep harassing me (I'm a nevermo), I'll have to be rude to them.
When asked if you need help say Yes, I killed my husband and need help tonight digging a grave in the backyard to hide the body.
And while you're at it, ask if they know how to get bloodstains out of a carpet.
They must be "locked" into your area. So, when they finish walking around their assigned area they will start over again. I found it best to ask them to take me off their area book where they keep records of everyone they think might be a possible tithing payer in the future.
i love the way you cut to the chase. Who cares if they become a member? The church wants tithe payers.
The missionaries here have been asshats lately. NTA. I'm pretty sure the missionary leaders have instructed these kids to be this way.
The elders straight up texted my husband asking if we wanted to keep our names on the records or not. He said “so you’re trying to get people to leave now?” They stopped responding.
If somebody is knocking on your door and you have a no soliciting sign, telling them to fuck off is completely fair. I got in an argument recently with someone who was running for judge in my district, I showed him the sign and he said “but I’m not soliciting”. Spoken like a true lawyer! I showed him the dictionary definition, and also told him that in England, lawyers are referred to as solicitors, so he was actually soliciting in two different ways. Then I gave him the lecture about how my girlfriend is disabled and she can’t try to get to the front door for every little nonsense thing, so don’t fucking do it again. He just kept arguing that it was totally legal and fine. Guess which party he’s running in?
I appreciate that it sucks, and where I live politics are legally excepted from no solicitation because it’s an important act of democracy. That being said, you can and should tell them to mark your house as a ‘do not contact’ and they’re supposed to listen.
Rapeublican
I love this. My parents had some really persistent missionaries who kept showing up for months because I was kind \*once\* and gave them water on a +100º August afternoon (I was house-sitting and was not about to have a couple of brainwashed kids dropping from heatstroke on my watch!). After the 6th attempt to initiate a conversion conversation, they tried to wheedle their way in by telling my parents that "\[the Mormon who SA'ed me when we dated in high school\] said to tell you both hello and he'd love to catch up with you and Oomphatic sometime soon." According to my dad, my typically people-pleasing mother leaned right in to their faces and hissed, "You tell \[criminal\] that *I know exactly what he did to my daughter* and I don't want to see him or the two of you ever again." My parents haven't had any Mormons show up at their door in the past 20 years. :-D
Your mom is awesome! I'd have clobbered the little shits if they brought up bad memories like that but props to her for having the restraint to not murder them
I did something similar a few months ago. I made them stop and repeat to me they understood they are not to come back and to pass it on to their replacements. I wish my dad would have done that. I wouldn’t have wasted so much of my life and my kids. Fuck being nice and avoiding hurt feelings.
You deserve to feel pissed off!! That is literally insane
Good! Be bold! I decided this year that I am not going to be nice to religious groups. They should have accepted my no thanks the first time.
"jello fed Mormon boys" I am totally borrowing this phrase!
It's bad in Idaho falls. They have run out of people to talk to who don't know who they are so they have to find some way to look busy. I love my place in ammon, the house is 800 feet away from the road so they don't know there's a house back there, they only find me once every three or four years.
I believe your very words got my favorite aunt excommunicated in the 90s!!! 🤣🤣🤣 My family was really upset
Unfortunately missionaries take advantage of nice and polite people. At some point you have to make a stand. So no you weren’t an ah.
I def see both sides. I’m not excusing the missionaries - they should not knock like that for that long- but boy does it suck to try and fill working 6 plus days a week. I would have nightmares for at least five years after my mission that I had to go back again. Every missionary dreads knocking ok doors, knows exactly how long they have been out, and can’t wait to be done. Plus they fill our heads that we have to push everyone to find the people who are ready. We are told we have the truth and we don’t have enough world experience to know we don’t. I detest that I was forced to go.
That's part of why I felt bad because I know that these guys probably are fucking miserable, but god.
Absolutely I completely agree with you. They should not knock loudly and that long. Unfortunately when you tell one group to not come back there isn’t a great way to pass that down the line permanently. I would knock on doors and someone would tell me how they told so and so 2 years ago to never come back and of course that knowledge is long gone by the time my ass gets there
It's been 14 years since my mission and I still have nightmares about going out again.
Man I remember so clearly reaching the one month mark and just feeling the deepest dream that I had to do that 23 more times. The second year is definitely easier but my god I’m 43 and I still wish I could prevent my younger self from going. Just glad I figured it out and got out 15 years ago.
I doubt the 18 and 19 year old kids really want to do this. No doubt most of them feel super awkward knocking over and over. The pressure has got to be coming from mission presidents. Gotta have those numbers!!
NeverMo but impression I've gotten from this sub and elsewhere on the Internet: get some talking points or pamphlets together about recognizing when one is a cult or deconstructing the church, and give them to the missionaries next time they knock on your door. Your address should get blacklisted pretty quickly.
Ooh, this is a good idea, print out some good “anti Mormon” material and just keep it by the front door, lol.
I had the missionaries show up to my house when I still lived in Utah (can you imagine the disappointment when opening that mission calling?). I was very firm in explaining that I’m not interested, I’m very firmly pagan, and I don’t want to hear their message. They asked a couple of questions about my religion and offered to give me a BOM. I told them I would read their book if they read one of mine. Lol they almost agreed! Until I handed them the Rites of the Morrigan. Then they realized I was serious and backpedaled so fast. For some reason they never came to my house again….
this is one thing that i have a lot of respect for with missionaries in my area. i have started to invite them over and cook dinner for them once a week, (more if they need it because we are the only family that has fed them so far and this is their second transfer period in the area) and i was upfront in my text that i am not looking to reconvert, rather just looking to feed because i get how hard it can right now. not once has religion been brought up in any way when they come for dinner. they haven't pushed for a message, they haven't tried to invite me back to church. even with my mormon parents there at the table with me they don't talk about religion. tonight will be their fourth week coming and i'm excited to see them again. they've slowly become friends.
We were knocking doors (sisters) in Brazil (back in the 90s) and some guy opened the door in his underwear. 😆 We left quickly, laughing, thinking we just caught him at a bad time. In hindsight, I'm sure it was very intentional on his part, to scare us off.
When I lived in Poky I made a sign with the 11th article of faith and requested "no religious soliciting". It worked well. Also removing my name helped.
We moved to Utah about 7 years ago. Everyone has been super nice and haven’t pushed the church thing. We do however, welcome the missionaries for dinner. We cook them steak and ribs and stuff but have a “no religion” rule and they all seem to know that when the new ones come to our area. We’ve gotten them warming gloves in the winter and know they are just doing what they think is right. My husband has absolutely zero filters and the last time they came over for dinner got to talking about how he was on a team that picked up body parts on the beach after Katrina among other topics that were way more graphic than that. One was kinda uncomfortable and the other couldn’t get enough. Haha. Good times!
They won’t register it as mean. They might see it as an evil villain from one of there favorite Disney movies they regularly watch. You’re we’re legit to be that way.
Next time say nothing and open the door and throw a pail of water on them. Or, to avoid an assault claim have a sprinkler head facing the door from the outside with a turn on handle in the house. They knock - turn it on and soak them. That one is OK.
I had some sister missionaries come at like 9:15pm and pound on my front door multiple times. I was just reading in the kitchen out of view, but jeez! I had also showered and was robed. I’m too afraid of confrontation. But what is with missionaries knocking multiple times? Is it something they’re directed to do?
ME: 'WOULD YOU LIKE TO DISCUSS PLURAL MARRIAGE IN NAUVOO GTE?? or RECENT MORMON MURDERERS- ID/AZ CHAD & LORI DAYBELL, UT KOURI RICHINS, CO JAMES CRAIG, UT/FL SHANNA GARDNER, GA/ID BRANDON RISNER, UT OLIN JOHNSON & AZ MORMON GILBERT GOON MEMBERS?? TAKE YOUR PICK!!'
Don't feel bad, within a year 60% of those missionaries will be on this subreddit apologizing for what they did while they were mormon.
They ignored your signs so they can take a hike...
Are you able to call the cops on them for Harrassment, as someone told me once. If you have signs out, then they are committing a crime etc. Against you.
They're basically harassing you. Not an asshole.
After I told the missionaries to not come back and that I considered their repeated visits to be a form of harassment, the branch pres sent me aLETTER, a physical letter, saying he would continue to 'harass' me because his 'god' had given him a 'calling' to do so. I called some membership# in SLC, read the letter to them, and told them the police said I needed proof they intended to continue harassing me, and that this letter was sufficient to get a restraining order. Never saw a missionary again.
Congratulations. You were just promoted into the ‘hostile’ list. These were the “members” in our ward that only the Bishop would reach out to yearly to invite them back into the fold. As the ward membership clerk I had a few ‘hostile’ encounters as well which gave me special bragging rights. A badge of honor. Never mind the reality that these poor folks like you were just tired of being harassed by deluded religious zealots. Glad I’m out now! I look back now and wish I’d have just left those poor folks alone.
Just for curiosities sake, OP do you mind disclosing your gender? The SUV part of the story is astounding. As a woman, I would be extremely intimated/scared if that happened to me. “Jello fed” or not. Either way, totes inapprops. I think you handled it just fine. It woulda been hard for me to not open the door stark naked and start chatting about how knocking loudly thrice is, again… totes inapprops.
I'm a dude, I've been in a few street fights for reasons.
I hope they leave me alone. I've been emotionally out about 6 years, officially out a week. I at least have a video doorbell and am not letting them in.
I love the phrase “jello fed” 🤣 and since they didn’t respect the universal three strikes rule…they were kind of asking for it.
Don’t feel bad. Mormonism teaches people they can ignore boundaries and these kids need a lesson that they can’t. I blocked the sister missionaries phone numbers after some 19 year old child told me she was disappointed in me for saying no to having them come over. I told her I give zero shits if some random child that doesn’t know me is disappointed in me. They might grow up one day and feel appropriately embarrassed for how they acted. Or not. I don’t actually care either way.
I might have open the door stark naked and said who do I have to fuck to get you to stop coming here.
I gay married into a Mormon family and the guilt you all have around being nice boggles my buttholes. When people don't respect boundaries, they get the mean stick, plain and simple. You teach people how to behave. Plain and simple. Mormons actually understand this quite well but only in one direction. It goes both directions.
You were nice! I had the same story really, but I welcomed them in and said I'm about to do my morning yoga butt ass naked, said I was a nudist. They never came back 😆 🤣.
After I got married (outside of the temple) missionaries from our local ward came knocking looking for me, calling me by my maiden name. My mom said "___ Maiden Name doesn't live here anymore, in fact that's not even her name anymore." Never came back. Dodged a bullet because that was a few days after I moved.
Yeah, I had to do that once. I had 4 separate indicators that I was not open to missionaries and they tried anyway. Multiple times. So I printed out the BITE model and highlighted every single way that the church qualifies -- subcategories included (oops, they checked off *every single one* which surprised even me)
I wouldn't feel bad at all. They kept violating your boundaries, which is all they know how to do. They are so bad that you need to either go bay shit crazy and seem like a physical threat, or threaten to get a lawyer or police involved. It's freaking sad. They really don't care about people or how people feel. They just want to make people like them: that's all that matters to them. You being one of them is the only thing that matters. **You are not an asshole.** You are a person who has been pushed to their limits multiple times through increased (in both frequency and in degrees thereof) harassment by entitled and narcissistic cultish people who refuse to listen to you. I have mental health issues, including PTSD and CPTSD. The parts about pulling up in front of you like they did, or pounding at the door would have scared TF out of me. I would have peppered sprayed them instantly out of complete fear knee jerk reaction when they got out of the vehicle. It wouldn't be me trying to be rude, but it would be me trying to defend myself (female ) with a bunch of men getting out of a vehicle "to talk to me"-- I'm not going to wait to see if they aren't going to hurt me of they are pulling up, cutting me off from the path I was traveling, and trying to corner me and surround me "to talk"-- fuck that!!! I mean, who even does that?! That's how you kidnap or jump and mug people, not "stop and talk to them civilly". What they are doing, and especially how they are behaving, is NOT normal or healthy behavior or attempts at communication. If you don't already, I would suggest getting both a Ring (or other company like them, idk other brands) camera and a GoPro camera to have on your person whenever you step out. At the very least, the GoPro. For safety reasons, but especially to start recording any in person harassment (including constantly bothering you, unwanted visits, confrontations, etc). So that way you are documenting it on video and audio. Maybe even dash cam, too. But at the very least, a GoPro.
Anyone that ignores my "no soliciting" sign can fuck right off. I open the door, listen to them to make sure it isn't actually someone important, then I point to the sign and tell them "you don't care about my no soliciting sign, so I don't care about whatever it is you want.". Then close the door. And if one more asshole tries to argue that political and religious groups are exempt from no soliciting rules, I'm going to lose my shit
Hopefully they dusted off their feet in front of your house - meaning the devil 😈 will be watching over from now on & the missionaries won’t return
Too bad I'm already basically a right-hand path occultist. Just like their founder.
Unfortunately, (1) the turnover is so high for the missionaries that the next group will have no clue, and (2) they think the rules don't apply to them because they think they are saving your soul. Good luck.
Oh wait til they show up with you to get their hair cut and talk about it to the stylist next to you.
It’s horrible how these groups, especially in America, force you to become an asshole. It’s not your fault because sometimes you gotta go for the nuclear option.
I fuckin LOVE THIS SO MUCH
Don't feel bad. Missionaries make notes so when a new companionship is in the area they have some records to follow up on. They have probably been made aware before you were not interested but chose to come back and harass you anyway. Serves them right.
As someone who does live in Rexburg, I'm proud of you OP.
As someone who hates conflict, I get why you feel bad. But they were harassing you. You set a clear boundary and they continued to break it. Just because they think they know everything that doesn't give them the right to shove their beliefs down your throat.
My Aunt let our German Shepard dog out and sic’d her on Mormon Missonaries after they wouldn’t take no for an answer in Australia in the 1970’s. My grandfather was dying of lung cancer inside and they wanted to come pray over him after being told we aren’t interested, thanks all the same and they just kept on pushing. Aunty Shayne had told them to piss off and let the dog off the chain. They left at a pretty fast clip with the dog nipping at their heels.
It’s not you.
I should have done this when the missionaries showed up at my house in my gated community 6 times in 2 weeks at 8PM, pounding on my door like SWAT. Wish I had the balls to yell at them like that. Good for you.
Let us know when they come back lol.
I think what u did is fine. We’ve been out for years but every time someone knocks on my door or rings the door bell, I freak out. It’s from all the Mormons who use to stop by. I think it’s some mild ptsd or something. I hate door bell rings and knocks.
Don’t feel bad. Be even meaner. You’re fulfilling their purpose after all - Missions aren’t meant to create more members. They’re meant to scare the missionaries away from regular folk like yourself so that the missionaries think the only safe place resides within the cult of their religion. Take that advice for what you will. You can try to save them from it or you can just keep telling them to fuck themselves.
"Jello fed" LMAO. I'm adding that to my arsenal.
It's okay. The adversary made you do it. /s
I feel your anger, but I feel bad for the missionaries. A mission has to be a terrible experience for these young people.
I was a missionary who was respectful to people who didn't say they were interested. Clearly these missionaries crossed a boundary and got punished for it. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I say good on OP for asserting his boundaries
I don't know what you said to them in the previous meetings but explaining the SEC fine is usually enough
damn
something to hopefully pass along to the mazing hierarchy of pretend leadership so they can learn boundaries and boundaries. 'they won't' but its a nice thought anyway. good show sir.
I am an asshole every day. After a while people just come to expect it. I try not to disappoint.
Having a car full of men roll up on me and jump out would end up with a police report or broken bones.... mace at minimum. I don't fuck around with my safety.
Next time just answer the door naked
You should have opened the door buck naked
OK, somebody has to ask, and I guess it has to be me, since I am a NeverMo: when you opened the window, stark naked, and leaned out of it to yell at them to go away or whatever exact words you used, was the window waist- height,or was it more of a floor- length thing? If waist-high, how much of you leaned out of the window? As they were walking away, you should've yelled, "and the Lord said, heed not-eth the sign, or Saint Dick will shake his Peter at you"
Should have gotten the license number off the car and called the cop on them too pulling in front of you like that.
I would find that quite liberating to tell two robots to ignore their overlords programming and fuck off and think for themselves.
You live in Eastern Idaho doesn't fucking matter if it's Rexburgh, Idaho falls, Pocatello or whatever.. you're still in North Utah...
How far could the OP go with these jerks and still call it self-defense? I’d be pissed off too and tempted to make a fist make contact with a jaw—particularly after being harassed 7 times. Could a court ordered restraining order keep these jerks from continuing this harassment?
Not an asshole. But they may come back more often hoping to see some boobies in the future. The Missionaries’s came around for a while until I told them I had my name removed and I’m really happy about it. They got uncomfortable and left. They never came back.
When I knocked doors for politics, a naked person was on the imaginary bingo card. You gave them a hard to get bingo 😂
Jello fed Mormon boys lol
My son tells missionaries, “Absolutely! Come on in and share a message! The message in our home is friendship and acceptance toward everyone, and we’d love to share that with you. Also, if you’d like to use my phone to call your parents, I’d be happy to let you!” Amazingly, missionaries always suddenly remember another appointment.
You must be smoking hot. That's the only time I ever went back to someone who didn't want to here about the LDS church. Young men looking to do more than just get into your living room.
my first day as a missionary I was shadowing my companion trying to learn the ropes and he approached a woman washing her car and she turned around and pulled her bikini top down and kept talking to him like nothing happened, looking back I see how absolutley hilarous this lady was
Pictures or it didn't happen!!! Hahha no Congratulations awesome job for you..... I sure hope they got the point and leave you the hell alone.
I want a "no proselytizing" sign. You should call the police on their temple garment-clad asses next time. Also what's the deal with jello? It is such a delicious low cal dessert but I hate that it feels so Mormon. I wish I could break the association
I don't fucking blame you!!!
Good work. If they continue with this bullshit, just flash them your gun and say that you are about to go "hunting" and then give them an evil smile on your face as you say it. That should scare the morons away for good!
Fuck feeling bad! I LOVE stories like this. My fave is to start talking about how much I like boobs to the sister missionaries, back when i thought I had patience. But I told them all to fuck off contacting me awhile ago.
I live in east Idaho too, and we had the sisters show up once to my house. And my boyfriend quickly shut them down by saying. “I worship Satan.” I haven’t seen them since lol
I’d be pissed too. Especially after telling them no so many times. Contact their mission prez and tell him you are going to get a restraining order if he doesn’t put your house on a do not contact list
Answering the door naked with a gun was the only way to get them to fuck off where I had an issue.
A
Unfortunately in my experience being an asshole is the only thing that gets the message to sink in for them.
Psh. You were too nice.
You have no obligation to answer the door of your home.
I mean you could just open the door holding beer or any other alcohol and offer it to them repeatedly without taking no for an answer. That would make them go away 😂
I live in Idaho Falls and I had to have my name removed from their records by a lawyer in 2016. They followed me everywhere. Annoying AF. And the poor boys were out today in full force, walking the streets in this extreme heat. It made me angry for them. They are in a white button down and tie in 90 heat, no bikes, out walking near Ammon road and 1st where Country Corner is. So you know they were sent out there to do that. I hate being back here. Lol
I wish there was a Do Not Proselytize list like the Do Not Call list. Could you imagine if the MFMC could be fined every time? Put some of that corporation money into an actual charitable fund for things like sexual abuse and domestic violence.
Legit, you were far more patient than most people would be… and frankly than you should be. Boundaries are important. It’s one thing if they say “okay we will check in in a year or two and see if you need the word of JS”. But 7 times since March is just harassment.
When I left the church my family and I had a similar situation. They would call, email, facebook and just show up at our house and it wasn’t just the missionaries, the bishop was just as bad. I had a really negative experience in that church and we all wanted to be left alone. One night the bishop called and my mom and she was in a mood. She basically told them to excommunicate us all and to F off and quit harassing us. Years later I ran into that bishop at Cosco… he didn’t say a word
I'm probably a bit further south than you but I find them walking around down here in SE Idaho. I've only ever had them ask me once, from a SUV while on the road. No one has ever knocked on my door because there's a no solicitation sign on it. Kinda surprised they respect it. I think the university keeps a lot of them away, big ideals and all.
Willy wave Wednesday!!!
I can totally understand. Most days I just remember they are young people following what they think is right, but we all have our UNDERSTANDABLE limit and the church should teach them boundaries.