Are all Mormon missionaries like the ones we talked with?

Question

Me and my husband live in a little apartment in Roanoke, Virginia.
We are a very modest family with 1 child and me and my husband both grew up methodist.
4 weeks ago, we had some missionaries knock on our door, we are always open to listening to missionaries of any faith, so we told them to come in.

The mormon elders were 2 boys. The smaller boy, named Elder Hurst, i think he said his first name was Austin. Elder Austin Hurst.
And the taller boy, a Elder Morgan. But I cant remember what the Elder Morgan said his first name was.

We ask their first name all the time because we are not extremely formal people, and we think Elder sounds way to formal. They still requested we call them Elder tho. Even after knowing their first names.

So, we talked to these two, and I have to say, I have never got a more condescending feeling from a person, then that, that I received from the Elder Hurst. His companion, Elder Morgan, I did not receive such a strong impression from, but he was going to back-up his buddy no matter what kind of attitude he had.

They barely explained a pamphlet, and within I want to say... a 10 minute time frame..Maybe less... they were already asking when they could come for another visit, and saying how much they cared about us. Most of this was from the Elder Hurst, whom I just cant shake the condescending and weird impression I have of him.

If all Mormon Missionary are like that one, they will never get anywhere.

Answer 1

Short answer; Yes. Most Elders just really want to visit you over and over again, until they can convince you to get baptized into their church.

I have talked to many of them, and punched holes in their stories.



Oh, and for your information;

All Elder Missionaries are usually posted online, on some LDS websites, so I just did a quick search looking for this Elder Hurst and Elder Morgan you are talking about...

Turns out, you are telling the truth. There are really 2 Mormon Missionaries by those names serving at Charleston West Virginia mission.

The Elder Austin Hurst weirdo even has a blogspot page.

If you read one of his most recent post, he mentions YSA people being lazy and not having motivation. I guess YSA is Young single adult, right?

Anyway, this kid looks like someone who would stay in his parents basement.

I don't think he would have any right to talk about a lack of motivation.



I would hate to think what these Elders are telling other people around those areas in Virginia/West Virginia.

Its sad, really. Some people are deceived by people like that Elder, and others like him.

Answer 2

Our young men and women who go on Missions are not taught while growing up how to be Missionaries, we are only taught the Gospel each and every Sunday. However when they are called on Missions they are given a Book that teachs about different subjects, but they are told to teach by the Spirit. They do not leave their personalities behind, nor their attitudes, they have to learn to develop them as they teach. They are young so be patient with them, we are not selling Missionaries, we are teaching the Restored Gospel to a people who do not even know the original Gospel was lost, many years ago. Of the over 42,000 different Christian Churches in the world, The Mormon Church is the only Church who teaches our message and then invites the people we teach to, go to the Lord and ask if what we have taught them is true. We tell them not to take our word for it, let the Lord bear witness by the Holy Ghost. Does that make us weird? It's the Lord's Gospel shouldn't He have a hand in the way it is presented and accepted?

Answer 3

As predicted, this post was found by people who know Elder Hurst. He's read it now (although he hasn't read the comments, which are nothing short of cyber bullying), and he's truly sorry for how he made you feel. After reading this and talking with people who know him, he's set goals for improvement and is working to become better. That's the point of this life, after all.



Missionaries all have different strengths and weaknesses. I've had the privilege of getting to know Elder Hurst, and it saddens me that you only had the chance to see his weakness. He can be condescending (which he's striving to change), but he's also empathetic, generous, diligent, and loving. He's had a positive impact on dozens of people. I didn't like him much at first either, but now I'm grateful every day to have him in my life.



As his friend, I was angry while reading this thread that such cruel things were posted about him online, but he was only concerned about the people he may have unknowingly offended.

Answer 4

I am pretty good at observing individuals and by looking at this young mans picture, Elder Austin Hurst, I can tell he is probably not too well liked back home. He probably spends a lot of time with his parents. I could be wrong, But it seems that way.

If he does have any friends back home, which he might, He probably doesn't talk to them often, He will probably opt to talk to the other missionaries he has met on his mission, and communicate with them on the internet frequently once he returns home.

He just seems as one of those guys that spends a lot of time with his parents... In addition to that, I can see him acting weirdly. I can definitely see that.



He probably will drive by LDS Church Investigators homes and looks for their cars, trying to see if they are really working during the day. Or they are just hiding at home and not coming to their services.



I would avoid a Elder like this one, And I would probably knock him down off his high-horse if he acted condescending to me. Give him a good lesson in humility.

Answer 5

You know, these missionaries usually leave home when they are between 18 and 20 years old. They are thrown into unfamiliar places, with a stranger who has to follow them everywhere. The get to sleep in crappy apartments, living off of $150 a month, sometimes not eating unless someone feeds them. They get to talk to their immediate families twice a year. They get maybe two hours, on one day of the week to email home and write letters to friends. Their careers, educations, and personal lives are on hold for 18 months to 2 years. They get get homesick and discouraged and depressed, but also experience love and joy and incredible personal growth. Are all missionaries like the ones who knocked on your door? Not exactly. All missionaries are human beings with individual lives and experiences. All missionaries wear name-tags, follow strict rules, study for hours a day and walk around looking for people to listen to them. But no, missionaries aren't programmed scripture-robots who prey on doors of the vulnerable. Maybe this kid was just working through a rough day. I'm sure friends of Elder Hurst would hate to search for his mission blog, which is run by family members while the missionary is serving, and come across a post filled with judgement and hate like this one. Next time, offer them a glass of water and a nice "no thank you" rather than taking your ridiculous commentary online.

Answer 6

They are young and some still immature.. and some are extremely mature and wonderful. Don't judge the religion by the imperfect people trying to teach/live it. We share the perfect message, but have a hard time being perfect ourselves :)



The church is true, even if that Elder was a jerk.

Answer 7

"Elder" is a calling within the church and the priesthood - it's not disrespectful for them to ask you to call them by that name, it's their attempt to be proper in their calling. There is a difference in talking to "Bob", or "Pastor Bob", or "Pastor Jones" - one title is clearly putting him on a familiar tone, the other represents the calling and his function, that's why missionaries should be called Elder.



I'm not a formal guy either, but I'm a leader in the Mormon church, people call me "President", at first I didn't like the formality, after a while I realized that there was an understanding when I started a phone call by referring to myself as president rather than Josh - and so I pick and choose when I'm Josh and when I'm president - I'm sorry that you're hung up on that point.



Some missionaries are homesick and shy, some aren't that refined in their ability to communicate, most are great individuals who try hard to serve God, and even if you don't believe the way that they do they put their heart into it and do their best, which being humans sometimes they fall short.



So sorry you feel that way, one thing to keep in mind is that they do get far, on an average day over 1000 people join the Mormon church, it's one of the fastest growing religions around. I did a mission in Italy, not many people liked us or listened to us out there, but I loved it and I loved those who I served with. It was the hardest 2 years of my life but perhaps the best, I grew in amazing ways and a few people listened to me and their lives were improved by finding more faith in Jesus Christ.



You might give it a second chance, it seems like your hang up is with the "elder" thing which as a missionary was often uncomfortable for me as well (in Italian it literally meant "Old Man" which was odd), they are just following the rules, I don't know that it's condescending on their end to follow rules or on your end to not understand that they have rules. In either case I'm sorry that you're offended but you ought to give them another chance, they're young and there is a massive sacrifice they are giving up to be there. If you don't like those 2 wait a few months and 2 others will be there.

Answer 8

Your described two missionaries with two distinctive personalities, yet you want to know if they are all like these two. Didn't the two distinctive personalities show that if these two were not the same as each other, then other missionaries are probably not the same as these two. Mormons, like other people come in a countless variety of personality types.



I don't know any Methodists, which makes you the only example to me of how a Methodist is. Does that mean I should assume all Methodists are just like you, think just like you and act just like you?

Answer 9

I've not had that experience. The Mormon church rents an apartment near me for their missionaries and people rotate in and out of it. I've talked to dozens of them over the past 20 years and they've been very polite. I'm an atheist so not at all interested in what they have to say, and when I've told them that they've gone on their way.

Answer 10

These are young BOYS and they are unique individuals who have a lot to learn about maturity and people. Of course they all aren't like that...some people are just arrogant people - I can't stand that in people either. BUT MOST LDS Missionaries are kind, caring, loving young men who are out serving the Lord in a very humble and sincere way. You run across ONE boy who is this way and you judge the whole mormon faith on HIM? That's hardly fair.

Answer 11

missionaries do not want to give you their first names and do indeed want you to call them "elder." So I don't doubt what you said at all.



Mormonism teaches that it is the true church that joe smith was a true prophet and their false book of mormon is true. So with all that drilled into them, they will have a complex and think that everybody else is just lower on the spiritual scale.



So you will find this from missionaries. They can't help it. That is what they have grown up with.

















FYI on another note: You must be aware that mormonism is full of racism. Their book of mormon is full of it. Below I posted a passage from the BOM. You might want to ask the missionaries what they think about the passage the next time you see them.



And he had caused the CURSING to come upon them yea, even a sore CURSING because of their iniquity For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint: wherefore as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a SKIN of BLACKNESS to come upon them (2 Nephi 5 :21)

Answer 12

I imagine that I rubbed a few people the wrong way when I served a mission. I'm just grateful that the Lord loved me despite my weaknesses.

Answer 13

I imagine that I rubbed a few people the wrong way when I served a mission. I'm just grateful that the Lord loved me despite my weaknesses.

Answer 14

They don't get anywhere.



They've been sending "missionaries" all over the planet for decades. There are only about 6 other nations anywhere in the world that has a significant population of Mormons.



Which means.... you could never have had a day of formal education in your life and be living in a mud hut in Africa and what these people are trying to sell you STILL sounds awfully damned crazy.

Answer 15

Yes

Answer 16

You know they operate from a script, don't you. Don't ask them anything not covered in their material. You'll get a glassy-eyed stare, and then they'll pick up wherever they left off.

Answer 17

My son in law used to invite them in and allowed them to return many times. They really pushed getting baptized. They would tell him and my daughter that there was an opening on such and such a date and ask if they wanted to be put down to get baptized then. My son in law is a Baptist pastor. He figured as long as they were spending time in his house, they wouldn't be out leading others astray.

Answer 18

people are all individuals. so while all LDS missionaries follow the same basic rules, and teach the same basic things in a similar manner, they are all their own people and their personalities will show through.

they are there to try and teach people what the LDS believe....so yea. they will want to come back.

Answer 19

Yes

Answer 20

Pretty much, yes.

And you need to realize that they're not really being sincere -- they're following a script they've been taught, about how to convince people to continue to have the missionaries over. I know -- I did it for 2 years.



You shouldn't determine if their church is "true" or not by the attitude or sincerity (or lack thereof) of missionaries, though. Determine if it's true or not by examining whether evidence supports their claims or not. If you objectively research their claims, you'll find evidence shows most of them false.

Answer 21

There's really something terribly wrong with Mormons. They're probably harmless enough - man for man - but if they were to ever gain much power, I can see them operating much like the Nazis did in Europe in the 1930's and 40's. These are sick people - and one of them just ran for President!

Answer 22

Very interesting answers here

Answer 23

ya I bugged a mormon when I talked about their heavenly bride and their temple marriage, and how the lord of hosts says how their bride can have another if you die young and widows can remarry and his glory can say I join as one flesh with another lover on your heavenly bride, and you can have it back after my holy presence when you reach heaven wipes it off because of the binding. I am a little demon on them so it is hard to speak without being so rude. But only a fool would follow a dead god and his law how widows can remarry as the holy one looks at you on your heavenly wife. I will always hate their adultery puffed up temple binding God. NO ONE touches MY HEAVENLY wife but myself, not some graced up holy God and his widow remarriage Law, have her back crap like Joseph smiths wife and her 2nd husband on her procreating a whole new holy family on this prophets wife.

Answer 24

Too funny...after 10 minutes they cared so much for you. They care about one thing only: getting convert baptisms. The Mormon church has a rigorous training program to get them motivated to go out and teach people and pressure them into baptism. If you invite them back, I guarantee you they'll challenge you to be baptized into the Mormon church on their second visit.



I was a Mormon missionary for 2 years. Appalled now that I wasted 2 years of my life trying to convince people of something that I now know is demonstrably false. oh well, live and learn...