Help! Was spoken to by some Mormons who now have my mobile number!

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LemonAndLime

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Hey all,

I’m currently going to RCIA, intending to convert to Catholic. Was walking home today in the rain and the cold wind, feeling very miserable (I had had a bad day, made worse by the weather) when some Mormons (Church of Latter Day Saints) asked if they could have a few minutes of my time. They seemed really nice and (having had a bad day) I wasn’t in the mood to be rude to them so I listened to their short speech about Jesus, etc etc.

Then they asked if they could come and talk to me again another time, perhaps on Saturday? I said I wasn’t sure if I was available so I would have to maybe contact them again. I hoped that if I offered to ring them, I could run away back to my warm house without committing to anything yet, and I didn’t want them to have my number. I gave them a fake one initially, but they tested it and realised it was fake. They knew which house I lived at though cause I was A) on my way towards it and B) I stupidly confirmed it was my house. So they gave me their number, and then asked me to ring that number to check it works. I did. Then they said “so this is your number then?” And wrote it down (and at the same time must have noticed that it was completely and utterly different to the one I gave them earlier).

I really, really am NOT interested in listening to them. I’m actually out of the house most of Saturday (from noon) therefore won’t be in anyway ( 👍 ). Have notified my housemates who I’ve asked to tell them that I either don’t live there or I’m not interested.

I’m too much of a softy sometimes I know 😦

What do I do? I’m considoring having that number blocked from contacting me.
 
Hmm… Would it be unethical to set up an 809 “pay per call” number in the Dominican Republic, and give it to solicitors? 😃
 
From my experiace with LDS olks, if you simply thank them for their time and concern and tell them you aren’t interested, they won’t call back. It has the added benefit of being honest so no Confession required afterward.

God bless
 
LemonAndLime said:
I’m too much of a softy sometimes I know 😦
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Prepare yourself for the next time. Practice saying, “I’m not interested, thank you.” Just keep saying it – “I’m not interested…I’m not interested…I’m not interested.”

You don’t have to give explanations or excuses, you are simply not interested. And if it makes you feel better, by letting them know you’re not interested they can focus their time on someone who would like to hear what they have to say.
 
Myqyl said:
From my experiace with LDS olks, if you simply thank them for their time and concern and tell them you aren’t interested, they won’t call back. It has the added benefit of being honest so no Confession required afterward.

God bless
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If they call I’ll tell them that, thanks :). I’ve made their number go straight to voicemail if they call me again (benefit of having a clever phone) so I shouldn’t have to speak to them (at least I think thats what the settings info meant).

To the poster above me: will remember that for future! I don’t have the heart in me to turn people down though when they’re trying to be nice 😦
 
LemonAndLime said:
If they call I’ll tell them that, thanks :). I’ve made their number go straight to voicemail if they call me again (benefit of having a clever phone) so I shouldn’t have to speak to them (at least I think thats what the settings info meant).

To the poster above me: will remember that for future! I don’t have the heart in me to turn people down though when they’re trying to be nice 😦
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Check this thread:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=512987&page=2
 
Most Mormons are pretty reasonable. If you call them up and tell them that you are a devout Catholic and you weren’t really honest with them because of your bad day, you can probably get them to leave you alone.
 
PatrickSebast said:
Most Mormons are pretty reasonable. If you call them up and tell them that you are a devout Catholic and you weren’t really honest with them because of your bad day, you can probably get them to leave you alone.
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I will do if they ring back and I’m around to take the call (I’m busy Friday and Saturday evening). If they turn up at the house though, my atheist housemates have agreed to answer the door to them. One of them is a lapsed cradle Catholic so she knows some scripture, the other two are respectful of my beliefs (as is the lapsed Catholic) but are “devout atheists” so will probably take to the Mormons like wolves to a sheep. They enjoy having friendly debates with me, but they really don’t like people trying to convert them. “Believe in what you want so long as you don’t expect me to” is pretty much their viewpoint.

I hope for their sake that they don’t come to the door :rolleyes: I don’t want to answer it to them incase they draw me into conversation again and my housemates will not be too friendly. Some Jehovah’s Witnesses came to our door once and they just questioned everything they said and were quite rude. I don’t condone it, but I think these Mormon missionaries were rude in the first place by not taking the hint that I wasn’t interested.
 
For next time, I would say, “I appreciate your invitation, but I’m not interested. There are only two God-made religions – Judaism and Catholicism, which is the fulfillment of Judaism. All others are man made.” Then I would give them “Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth” – a pamphlet published by Catholic Answers that I recommend every Catholic have in his pocket or her purse for such occasions – and say goodbye.

Right now your focus is learning the Catholic religion that comes to us from Christ and the Apostles, beginning in A.D. 33 in Jerusalem. Mormonism was invented by Joseph Smith in 1830 in New York. The “missionaries” who stopped you train intensely to know how to present their story and counter your objections. They’re very good salesmen. They have a “canned” presentation in store for you if you allow them in. Their yarn begins with the ‘great apostasy’ of the Catholic Church, which they allege occurred at the end of the first century with the death of the last living Apostle. They allege that there was no “true Church” for 19 centuries until it was “restored” by Joseph Smith in 1830. Yeah, sure.

Jim Dandy
 
LemonAndLime said:
…I think these Mormon missionaries were rude in the first place by not taking the hint that I wasn’t interested.
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No offense, but “hinting” was not exactly polite… Honestly telling people no thank you is polite. You can’t really fault them for not reading your mind.

God bless
 
vz71 said:
Subterfuge to get someone’s phone number is not nice.
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Agreed. Just because they’re nice doesn’t mean they don’t want to scam you. That’s how we ended up giving our credit card number to two nice guys tabling at a fair…for a timeshare presentation! They know how you may respond (the fake phone number) and they will distract you and test you.
Jim_Dandy said:
Then I would give them “Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth” – a pamphlet published by Catholic Answers that I recommend every Catholic have in his pocket or her purse for such occasions – and say goodbye.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I’m not even Catholic but I like to explain the Faith to people, and that pamphlet seems like a nice, simple way to help them see the Truth. 👍

-Mark
 
EmergencyOps said:
Thanks for the suggestion. I’m not even Catholic but I like to explain the Faith to people, and that pamphlet seems like a nice, simple way to help them see the Truth. 👍

-Mark
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Thanks! The text of Pillar of Fire Pillar of Truth is at the Catholic Answers library here:

catholic.com/library/pillar.asp

You can order it in booklet form here:

shop.catholic.com/product.php?productid=16440

I’m a former Southern Baptist, agnostic, atheist. Nice to meet you.🙂

Jim Dandy
 
My standard answer… and since you’re converting should be fine…

Good morning… Thanks for stopping by, I’m Catholic. I won’t be converting today.

“May we speak to you???”

Thanks for asking. I’m super busy right now… (I’m usually accompanied by my kids… and I don’t take a single second to slow them down at this moment)… and I start shutting the door.

“Can we leave a pamphlet with you?” (now in the past, I’ve always said sure)… But our deacon was telling us that he keeps Cathoilc Pamphlets at the door, and he says he’ll only take theirs if they take his… LOL! I might try that…

And then I say… God Bless… Have a great day. And Shut the door.

I’ve never been approached on the street. That’s a little freaky. And really inappropriate. We all know that crazy people own nice clothes. I would not even give the time of day to these people. Their religion is of no importance at that moment. My safety is. I’m not taking time for them to proove they are the nice guys.

In the end however, as a Catholic, I just have zero interest in their faith, or converting. But I recognize they believe in God on some level… So I try to be nice, but firm…

Good luck!
 
I seem to have escaped them this time 😃

No texts, no phonecalls or visits to my door and they said they’d contact me Friday/Saturday.

Phew. 🤷
 
Since it costs money for every call to and from a cell phone, and likewise costs to receive text messages, I often simply explain that I do not provide the cell number to prevent unnecessary and unwelcome charges from being placed upon me.

Those sincere few understand completely, and agree.
The rest I really do not care for anyway.
 
Hi, LemonandLime. What a frustrating experience! When they call you or visit you need to be the one to tell them that you’re not interested, not your roommates. You don’t need to explain yourself, just tell them that you’re Catholic and you’re not interested in becoming Mormon. Be polite but firm. If they continue to visit or call after you’ve told them this then call their Ward and speak to the Missionary Coordinator and tell him that you don’t want them to come back.
 
They rang me last night. Shame that my phone settings were changed so that their number went directly to answerphone. No idea how that happened. 😊

I’ll take everyone’s advice if I bump into them again. Just hope I don’t have some stalkers…
 
LemonAndLime said:
Hey all,

I’m currently going to RCIA, intending to convert to Catholic. Was walking home today in the rain and the cold wind, feeling very miserable (I had had a bad day, made worse by the weather) when some Mormons (Church of Latter Day Saints) asked if they could have a few minutes of my time. They seemed really nice and (having had a bad day) I wasn’t in the mood to be rude to them so I listened to their short speech about Jesus, etc etc.

Then they asked if they could come and talk to me again another time, perhaps on Saturday? I said I wasn’t sure if I was available so I would have to maybe contact them again. I hoped that if I offered to ring them, I could run away back to my warm house without committing to anything yet, and I didn’t want them to have my number. I gave them a fake one initially, but they tested it and realised it was fake. They knew which house I lived at though cause I was A) on my way towards it and B) I stupidly confirmed it was my house. So they gave me their number, and then asked me to ring that number to check it works. I did. Then they said “so this is your number then?” And wrote it down (and at the same time must have noticed that it was completely and utterly different to the one I gave them earlier).

I really, really am NOT interested in listening to them. I’m actually out of the house most of Saturday (from noon) therefore won’t be in anyway ( 👍 ). Have notified my housemates who I’ve asked to tell them that I either don’t live there or I’m not interested.

I’m too much of a softy sometimes I know 😦

What do I do? I’m considoring having that number blocked from contacting me.
Click to expand...
By all means have your number blocked and tell them to go away, that you aren’t interested in becoming a Mormon. I have had Born Again and Jesuits come to my door, and I have had to assure them that I am not interested in becoming one of the members of their congregation. It is ok to tell them to stop pestering you.
God Bless
 
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