Mormons

[CopticChristian]

Hi I’m a 15 year old catholic and very devout about my faith. Recently these Mormons came up to me and my friends and started talking. I talked about the bible with them and then they gave me a book of mormon and also invited us to a movie in their prayer house, it’s about their prophet and mormonism. Would it be wrong if I went?

I did not realize that you were 15. By all means your parents should know. They should know that you are on this site. Confirm everything with them. As you read show caution when you read what Mormons write. Be particularly cautious when you see things like

“cognitive dissonance”
“Knotty problems”
“Buttressing our faith”
“internal cognitive dissonance”

These words should be red flags for you.

Be careful when you see some sort of justification for Mormon thought with attempt at scholarship and websites that have to do with “byu”

John L. Sorenson. holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from UCLA and has done extensive on-site work in the Mesoamerican areas for which he proposes BOM locales,

maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publ…=2&num=1&id=25

Scholarly treatments of , the life of Joseph Smith (Rough Stone Rolling, by Richard Bushman, published by Alfred A. Knopf), and of the Book of Mormon (By the Hand of Mormon, by Terryl Givens, published by Oxford Univeristy Press),

Be careful if you read Mormons comparing apologetics or defense of the Faith with Evangelicals and let your parents know they are doing this, ’

cephasministry.com/mormon…ng_battle.html

The best thing to do is let your parents know and in a pinch ask those questions I posted earlier.

 

[Marie5890]

Hi I’m a 15 year old catholic and very devout about my faith. Recently these Mormons came up to me and my friends and started talking. I talked about the bible with them and then they gave me a book of mormon and also invited us to a movie in their prayer house, it’s about their prophet and mormonism. Would it be wrong if I went?

Seanom,
Im a former Mormon. I dont know what the laws in Ireland are regarding such, but in the USA, Mormon missionaries cant baptize any minor (under 18 here in USA) without parental permission, so they tend not too push to hard with youth.

You need to talk to your parents. And you need to let these missionaries know you are 15.

 

[RebeccaJ]

Mormons will work on teenagers, with the goal of baptism at 18. There are numerous people who relate this experience. Some who are now LDS, others are not. It isn’t just missionaries, my own daughter had a teenage girl give her a Book of Mormon at work when she was 16, and then the Mormon missionaries showed up at my door a few days later, asking for her by name.

I don’t believe Mormons when they say they aren’t targeting minors, because, they are.

 

[zaffiroborant]

Mormons will work on teenagers, with the goal of baptism at 18. There are numerous people who relate this experience. Some who are now LDS, others are not. It isn’t just missionaries, my own daughter had a teenage girl give her a Book of Mormon at work when she was 16, and then the Mormon missionaries showed up at my door a few days later, asking for her by name.

I don’t believe Mormons when they say they aren’t targeting minors, because, they are.

It also seems to be rather common and perfectly acceptable to LDS for adult members to give lessons to other peoples children behind their back.

 

[RebeccaJ]

It also seems to be rather common and perfectly acceptable to LDS for adult members to give lessons to other peoples children behind their back.

Yes, that happened with my daughter as well. She didn’t tell me though until very recently the details. But I knew already, by the fact that when I was driving her home from a visit when she was 5 or 6 years old, she asked me “what’s the gospel?”. Having raised her atheist, you can be sure that the word “gospel” was not in her vocabulary until that day. (I told her it was the word some people use to describe what they believe about God.)

 

[Miriam1947]

Yes, that happened with my daughter as well. She didn’t tell me though until very recently the details. But I knew already, by the fact that when I was driving her home from a visit when she was 5 or 6 years old, she asked me “what’s the gospel?”. Having raised her atheist, you can be sure that the word “gospel” was not in her vocabulary until that day. (I told her it was the word some people use to describe what they believe about God.)

Rebecca, is your daughter still an atheist?

 

[CopticChristian]

It also seems to be rather common and perfectly acceptable to LDS for adult members to give lessons to other peoples children behind their back.

Protestant Fundamentalists in my experience do this as well. I am not sure of other Protestants.

 

[Cowboy_Pete]

Mormons will work on teenagers, with the goal of baptism at 18. There are numerous people who relate this experience. Some who are now LDS, others are not. It isn’t just missionaries, my own daughter had a teenage girl give her a Book of Mormon at work when she was 16, and then the Mormon missionaries showed up at my door a few days later, asking for her by name.

I don’t believe Mormons when they say they aren’t targeting minors, because, they are.

Sounds like you’re talking about an example where an LDS minor talked to a classmate about the church.

I think it would be wrong if LDS missionaries targeted minor kids for prostelytizing without their parents’ permission; I’d never have done that as an LDS missionary. But kids talking to kids about their faith … that’s obviously something different.

Would you think it was wrong if a Catholic 16 year old shared her beliefs with a non-Catholic classmate? I suspect you’d be proud of your children for sharing their beliefs with their friends, and you’d be right to be proud of them.

 

[Cowboy_Pete]

Hi I’m a 15 year old catholic and very devout about my faith. Recently these Mormons came up to me and my friends and started talking. I talked about the bible with them and then they gave me a book of mormon and also invited us to a movie in their prayer house, it’s about their prophet and mormonism. Would it be wrong if I went?

Ask your parents. Decisions about what you’re taught religiously reside legally with your mom and dad. I doubt that the friends that invited you meant for you to sneak around your parents.

 

[zaffiroborant]

Sounds like you’re talking about an example where an LDS minor talked to a classmate about the church.

I think it would be wrong if LDS missionaries targeted minor kids for prostelytizing without their parents’ permission; I’d never have done that as an LDS missionary. But kids talking to kids about their faith … that’s obviously something different.

Would you think it was wrong if a Catholic 16 year old shared her beliefs with a non-Catholic classmate? I suspect you’d be proud of your children for sharing their beliefs with their friends, and you’d be right to be proud of them.

LDS missionaries are not 16, sending missionaries to talk to 16 year old girls is inappropriate.

 

[Cowboy_Pete]

LDS missionaries are not 16, sending missionaries to talk to 16 year old girls is inappropriate.

Did you not read the quote that I was responding to? Here it is again:

my own daughter had a teenage girl give her a Book of Mormon at work when she was 16, and then the Mormon missionaries showed up at my door a few days later, asking for her by name.

“a teenage girl” =/= LDS missionaries. No LDS missionary is a teenage girl. Women don’t go on missions until age 21+

I agree that sending missionaries to talk to 16 year old girls is inappropriate, unless the parents agree. Ideally, parents should also present during the discussions.

Do you disagree?

 

[zaffiroborant]

Ask your parents. Decisions about what you’re taught religiously reside legally with your mom and dad. I doubt that the friends that invited you meant for you to sneak around your parents.

I would have doubted it too, but I read quite a few people on MD&D and NOM who were encouraged and did do just that. What was even more disturbing was how it was accepted by everyone else, no one seemed to have any problem with the proselytizing of other peoples children by adults and only 2 questioned the appropriateness of doing it behind a parents back.

 

[zaffiroborant]

Did you not read the quote that I was responding to? Here it is again:

“a teenage girl” =/= LDS missionaries. No LDS missionary is a teenage girl. Women don’t go on missions until age 21+

I agree that sending missionaries to talk to 16 year old girls is inappropriate, unless the parents agree. Ideally, parents should also present during the discussions.

Do you disagree?

Sending adult missionaries to the home of a teenage girl is inappropriate, the missionaries should contact the parents before speaking to the teenager.

 

[Cowboy_Pete]

Sending adult missionaries to the home of a teenage girl is inappropriate

I agree. Were the missionaries specifically sent to see the teenage girl, or were they just knocking doors when someone answered?

, the missionaries should contact the parents before speaking to the teenager.

If they were going door to door, I don’t think they should be expected to card anyone that opens the door.

 

[zaffiroborant]

I agree. Were the missionaries specifically sent to see the teenage girl, or were they just knocking doors when someone answered?

If they were going door to door, I don’t think they should be expected to card anyone that opens the door.

They specifically asked for Rebecca’s daughter by name. If someone knocks on my door and is greeted by my teenager I expect them to ask for an adult, though my kids are actually instructed not to answer the door to strangers whether I’m home or not. Sales people all ask for an adult because they can’t sell to underage people, why should missionaries be any different?

 

[Cowboy_Pete]

If someone knocks on my door and is greeted by my teenager I expect them to ask for an adult, though my kids are actually instructed not to answer the door to strangers whether I’m home or not.

I agree.

They specifically asked for Rebecca’s daughter by name.

If that’s true, then the missionaries did wrong, and Rebecca should call the mission president, as she’s already been told here. Or she can get her lawyer to do so.