Present day Mormon techniques?

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iepuras said:
That is really very sad. I grew up in Texas and never tried to “be a missionary”, but I’m an introvert and believe in “live and let live”. Only once did I have friends come to church with me but only because they asked to come visit. They were researching a bunch of churches and were making the rounds in visiting. I was very careful about it because I didn’t want them to come for fast & testimony meeting! 😃

Frankly, I’m surprised that a Mormon would act like that where you are located. There are not many Mormons in that part of the country.

Periodically, we would get the “every member a missionary” pep talks in church and how we needed to have a family missionary plan to bring our friends and neighbors into the LDS church. I remember my last bishop got up and told us that there were 5 people who needed to join the LDS church in our ward and that we needed to find them. Sometimes the youth will be encouraged to hand out a Book of Mormon to someone. Of course, they all would return and report during fast & testimony meeting.

A couple of months ago, I saw that someone from my old ward was asked to give a talk at stake conference about how to use social media to “spread the Gospel”. My poor Facebook newsfeed! Fortunately, I am also Facebook friends with my priest and he is quite active on Facebook. He does a great job counteracting all the Mormon stuff on my newsfeed! 😃
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I’m like you - an introvert that is not interested in proselytizing. I never wanted anything to do with the “member missionary” effort and distanced myself from it as much as possible.

Perhaps this person Marie was building an acquaintanceship with is a transplant from the Morridor. Old habits die hard.
 
XuDan said:
I’m like you - an introvert that is not interested in proselytizing. I never wanted anything to do with the “member missionary” effort and distanced myself from it as much as possible.

Perhaps this person Marie was building an acquaintanceship with is a transplant from the Morridor. Old habits die hard.
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Old habits do die hard.

Mormonism seems to be particularly suited to extroverts. I wonder if introverts are more likely to leave Mormonism than extroverts.
 
iepuras said:
Old habits do die hard.

Mormonism seems to be particularly suited to extroverts. I wonder if introverts are more likely to leave Mormonism than extroverts.
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It would make an interesting study to see which of the Briggs Myers personalities are prone to staying active, prone to inactivity, or prone to outright leaving.
 
XuDan said:
It would make an interesting study to see which of the Briggs Myers personalities are prone to staying active, prone to inactivity, or prone to outright leaving.
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INTP here. Always active in the LDS church until I bolted.
 
iepuras said:
Old habits do die hard.

Mormonism seems to be particularly suited to extroverts. I wonder if introverts are more likely to leave Mormonism than extroverts.
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That’s true.

Let’s take a poll of the former-mormons here.

I’ll start: I am an introvert.

Paul
 
Anecdotally, it’s the introverts that hang out in online forums. All religions, or none.
 
XuDan said:
It would make an interesting study to see which of the Briggs Myers personalities are prone to staying active, prone to inactivity, or prone to outright leaving.
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ISTJ ESTJ ISFJ ESFJ - Guardians… 11% 19 ]
ISFP ESFP ISTP ESTP - Artisans…5% 9 ]
INFP - Idealist/Healer …9% 17 ]
ENFP - Idealist/Champions…6% 10 ]
INFJ - Idealist/Counselor…13% 24 ]
ENFJ - Idealist/Teacher… 6% 11 ]
INTP - Rational/Architect…11% 19 ]
ENTP - Rational/Inventor …2% 3 ]
INTJ - Rational/Mastermind…31% 56 ]
ENTJ - Rational/Fieldmarshal… 6% 11 ]
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There have been a few threads on the New Order Mormon board where people have posted their Myers/Briggs types, every time it’s been similar to the poll I posted, the majority are introverts. The people on NOM are still in the church, many if not all are still there for family reasons and many seem to remain to placate their spouse so this won’t break it down by active, inactive or leaving. But it does seem to indicate that being in the LDS church is hard on introverts. I know when I think about what it would be like for me to be LDS it is really nothing short of a bad dream the kind where you wake up crying, and filled with something just short of dread. Of course over the yeas every time I’ve taken a Myers/Briggs test I’ve come out IN, the T/F and P/J have if I remember right have varied but the introvert has remained in a overwhelming percentage.

My experience in the Catholic Church has lead me to understand and fully agree that the Catholic Church IS expert in humanity, it understands humanity as a whole and as individuals. It respects both introverts and extroverts and values what each personality can contribute to the faithful, it never views people as interchangeable cogs.
 
RebeccaJ said:
Anecdotally, it’s the introverts that hang out in online forums. All religions, or none.
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I agree. There is major sampling bias. It would be difficult to construct a scientifically valid study on the subject, as much as we would want to.
 
zaffiroborant said:
Of course over the years every time I’ve taken a Myers/Briggs test I’ve come out IN, the T/F and P/J have if I remember right have varied but the introvert has remained in a overwhelming percentage.

My experience in the Catholic Church has lead me to understand and fully agree that the Catholic Church IS expert in humanity, it understands humanity as a whole and as individuals. It respects both introverts and extroverts and values what each personality can contribute to the faithful, it never views people as interchangeable cogs.
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Just the process of exiting from Mormonism could influence a person’s responses to the Meyers-Briggs to change. It can be a total transformation for some. Escape from other-imposed stereotypes, recovery from getting chewed up by the cogs.
 
Jerusha said:
Just the process of exiting from Mormonism could influence a person’s responses to the Meyers-Briggs to change. It can be a total transformation for some. Escape from other-imposed stereotypes, recovery from getting chewed up by the cogs.
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Pre and post “mission” would also be interesting to look at, but you’re right, leaving changes a person.
 
As a Utah Mormon and having the “fullness of the gospel” I believed that nobody could be completely happy without it. I was surprised that people could actually turn it down. It confused me that they weren’t aware of the Spirit prompting them to join what I believed to be the true church. I also had no idea how to converse with someone of other faiths or even understand them.

When I left Utah I met non-Utah Mormons and they told me I lived in a bubble. Didn’t they believe the prophet who is the mouthpiece of God? Why weren’t they as serious in converting others?

Then when I met people of other faiths, I realized many of them (if not most) are happier and less depressed. They didn’t focus on making me believe the way they do or judge others who don’t believe the same way. It was refreshing. I don’t have to fake anything now or force myself to be a salesperson for a religion-all the time and feel like a failure in God’s work if I don’t convert everyone. God loves introverts too. Plus, even though I married in the temple, it is good to know there is no polygamy in heaven. It is good to know you don’t even have to marry at all to go to heaven as there is no marriage in heaven. Thanks be to God and his mercy. ISFJ
 
I have a number of Mormon neighbors, and they are all great people. I have never once felt like I was trying to be converted. I know we have different belief’s, but I respect them, and I feel they respect my family and myself.
 
KendraM said:
As a Utah Mormon and having the “fullness of the gospel” I believed that nobody could be completely happy without it. I was surprised that people could actually turn it down. It confused me that they weren’t aware of the Spirit prompting them to join what I believed to be the true church. I also had no idea how to converse with someone of other faiths or even understand them.

When I left Utah I met non-Utah Mormons and they told me I lived in a bubble. Didn’t they believe the prophet who is the mouthpiece of God? Why weren’t they as serious in converting others?

Then when I met people of other faiths, I realized many of them (if not most) are happier and less depressed. They didn’t focus on making me believe the way they do or judge others who don’t believe the same way. It was refreshing. I don’t have to fake anything now or force myself to be a salesperson for a religion-all the time and feel like a failure in God’s work if I don’t convert everyone. God loves introverts too. Plus, even though I married in the temple, it is good to know there is no polygamy in heaven. It is good to know you don’t even have to marry at all to go to heaven as there is no marriage in heaven. Thanks be to God and his mercy. ISFJ
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Very nice post…thanks for sharing your story. 🙂
 
kimg901 said:
Relevant? Yes. Boring? Yes. I’m sorry but any time I read anything to do with Mormons it comes over as fake. Makes me sick to my stomach ( it really does)
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I was surprised that the author was so open about the LDS church doing focus groups over a long period of time. Can they be any more obviously corporate than that? The article also highlights utter cluelessness. “But they seem so nice for nonmembers”. Ugh. Engaging in conversations with strangers to make them comfortable and then bring the conversation around to Mormonism in a round about way? And you wonder why you get the responses you get in the focus groups?
 
iepuras said:
I was surprised that the author was so open about the LDS church doing focus groups over a long period of time. Can they be any more obviously corporate than that? The article also highlights utter cluelessness. “But they seem so nice for nonmembers”. Ugh. Engaging in conversations with strangers to make them comfortable and then bring the conversation around to Mormonism in a round about way? And you wonder why you get the responses you get in the focus groups?
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Too true!
 
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