The Mormon boys came to my door...

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…and I would like to egage them for a while. I would like an opportunity to share my faith with them. I have invited them back at a later time.

Those of you with a Mormon past, how should the conversation go? Do I let them dominate the conversation, or do I redirect? If I come on too strong they’ll high-tail it and I won’t be able to share.

Any advice?
 
Ceil-1 said:
…and I would like to egage them for a while. I would like an opportunity to share my faith with them. I have invited them back at a later time.

Those of you with a Mormon past, how should the conversation go? Do I let them dominate the conversation, or do I redirect? If I come on too strong they’ll high-tail it and I won’t be able to share.

Any advice?
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They are there to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ with those who are interested to hear. If you are not interested, you should not waste their time.

zerinus
 
they will not be interested in any other faith. their motivation is solely to gain converts.
 
They may not know how to engage in a conversation where there is a free exchange of ideas. My ex Mormon friends agreed that without the pre-fed responses, the ‘visitors’ might as well be Italians who can’t speak with their hands. Tongue tied.
 
heathernoel said:
They may not know how to engage in a conversation where there is a free exchange of ideas. My ex Mormon friends agreed that without the pre-fed responses, the ‘visitors’ might as well be Italians who can’t speak with their hands. Tongue tied.
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Actually, I was being a little facetious. 😃 What I meant to say was that he would be a lot better off being humble and teachable, and trying to learn something from them than rather than teach them something.

zerinus
 
I was listening to Catholic Answers live last week, and the subject of dealing with Jehova’s Witnesses came up. Whoever was on the show gave some good advice, I think. Listen to their stuff, be kind and engaging, but drop in little questions here or there about their faith. Stuff that will make them think and question. Not in an overbearing way, just small questions here and there. And don’t expect it to have an immediate impact, it might take a while.
 
thomasf said:
I was listening to Catholic Answers live last week, and the subject of dealing with Jehova’s Witnesses came up. Whoever was on the show gave some good advice, I think. Listen to their stuff, be kind and engaging, but drop in little questions here or there about their faith. Stuff that will make them think and question. Not in an overbearing way, just small questions here and there. And don’t expect it to have an immediate impact, it might take a while.
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What kind of questions?
 
We invited Mormon boys in but we told them we were Catholics and would not convert.

They had so many misconceptions about Catholics. We learned a lot about the LDS and they learned about us. It was only fair that they have an open mind in my home.

After they left, some other members came. Evidently, she thought us converts and began to say that there was evidence in South America of LDS. I expressed my belief that scientist were saying something else. I guess the boys had not told them we were not converting and the woman left in a huff…🤷
 
We invited Mormon boys in but we told them we were Catholics and would not convert.

They had so many misconceptions about Catholics. We learned a lot about the LDS and they learned about us. It was only fair that they have an open mind in my home.

After they left, some other members came. I guess the boys had not told them we were not converting and the woman left in a huff. Evidently, she thought us converts and began to say that there was evidence in South America of LDS. I expressed my belief that scientist were saying something else.🤷
 
adrift said:
We invited Mormon boys in but we told them we were Catholics and would not convert.

They had so many misconceptions about Catholics. We learned a lot about the LDS and they learned about us. It was only fair that they have an open mind in my home.

After they left, some other members came. I guess the boys had not told them we were not converting and the woman left in a huff. Evidently, she thought us converts and began to say that there was evidence in South America of LDS. I expressed my belief that scientist were saying something else.🤷
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That explains why you are “adrift”! 😃 he he he.

zerinus
 
Just give them some water, and send them on thier way. If you really want to discuss religion and/or history with them be well versed, and do not be afraid to take control of the conversation.
 
Ceil-1 said:
…and I would like to egage them for a while. I would like an opportunity to share my faith with them. I have invited them back at a later time.

Those of you with a Mormon past, how should the conversation go? Do I let them dominate the conversation, or do I redirect? If I come on too strong they’ll high-tail it and I won’t be able to share.

Any advice?
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Why, specifically, do you want to “engage” Mormon missionaries? Are you just trying to win an argument or “put them in the their place”? If so, have fun with that :ehh: , but I think that’s a poor motive for speaking with them and a waste of your time, not only because they’re not inclined to change their opinions in a hostile environment, but also because they are forbidden to argue and debate with potential converts. In fact, Mormon missionaries aren’t allowed to read about the history of their Church, so if you wanted to get into details about Joseph Smith’s philandering and pedophilia, or some other “anti-Mormon” or obscure matter of history, don’t. It puts them in an uncomfortable situation, it makes you look stupid and mean-spirited, and it brings neither of you closer to God.

If you’re interested in having discussions with the Mormon missionaries, why don’t you read about what they’ll be talking about before they arrive. Then you can write down your questions and try to incorporate them in the discussion in a casual way.

The guy who runs this website seems to be either a Mormon or sympathetic to Mormonism. Nevertheless, I think it is a good resource in learning about the missionaries and how to interact with them.

lds4u.com/

I would definitely let the *missionaries *dominate the conversation. After all, you invited THEM to share their beliefs, not the other way around. I would make it a point upfront that you are a devout Catholic and you believe that the Catholic Church is God’s Church and the fulfillment of Christian experience. That way they’ll understand your Catholic point-of-view and offer questions and insights of particular interest to Catholics. They’ll also be more receptive to discussing your questions or objections through a Catholic Christian lense.

I recommend these two pamphlets:
pjpiisoe.org/pamphlets/217MormonismGreatApostasy.pdf

pjpiisoe.org/pamphlets/134MormonTeachAboutCatholic.pdf

Or of course, if you’re completely agenda-driven and don’t want to learn anything from them, you should always just invite them in for chit-chat, give them a drink and a snack and send them packing.
 
Why not engage them even if you aren’t looking to convert? I always invite them in and offer them water or a snack if it’s out. They are always polite. We talk about all sorts of stuff. Why not just be “neighborly” without an agenda one way or the other? If they think it’s a waste of time then they can move on as they see fit. shrug But I never think it’s a waste of time to be neighborly to anyone.
 
Why not engage them even if you aren’t looking to convert? I always invite them in and offer them water or a snack if it’s out. They are always polite. We talk about all sorts of stuff. Why not just be “neighborly” without an agenda one way or the other? If they think it’s a waste of time then they can move on as they see fit. shrug But I never think it’s a waste of time to be neighborly to anyone.
 
Ceil-1 said:
…and I would like to egage them for a while. I would like an opportunity to share my faith with them. I have invited them back at a later time.

Those of you with a Mormon past, how should the conversation go? Do I let them dominate the conversation, or do I redirect? If I come on too strong they’ll high-tail it and I won’t be able to share.

Any advice?
Click to expand...
My husband did this. He was home between jobs so invited them in. They came once or twice a week for a while. They were two young guys, pretty sweet kids. They were constantly having to go off and look things up. Not prepared to dicuss anything out of script. After a few weeks their elders pulled them back. And we had older members of their church asking us to attend and taking over trying to convert us. Once it became clear that my husband had no intention of converting but was just interested in discussions of theology all stopped coming by.
 
Feed them. Food. I mean it. I’m not kidding.

Invite them to supper, and cook homemade comfort food. Pot roast. Apple pie. Chocolate cake. Big, thick pork chops with mashed potatoes. Turkey and stuffing. Italian food, lots of pasta and meatballs. A gallon of milk each, or water or clear soda pop if they prefer.

They eat and/or are fed, but they don’t get a lot of home cookin’.

THEN have your discussion, listening, asking little questions here and there that they will have to look up. The food disarms them, and with the supper time appointment, makes them a bit groggy.
 
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