[quote=“Buttercup”][quote=“Thelonlieste”]Generally, I politely dismiss them. If they do get me talking, however, I usually ask them a few questions about the New Testament: who wrote the gospels and when? In what language? What about the non-canonical gospels etc etc.
In other words: I try to give them fairly simple questions they may not be able to answer.[/quote]
Why? That’s rude.[/quote]
No, that’s awkward. Handing me a pamphlet that basically says I’m an abomination in God’s eyes is rude.
[quote=“Poagao”][quote=“Buttercup”][quote=“Thelonlieste”]Generally, I politely dismiss them. If they do get me talking, however, I usually ask them a few questions about the New Testament: who wrote the gospels and when? In what language? What about the non-canonical gospels etc etc.
In other words: I try to give them fairly simple questions they may not be able to answer.[/quote]
Why? That’s rude.[/quote]
No, that’s awkward. Handing me a pamphlet that basically says I’m an abomination in God’s eyes is rude.[/quote]
Yes, that too is unacceptable.
I had a friend whose parents converted to the CLDS and she told me about them. They have symbols on the good bits like nipples and… to make you think of god when you touch those parts.
I had a friend whose parents converted to the CLDS and she told me about them. They have symbols on the good bits like nipples and… to make you think of god when you touch those parts.[/quote]
Oh, you mean woman underwear. I was thinking about the man underwear, some sort of chastity belt with padlock. You got me curious a couple of hours before so I was planning to go “hunting” for a Mormon guy tomorrow Saturday and check myself about that somehow. Well never mind, thank you for the information. From now on I am going to blush everytime I see one coming to minister to me.
I had a friend whose parents converted to the CLDS and she told me about them. They have symbols on the good bits like nipples and… to make you think of god when you touch those parts.[/quote]
I haven’t read all the way through this thread, but…
I have to wonder about dudes that go around wondering about other dudes’ underwear.
[quote=“daisyhotkiss”]
Oh, you mean woman underwear. I was thinking about the man underwear, some sort of chastity belt with padlock. You got me curious a couple of hours before so I was planning to go “hunting” for a Mormon guy tomorrow Saturday and check myself about that somehow. Well never mind, thank you for the information. From now on I am going to blush everytime I see one coming to minister to me.[/quote]
No, the men have nipples too and full-bodied underwear. Check them out when you go hunting tomorrow. Ministry is a two way tango.
[quote=“kjmillig”]
I haven’t read all the way through this thread, but…[/quote]
obviously
[quote]I have to wonder about dudes that go around wondering about other dudes’ underwear. [/quote] So would I, but I don’t wonder about them, I know about them but not by touching them up.
You seem to know more about them than me. According to my documented, peer-reviewed references, they have sewn-in symbols on those parts, but peer-reviewed documents are often flawed.
Church of Latter Day Saints
So you know what ‘LDS’ means but couldn’t work out ‘CLDS’?
No. It’s not an issue to me. Feel free to wear the secret sacred underwear.
Well ‘LDS’ is common usage. No one uses ‘CDLS’, so that could have meant anything. Aside from the LDS, anything else with ‘LDS’ in it is usually a fringe group, like the FLDS, so CLDS looks like an unspecified LDS fringe group.
Well ‘LDS’ is common usage. No one uses ‘CDLS’, so that could have meant anything. Aside from the LDS, anything else with ‘LDS’ in it is usually a fringe group, like the FLDS, so CLDS looks like an unspecified LDS fringe group.[/quote]
My bad. I meant CLDS.
[quote=“Buttercup”][quote=“Thelonlieste”]Generally, I politely dismiss them. If they do get me talking, however, I usually ask them a few questions about the New Testament: who wrote the gospels and when? In what language? What about the non-canonical gospels etc etc.
In other words: I try to give them fairly simple questions they may not be able to answer.[/quote]
Why? That’s rude.[/quote]
Irony here?
If not: it is nowhere near as rude as assuming I need to be “saved”. I put foward my questions without any animosity or antagonism. I’m curious, that’s all. And I politely sow the seeds of doubt in minds that could benefit from a little of it.
Questioning the bearers of ultimate truth: this is rude? I don’t think so.
you can say that the missionaries are nice and speak good mandarin all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that Joseph Smith was a crack-pot and that the current administration of the church rules by fear and intimidation and threat of excommunication.
Well ‘LDS’ is common usage. No one uses ‘CDLS’, so that could have meant anything. Aside from the LDS, anything else with ‘LDS’ in it is usually a fringe group, like the FLDS, so CLDS looks like an unspecified LDS fringe group.[/quote]
My bad. I meant CLDS.[/quote]
Hang on, that wasn’t my bad, it was yours. I never said ‘CDLS’, I said ‘CLDS’.
Ask the missionaries about their secret magic underwear. They will blush and shut the fuck up.
I was expecting someone one friday night, the buzzer sounds and i let them up. I’m waiting at the door and 2 mormons turn up, they were probably more surprised than i was as they were expecting to see a local for sure. I broke the silence and invited them in. I gave them the floor for around 10 minutes while asking a few questions. Nice enough guys really and my dog thought so too as he snuggled up to one on the sofa. I could see that these guys had some strong convictions about what they were saying and my logic was not going to change anything. Didn’t feel the need to win, simply let them finish within the alotted time slot. At the end, they asked 3 things of me, one was to read a few pages of the book they gave me, I did. The second was to pray on the floor of my living room and I refused. And lastly, they suggested I attend their church for baptism, I declined. I’ve not converted but don’t mind some friendly small talk when i see them around. No need to be rude.
LSD, LDS - what’s the difference? Not being annoyed regularly by proselytizers is part of why I came to Asia in the first place, though as it turns out, the Koreans (first country I live in) are as bad if not worse than many of those out of the US.
How do I treat the moronic mormons (or maybe that should be mormonic morons)? With complete and total disdain; when they try to blather to me, my usual response is, “Go home, Taiwan is daoist”. They can believe whatever they want, but to say proselytizing is a required part of their religion is like saying date rape is a required part of dating.
Two funny instances:
I was approached from behind outside a 7-11 and not knowing they were morons - sorry, mormons - when I had already responded to a “Hi!” from strangers with my own usual friendly “Hi”. As I turned and saw them in their usual funeral clothes, I was inwardly annoyed that I had talked to them. I then said, “You can talk about anything you want, except religion.” Both stopped dead (only figuratively, sorry to say), then turned and went the other direction.
The other instance was a godbotherer on his own. He looked completely miserable, like he was thinking, “I wanna go home”. I watched and he was still going through the motions of banging on doors, but I could see slooped shoulders and disheveled clothes, looking absolutely pathetic. Hopefully he did go home that day.
It’s not just the “western” cults that are annoying. Around Chinese New Year, the falun gong types were out in force. Our school took a day out to head to nearby festivities, and the FG cultists harassed our kids time and time again, trying to force junk into our students’ hands. They wouldn’t take no for an answer from the westerners, and the Chinese did the usual “too polite to complain” routine.
One is an ergoline derivative, and the other is derived from the teachings of Joseph Smith. Both will make you believe in imaginary friends, but only one will make you try to convince others of their existence.
Well ‘LDS’ is common usage. No one uses ‘CDLS’, so that could have meant anything. Aside from the LDS, anything else with ‘LDS’ in it is usually a fringe group, like the FLDS, so CLDS looks like an unspecified LDS fringe group.[/quote]
My bad. I meant CLDS.[/quote]
Not your bad. You did write ‘CLDS’. It’s just that no one uses ‘CDLS’ for the LDS church, they use ‘LDS’, so I can understand someone not knowing what you meant by ‘CLDS’.
Heh. An evangelist stopped me in a Sanchong street a few years back and asked me: “Have you heard the good news?”. To which I promptly queried: “What? George Bush is dead?”. Got rid of him fast.
An oldie, but a goodie:
What’s the difference between a Mormon and a Skoda? You can close the door on a Mormon.
Why can’t they be more like the monks here? The monks don’t come and pester you in the red light, in the market, they stand quietly in a corner at the night market and give leaflets. Back in my country, there were the Jehovah witnesses, people caroling at my door, trick or treat (I actually loved giving candy to the kids), cosmetic solicitors.
Here I need to give nice excuses to the mormons and those car washers in the basement parking lot of many supermarkets around the islands. At least I can talk in English and the car wash solicitors leave me alone.
I 've been thinking about creating and marketing some T-Shirts with English and Chinese words across the chest, I just can’t come up with the right message that could send them flying away. Oh well, maybe the simple "I have herpes, do you want some? " could work.
I don’t think they are much pushier than the monks. Neither are pushy at all to me.
The basic storyline of the Bible is hard enough for me to believe, so when you add on
“Then, Jesus came to America and Joseph Smith, led by an angel, with the help of a seer stone, found these solid-gold plates of sacred text, that had been buried in New York for 2300 years, which he translated, and . . .”
Well, let’s just say that there is no chance to convert me.
Having said that, I have had only good experiences with LDS members. I have been to Salt Lake City and taken their tour 4 or 5 times. I have also visited their temples in Oakland, Hawaii and Japan (all with lovely views). I have met plenty of their members from Ecuador to Taipei, and they have always been courteous; never pushy, with me.
They have a hard item to sell, but they seem very well trained in their sales. I never thought of them as bothering me. I treat them with the same respect that everyone deserves.