Windy Sydney

I found this online from the Ensign (Feb 2005):

"Ideal Mormons" and "Deep Friendships": The first two lessons, which we learned early in our efforts to be good member missionaries, have made sharing the gospel much easier: We simply can’t predict who will or won’t be interested in the gospel, and building a friendship is not a prerequisite to inviting people to learn about the gospel. We discovered these principles when we were newlyweds and the missionaries in our ward asked us to make a list of people with whom we could share the gospel. We were to start with those at the top of our list and begin “preparing” them through a twelve-step process. First, we were to invite them to our home for dinner and follow that by going to a cultural event together. The sixth, seventh, and eighth steps were to invite them to church, give them a copy of the Book of Mormon, and ask them to take the missionary discussions. The program culminated in the twelfth step—baptism.


We dutifully made this list, placing those we thought most likely to be interested in the gospel at the top. They looked like “ideal Mormons”—people whose values, such as clean living and commitment to family, mirrored our own. We then began building deeper friendships with them, adding additional social events to our already busy lives. One by one, those we thought might be interested in learning about the gospel declined our invitations when we got to steps six through eight. Our invitations didn’t offend them, but in their own way they told us they were happy in their present approach to religion. After much work over many months, we didn’t find anyone who was interested in learning more about the gospel.

Wow, where to I begin... I mean, there are just... too... many... ways to start...

Um...

Lets point this out as exhibit one that many believing Mormons are taught to "friendship" people into the church. This isn't an actual friendship where one person meets, likes, gets to know, and accepts the other person as they are... oh, no. Nothing that simple. Instead, Mormons are told that they should try and change the religious beliefs of their new "friends."

I know that not all Mormons do this, but it *is* something that was pointed out to me when I was a teenager so I could take part in the wonderful thing that is "every member a missionary."

I even knew girls that would date non-Mormon boys in order to get them to come to church with them. "Flirt to convert" is just wrong... and it really did get a lot of conversions from what I have read. It's amazing, because it's all based on a lie.

I can't even look back at the friendships I had in high school with some of the "Molly-Mormons" after I became inactive and wonder if the friendship was genuine or not. Did they like me for me, or were they just playing the game in order to get me back in church?

I don't know about anyone else who has left the church (or is planning to) but I found it an amazing experience to see people for people... and not potential converts.

Andee

Oh, and the lol cats are just because I find them funny... ;)