Windy Sydney

I came across a post on PostMormon.org about a young woman visiting her believing Mormon in-laws...

They constantly ask her if she would like a free copy of the Book of Mormon, and she always politely refuses. It's starting to bother her, because it seems they keep pushing the religion and they won't let it go. She believes her sister-in-law to be the biggest culprit, and she fantasized about telling her what she really thought... this is what she said (loosely)...

"How would you feel if I gave your husband a big book on how Mormonism is full of crap? Would you like that? Would it make you feel bad that I went behind your back to try and get your husband to agree to my belief system? This is exactly what you are doing, please stop. I don't know how much longer I cannot tell my husband about what you are doing in my effort to avoid a rift in this family. I have done my part by keeping quiet, now you do your part by not trying anymore."

I loved what she had to say. She is exactly right.

When Mormons are trying to pass out that Book of Mormon to non-members or inactives, they are pushing the religion in their face. How would they feel if ex-Mormons did this to them? They wouldn't care for it, would they?

It's not my goal to bring people out of the church who are happy. It's my goal to be here for the people who have problems with the church, and to let them know they are not alone in their thoughts. What the church is doing is going to people who are happy outside the church, and trying to convince them they would be happier *in* the church.

My issue comes when people politely say, "No, thank you," and the church member ignores it. This most likely happens in Utah, Idaho and Arizona... people who were raised in the church and have never known anything but the church trying to convince otherwise happy people they are not really happy. What right do they have to do this?

This isn't really an issue I have with the church leaders. It's an issue I have with members of the church, taking the "every member a missionary" thing way too far.