truth dancer wrote:The missionaries were tracking in my neighborhood today, as they do about once a month or so.
It got me wondering when the church is going to stop this practice.
In this day and age, people just do not want folks dropping in, they do not want to discuss relgion with those who believe differently, and they think missionaries are odd.
I mean seriously this is not the 1950's.
It is getting to be embarrassing.... not only is tracking ineffective, it seems to be doing more harm than good. It is making the church look kind of stupid.
I feel badly for the missionaries ....
~dancer~
I have wondered about this. When I served from 79-81 we tracted a lot and it was quite succesful for us. We also phones tracted at times which certianly would be less effective today though then we actually got lots of appointments and baptized from them.
Where I live the missionaries still are baptizing from tracting though I think it is harder. As long as they teach and baptize from it I think they will keep doing it.
Jason, did you notice the quantity (not quality mind you) of baptisms rose in economically depressed areas? I sure did.
Yes certianly though I did have success in middle class as well as lower or poor areas. I served in lots of rural areas as well. But we had no succcess in the more wealthy upper middle class areas up. And currently most the people the missionaries teach from tracting in our ward are poor or lower middle as well.
truth dancer wrote:Being a missionary is fine... I'm talking about tracting particularly.
The walking around knocking on doors.
It is not exactly productive... at least not in the areas I have lived over the last many years.
Often there simply isn't anything else to do.
"Finally, for your rather strange idea that miracles are somehow linked to the amount of gay sexual gratification that is taking place would require that primitive Christianity was launched by gay sex, would it not?"
I wonder if the church leaders realize that this practice of tracting is not exactly looked upon as a normal, appropriate thing? Do they realize how distasteful it is to most people to have religious representatives knock on their doors?
It is like the missionary work is stuck in a time warp... the white shirt, dark suit was the dress of older men who wanted to appear rich and powerful in years gone by. Today this is hardly the case outside the church.
I just find the whole thing a flashback to a time long past.
~dancer~
"The search for reality is the most dangerous of all undertakings for it destroys the world in which you live." Nisargadatta Maharaj
truth dancer wrote:I wonder if the church leaders realize that this practice of tracting is not exactly looked upon as a normal, appropriate thing? Do they realize how distasteful it is to most people to have religious representatives knock on their doors?
It is like the missionary work is stuck in a time warp... the white shirt, dark suit was the dress of older men who wanted to appear rich and powerful in years gone by. Today this is hardly the case outside the church.
I just find the whole thing a flashback to a time long past.
~dancer~
With the stories President Hinckley has told about his missionary work I don't think tracting was looked on as normal or appropriate back then either.
I agree that we could do with a clothing shift. "Monkey suits" don't help the work much. Still hard to overturn. As Tevye would say, "TRADITION!!!!" Till then I'll just keep wearing my chainmail tie every so often. :)
"Surely he knows that DCP, The Nehor, Lamanite, and other key apologists..." -Scratch clarifying my status in apologetics "I admit it; I'm a petty, petty man." -Some Schmo
truth dancer wrote:I wonder if the church leaders realize that this practice of tracting is not exactly looked upon as a normal, appropriate thing? Do they realize how distasteful it is to most people to have religious representatives knock on their doors?
It is like the missionary work is stuck in a time warp... the white shirt, dark suit was the dress of older men who wanted to appear rich and powerful in years gone by. Today this is hardly the case outside the church.
I just find the whole thing a flashback to a time long past.
~dancer~
TD, our leaders live in the 1950's. In the 50's, Fuller Brush and Avon went door to door. Door to door salesmen and door to door missionaries were nothing out of the ordinary. The rest of the world has moved on to the 2000's. Utah and our leaders are stuck in the 50's in some respects. The sales approach our missionaries use is not just foolish, it's downright destructive to the outcome. We'd have a lot higher retention rate of our converts if we'd revise the way missionaries teach.
twinkie wrote:Whatever happened to standing on the street shouting incoherently at strangers about the end of the world coming and to repent of your sins?
twinkie wrote:Whatever happened to standing on the street shouting incoherently at strangers about the end of the world coming and to repent of your sins?
I stood on a bench declaring the truth about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Resoration loudly in Town Center many times. I loved it. Make you feel all Old Testamenty, especially when some of the local kids decide to chuck rocks. Ahhhhh, good times. :)
"Surely he knows that DCP, The Nehor, Lamanite, and other key apologists..." -Scratch clarifying my status in apologetics "I admit it; I'm a petty, petty man." -Some Schmo
None have come by since the time I spoke with them about the pre 1990 temple ceremony, masonry, papyrus, 1835 edition of the D&C, a six shooter at carthage and a few other "unsavory" items..
Now, the only contact I have with these suckers in online at the Mormon.org chat site... its ok, but I cannot give them a special handshake in person like I did with live ones on my porch..