Mormons to use technology in missionary work, less door to door

[dennisdg]

I never see them doing door-to-door here (Philippines)? How about in your country? 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/mormons-technology-missionary-151916141.html

 

"Recognizing the world has changed, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leaders announced Sunday night that missionaries will do less door-to-door proselytizing, and instead, use the Internet to recruit new church members."

 

[Ross]

I have seen Mormons here in the UK riding bikes with black elder badges, but I have never been called on at my house. I get the impression they a generally nice people and sincere in what they do.

They do have some quite strange beliefs, one of them being that Native Americans are the ancestors of the House of Israel in-spite of genetic evidence disproving this.

[Brother_Bliss]

I never see them doing door-to-door here (Philippines)? How about in your country? 

 

Yes. They are primarily USA based religion I believe, but not very large. From time to time they come to my door. It's like Pizza delivery for one of us Jehovah's Witnesses

 

"Wanna talk religion?"

 

"Why yes, yes I do!" lol.

 

They do have some quite strange beliefs, one of them being that Native Americans are the ancestors of the House of Israel in-spite of genetic evidence disproving this.

 

And it gets stranger than that.

 

You can open up to a certain chapters in the book of Mormon, and to a certain spot in the King James Bible, and they read word for word except the names of people and places are changed. It's unbelievable how this can get glossed over as nothing.

[Joey]

I have had Mormans at my door at least twice a year for many years, they have an apartment the new ones stay in not far from me.Also while walking in the park they approached me,they were talking with everyone in the park.We have a huge Morman church nearby .

I just had the Baptist here last week,in a dress shirt and blue jeans, carrying a Bible,offering a pamphlet and inviting people to church,they come around about once a year.

Those are the two religious groups we get.

Maybe we won't be seeing the Mormans as often.

[dennisdg]

Yes. They are primarily USA based religion I believe, but not very large. From time to time they come to my door. It's like Pizza delivery for one of us Jehovah's Witnesses

 

"Wanna talk religion?"

 

"Why yes, yes I do!" lol.

 

 

And it gets stranger than that.

 

You can open up to a certain chapters in the book of Mormon, and to a certain spot in the King James Bible, and they read word for word except the names of people and places are changed. It's unbelievable how this can get glossed over as nothing.

 

Hehe nice Bro Bob. What did you say and what specific topic did you discuss, please share. 

[bohemian]

I once had two young Mormons visit the house. I invited them in and we had a discussion, but they were only interested in what they had to say.  They asked my name and I told them, but they refused point blank to give their first names.  I showed them a brochure I have about building our assembly hall - they seemed interested in the building - and one of them had a photo of his local Mormon church (in Canada).  Unfortunately for him, it also had his full name at the bottom!  This gave leverage to prise the first name from the other one (Marvin from California).

They didn't return - another 'elder' came and would not tell me why the original ones had not returned.  I told them I found them to be too secretive and not open-hearted as Jesus was, so I was definitely not interested in their beliefs. They were not interested in anything from the Bible, so the discussion ended.

[Dages]

Mormons just have to preach for 2 years in their whole life... and now, it will be more on Internet ?

 

Lazy dudes ! 

[Shawnster]

From the article:

The move is the latest example of the LDS church's gradual embrace of the digital age, and a recognition that door-to-door proselytizing is not the most effective way to expand church membership, church scholars said.

 

 

Really?  That's news to us. 

 

OK, actually, we don't go door-to-door soliciting membership.  Nobody joins the Jehovah's Witnesses, they BECOME a Jehovah's Witness.  There is a difference.  Still, we are finding that face-to-face communication with the householder is still the most effective way to share the good news.  Yes, we have the Website; yes we have DVDs; yes, we leave back issues, etc... but progress only comes when the individual has a Bible study.

 

I never see them doing door-to-door here (Philippines)? How about in your country? 

 

 

In the 10 years I've lived here I've only seen Mormons at my door once.  It was genuinely a bad time and I could not talk.  They've not been back.  It's obvious they don't cover their territories like we do.  For sever Mondays in a row back in April and May I saw a bunch of Mormons at the local grocery store at the same time of day.  Apparently Monday was the day the local missionary home did their grocery shopping.

[Julsey]

I have seen Mormons here in the UK riding bikes with black elder badges, but I have never been called on at my house. I get the impression they a generally nice people and sincere in what they do.

They do have some quite strange beliefs, one of them being that Native Americans are the ancestors of the House of Israel in-spite of genetic evidence disproving this.

I think they also believe that the Garden of Eden was in...Missouri.

[Julsey]

My Mom and I have lived in our home for just over six years now, and I have only had the Mormon missionaries call at our door once, about 5 years ago.  I told them I was one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and we spoke about what it was like to go from door-to-door.  Of course, they didn't want to hang around very long, lol.

 

A sister I am very close to here has a son (not in the Truth) has a best friend who is Mormon.  He went off on his 'mission' a few years ago, but turned back up here 6 months later.  He had either been sent to Arkansas or Alabama (can't remember which), and it had been decided by the Church that the territory was 'unproductive.'  Because of that, he was allowed to return home, and told that he had fulfilled his 2-year commitment because of the condition of the territory!

[jayrtom]

I see several times Mormons in the street, usually young boys with white shirt, black trousers and a backpack... They never came to my house.

Yes they do house to house preaching but not about the good news of the kingdom as Jesus foretold in Mt 24:14

Also they say the book of Mormon is an addendum to the bible that someone got from an angel but that is easily refuted using Gal 1:8

" However, even if we or an angel out of heaven were to declare to YOU as good news something beyond what we declared to YOU as good news, let him be accursed."

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[Julsey]

Also they say the book of Mormon is an addendum to the bible that someone got from an angel but that is easily refuted using Gal 1:8

" However, even if we or an angel out of heaven were to declare to YOU as good news something beyond what we declared to YOU as good news, let him be accursed."

 

This is what I always thought, too, Jay, but the problem I run into with them is that they elevate the Book of Mormon above the Bible, just as the Jews of Jesus' day elevated the oral traditions above Jehovah's law.  That's why you can never get anywhere with them.

 

[jayrtom]

Also they say the book of Mormon is an addendum to the bible that someone got from an angel but that is easily refuted using Gal 1:8

" However, even if we or an angel out of heaven were to declare to YOU as good news something beyond what we declared to YOU as good news, let him be accursed."

This is what I always thought, too, Jay, but the problem I run into with them is that they elevate the Book of Mormon above the Bible, just as the Jews of Jesus' day elevated the oral traditions above Jehovah's law. That's why you can never get anywhere with them.

But they say they believe the bible, and so they should believe in that verse as a warning from Paul to things like that to come in the future.

In Portugal there is a huge cult to Holy Mary that supposedly appeared to three little children back in the 50's... Supposedly this Mary apparition left the "good news of the kingdom of Mary"... every other day we found some profound believer in the ministry... We can't say those things didn't happened but Paul didn't say that either... In fact, his warning was a guarantee that it would happen indeed. I usually use the verse above to argue with sincere people (although it's hard to find a Mary believer with a open heart to listen)

The Jews don't believe in the Greek Scriptures but I guess we could argue with them with just the Hebrew ones (there are some here that were Jews )

Anybody know of someone that was a Mormon?

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Edited June 25, 2013 by jayrtom

[Sheep]

I never have Mormons call at my home in all the 26 years in my present location, even though I see them on the streets. (Maybe they know one of Jehovah's Witnesses lives here.) They would call on me frequently where I lived before though.

 

I don't think our magazines have had any articles about the LDS since the Awake of November 8, 1995, pages 17-25. So I still refer to it once in a while if I come across Mormons. One gaping contrast between the Bible and the Book of Mormon is their availability for scholarly research. The Bible's text is widely available in its original languages in museums around the world. Those manuscripts are wide open for examination by scholars of any religion on earth. However Mormons say the Book of Mormon came originally on golden plates, which have since been taken to heaven and so are no longer available for textual analysis. Why would the writer of supposedly both books make sure one was open to examination and hide the other one in heaven?

[sunshine]

Never had one call on me, either here in Paris France or in my natal London England.

 

So glad they're leaving the doors for us, it's been an urban myth we and them are on an equal footing for too long.  At least that will be put to bed and we alone will visit people at their homes.

 

yoopee I say.

[Doug]

What surprised me as I read this story at ABC News, was the strict limitations Mormons placed upon their membership when it comes to the Internet. It said that the young people, while serving their 2 year mission, were not allowed to email anyone other than immediate family members, unless they had permission from the mission leader.

[LeslieDean]

Mormons just have to preach for 2 years in their whole life... and now, it will be more on Internet ?

 

Lazy dudes ! 

   A group of friends went to New Mexico for seldom worked and spent two weeks.  When thy came backed they shared an experience during our meeting for field service.  They said they were waaay out in the desert area where it was miles between houses.  They heard their was a Catholic priest that had "retired" and lived out a bit further.  They finally found him and when they knocked on his door and he opened it they asked him if he knew the meaning of life?  They said it then became appearant that he thought they drove all the way out there to ask HIM the meaning of life!  They said he became very upset because he had "retired" and he had already been through all of that with people before!  They said to him that THEY KNEW the meaning of life and had not come to inquire but to share what they knew.  They also went on to explain that for us there is no "retirment" from the preaching work!

[minister159]

From the article:

 

.  Nobody joins the Jehovah's Witnesses, they BECOME a Jehovah's Witness.  There is a difference. 

 

 

At the risk of getting off-topic, I feel the need to "expound the way of God more correctly" to you. I hope you don't think of this as being critical or

knit-picking, but as a loving reminder or adjustment in our Theocratic vocabulary. It might seem like a small thing, but I consider as an important part of our being united.

I've noticed a trend in the past 20 years or so, for more brothers and sisters to refer to ourselves collectively as you did, namely "the Jehovah's Witnesses," and individually as "a Jehovah's Witness." This smacks of Christendom's sectarian labels that they use to differentiate themselves from one another, putting a definite article in front of their name and an indefinite article as individual members of the church. We're different and our name is different. It's not a label, but a descriptive name that describes not only who we are but also what we do. The media usually makes a practice of referring to us in the aforementioned way, confusing us with one of the hundreds of denominations of Christendom.

When we refer to ourselves as an organization, it's more accurate or correct to simply say, Jehovah's Witnesses and individually as, one of Jehovah's Witnesses. As you said, " There is a difference."

 

My Mom and I have lived in our home for just over six years now, and I have only had the Mormon missionaries call at our door once, about 5 years ago.  I told them I was one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and we spoke about what it was like to go from door-to-door.  Of course, they didn't want to hang around very long, lol.

 

 

I appreciate the fact that you told them you were, "one of Jehovah's Witnesses," and not a Jehovah's Witness.

 

 

[Shawnster]

 

From the article:

 

.  Nobody joins the Jehovah's Witnesses, they BECOME a Jehovah's Witness.  There is a difference. 

 

 

At the risk of getting off-topic, I feel the need to "expound the way of God more correctly" to you. I hope you don't think of this as being critical or

knit-picking, but as a loving reminder or adjustment in our Theocratic vocabulary. It might seem like a small thing, but I consider as an important part of our being united.

 

 

 

 

I appreciate the effort you're taking to correct my grammar.  Perhaps I misspoke.  I would appreciate if you would share a Watchtower reference that goes into detail on this subject.  If it is wrong or incorrect to say "a" Jehovah's Witness as opposed to "one of" Jehovah's Witnesses, then I'll immediately work to adjust my speech patterns. 

 

I would appreciate reading for myself what the Faithful Slave has said on this matter. 

[trottigy]

Both seem to be correct:

 

 

Around the same time, a Polish man, Juan Rebacz, became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and along with another Polish Witness, he entered the full-time ministry.  2001 Yearbook pages 148-223

 

Or

 

 

Sadly, Mother was not present. She died just the year before at 100 years and 2 days of age. Her death was reported by the California newspaper Hayward News of May 14, 1996. It stated that “she performed voluntary community service as a Jehovah’s Witness by teaching . . . the Bible to interested people for 54 years.” The article also quoted our sister Elizabeth, who said: “Her home was always open and she always had room for one more at the dinner table . . . She would always say, ‘Come in for some cowboy coffee,’ and if you happen[ed] to come when she had made her famous baklava pastry, you were fortunate indeed.” 2001 October 22 Awake! Page 20

 

 

For English gramar the key seems to be - if you say "one of" you should add the "es" at the end of "witness" to make it plural - as you are talking about being one of a group / plural.

Edited June 25, 2013 by trottigy

[steadfast]

What about identifying yourself as "I'm a Witness of Jehovah" instead of "I'm one of Jehovah's Witnesses" or "I'm a Jehovah's Witness?" 

[jayrtom]

What about identifying yourself as "I'm a Witness of Jehovah" instead of "I'm one of Jehovah's Witnesses" or "I'm a Jehovah's Witness?"

In Portuguese we talk like that "I'm a witness of Jehovah"

The Portuguese grammar is much more complicated than the English and we don't discuss any syntaxes or semantics... Lol

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[trottigy]

In Portuguese we talk like that "I'm a witness of Jehovah"

The Portuguese grammar is much more complicated than the English and we don't discuss any syntaxes or semantics... Lol

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This is the exact same way in Vietnamese. Leave it to English to not follow grammatical rules!  Wait - are there grammatical rules in English? 

[Sheep]

Both seem to be correct:

 

 

 

Remember that in your second quote, that Awake was quoting an article from the Hayward News. The writer of that Harvard News article was saying it the way any other worldly person would say it, "a Jehovah's Witness."

 

I don't believe anything in our publications addresses the rules of grammar using our name "Jehovah's Witnesses." Yet, technically it is good grammar to say "I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses" rather than "I am a Jehovah's Witness." The latter doesn't make grammatical sense. Let me explain.

 

Remember that the word "Jehovah's" is possessive, in this case meaning that the "Witnesses" belong to "Jehovah;" they are his witnesses. That's what we do with possessives, we add an apostrophe and an "s" at the end. So in the case of Abraham, a friend of God, we would call him "God's friend." The word "God" is possessive. Now, what if Abraham wanted to tell you he is a friend of God? Would he say "I am a God's friend"? No, of course not. It grates on the ears as being grammatically impossible. The correct way to say it would be "I am a friend of God."

 

There, am I making myself perfectly obscure?

[Sheep]

In Portuguese we talk like that "I'm a witness of Jehovah"

The Portuguese grammar is much more complicated than the English and we don't discuss any syntaxes or semantics... Lol

 

 

I don't speak Portuguese. I do, however, speak French. In French it is not possible to say it incorrectly.We also say "I am a witness of Jehovah." That is an acceptable way to say it in English too.

 

French grammar is more complicated than English too. (Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and French are all Latin-based languages.) And in French they don't talk about syntax or semantics either!