Find a Couple of Good Missionaries

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Instructions

Find a Couple of Good Missionaries

1. If you're like most people, you've probably encountered Mormon missionaries and didn't even know it. They're the people you see in suits traveling in pairs, going door-to-door spreading the gospel. Anyone who has been baptized can become a missionary, though they usually tend to be young men and women ages 18 to 24.
   The life of a missionary is not an easy one. Men and women volunteer to spend 2 years away from their families, and have little (if any) control over where they are sent. Missionaries live in sparse conditions and pay for everything themselves throughout their missions. Given that they are always expected to be in church attire and have little access to entertainment, you might think that missionaries wouldn't be like most other young people. Don't worry: They're not boring, humorless people. In fact, most missionaries tend to be very outgoing, as they have to approach (often hostile) strangers day in and day out.
   Before converting, you'll want to check into the missionaries available in your area. The easiest way to do this is to call the local Mormon Church and request a meeting with the missionaries (or, if you ordered your free copy of The Book of Mormon online, you can have missionaries deliver it to you personally). The missionaries will then come to your home and teach you lessons of the gospel upon which the Mormon Church is based. If at any time you decide Mormonism isn't for you, simply tell the missionaries. Don't worry: They won't rough you up. Instead, they'll simply thank you for your time. One word of warning though: There aren't formal schools for missionaries, so some of their opinions may not be exact church doctrine. If anything sounds strange to you, verify it through the ward's bishop. Missionaries like to answer questions, so never be afraid to ask.

Next: Understand the Role of Family

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Resources

• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
• Answerbag on Mormonism

[kingsfold]

on 5/6/2009 (6) Finally, it should also be mentioned that couples who marry and are sealed, and then later divorce, will not somehow be forced to remain together in the afterlife. The Scriptures teach that sealing is a three-way covenant between God and the married couple, and if any of the three do not uphold their part of the covenant, that the sealing will no longer be in force. ---------- Otherwise, a very good (and kind of fun) article.

[kingsfold]

on 5/6/2009 (5) There are other statements in the article, like �many Mormon families form their own baseball teams� (I lived in Utah until I was 25 and I�ve never met one of these �family baseball teams�) or �most families use this time to� listen to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir,� that kind of made me chuckle. It may imply to readers that forming a family team is somehow mandatory, or that church members *only* listen to the Choir, which is not true in either case. (I understand that these phrases were not intended to be relied upon, but I just don�t want someone to get the wrong idea.)

[kingsfold]

on 5/6/2009 (4) Also, tithing is 10%. Period. You either pay a full tithe or you don't. I suspect that most don't. Everyone will have to reconcile their own beliefs on tithing with what they actually give, but it isn't a "rule of thumb," it's a commandment. And more than "be[ing] expected to contribute something," converts are expected (and promise in their baptismal interview) to pay a full tithe of 10%.

[kingsfold]

on 5/6/2009 (3) The unique thing about this Church is that in order to endure such a turbulent world with faith intact, its members are continually required to look to God Himself, through his prophet here on earth, as the source of morality, whether they agree with his statements or not. At the same time, I understand that this is a significantly purist view, and that to some, it would sound like I'm advocating blind obedience, which I'm not. I'm simply saying that everyone should, as primary children sing, "Follow the Prophet," and pray to Heavenly Father for themselves for a confirmation that his words are God's will.

[kingsfold]

on 5/6/2009 (2) As such, if you can accept the principle of modern revelation, as well as the *possibility* that the Church could be led by a living prophet (as it was before, by Moses or Jeremiah or Malachi or Peter), you can come to a knowledge for *yourself* that the Church's teachings are true, even if you don't currently believe in (or agree with) them. Conversely, it is neither wise nor even possible to learn *all* of the teachings of the Church before baptism. My [sad] experience has been that those who join the Church simply because they agree with Church teachings quickly fall away when (1) those teachings are adjusted and updated for a changing world or (2) they learn something new that they don't agree with.