This is pr*datory, if you ask me 🚫

[@astridastrid834]

I was an exchange student (17 years old) in a Mormon family. The family was great overall and not pushing their religion on me (an inactive protestant). I was welcome to join church on Sundays as well as other church meetings like young women's or also lessons at my host family's place, but didn't have to (and very often did not, especially Sunday services). Missionaries would be over on a regular basis for dinner and lessons and we had plenty of neutral, "non-religious" interactions. Until one of them deciding to come into my room (I think I was studying or something?), give me a book of Mormon and wouldn't leave until I had promised to read it and pray over it. My hostmum was furious that he did that because she felt strongly about not pushing their religion on a guest staying at their house who basically had no way of backing out of the situation. Love her to bits

[@katdiggory5501]

I also was an exchange student in Utah in a Mormon family and I actually kind of became friends with a missionary but nothing was ever pushed. I love my host family but I have a lot of problems with the church

[@allurared9029]

Yep, stayed with an LDS family for 2 weeks and had a great time. Good people.

[@stephenhicks6054]

Incredible 😢. Last year I was sent a book written Ellen white of the 7th day Adventists and I looked it over and proceeded to make it a personal art project. Erasing passages, collaging, drawing pictures, whatever creative impulse came to me. 😅

[@zoeroebuck5835]

Pretty sure there is a rule they aren’t allowed to go into your bedroom, some of them only care about the number of people they baptise and not what those people need or the rules to get there. It’s genuinely sad

[@astridastrid834]

@@zoeroebuck5835 If I remember correctly he stayed just outside of my room/in the doorframe so he might not have broken that rule, at least technically. Didn't change that I felt a bit cornered especially as he wouldn't leave, and smashing the door in his face was also not exactly an option for me.

[@phillisob]

My kids know that if missionaries come to the door, we will offer a meal and a chance to use the uncensored internet or the phone to call home, but that we don't take the lessons.

[@sariahsaurus]

That’s very kind of you, especially the phone bit. They are not allowed to turn down food so be careful how you word it.

[@ACL7211]

Okay, but she did another video where she explained that if you show them any positive interaction at all they will put you on a list and keep showing up at your door. So don't even do that!! No good deed goes unpunished.

[@phillisob]

@ACL7211 I'm fine with that. I don't mind feeding people, and I feel awful for the missionaries. These young people who have paid to go out and preach a lie, wasting 1.5-2 years of their life. They can't have unfiltered access to the internet, even on the phones they provide for themselves. I make it very clear we are well aware of their "restored gospel" and that none of us will be converting, but that they're welcome to come do laundry or eat or call home, etc. I would hope someone would do something like that for one of my kids. Missionary mental health is of huge concern to me, so I'm fine with them stopping by and just hanging out.

[@frogmama16]

@@phillisobdude that’s so sweet 😭 people like you restore my faith in humanity

[@meelomoo]

Honestly thank you for that. I come from the original descendants of Mormons and I left but my family is still die hard Mormons. My brother is out on his mission right now and had to pay the entire thing hisself. The church started withholding food and communication from his family because he was struggling with mental health and they felt that if he fasted and stopped hearing anti Mormon stuff from me he would heal. The last I saw of him his face was sunken in from malnutrition so I pray there’s people like you where he is. He’s the sweetest boy and just wants to help others but the religion has severely taken a toll on him it almost led to him taking his life because he felt like he wasn’t a good enough Mormon

[@nalanysegura6700]

I lived in Utah my whole life but was in a catholic household, I remember when I was about 13/14 we had missionaries coming to our door right after school when our parents where not home and they did this for a couple weeks. I remember telling them that we where catholic and that I wasn’t interested in converting. I was wayyyy to kind and never told them to leave us alone just that it wasn’t my interest, My dad knew they kept coming by when he wasn’t home so he decided to catch them off guard and stay home from work. That day he had a long conversation with them about consent and how it is wrong to approach children without the knowledge of their parents. The two girls had looks in their faces and it almost seemed like they had a moment of realization about how weird it is to do what they where doing. I never saw them again after that.

[@kpepperl319]

They grew up their whole lives being told they have no boundaries in regards to religion and so they think it's ok to do it to someone else

[@AuroraR]

@@kpepperl319That’s understandable but I bet they wouldn’t be too happy if their kids were being approached without their parents being present.

[@solsystem1342]

I think it's creepy in general when people try and convert kids, parent or not. It's just such a weird vibe for the people that force their kids to interact with a religion they don't want. Gives me the creeps.

[@cariboubearmalachy1174]

As an atheist, I think it's crazy to say that kids should only talk to people about religion with parental consent.

[@Ninjanimegamer]

I taught my kid to close the blinds, if anyone came to the door when I was unavailable. If they were persistent, she was to call 911. I had a script written out by the phone, which we practiced. So she would know what to tell the cops. When she got to be late teens, she could tell them through a window that she wasn't 18 and can't answer any of their questions. I sometimes, still use this excuse when I'm not ready for solicitors. As soon as you say, you're not 18, by law they have to leave. It's illegal to speak with a minor, even if you don't look like a minor. They aren't allowed to question your age. More people need to know how to protect themselves.

[@catherinerichard2387]

That happened to me at a dance…. I was like ohhhhhhhh noooooooo mom pick me up I think my friends in a cult. I was very very spiritual and did deep dives on like my born faith (Christianity), Paganism, Buddhism, Taoism, etc. and was heavily agnostic at that point… they did NOT like the questions I asked.

[@geekgroupie42]

I like you, you're cool💫🦕😊💗💯

[@TheGreenerItGets]

What questions did you ask?

[@getyasum1368]

Jesus Christ is the truth

[@catherinerichard2387]

@@TheGreenerItGetsI was really snarky now that it's been like 30 years later I can only guess but I remember a lot of starting with coffee and being like can I see scientific research Thats been peer-reviewed proving that it *ahem* coats your stomach in a “black film”. I was also like oh yeah the Noah story has roots in nearly all Mesopotamian area cultures from that time, isn't oral culture fascinating, and still a favorite, oh wait everything is by faith and not by evidence? Didn't Jesus encourage Thomas to stick his fingers in the crucifixion holes and feel where the spear pierced him? Doesn't it seem a bit dishonoring to his clear actions that we don't also question what was told to avoid false prophets? I mean Elijah himself called upon God to set fire to strike a bonfire of wet wood, but you want to limit the all-knowing all-powerful being you've dedicated your life to? Weird

[@only1bladetitan]

same here!!!!

[@DetestingMonday]

This happened to me when I was in high school. I went with a friend to a church youth activity. My friend’s brother was a missionary and got the school directory from her (which used to be a common thing in our area at the public schools), and got my address. Missionaries would show up at my house between the hours of 3pm and 5pm, conveniently after I got home from school and before my parents arrived home from work…at least once a week. Literally, they would be waiting for me when I got home. So creepy!

[@laranovell6256]

Inappropriate!

[@brigidtheirish]

This sort of thing is one of the reasons my parents decided that one of them had to be stay-at-home.

[@MerryLeafField]

Wow!

[@pagantalks5993]

This happened to me too. Crazy…

[@moestein6972]

Taught my daughters early to firmly say "No thank you." If their polite request was denied, then they said one last sentence. "If you will not respect me, I am not required to respect you." If it went beyond that they came to me, and I politely but firmly sent them away.

[@brunnrunn]

YOURE A GREAT PARENT, THANK YOU

[@moestein6972]

@@brunnrunn Childhood is about learning to make choices, not being taught that there is only one good choice available. I allowed them to explore different religions, and attend events with friends. I also spoke to every bishop, pastor, ect in advance and explained that neither of my children were allowed to be baptized until age 18, and if they pursued individualized lessons they would not be allowed to attend again.

[@bigsky14]

shit is so creepy. Still remember the exact year in eighth grade when I'm suddenly invited by multiple lds friends to a "halloween house" at their church. starts out with ten minutes of totally normal bobbing for apples and candy and shit and then 30 minutes in somehow I haven't seen a window since the lobby, my friends are nowhere around, I'm completely lost in a maze of identical light brown hallways, and two guys I don't know are putting a book of mormon in my hands and trying to get me into an empty cave room with them. I don't remember how I got out of there, but obviously I survived lol. those same "friends" then gave me books of mormon for any gift exchange the next few years, even after I made it clear i was not interested. (my family was already a different denomination anyway)

[@AnnoyingNewsletters]

*_Spooky Mormon Hell!_* 👹💀

[@remingtonn_]

im so sorry, books truly can be the WORST gifts ever. like just give me a pair of socks or something! especially the same book multiple times? that's crazy!

[@jacobc8036]

To be fair, I think that Halloween house is scarier than anything Universal has ever done for Halloween Horror Nights. So if they are going for scary they nailed it!

[@Shepz963]

And they think it’s ok for a grown man to interview a child starting at age 8 alone behind closed doors. It is so bizarre the things that were “normal” and “ok” to me growing up I now realize are now biiiiiig 🚩

[@smears6039]

@@UTTXyeah they do

[@Shepz963]

Yes they do? My baptism interview at 8 was the first bishop interview I had alone.

[@DrewThompson-xz2ml]

Mine was at 9 and no my mom wasn't there for it. And don't get me started on how they literally corner you. Let's put it this way where I grew up every other house on the block kids were getting physically abused or they were getting SA'd. (That's for context) meaning I know what predatory behavior looks like and yes this shit happens all the time.

[@andromedaspark2241]

You must be omnipotent since you claim to know other people's lives better than they do. ​it must be fun to know everything. 🤥🤥🤥@@UTTX

[@JaimieAnne]

@@UTTXNope - solo interview at 8 for me too

[@sorandombethany6307]

Happened to me!!! I was a kid in the 90’s and the missionaries came to my door and asked me if I believed in Jesus Christ? As a good Catholic girl of course I said yes. I didn’t know what a Mormon was! They gave me the Book of Mormon and went on their way!! When they came back my mom read them the riot act!! How dare they prey on children!!

[@88tirtles]

Happeded to me too, when the came back I handed the book of mormom back siad it wasn't about Jesus and it was acaully so ridiculous I. Couldn't finish it

[@Madison1676]

​@@88tirtles They must have been speechless 😂

[@88tirtles]

@Madison1676 yes they just looked at each other like " dude say something "! Freaking hilarious!!

[@kensrobertson]

You are hilarious! Imagine, preying on children by knocking on a door 🚪 😳!!! And handing out a book 📖 😳!!! You guys are regular comedians 😅

[@getyasum1368]

@@88tirtlesyou didn’t read it

[@feelingReckless13]

I once had a mormon missionary follow me into my grandpa's backyard. I'm an adult, I live around the corner from my grandpa and I walked over there one afternoon last summer to help him with some yard work and one of them followed me into the backyard. I stayed behind the shed while my grandpa told him off. He put up a huge fence after that but it was so weird that he thought it was okay to just follow a woman into a private backyard!

[@LaynaJoy]

that's so creepy like Mormons are definitely a cult

[@rachelshaskin2584]

Your grandpa is cool.

[@feelingReckless13]

@@rachelshaskin2584 honestly he's the best, my favorite person tbh

[@lace__w5957]

This happened to me at age 14. I was a volunteer at a charity shop and two missionaries also volunteered there, sometimes our shifts coincided but not always. One claimed to love White Zombie after finding out what I was listening too (at the time there was some Xtian groups threatening to bomb WZ concerts so not 'suitable' music for a mormon!). One day I was walking home from the shop and was about 1 mile from it, on a quiet residential street. Out of a parked car ahead of me, got out the two missionaries and they started talking to me (they were not surprised to see me at all - they were waiting for me). They then took me to a local park to pray for me.... two 20-something men taking a 14yo girl to a park after somehow finding out which way I walked home from work (& when i would be finishing as we hadn't worked together that day) so they could intercept me. Not at all creepy

[@MM-jf1me]

What a scary experience!

[@kerrysmiles]

Terrifying. And it's clear they were planning that and felt it was completely normal 😣🤢

[@nancysteen9111]

I believe that's stalking.

[@fabsmaster5309]

I think they are supposed to have another non-missionary adult with them before teaching single people of the opposite sex. Maybe they thought doing the “lesson” in public made it okay though.

[@AtomsAreEverything]

They did this to me in high school, I thought getting invited to a party at a church was cool until they corralled us into a tiny room and my ‘friends’ started preaching. They gave us booklets and expected me to join them for service. They could have told me it was apart of the party, but lying to me made me feel used.

[@AuroraR]

LOL! This happened to me too but in junior high. My friend invited me a Mormon dance. However before the dance I had to meet with elders of the church to see if I could attend. They asked me what church I attended. I said a Catholic Church in my city. Then they asked me a couple of other questions and they gave me a little pamphlet with rules of what you can and can’t do and I was allowed to go to the dance. Apparently it was good for use at future dances. It was just a bunch of kids and it was fun. However at my Catholic Church activities we could just invite friends and they wouldn’t have to meet the priest.

[@cathykrueger4899]

Amway does the same thing😂

[@kerrysmiles]

​@@AuroraRthat's a dance card. It's awful. They were deciding if you were worthy and safe and making sure you were going to follow the churches standards. So messed up even for members but to require it of friends that's another level of low.

[@AuroraR]

@@kerrysmiles You’re so right! At the time I didn’t know what to think. It was really awkward though because I was 13/14 and I was talking to the 3 really old men. I had no idea before going to dance that I would have to be interviewed to be allowed to go. Do they still give out dance cards?

[@hyakushiki_0087]

I lived in the Marshall Islands for 12 years, my whole childhood, and oh my GOD the Mormon missionaries would do this to the indigenous children there. We also saw it as extremely predatory. They were also grossly racist in a condescending way. Most people back home held a very low opinion of the Mormons and JWs due to their terrible predatory behavior.

[@smears6039]

That’s so disgusting

[@jeremiahgabriel5709]

1. Yikes. 2. christianity in general is predatory. It's definitely a spectrum that starts at bad and only ends at worse. I'm sorry this was an experience you had.

[@epic7224]

​@jeremiahgabriel5709 1. Mormonism is not Christianity 2. No Christianity quite literally isn't predatory at all. The whole point of it is YOU having a relationship with Christ. The bible explicitly states it CANNOT be forced. It's a choice. Youre allowed to be in opposition, but at least do some theological research.

[@lanetower3411]

@@epic7224nice gaslight.

[@katrabbit]

Thank you!!! No one ever discusses the horrifying effects of (not just) Mormon missionaries coming into (not just) indigenous populations and hoping to convert as many people as they can. It's always made my skin crawl. It's incredibly predatory and has its roots in religious conversion throughout the ages. They always preach "Let us believe what we want" while simultaneously trying to reach out to as many others as possible who already have a faith (or choose not to have one) and convert them.

[@emmaleenawood2459]

I used to bring my non member friend to the young women's church camps and she did trec with me. I hated the religion and was forced to go and she would come with me to make it less miserable. Neither of us believed in the church. So we would mess around the entire time and have so much fun. I remember my bishop came and brought a book of mormon and tried to ask me to give it to her and I looked at him and said "she's not here for that. She don't want that. She's here for me" and gave it back. Like no I don't want you to convert my friend I hate it here and she makes this barable. She is truly an amazing friend, because no non-member would ever want to go to those things 😂😂. I had other teens in my church group who hated it there and one mom was so consistent putting the book of mormon in her bag everytime. We ended being near a creek and floated it down the creek gleefully saying "bye bye 🎉❤"

[@sianmilne4879]

Not sure if it was the Mormons or the JWs but they baptized my severely intellectually disabled (intelligence of about an 8yo) aunt without any of our consent 😤 my family is Catholic so she is already baptized and we definitely would have explained that to her, she just thought they were nice people who did Bible lessons at her group home. So messed up, maybe they should add intellectually disabled people to the list of people not to baptize without caregiver consent!

[@DetestingMonday]

Yeah, I’ve heard of that happening before, they’re not supposed to do that either. So much ickiness with the missionaries like that!

[@maracaegrizzley8734]

8 years old, though, is old enough for baptism in the Mormon Church. So the Church wouldn't actually consider her to be disabled enough to be unable to consent. It's ridiculous, but that's how they justify it.

[@mallarieluvsgirls]

@@maracaegrizzley8734disgusting lmao

[@laranovell6256]

They absolutely should not try to convert the intellectually disabled without their caregiver’s consent!

[@laranovell6256]

@@maracaegrizzley8734 Yes, but Catholics and others baptize newborns, so…

[@elibeetle-owo7]

When I was younger these two Mormon’s would come to the door, around the same time every day for about a week. I was watching the house and my younger siblings at the time and so I’d let them carry on until they felt accomplished because I was easily cowed at that age and didn’t want to make anyone upset for fear of repercussions. Well my dad heard about them visiting daily from a neighbor, asked me about it, and the next day he swung home for a “late lunch” and met them at the door instead. He told me to take my sisters downstairs so I don’t know what he said to them, but I never saw either of them again save for one time in the store and the one who noticed me promptly turned around and walked away.

[@jamestrek2570]

When I was a TBM. Flirt to convert was always a cringy phrase that was always casually thrown around in regular mormon vocabulary like it was nothing. And yes Elders flirt to convert all the time.

[@a.g.2562]

Wait a minute thats is prohibited ! _ !

[@tiannabusby8382]

​@@a.g.2562 its not prohibited for cute nice Mormon missionaries to get to know someone of the opposite sex and teach them the missionary lessons. If there is an attraction the non member might convert on the hopes that the missionary will come back for them after their mission and marry them. It happens.

[@zhmw]

That's what happened to me and my then, teenage daughter. It was a couple of young Mormon adult men, they were over 18 years old, from their local Mormon church and they knocked on our door. My teenage daughter answered the door and immediately they started talking to her about the wonderful young activities at their church, when I got to the door and heard this, I was so pissed off. I support Religious Freedom, but I support the rights of parents to raise their own children in their own faith. And those young adult men had crossed the line by talking directly to my teenage daughter. I really scolded these young men and told them, as adults, then have NO business persuading and luring a teenage girl to their church. Luckily, my daughter, who's now in her 30s, is still free-spirited and isn't a member of any organized religion.

[@getyasum1368]

“Luckily, my daughter is still a godless harlot”

[@tinbanger66]

​@@getyasum1368God's love on full display. Smiles for a few hours on Sunday, hate and judgement the rest😅 of the time.

[@insertname954]

​@@getyasum1368good for her! 😌

[@mermaidnurse17]

My mom used to buy BOM with my friends names engraved for me to give out as birthday presents with CTR rings. Then when I stopped getting invited to parties she told me it was because they werent real friends.

[@user-px2dt6kh9r]

That’s so messed up

[@kelsey2333]

What's a ctr ring? Also I'm sorry. Crazy religious people are delusional and thats so sucky for your mom to do to you

[@ashleydanielson3222]

Can you explain the ring? I used to see them being worn when I was in middles school and surprised nobody has done a video to explain it. Those are crazy gifts to give a kid.

[@sc766]

CTR = choose the right, CTR rings are given to kids in the church when they are getting ready for their baptism- age 8 or during primary lessons on Choosing right. The kids were them as it supposed to remind/ help them to make the right choices/ follow the commandments and teaching of the LDS church

[@mermaidnurse17]

@@ashleydanielson3222 Agreed, they are super crazy things to give to other kids. There is the mindset/teaching in the church that everybody is a missionary at all times amd we should always be representing our church because you never know who might be looking. Even after I stopped believing in the church and stopped giving those gifts it took another person telling me it was weird for me to see how weird it really was because I was so used to it.

[@someone39397]

I had no idea they did that, that's so weird and coercive especially for impressionable teens

[@wd3987]

That is how my grandparents were baptized.

[@PrincessJamiG]

Teenagers tend to be the largest number of converts to all kinds of religions. It's definitely predatory to focus on their vulnerabilities. Especially with "flirt to convert" tactics.

[@Honeydoyou]

It’s a cult so they gotta get followers somehow

[@nadineevans5195]

​@@PrincessJamiG a young teenaged female would definately be very vulnerable to young adult male Mormon missionaries. They're usually 19 to 22 or so..... Inappropriate in my mind too.

[@kelseyroy8280]

Two teenage girl missionaries stopped by my house twice a month for every month in the summer of 2014. They were so kind and so pretty, I was 11 and thought they were so cool. At the first visit my Mom politely shooed them away, the second visit they realized my mom worked during the week all day long, and that my dad would leave me in the house all day while he worked outside and got drunk. They started stopping over more frequently and only speaking to me, because I was their best bet, they’d seen me in the church before, before my grandma died, my absolute best friend in the world who passed that previous November. I was told how proud i’d make my grandparents, that my grandpa would have someone to attend church with him, how I come from a strong line of Mormon women. I was always so alone and always looking for validation, if it weren’t for my moms refusal, they would have gotten me entirely. I can’t even be upset with the girls either, they seen a child in pain and most likely thought they were genuinely offering the best solution.

[@gailcal]

Teen boys are particularly vulnerable to young female Mormons, their families and friends 😊

[@adaynasmile]

Seminary. I was invited to seminary for a party. But I was asked not to return when I asked about inconsistencies.

[@charlesmendeley9823]

Lol, that's because contention is of the devil.

[@laurayarbrough4646]

@@charlesmendeley9823lol

[@laplayplay]

My best friend and i were 8 and got stopped in the MIDDLE OF THE ROAD by two missionary guys who started preaching to us. Looking back, it's even creepier now than it was then

[@Lucy-fn9rj]

mormon missionaries came to my childhood home exactly once. they must’ve been good upstanding boys, because when i answered the door, they asked for my parents (i was ~15 at the time). i got my mom, thinking she’d just send them away. but she didn’t. she told them she’d listen to them if they listened to her first. and for the next half hour, she stood in the doorway and gave them The Talk. she was always very frank about sex, so this wasn’t your normal “when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much” - no, this was everything from biology to attraction to consent. she told them what kinds of sex can and cannot make a baby, where to get low/ no cost safe sex supplies, what (and where) a clitoris is. she told them that feeling attracted to pretty women or handsome men is completely normal and not something they should be ashamed of. she said sex should be enjoyable for everyone involved and that everyone (man, woman, spouse) has the right to say “no.” that was the last time a religious missionary came to our door. even the jehovah’s witnesses who used come by about once a year stopped evangelizing in our neighborhood.

[@AnomalieStar]

Honestly that's a w

[@glenncordova4027]

Your mother deserves an award for her public service. 😃👍

[@juliepaul9563]

Wow, gotta try that😂😂😂

[@BryantWalker-m6e]

WOW, just WOW.

[@psychoticsilver]

Your mother is the definition of iconic i love that so much

[@HistoryBusiness16]

I had a Mormon friend in HS on my softball team! Her name was Christina and we got invited to her bday party my jr year (she was a freshman then) and I thought it was so cute, I overheard her Mormon mom tell Christina’s Mormon friends’ parents something along the they’re here for a bday party not for lessons so please no teaching or I will be irritated (I was in the hall bathroom next to the living room) lol

[@DeJaVuCa]

In Utah, 2003 a Missionary waited until I went to work then went in my home to teach my teenage daughter ! I Reported him!!

[@hikaruyee3256]

I dont get what their teaching though and why its bad

[@anbellfox]

​@@hikaruyee3256 Can't really speak for the teachings. But I'm pretty sure the main problem here is random, People specially adults targeting children as young as 8 or so, and going and messing with them in their homes without their parents, knowing or their consent. Especially when a child is vulnerable when their parents Aren't home, Like what else could they easily do to the child? I have to mention a lot of those comment Section seems to say that they kind of stock their victims for a while which is weird as fuck.

[@hikaruyee3256]

@@anbellfox thats crazy and creepy asf

[@tiannabusby8382]

​@@hikaruyee3256 heres a few reasons why its bad. 1. It is never appropriate for a grown adult to be alone with a child without the parents consent. This is often how children get molested or kidnapped or murdered. 2. Let's say the adult doesn't hurt the child. The child has now learned its ok to be alone with people like this because nothing bad happened anyway. That is how children get groomed and are primed to be victims of the first problem by someone else or by the same adult but at a later time. 3. Children are impressionable. Let's say a missionary teaches a child about their church, but the family already has very different religious veiws. The child is now being taught that their parents are wrong without their parents even knowing about it. This undermines the parents on multiple levels and confuses the child. 4. Let's say the child decides they believe what they are being taught behind their parents backs. Now they want to get baptized and need parental consent, but if mom and dad say "no" then they are already set up to be the bad guys which can damage the parent child relationship. If the parents say "yes", now the child could be joining an unhealthy organization. 5. What lds missionaries teach is already a watered down version of their beliefs and a story told through rose colored glasses. Even grown adults often don't give proper consent to baptism because they don't get told the whole story first, but at least with adults they have the option and resources to do their own independent research first if they choose. Children often don't have the critical thinking skills or resources to properly research their choice. This makes them easy targets and as some one who was raised LDS, I can say from personal experience that it is not pleasant to find out the truth and realize you were baptized into a cult. Children shouldn't be making that sort of choice, especially when its without a parental support.

[@anoriginalcreationx]

I have a crazy story for you.. I was baptized at 8, but they lost my records, so at 12 I had to have all the missionary lessons in order to be baptized. In the interview with the missionaries I told them I didn't want to get baptized and they told me if I chose that I would disappoint my parents. So I got baptized.

[@MGQ888]

That is coercion. Good thing none of it's valid anyway.

[@kellyandrews1260]

Yeah. Predatory, high pressure , manipulative coercion to its very foundation.

[@rae6857]

This happened to me when I 8-9 years old. I didn’t realize it until just now. My best friend of 3-4 years at the time invited to a youth meeting and I went. Everyone was super nice to me and people were talking to me about god. I was catholic so I just assumed they were making conversion (also the autism). This makes so much sense to now. I was friends with that girl for almost 15 years until I finally got to courage to cut ties with her. Best decision I ever made❤️

[@meeshaa4566]

This happened to me. I went to my husband's family's house and was cornered by the missionaries every single Sunday. I was open minded and let them talk to me, until they asked me to be baptized. I was scared and shy so I said "yes". Slowly over the years I've had to cope with the fact that I did that as a people pleasing reaction and have finally left the church.

[@vjr5261]

Being baptized into the Mormon church isn’t being baptized to Christ. I was baptized again 40 years later when I asked to be forgiven and took Jesus as my savior.

[@meeshaa4566]

@@vjr5261 I don't subscribe to the Jesus fanfic anymore, thanks. To me, every religion is problematic.

[@Langwidere903]

This isn’t the same, but I’ve noticed that the missionaries who come to my college every week primarily target the Asian international students, especially girls. Most of the American students know not to engage. It’s smart- they may not have a community out here yet, and may genuinely be intrigued. I’m not trying to infantilize them and say they’re easier targets, but they may not have the same cultural “ick” that myself and my peers have around missionaries.

[@absolutechadd8895]

Reminds me of the white 'incel' obsession with Asian women, that may not be it here, but still 😂

[@moringsdaughter]

It's essentially the same thing. They are targeting vulnerable people. Vulnerable does not mean weak.

[@kpepperl319]

I have seen them on the trains in nyc...They would be speaking perfect Chinese... I'm like what's going on here as a kid 😅. Most Chinese adults would be impressed but generally don't fall for their religion. But I am glad they never tried to talk to me regarding religion.

[@gdtestqueen]

When I was 8 my best friend was Mormon. I had many sleepovers and soon they asked my parents if I could go to church with them one week. My parents asked me if I was ok with that and I was like “yay! Another night to sleepover”. My dad had already been given The Book of Mormon (odd how the friends father only tried to get my dad into it and not my mom?). My dad wasn’t interested but he loved knowledge so he read it. I had been raised as United Church of Canada so I was used to kids sitting in for the first 10 minutes than going off to Sunday school to play for the remainder of the hour. I was in awe that first Sunday when I saw the padded seats in the giant church/temple/whatever. I soon learned why they were padded! We sat there for 3 hours (at least that’s my memory). There was no moment where the kids all left to go have fun. After the service was food and then all us kids went off for Sunday school. This was so strange to me…and beyond boring. And Sunday school didn’t involve a teacher asking all our thoughts and input…it was some craft and being read to and repeating things. I remember at one point being removed from the group of Mormon kids and a bunch of adults talking to me. I can’t remember much now but I know it led to problems. When I got home I told my parents all about it. My dad left the house soon after and I later found out he went to my friends father and tore a strip off him. It seems that during that time alone with the adults at the LDS they tried to get me to convert and even tried to talk me into baptism. I didn’t know what it was but I told my parents they tried to get me to go swimming in a little pool and my dad knew immediately what they had tried with an 8 year old. Like I said, I don’t remember that now, but I do know that even thinking of that day leaves me uneasy, I have a vague memory of being scared of all those men around me. I was also told later by my parents when I asked about the incident that I had been told that if I went “swimming” I would be cured and wouldn’t need the crutches anymore (Im disabled and used crutches then, but wheelchair now). I never was allowed to go back to church with them, nor did I want to. I also was asked by the family to sit in with their nightly scripture lessons when I slept over. That didn’t last long though and soon I was actually banned from them and instead would sit in my friends room reading during those times. Apparently I asked too many questions and challenged what I heard. Questions, and even challenges, where encouraged in the religion I knew.

[@Sauvium1]

My uncle was under strict instructions that he was not allowed to share anything Mormon-y with me when I came to visit. My mum made it very clear that I was there to play with my cousins and that was it. I was allowed to attend church with any of my friends from any other religion or faith but never, ever anything to do with LDS. I was a pretty logical kid (maybe because I’d visited so many different religious institutions) so it probably wouldn’t have been something I gravitated to but I am glad because the damage growing up in the church did to my cousins is still being felt decades later. My uncle left the church too btw.

[@jaxghost1968]

ANYBODY should know boundaries. Too much is too much. Just walk away.

[@andyshaw8061]

When my partner was a teen they were invited to dinner several times by a school friend, surprisingly the missionaries were there EVERYTIME. They didn't convert my partner but they enjoyed the food so kept going back.😂

[@Fosterfireglass]

Happened to my daughter. She started falling for it. I got the number where the missionaries were staying from a neighbor, called & left a msg that she did NOT have permission to be baptized. The part that broke it for my DD? That women can't talk to (omniscient) God.

[@klassykwolhart6514]

Another reason my parents didn’t allow me to attend their church functions. I went a few times without telling them but that was it. Looking back now in my 40’s with a young daughter, I didn’t realize just how dangerous that really was, and for so many reasons. I’ve thanked my mom for keeping us away as much as she could. That was one of the best things she did for us, especially me.

[@i.aint.1.of.ur.little.friends]

This may be harsh, but im sending my kid to her room and theyre getting an ear full. Not sorry. Do NOT come to my home and talk to my child about anything other than asking if they can speak to a parent or guardian. Who in their right mind, thinks its okay to just talk to your kid. People wont just come up to you at Target and do that unless they are up to no good, so its no different if a child opens a door.

[@Karools_Scribs]

I’m from Johannesburg. Age 15, I was at the theatre, dressed up like everyone else and on crutches due to a torn ligament. Two Americans in legit hiking gear with those massive backpacks clipped around their chests came up to me when I was alone and tried to convince me to pray with them over my injury. I’m Christian, but I opted out because it was so uncomfortable and aggressive. My parents were not happy.

[@kpepperl319]

​@@Karools_Scribs that's messed up... I'm sorry they thought that was ok

[@arecestravi]

It’s not harsh, it’s totally normal. Except I’m from Europe, maybe that’s the reason I see it like this. But you do you, you have 100% right to defend your home and child.

[@i.aint.1.of.ur.little.friends]

@Karools_Scribs yeah, that's not good. A lot of their missionaries are quite young, some in the teens, but they should be instructed to speak only to adults or anyone of legal age in the country they are in. I have only ever approached a child I thought looked lost, was alone in a place where I don't normally see children alone (train station late hour, for example) or if they are in tears and again all alone. And ONLY to ask if they are okay, do they need to use the phone or to bring it to management's attention that there is a lost child. I would never find it okay to go up to a child (or anyone i suspected might be a child, due to appearance) to talk about religion or sell them something. 😒

[@kittyjuneo2218]

Gosh you just unlocked a memory for me. I was in that first scenario, at a church event (not mine), and had other teens coming up to me to “chat”. But I dodged it pretty well because I was already overwhelmed and didn’t want to talk to anyone. I just kept giving them one word answers, and then said I wanted to be alone. I had completely forgotten about this.

[@Wednesdaywoe1975]

So, grooming. Cool, cool, cool. Im sure that NEVER results in sexual assault or exploitation.

[@Catapultout]

This happened to me multiple times. At people’s homes, at church dances, etc. Thankfully I never bought into it. Thank you for your videos. They help shed a light on the awkward and sometimes nefarious nature of the LDS church

[@laurandersen]

When I was growing up, Mormon commercials played during Saturday morning cartoons

[@lilyyoung1002]

Dang

[@skyes7369]

I would be absolutely livid if my kid went to a friends house & was ambushed by religion. The whole school would know not to allow their kid to go over to that kids house by the end of the day.

[@ravenbell3918]

This happened to me! Lived in a town with a huge Mormon population, therefore my best friend was Mormon. I was not. Her mom tried to get me to join. She even scheduled my baptism without my consent. After I refused, she said I wasn't allowed to go to church with them anymore.

[@jaimeanita5501]

My neighbors did this to my son when he was like 8, they have a bunch of kids , and I got along with the mom, thought they were all real sweet, my son would play on their trampoline with them sometimes, one day he runs in panting and holding the front door closed with the kids yelling and knocking and just seemed really freaked out, well they said they were watching a video and that if he didn’t watch it with them that he couldn’t play with them anymore, so I asked him what he wanted to do, and he said he didn’t want to watch the video that it was really creepy and he was fine not playing with them, it really caught me off guard and it hurt and I should have said something to the parents, we are cordial and wave and stuff, it’s been years since, but it was really lame that they felt comfortable trying to indoctrinate my son behind my back; I have other stories that are traumatic from them , like their young niece who they had custody of for awhile because her and her mother were in a horrific car accident and the mom almost died and was in the hospital for almost a year, the little girl was asking me about my tattoos when I was gardening and starting talking about how her mom had them and uncle j was telling her her mom might go to hell for having them because it’s not modest, it broke me that would be told to her while her moms life was in danger, thankfully her mom lived and took her daughter back, it’s no mystery I haven’t seen either since.

[@lorebernier7208]

They tried to approach some kids in my hood, and I had to let 'em know what was up.

[@sunshinelizard1]

I allowed my daughters, when we lived in Utah for a while, to listen to the missionaries' lessons. After 2 lessons, I came home from work while they were wrapping up and they were putting my daughters' baptisms on the calendar. I made it clear that that is not ok because my daughters had not made a decision to get baptized. They said they were doing that because the schedule gets full and they're just planning ahead but my daughters don't have to go through with it. I told them that's manipulative, disrespectful, and as their mother, not going to be allowed. You could see how in their young, naive eyes I was the evil standing between them and my daughters' salvation. I kicked them out. I was raised Mormon, so I knew the schtick, the routine, but that getting on the calendar really pissed me off.

[@SweetVermillion]

Okay. I have a couple of thoughts. 1) thank you for talking about the more real side of Mormonism. 2) your eyes are so bright and beautiful! That is all. 😊 Keep it up

[@FerociousPoofyPeanut]

Let's agree to disagree.

[@totally_a_real_account7902]

“They find this teenager” is a terrifying sentence. No one should ever be hunting down teens

[@justine8387]

I am an autistic woman, I remember being invited to a camp when I was a teenager, I was so happy someone wanted to be my friend. I took the stuff home and my mum explained, I was devastated. It wasnt morman in was evangelical Christian... but you know, same deal.

[@willettacartermolina3375]

Yes, they came to our house one day, and my cousins and sister sat down to hear what they had to say, we were Catholic/Pentecostal, my mom was Catholic and my dad was Penacostel, my parents wanted us to choose our religion. They gave us their book and when they were ready to leave they told us to pray about it. I had a dream that night that an angel came to me and said the only way to the Father is through his son Jesus. I still remember that dream like it was yesterday. ❤

[@GaiaJenda]

Yeah dreams are crazy. Last night I dreamed I was on the train from Snowpiercer.

[@kierafrost7333]

Because your catholic mother was right and Jesus Christ established his church at Pentecost and through apostolic succession we still have the faith as it was established in the beginning

[@dukeblair7792]

Religion is all made up by mankind. It's a travesty that people still believe in that crap.

[@Helroses]

I went to the home of a member as I was curious (plus within reason never say no till I’ve tried something) and that is when I noped out lol the funny thing is it was when they told me they separate women and men in the chapel for teaching. I went to a Mormon wedding/blessing thing at a chapel and I’m yeah it was a strange experience

[@laranovell6256]

I’ve been to LDS Sunday services many times, and families sat together, regardless of gender.

[@Helroses]

I didn’t go to the service itself and have only ever been to a wedding/blessing. I was going by what they told me happens during teachings (when they were trying to give me a lesson at their house) etc 🤷‍♀️ this was over 10 years ago in a small town so I dunno what they do now

[@laranovell6256]

I didn’t mean to dis you. I’m not even Mormon. I was just offering information. Maybe it’s different in small towns?

[@Helroses]

@@laranovell6256 I guess so, I’m also British so maybe it was just the practice back then (they do seem to change things to make them more palatable and I know segregation of sexes especially a few years ago became unfavourable) but yeah I went to their house and they were just explaining their beliefs about the afterlife and the way the church teaching/ learning works etc so I might be remembering it wrong as to when they said they separate the men and women into groups for study and prayer but I just remember thinking it definitely wasn’t for me. My mum is a minister (plain old Christian type) and is a fan of educating yourself, she planted in my brain from a young age that women are privy to the same teachings as men and if anyone believes otherwise, they’re wrong.

[@demnwarrior7]

@@laranovell6256 during the sacrement meeting you usually sat with your family(unless you had to give a talk then you joined them after your talk.) after that you split off children went to sunday school and were sorted by age groups, teens and young adults were together for one more meeeting then seperated by gender, or that's what i remember anyway i left before i found out how the older people were sorted.

[@phoenixcole8920]

I just realised that I was the teenager that was always talked too since my auntie Is a strict Mormon and she’d always have other missionaries come over or have me go to a youth group, I would be so confused why they would come over every time I was there and just keep saying the same teachings, over again now I realise they were trying to convert me, but I was too oblivious to really care😂😂😂

[@ivoryhenson1285]

Hearing your stories always makes me so glad that the mormon girl i was friends with didnt have a family that was like that. I was always welcome in their house but never heard anything about religion other than "oh we cant do that, we're doing whatever church event that day" and they had a book of mormon on their bookshelf in the living room. I asked about it once and her and her parents laughed and went "oh yeah, we're not THOSE kind of mormons" 😂

[@magda3999]

You are doing really important work Alyssa. Thank you for sharing your knowledge that we all need to be aware of.

[@vanessawatkins7482]

Damn... That's downright predatory. Super creepy. How are they going to ask you if you want to learn about Jesus then teach you about Joseph Smith? It seems like it revolves more around him and less around Jesus & God.

[@tiannabusby8382]

In their logic, teaching about Joseph Smith is teaching about Jesus's true restored gospel. So they don't see it as misleading, but it is.

[@kaitkuhl2462]

This happened to me. I went to a halloween party with my friends who were Mormon at their church but then I ran into the missionaries while I was in the hallway waiting for the bathroom and they began to talk to me about my religious background (excatholic) and Joseph Smith. I got sucked in really quickly and was doing online lessons, going to church every Sunday, going to Sunday school, getting a priesthood blessing, and lessons on Sunday and at friends’ houses to top it all off. I think I was just naive and didn’t know much about it, but they will definitely just jump on you and you’re sucked it without even knowing it. I’m not going anymore because I realized it wasn’t true but it really scares me thinking how quickly and easily they can brainwash you.

[@Sam-t4f2f]

Once while I was at work, this missionary was asking my coworker (they were friends) if he knew this girl he was teaching. He said he didn’t know and asked why. The missionary said “I feel like she’s been avoiding me and doesn’t want to learn the gospel. Tell her that I still want to teach her”

[@67comet]

growing up in utah as a non-mo I can verify this behaviour in spades. Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, "friends" inviting me over for lunch or dinner when the missionaries were there, taking a girl on a date but having missionaries at her house when I picked her up trying to "teach me" about "my" local church... Probably a good chunk of my resentment is from those happenings (my other resentment is from my born again christian uncle and his "tactics" to save me).

[@kellyanderson611]

OMG this is exactly what happened to me my friend was Mormon and non nonchalant worked in their pitch EX Sleepovers with missionaries also staying over and then a convo over breakfast! They invited me to some type of church function( This was 1990-1992) my mom was polite and let me go. We watched videos and talked about it. Some older man asked me my religion I replied I wasn't practicing but was raised Catholic. The man literally spun on his heels and walked the other direction. When it was over her older sister took me home with my friend in the car too. They hand me the BOM so not knowing I take it in my house and how my mother acted you would think I invited a demon. She said very sternly " I do not want that in MY HOUSE!" So I went back to the car and the older sister replied rolling her eyes "OK". But my mother never explained her reaction and that what got me so interested on LDS . Oh I totally agree with her just kinda wish she would have told me . Oh well thats why you guys are here!

[@Izzy-cp8yt]

I remember wanting to have a sleep over with a friend one Saturday in the middle of my mom's "we will go to church every Sunday" kick, and I was told either my friend would have to go with us Sunday morning or I would have to get picked up in time for church. Both options sounded like hell to me, so we just didn’t have a sleep over that weekend, at my decision. Given that I was also homeschooled, it was just one more way religion (evangelism specifically) isolated me and made my life hell. So glad to be free of it. I fought tooth and nail for any shrred of freedom as a kid, and as an adult I'm honestly so proud of my little self for seeing through the bs. I was a quite, nonconfrontational child, but I was stubborn enough to think for myself.

[@britches4291]

As someone who was raised fundie(adjacently FLDS) and exmo, your videos are so helpful gor me to realize that how creeped out I was all of the time was so valid. Thank you so much for all of your videos!

[@ethot4997]

When I was about 16 my boyfriend and I at the time were approached by some Mormon girls. To be polite we exchanged numbers and they messaged us later that day asking if we would like to take a tour of the church. Neither of us were religious but we thought it might be interesting so we agreed and I have to say it was one of the strangest experiences I’ve had

[@Hulahoopish]

And this is why I avoid them like the damn plague.

[@KevinKasket]

And those are the same people that will say, "I dont care what you do behind closed doors, just dont shove you identity down our throats!" 😂

[@chelscara]

That's so creepy, it's like stalkers without a specific target

[@Just_an_alien]

My best friend is Mormon and reading everybody’s comments made me realize just how lucky I am. I remember when I came out to her as lesbian I remember I was kinda scared that she would be weird about it but she wasn’t and her parents didn’t care either. Then when I told her I wanted to use They/Them pronouns she immediately respected it and when people would misgender me she’d always correct them. I don’t know how uncommon this is but I’m really lucky to have a friend like her.

[@genesisbrito6090]

is weird asf, i came out as bi as 12, they tried to convert me straight again and even the elder one told me that "he didn't wanted a gay, sinner friend", lol

[@tiannabusby8382]

Your experience is 100% a credit to the type of person your friend is DESPITE her religion. I was raised LDS/Mormon and I was a lot like your friend. Its one of the reasons I left. I could no longer support a religion that was in such opposition to my own moral compass when it came to LGBTQ rights and treatment.

[@jasmadams]

We had Mormon missionaries come to our door a few times when we first moved here. We would always offer them something to drink and a chance to rest. We made it clear that we are already Christians and not interested in LDS, but we have a lot of LDS friends. After a few years, they stopped coming. I think we got that mark on the list that says "nice people, but don't bother."

[@moringsdaughter]

They will baptise a minor without parental consent. I've seen it happen. One of my friends in highschool was preyed upon by mormon missionaries. They were having private studies with her without her mother's knowledge. When the mother protested her teenage daughter meeting alone with strange men, my friend was told that her mother is being influenced by evil to keep her from the Gospel. They also told her to stay away from her non-mormon friends. Eventually they convinced her to be baptized without telling her mother. They socially isolated a teen girl from her friends and family just to convert her. They also told her it was ok to ghost her non-mormon boyfriend and take up with a mormon boy instead. I don't know what happened after that because she cut off everyone who wasn't mormon from her life after high school graduation. Including her family.

[@WatchingwaitingG2D]

Liar.

[@moringsdaughter]

​@@WatchingwaitingG2D Why would I lie about my life experiences? How would you know if I'm lying? You don't know me or any of the people I mentioned. You're making defensive accusations to hold onto your precarious position, but it's just making you look desperate.

[@seraphilight]

I had Mormon babysitters growing up. An old couple that would babysit so my parents could have date nights. We played boggle and ate popcorn. They took me to a christmas event, and surrounded by all those Mormons I wasnt taught anything religious and was welcomed with all the other kids for participating in normal things for religious christmas activities. (Angel halo and singing, baby jesus in manger I think?) They adopted tons of kids until they got too old, but were also the type to poison the neighborhood cats rather than feed theirs inside. So take that as you will.

[@FairyFatale]

Holy crap. Both of these things happened to me when I was a teenager. I just figured it was my friend’s weird-ass parents doing weird-ass shit, but… like everything exactly how you described it. Wild. I’m still not welcome at that particular church, and last time I checked, they still remembered why. Long memories they have.

[@tiannabusby8382]

Did you ask too many difficult questions? Or did you encourage your peers to rebel/ do things outside the religion? Those are usually the top two reasons for getting banned. 😂

[@FairyFatale]

@@tiannabusby8382 Simple answer is yes. Several times over. It was worse than that, honestly.

[@Tussuadsmeltdown]

I'm a 14yo Christian and I evangelized to some Mormon missionaries. They're pretty nice folks.

[@louisenonato4999]

Here in Brasil, this is way too normal, and It is ridiculous

[@rpiotte]

Man... using cult recruitment tactics really doesn't help their claim of not being a cult. That's really unfortunate.

[@ilovegir6]

This happened to my friend I grew up with. I Leah’s thought it was weird and felt uncomfortable

[@phillipmoore9012]

Get'um Young! I decided to change this to Bring'um Young, for poetic reasons. Really they need the young before they might learn any critical thinking.

[@judithhardin2783]

Did you know that happens in other churches, too? I know Mormon teenagers who get invitations from their non-Mormon friends such as Baptist or the Church of Christ, and the theme for the evening is “This is what’s wrong with the Mormon Church.” So here is this Mormon kid sitting there in this Wednesday night church teen meeting hearing how bad their religion is. No warning. How hateful is that because that is deliberate.

[@xxwinter_skyesxx]

Yeahhh....like. I'm not a fan of Mormonism and the idea of being pushed into religion AT ALL, but that's just cruel. Like, offer resources to leave a hateful religion, of course, but DO NOT PUSH IT.

[@chlyri]

but that's not the same thing. trying to deconvert isn't the same thing as trying to baptize.

[@holliebrokaw3716]

​@chlyri Often they're just trying to convert you to their religion. They're not just altruistically trying to deprogram you

[@Izzy-cp8yt]

​@@chlyri a religious institution trying to tell you your current belief is wrong no matter how you slice it. Churches need to leave people alone, period. If I choose to show up, tell me what you believe. Don't target me, that's disgusting.

[@amberowen2004]

They always push the boundaries. I have a family member who married an RM, where he served there was a law about not proselytizing xtianity unless asked first ( I was very young so I don’t know all of the details). An older man had been meeting them, the son came home early one day and the father said he didn’t give permission, they assume out of fear. The missionaries were imprisoned, tortured. beaten, SA’d and it took the church 3 weeks to get them out. It’s almost 30 years later and this guy is still so messed up, developed schizophrenia from the trauma etc idk why they would ever let missionaries go there. it’s disgusting how much the church doesn’t care about their missionaries let alone crossing boundaries with potential converts.

[@francescapatti2934]

Im not a teenager but I am in a confrontational mood and Id kinda love for a mormon to try and convince me of their religion😂 Just bc its so INSANE. Like all religions (including my own) habe weird, outdated or straight up just bonkers rules, but Mormonism is on another level. Like everyone else will have like cool prophets and figures and shit and these people believe in a mf called "JOSEPH SMITH" like?? Its just some dude? He didnt raise the dead or anything? No walking through a desert for 40 years? Idk its deeply weird and I really would love to just sit there like "😂😂😂ok"

[@angelalovell5669]

I can only assume Scientology and the Jehovah's Witnesses also melt your brain. I've sent a few of the latter away with sore heads myself - sucks to find out your potential new recruit knows all your church's dirty laundry.

[@sitting_ina_dark_room]

Yup I ain't worshiping anyone until they can magic me some rainbow unicorns 🦄💗

[@kimmeeb]

Mormon missionaries used to come to my house when I was young. They would come repeatedly cause my mom was nice to them and didn’t say no. We had a big, all black German Shepherd named Krypto. He was still a puppy at the time, but weighed over 80 lbs and still growing (he would be 110lbs of pure muscle fully grown, big for a Shepherd). He was also in training as a guard dog for for my dad’s auto shop. One day, they rang the door while Krypto and I were home alone. He rocketed off towards the door, using his big scary dog bark and FLEW THROUGH the glass window next to the door trying to get the “intruders” in his doggy brain. I saw the security camera footage of the missionaries sprinting off. They never came back. Krypto was fine, not a scratch on him, and my dad gave him a steak for dinner 😂

[@amberleebatchelor6949]

12 year old Mormon me being harassed by a 19/20 year old missionary who wrote me love letters about how he knew I would be his wife- so embarrassing and having to hide the letters. My mom always asking if I wrote back and that I had to write him. I couldn’t throw the letters away that would be suspicious… things I saw missionaries get away with… ugh

[@tiannabusby8382]

Yikes. When I was 12, I wrote a missionary. He had been my sisters boyfriend, but she married someone else while he was gone. I continued to write him and then when he came home, I was 14 by then, and he made a comment about marrying me in a few years. I was pretty creeped out, but just kinda brushed it off.

[@itspika3620]

I joined Boy Scouts at a local ward because my best friend invited me as a tiger scout and I stayed until 1st class. They never indoctrinated me except for a couple of times. I remember seeing strange things in my time there, as the elders were obsessed with my Catholic faith, Always asking me questions about original sin, the afterlife, and Jesus. It creeped me out a couple times

[@lizgembala9811]

Same with Baptist/Born Again whatever youth group. Relentless preaching even tho explaining I was a confirmed Catholic. I faked accepting “their”Jesus cuz quite frankly their baptism meant nothing to me. I had been there done that three times in my own church-baptism communion and confirmation.

[@danabanana3453]

Same ish thing with Jehovah's Witness. I was 10 y/o, and my mother was to socially awkward to say no, but she pushed me into the group to learn about it instead. It started with 2, then they kept bringing people over to our house once a week until there was 6 JH's in my house to teach me, a 10 year old without her parents present. The only way to get them to stop or leave you alone is to literally say "Please stop coming to my house, I am not interested in learning about your religion".

[@mynameisglitter2220]

Yep that happened to me as a teenager

[@Crazzy_51_50]

Lol I had this experience but with Jehovah’s Witness. I was shocked 7 year old when she told me she didn’t have birthday parties.

[@the.dirt.man.]

I cannot believe my parents convinced me to bring over my non-member friends while the missionaries were over. Looking back on it completely mortifying

[@natalia4955]

they manipulated a child! mortifying maybe but even more for them

[@Bellabunn_]

Oh god this happened to me when I was friends with someone in the church in like 5th grade, I’m happy my mom saw the predatory stuff they were trying to pull because I was way too naïve lol

[@eponack]

Groomers!

[@kimmieb2u]

My daughter dated a Mormon man who tried to get her to marry him without even discussing it with her father or myself. He wanted to go at night to "see the bishop" get married and present it fait acompli. My daughter told him, "If you think I'd ever do that to my parents, you don't know me." She broke with him immediately. What a disrespectful creep! Edited to add: She was barely 18 and not sophisticated. He thought he'd won the lottery, I'm sure!

[@f.miller9522]

So, they first teach them about JS. Not Jesus. Because they dont even go together. If you read your Bible, youd know that. But in their teaching the Bible is the sencond book of importance. Funny, i wonder what God would say about that?

[@Saltyanddone]

Bruh your Bible is just as full of BS and just as fake, Jesus and JS are actually quite similar

[@melvin9888]

My mom was a teen back in the 80’s in Utah. She had a lot of Mormon friends in high school and college (they didn’t go to her school since she went to catholic high school and an unaffiliated college and was a devout Catholic.) She said she liked them cuz they didn’t drink (only real positive she listed) they either gave up on trying to convert her and or just settled for her being catholic. My lense is only though what she has told me about them and she was very optimistic. She’s actually still friends with one of them, some women who has an autistic son , mom said she had a faith crisis in college where she drank at parties a little bit but eventually went back to the church after college. She seemed pretty nice but I don’t remember much about her since I last saw her when I was like 9 (we live in Colorado she lives in Utah) .

[@lynnlynnnnnn]

Please be nice to missionarys though. They are doing what they have been taught and truly believe they are doing the right thing due to being brain washed but please dont forget that they often tend to be just teen age boys

[@chlyri]

and girls who are being pursued to use their "feminine divinity."

[@boboloko]

I grew up as an atheist. I was never encouraged by my parents to proselytize atheism to my friends. My Christian peers felt the need to convert me.

[@rolo8950]

It's like Christianity is already hard enough to believe as a thinking logical person, throw Joseph Smith on that and good Lord it's impossible to not laugh at how ridiculous it is.

[@sunsplash919]

I’ve been to that three hour tour so many times with my friends. I was a magnet for LDS kids 😂

[@vikkiledgard8483]

Jehova's Witnesses do this, too. It's wrong. 😢♥️♥️♥️

[@geaoriana]

when i was doing my exchange i loveeeed the missionaries, they were so kind and nice to me and i appreciate they never pushed me into anything (maybe they thought i was already lds since i would attend church every sunday with my host family). one time i asked one of the elders his name - i did not know the rule about the last names only - and he said im “elder x or you can call me y” i think about this a lot, especially after finding out that they’re not supposed to use their first names

[@caitiecunningham872]

This happened to me!!! I was 15. The missionaries went so far as to call my house looking for me. Luckily, my mom answered the phone and flipped out, and that was the end of that. Thank goodness!!!

[@anieacody7078]

The colab we all knew we needed but never thiught we'd get ❤️