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Anne McD
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| Posted: May 14 2007 at 1:40pm | IP Logged
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Well, that was fun! 
I know I always need to be at the ready to defend my faith, but it never fails-- it all goes flying out the window! As soon as I saw the white shirts, ties, backpacks and name tags I said a quick prayer for inspiration and opened the door. He gave his little intro about his church, how Christ founded it and the apostles followed it and then they died and it went south and what's-his-toes (Smith?) showed up many years later to start a new church, yada yada yada. So I smiled and explained that I was Catholic and yes, I believe that I am a part of that Church that Christ established and has been passed down through the centuries. Hopefully, I went the right way with this one. I asked him if he's ever read the documents of the Fathers of the Church-- explaining that they learned straight from the apostles, and explained that the Catholic Church today believes what they taught. After he gave me a copy of a card with a picture of their temple in DC (anybody else think it looks like the Emerald City?), I gave him my copy of Mike Aquilina's Fathers of the Church and made him promise that he'd read it, which he did.  (Only b/c I promised him that I'd pray to know if the Morman church was the true church, which I did-- no thunderbolts yet, so I think we're safe  )
How do you handle it when "missionaries" come to your door? Do you have literature at the ready in your front hall to trade with them and hope they don't trash it on the way out? What do you say?
Maybe we should have a lovliness of evangelization fair . . .  .
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Anne
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chicken lady
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I let the chickens at them OK people don't come to my door,(could be the 5' Mary statue).... I think you did great!!
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Mary G
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This is funny -- for the first time in a long time I had Jehovah's Witnesses come to my door this morning! Well, before she could go into her long spiel, I explained that we were very active Roman Catholics. Her response: "well, that is interesting; isn't it wonderful that we all share the same God and understanding...."
I had to excuse myself quickly and close the door as what I really wanted to say was "well, we KNOW we have the fullness of the Faith as given us by Jesus"
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MaryG
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Celeste
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I usually smile and say, "We're Catholic and VERY happy with our faith" (which they've probably figured from the St. Joseph statue), and go through the farewell formalities. When I was in college I used to engage, but the "evangelizers" who come to my door don't have a spirit of listening, if you know what I mean.
Some friends of ours entered a long-running dialogue with some young missionaries, and raised serious doubts in their minds--to the point that their leaders forbade them to go back to my friends' home. So you just never know!
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Celeste
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insegnante
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Once some Mormons rang the doorbell when our pastor was over for lunch after blessing our house in the Fall of 2003. The same young men had been by probably two or three times before that and my husband would talk to them (outside) and even lent them our copy of the Catechism. So my husband invited them in and they sat down at the table with the priest and us and we all had a little conversation. The Catechism was returned to us but I don't remember them being back much, if at all, after that!
Theresa
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juststartn
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I want to keep a stash of literature by the front door (something like "Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth" maybe?) but I haven't gotten around to ordering anything...not to mention figuring out where/how to keep it so that the dc don't get into it and lose them all between visits from those organizations (which are sporadic, but seem to come in "spurts").
Honestly, I've come up with "We're very happy Catholics" and a "have a nice day" spiel. I think that the St Benedict's crucifix on the door is keeping them away, sometimes....lol
Rachel
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Paula in MN
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I have had the Jehovah's Witnesses here twice.
The first time I asked them if they had seen the "No Trespassing" sign at the end of the driveway, and they said no, apologized and left.
The second time I (politely) reminded them that there is a very large sign at the end of the driveway, and if they ignore it again I will have to call the Sheriff.
They haven't been back.
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 Paula
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JodieLyn
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We had one.. not even sure who it was now.. Jehovah's Witnesses?
Came up to the door last winter.. now my house obviously has a number of children.. there's 5-7 child sized snow shovels next to the front door .. so they decided on using one of their spiels about being concerned with what our children are learning.. and I was able to smile and say.. why yes, that's why we homeschool and I can choose what to teach them. Totally threw her speech out the window
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Mary G
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My dh answered the door one time and kept the two young men engaged for over an hour! At the end they asked is he wanted the Book of Mormon -- he said he'd be happy to take it if they took one from him .... The Catechism of the Catholic Church! As they were walking away he told them to come round anytime if they had questions!
When he shut the door, he looked at me and said, "you gotta watch me, I give away a lot of great books that way!"
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MaryG
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Maryan
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Well our local little Mormons have come to visit me three times in this past year along... I think they like me. I'm very polite; I tell them I'm very Catholic; and no thank you, I don't want any free books (and I don't give away any either!!)
Although the last time they came dh talked to them a LONG time-- and they haven't been back since!
One time they came at 6:30 pm in winter (very dark here)... and scared me half to death... which makes me wonder if Paula's response isn't more prudent... because as a mama, my first responsibility is to protect my babies.
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Fuzzy
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I just had some mormons knocking (or POUNDING , I should say) on my door for the first time, and I have a peep hole for that very reason. I am home alone, with my 2 children asleep in their beds, and I am not comfortable opening the door to strangers. The Mother Hen in me will protect me and my babies, and I totally agree with Paula and Maryan!
I also know that I am not the best at discussions or "debates" or even just politely telling someone to leave, and a part of me would like to be able to be VERY good (and more knowledgeable) at something like that before I would get there. Celeste and Jenn (and my other sisters) are WAY better. I do feel a little like I did not do my part in evangelizing, but I know that I would not have done it as well as I could have, and, to top it off, I am in pajama pants  .
Ann, your "whats-his-toes" comment had me ! I have never heard that one before!
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Fuzzy
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Angie Mc
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After living in Elko, Nevada (not far from Salt Lake City,) I have many Mormon friends and always consider Mormons who come to my door as friends of my friends. I don't always answer my door, but when I can, I do. I appreciate their situation, devotion, and sweetness. I tell them that I'm very happy to be a practicing Roman Catholic and really try to make my life look attractive. I'm pretty well-versed in Mormonism and tend to listen at first. I answer their leading questions honestly and then question back. By discussing right authority, it usually gets to the point of them admitting, "Yes, either our church is the true church or the Catholic Church is." From there I like to plainly say that I prefer the logic of the Catholic Church. Apostolic succession is so much more objective than needing to have a "warm feeling" after reading the Book of Mormon.
I have a super warm spot in my heart for Mormon families. Before our family reversion, it was the way our Mormon friends lived that helped me to see something beyond the cultural Catholicism that I was raised in. I saw families stiving to live their faith in a way that I honestly had never witnessed Catholics trying to live. I was told by one Mormon family that they didn't care if Mormonism was true or not, what was most important to them was that it helped them to live a good life. At the time, I had an inkling that the truth would need to be the basis for my faithful living . Eventually I found both the Truth and right living right here in the loving embrace of the Catholic Church, thanks in part to my Mormon friends.
Love,
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mom3aut1not
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Anne,
It's funny what you said about the Mormon temple here in Maryland/DC. It actually is called Oz by some people. We did not know this when we first came to Maryland and were puzzled by the "Surrender Dorothy!" written on a nearby (to the temple) overpass.
In Christ,
Deborah
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8kids4me
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They don't usually come to my door, my dh is mormon. Unless they want something. I'm afraid I didn't handle it very well when I was young and uncatechized, I ended up being a very unhappy mormon for a decade or so. I know how the church runs from the inside, and it's all I can do to be civil to them when they do come knocking. 
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Alice R
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I had a Jehovah's Witness ask me to take their literature. (I was working doing homecare and was out on the street walking). Just to get them to leave me alone, I accepted their booklet. Then they had the never to ask me to donate for the cost of the booklet. That made me really furious.  I gave her her "stuff" back and kept walking. 
I don't open the door for anyone. I run upstairs and yell out the window that I'm not interested.
I personally do not like evangelizers of any faith, including my own. I think it's rude to knock on people's doors and tell them how they are living their life wrong. I think there are nicer ways to bring people to your faith. Living a life that bears much fruit is the first place to start.
Alice
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Bridget
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I tell them that my dh's brother is a Mormon bishop and we think he would make a great Catholic and he thinks we would make great Mormons. They always chuckle at that. I don't really talk to them much. I do try to feed them if I have something handy I can send with them. My BIL said most of them are lonely, hungry kids.
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Anne McD
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| Posted: May 14 2007 at 7:21pm | IP Logged
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mom3aut1not wrote:
Anne,
It's funny what you said about the Mormon temple here in Maryland/DC. It actually is called Oz by some people. We did not know this when we first came to Maryland and were puzzled by the "Surrender Dorothy!" written on a nearby (to the temple) overpass.
In Christ,
Deborah |
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So THAT'S what that means!!!! I've seen that, but just thought it was a prank!
Did you ever notice that when you're driving around 495 and it comes into view, it immediately looks huge and impressive, but as you keep driving, it doesn't change in size. Talk about a metaphor-- seemingly grandiose and specatular, but when you get up close, eh, there's nothin' to it!
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Anne
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Anne McD
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| Posted: May 14 2007 at 7:24pm | IP Logged
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Bridget wrote:
| I do try to feed them if I have something handy I can send with them. My BIL said most of them are lonely, hungry kids. |
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That is so sad! My dad is so sweet-- he always tells them that he's Catholic and they're not going to change his mind, but he admires what they are doing and offers them a glass of water. I've handed out water bottles before, but they were all in the car.
BTW, dh was home mowing outside at the time
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Anne
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8kids4me
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Bridget wrote:
| My BIL said most of them are lonely, hungry kids. |
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YES. My son left Notre Dame after his first year to serve a mission. My brilliant book loving son, who always had something to read near him and loved to discuss many topics, was diagnosed with some ADD related depression by a mormon doctor on his mission. It was the only time outside of Christmas or Mother's Day we got to talk to him on the phone. I wanted him to come home and seek real help to see what was really wrong, but dh won out. He finished his mission, went back and finished at ND, but he is still on depression meds, without getting any real help as to the cause. I don't believe he has ADD either, as my other two sons do and I KNOW what it looks like. The biggest difference in his life when he went on his mission? They can only receive snail mail from family, call twice a year, and the only books allowed are church related ones. No wonder he was depressed!!
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Anne McD
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Oh, Cindy, that's so sad-- I'm so sorry for you! Is it any better now?? 
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Anne
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Topic: The Mormons just came a knockin’ . . .
