Mormon Church Expands Hispanic Outreach- Their Fastest Growing Group of Converts (OPEN)

Hispanically Speaking News ^ | December 12, 2010

[greyfoxx39]

Mormon Church Expands Hispanic Outreach- Their Fastest Growing Group of Converts

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over fifty thousand full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2009.

Commonly referred to as Mormon missionaries, most LDS Church missionaries are single young men and women in their late teens and early twenties and are assigned to a mission of the church, which is usually far from the missionary’s home. Missionaries do not receive a salary for the work they undertake, and themselves or their families financially support most. Throughout the history of the church, over one million missionaries have been sent on missions.

Nationwide, less than 1 percent of Hispanics are Mormon, compared to almost 70 percent Catholic, according to the Pew Research Center. Worldwide, Hispanics make up the fastest growing contingent of Mormon converts, church leaders said.

In Virginia recently a group of new Mormon missionaries arrived. In homes, speaking Spanish, the Mormons kept their message simple and repeated their invite to their Church, which includes a service translated into Spanish and carried through headphones.

“We go a lot off trial-and-error,” Mormon Elder Carter Campbell, 20, said of the language challenge. Like other elders and sisters, as the missionaries are known, Campbell learned Spanish in six weeks. “It’s hard to persuade in Spanish,” he said. “How to get to the hearts of the people?”

During lessons in homes, missionaries try to help individuals grow, not change, they said. In the case of speaking to Catholic Hispanics, the goal is reaching common ground.

The Mormon Church first deployed Spanish-speaking missionaries in the over 20 years ago, it is only this year that they plan to expand their outreach to Hispanics and further increase their fastest growing population.

[greyfoxx39]

You don't annoy me at all...I'm happy to take the opportunity to answer your spam posts.

Those of us who have left mormonism behind did so because of having "an honest look."

[SZonian]

"Take the blinders off and have an honest look. You can find the truth too!"

Good advice PD, other mormons should follow it.

That's exactly what I did, and thanks be to God I am free of mormonism.

[Tennessee Nana]

ROFLMBO

[SZonian]

So here they're saying - “It’s hard to persuade in Spanish,” he said.

Yet here they say - "During lessons in homes, missionaries try to help individuals grow, not change, they said."

So they want to "persuade" them yet "not change" them?

"Persuade" them to do what? Well, "change" religions of course.

[ZULU]

ANTON!!!!

You’re looking GREAT!!!

They must be treating you well down there!!

[ZULU]

Are you a Mormon?

UHHHHH - NO!

I am your typical, general, sort of fundamental type American Protestant. I believe the Bible is the ultimate authority in matters of religion and faith and accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Saviour.

One poster liked the Mormons to Muslims. Antoher one made a comment about my comment, inferring I was supporting Satanists.

GIVE IT A BREAK!

Mormons don’t support Sharia Law, they don’t stone people, they don’t cut off peoples’ heads and they are patriotic Americans. They support a strong faamily structure.

They may abstain from alcohol, but they will eat pork, dance, appreciate attractive women and like music and dancing. As to the alcohol, that’s fine - it leaves more for me to drink.

I simply can’t understand the animus some of my fellow Protestant Christians have towards Mormons. I don’t have an axe to grind with Jews, Catholic Christians, Orthodox Christians, Hindus or Buddhists or Zoroastrians or Sikhs either. They have their beliefs, I have mine and we respect each other. Why do the Mormons get a rougher time than the others?

[aMorePerfectUnion]

¡CORRA! !!! ¡Mormonismo es un culto!!!

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Dear Mormons who may be reading this thread
and are embarrassed by the links posted
endlessly by self-styled “defender mormons”,

If you peruse the Free Republic religion forums
you will notice a pattern. There’s a group of
Christians who spend a great deal of time posting
from Official Mormon Sources - both the Book of
Mormon as well as Mormon Prophets and Church
materials - real quotes of real mormon materials.

You will also notice that many of these Christians
are former Mormons who have left Mormonism and
come to know the real Jesus Christ and His Gospel
of Grace.

They have a passion to reach other Mormons to
share what they learned about Salvation by grace
and apart from human works.

Of course, they are attacked regularly by a very,
very small group of Mormons who have zeal, but no
knowledge beyond what the Mormon Church has told
them. They also continually fail to identify any:

… Facts
… Evidence
… Logical support

ANYTHING OBJECTIVE that ANY - > reasonable <- person
could agree would support their Mormon claims.

They do endlessly post links that “address” things
without answering them. These are simply a broken
promise that is never fulfilled.

Consistently, these “defender” Mormons are forced
to face that their mormonism is based on little more
than subjective feelings that cannot be objectively
verified.

People deserve more than subjective feelings and useless
links to non-answers.

After reading both sides on this thread and others,
you may very well be wondering about what you were
taught when you joined the LDS church. You also may
be wondering how to resolve the lack of facts,
evidence and illogical nature of Mormon claims.

Many have approached those of us who are Christians
asking where to find out more and some, even, to ask
how to leave the Church and learn more about Christ’s
Gospel of Grace.

Here are a few links to get you started in your
quest to know the Biblical Christ.

http://www.irr.org/mit/default.html
http://www.exmormonsforjesus.org/
http://4mormon.org/ex-mormon.php
http://www.exmormon.org/
http://www.mormoncurtain.com/

You should also feel comfortable private FReep-mailing
any Christians on this thread to ask questions about
the concerns you have. We always do our best to directly
answer your questions with facts, evidence and logical
support from the Bible.

best,
ampu

[MHGinTN]

You do not understand because you want to perceive the animus as directed to ward the people, whne in reality it is directed toward the ISM, which is anti-thetical to Christianity even as the LDS use His name in their title. I wonder, if you understood more of the heresies at the foundation of MormonISM, would you still want folks to support them as they lead souls to their heresies and away from the Jesus of The Bible? ... A luke warm professor would answer in the affirmative since Salvation in Jesus is a ‘whatever’ proposition.

[svcw]

Wow. So whatever path is ok with you, swell.

[Tennessee Nana]

Mormons don’t support Sharia Law,

Mormons have their own Sharia law and practiced it in Utah during the 1800s..Laws against women are still in place..

they don’t stone people,

But they do shoot them..

they don’t cut off peoples’ heads

Circleville Massacre

and they are patriotic Americans.

They are the only in-country group who declared war AGAINST America...

They support a strong faamily structure.

Not according to their doctrines...Separate planets...shunning...lost boys..

They may abstain from alcohol,

Their early leaders and members drank alcohol...Joey Smith had a bart...Briggy Young had a brewery anbd a monoply on alcohol production...

they will dance,

Their origional dances were held so that Briggy Young and his fellow adulterous leechers could meet new victims...other “wives” did not attend...

appreciate attractive women

and more “wives” and what are married men doing “appreciating attractive women” Jesus said that that was a sin...(Oh thats right Jesus was talking to Christians)

like music and dancing.

The early mormons were obsessed with secular entertainment...

[svcw]

Please stop posting links to unofficial lds sites (two are official). The others all say they are not affiliated with lds.

[ZULU]

Well, I know about their past history but was some time ago.

Their beliefs are odd to us, but they are not Muslims. I view Islam as the greatest threat to America and Christianity today.

I have read the Book fo Mormon and it is WEIRD. What it presents as “history” is utterly devoid of arcaheological and anthropological facts, and such facts DO substantiate Christianity and Judaism.

I guess I just don’t view them as a personal threat to me.

But then I don’t live in Utah.

[Tennessee Nana]

I know about their past history but was some time ago.
__________________________________________________

Not that long...

Blood atonement oaths were only taken out of the mormon temple rituals recently...

[SZonian]

"I guess I just don’t view them as a personal threat to me."

Physically, no, they're not considered a threat. Spiritually, yes, they're considered a threat.

For those who know and follow the words of Christ and His apostles contained in the Bible, mormons don't present much of a challenge.

However, for those who don't, well, let me just say from personal experience, that there are those who can be led down a path that doesn't lead to salvation.

What I find peculiar is that there are a few who strenously object to a handful of posters commenting on the fallacies of mormonism. Calling it "hate", "bashing" and quite a few other colorful terms.

Yet few, if any of those same folks, appear to have the same level of objection to 50k+ mormon missionaries going out door to door and telling Christians they're wrong.

JMO, YMMV

[SaraJohnson]

Don’t put words in my mouth. Whatever path is not what I want. Jesus will sort it, out is my point. It is not up to you and me. I’m pretty inflexible with me.

[Salvation]

Prayers that these Hispanics will not be swayed so easily and cling to the truth of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Christ.

[svcw]

Sorry but this statement by you sounds to me just what I said: I figure Jesus is who He is whether we - in each of our Christian religions and worldly opinions and influences - understand Him in all his ways and nature or not.

[Tennessee Nana]

Whatever path is not what I want. Jesus will sort it, out is my point.
____________________________________________

He already did...

Jesus Himself is the ONLY path...

Jesus said to SaraJohnson, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man or woman comes to the Father, except by Me.” The LORD Jesus Christ5, John 14:6

[Tennessee Nana]

Whatever path is not what I want. Jesus will sort it, out is my point.
____________________________________________

He already did...

Jesus Himself is the ONLY path...

Jesus said to SaraJohnson, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man or woman comes to the Father, except by Me.” The LORD Jesus Christ, John 14:6