Romney on his work as a Mormon missionary: “We didn’t convert one person”

Reuters.com ^ | Dec. 21, 2011

[Colofornian]

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Tuesday, where co-host Joe Scarborough asked him about his experience as a Mormon missionary in France in the 1960s. “Talk about your rejections as a missionary knocking on door, after door, after door in a hostile environment,” Scarborough asked.

Romney recalled five months he spent in one French city, where he said near-constant brush-offs built his resilience:

“We knocked on doors from morning until quite late in the evening,” he said. “We didn’t convert one person in five months. So, you understand the rejection, you know that’s a pretty high level of rejection and you get used to it. You say, ‘okay, what do I believe, what’s important to me,’ and you don’t measure yourself and your success by how other people react, but instead by how you’re doing and how you feel about the things you care about.”

Watch the clip...(Romney speaks about his experience as a missionary starting at the 2:00 mark):

[Tennessee Nana]

I started with the modified "rainbows", complete with Mr Brown.

________________________________________

Oh you explained a bit later on...

OK so for the first discussion given on Mormonism to new proselytes.....

Please explain a bit further...

1. There is a God (and his nature)

What was "his nature" ???

2. the role of Christ in the plan (the atonement and resurrection)

Which is what ???

3. the role of prophets in God's plan (God's spokesperson, including modern-day prophets)

and the need for these is ?????

4. Joseph Smith was one of these prophets

And this is known for sure how ???

5. the Book of Mormon and it's role in God's plan (second witness of Christ)

And this is mentioned in the Bible where ???

6. the role of the Holy Ghost in God's plan (He testifies of truth, including the truth of the BoM)

And the LORD Jesus Christ told His disciples about this where in the Bible ???

[Tennessee Nana]

(The discussions on Mormonism to new proselytes)

The second went into further details on Christ's role.

________________________________________

1. Why there was a need for a Savior

Yes why was there ???

2. and how He filled that role

Yes how did He ???

3. Faith

How was this defined ???

4. repentance

How was this defined ???

5. baptism

How was this defined ???

6. gift of the Holy Ghost

What was this explained as ???

7. a challenge to accept Christ through baptism

For what reason was baptism required ???

[Tennessee Nana]

(The discussions on Mormonism to new proselytes)

________________________________________

the third was on the restoration of the Gospel though Joseph Smith,

Why, where did the Gospel go that it needed to be "restored" ???

the fourth was on the plan of salvation

Which was explained as what ???

and eternal progression

Where is this mentioned in the Bible ???

the fifth was on the commandments (including the "word of wisdom")

And these include what ???

the LDS's church's role in bringing us to Christ

Which is what and how ???

Things like temple work were discussed here

What was this explained as ???

Things like missionary work were discussed here

What was this explained as ???

[Tennessee Nana]

(The discussions on Mormonism to new proselytes)

We also often included instructions on how to pray (address God, "we thank thee", "we ask thee", "in the name of Jesus Christ, amen").

________________________________________

When did Mormons start speaking like 19th Century Quakers ??? and why did the proselytes need instructions on how to talk to God ??? Why were they not just directed to the passage in the Bible on prayer if it was needful ???

[Elsie]

bttt

[Tennessee Nana]

(The discussions on Mormonism to new proselytes)

we were going door to door nearly begging people to listen to us.
________________________________________

Tadpole

I never in all my 63 years ever had to “beg” someone to listen to me about God ...

I dont know any Christian who ever did...

There are many more people in need of God out there than there are available preachers...

If you have to beg people to listen ...

Maybe your product is faulty...

When you decide to tell peopler about the REAL LORD Jesus Christ

you will find that people will WANT to know about Him...

It will be as easy as taking a drink of water...

Preaching the Gospel is not suppose to be HARD WORK...

Its a Joy and a privilege to speak the oracles of God...

You come home refreshed and feel like a million bucks..

The listeners get blessed and you get blessed..

Remember the LORD Jesus Christ said IT IS FINISHED

The work part had all been done for us...

The Holy Spirit does the cold calls and canvassing of a neighborhood..

We just go to already fertile and cultivated hearts and bring the LORD Jesus Christ with us..

Thats the difference between bringing what the people need

and bringing something they cant use..

(Nana shakes head and sighs big for poor Tadpole)

[Tennessee Nana]

(The discussions on Mormonism to new proselytes)

BTW

Thank you Tadpole for telling me the sort of things included in those “discussions” on Mormonism...

My request was a sincere one and you were graceous in your account..

In the days that the Mormons use to come once and twice a month to my door...

I dont recall them ever getting into “discussions” with me..

They were either more interested in my many known and proven ancestors..

or wanting me to be their slave in the hereafter in loo of the JWs who also claimed me..

(That competition was fierce and insane)

And I will admit

When I couldnt get rid of them

I did tend to minister the REAL Gospel to them

and tell them what was wrong about Mormonism...

to which they usually listened politely

knowing all the while that I knew as it turned out usually MORE than they did...

I even had ward and stake presidents visiting me...

Now was it becuse I was a “worthy” challenge

Me and my nice house and prosperity)

that they keep beating a path to my particular Bible believing Christian door...

or was it because the Holy Spirit was reaching out to their lost souls ???

Anyhoo

I wonder how many of them are still lost in Mormonism ???

[dragonblustar]

Where do I complain about them knocking at the door after 8 pm at night? I have babies in bed at seven and it ticks me off to have people banging on the door so late at night.

[Colofornian]

To a non-Christian you are splitting hairs. “Proclaiming the good news,” to them, is by definition proselytizing for the Christian religion.

So? (I don't define my beliefs thru the filter of what non-Christians understand or don't understand)

As for the rest of what you said, I stand by my last post.

[Elsie]

knowing all the while that I knew as it turned out usually MORE than they did...

WHAT!!??

Just HOW is that even POSSIBLE?

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Professor Robert Millet        teaching at the Mission Prep Club in 2004  http://newsnet.byu.edu/video/18773/  <-- Complete and uneditted

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Timeline...    Subject...

 

0:59           "Anti-Mormons..."

1:16           "ATTACK the faith you have..."

2:02           "We really aren't obligated to answer everyone's questions..."

3:57           "You already know MORE about God and Christ and the plan of salvation than any who would ATTACK you."

[Elsie]

Where do I complain about them knocking at the door after 8 pm at night?

Complaining is SO Mormonesque! DO something instead!

---

We've ALL got a couple of perfectly good TVs sitting around that will only pick up aliens attempting to contact Earth, because the Signals they picked up YEARS ago were analyzed to give THEM the idea how to contact us!

(Quit rambling - this is subject for another thread.)

Anyway, if ya got a small one that won't take up to much space, take the housing off and get to the High Voltage lead that goes to the side of the picture tube:

You'll find that this wire contains a LOT of what is known in the Prank World as: Unwanted Visitor Repulsion Energy, or UVRE.

Merely connect another wire from this junction in the old TV to your metal screen door.

Usually just one knock is sufficient to deliver a quantity of UVRE to any UV that a second knock is not necessary.

[Elsie]

Here is a soon to be missionary that we can all begin to pray that a Christian will deliver the TRUTH sometime in his 2 year mission.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/faith/53155306-81/archuleta-mission-2010-feeling.html.csp

[Elsie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=iv&src_vid=5_VARtvgGBY&annotation_id=annotation_300144&v=G6F0cg6rMnM

[Elsie]

[T. P. Pole]

Please explain a bit further...

LOL, sorry, I don't think it is practical to attempt this here. Each of these questions would spawn a thread's-worth of comment and we would quickly be overwhelmed with an inability to hold a reasonable, consecutive conversation. You are asking me to spell out in detail all of the doctrines of our church. It just can't fit on one thread.

I hope you know me well enough by now to know that I am not shy about sharing our doctrine. I will answer sincere questions (when I see them and have time) and will also challenge misleading or incorrect statements (again, when I see them and have time). You may also have even seen me correct minor errors in the statements of those who oppose my faith (like the "every-other-year for temple recommend interviews), and therefore improving "the enemy's" position.

So please trust me when I say I am not dodging the question. It is just too big for this forum.

Having said all that, I'll take #1 - God's nature. Mormons teach that Heavenly Father and Jesus are separate entities (as is the Holy Spirit/Ghost). Heavenly Father has a "perfect" physical body (we consider the body Jesus had after the resurrection to be this same "perfect"). He is the Father of our spirits, and we had a relationship with him in a "pre-earth" life (I knew thee before I formed thee in the belly). The key point (and in many ways, the key to our disagreements) is that God is not a trinity but three separate individuals. The first "truth" restored through Joseph Smith was the nature of God (during the first vision).

Yes, I know, many different versions of the first vision. And I stuck "truth" in quotes because we disagree on it being truth. And I am sure many other points of disagreement or clarification needed.