Religion Comes Knocking

[IDrinkaRum]

HAHAHAHA! I have been reading this post and thinking, "Man! There must be no Mormon missionaries in the Northern Virginia area 'cos I haven't had them visit."

Well, tonight we had an Elder come to the door. I chatted with him. It's a rule, I suppose, that both me & my husband have to be around to talk to him/his missionary partner. Daughter is sick tonight, hubs was running late to his D&D game & so I just passed some time with the poor guy. He was pleasant.

However, I'm sure I made a poor impression. My hair is sticking up on end (I have naturally curly hair and today it looks like I put my finger in a light socket) and I'm wearing black sweatpants & a black shirt with white skulls all over it.

He gave me a card with a website & a 1-888 number to request a Book of Mormon. I might order one (it's free) 'cos I like to read as much as possible, I'd like to learn what the Mormons believe (without having to talk to a missionary).

I don't know ... I thought he was nice and I love to talk to people. *shrug*

[Boozy]

He gave me a card with a website & a 1-888 number to request a Book of Mormon. I might order one (it's free) 'cos I like to read as much as possible, I'd like to learn what the Mormons believe (without having to talk to a missionary).

Do. Not. Order. A. Book.

Once they have your name and address, they will never leave you alone again.

If you want to know what Mormons believe, go to your local library or do some Googling.

[IDrinkaRum]

Heh, I can do that too Boozy. Thanks for the suggestion. I completely forgot about the whole "know name, come visit" thing.

Though I would want to add it to my collection of religious books (i.e., books on St. Therese of Lisieux, Our Lady of Lourdes, The Incorruptibles, the books by DC Talk). I could try either the local bookstores or the used bookstores.

[Jadedcarguy]

I could try either the local bookstores or the used bookstores.

Do that.

As Boozy said, once they got your info you're on their radar forever.

[Dorath]

Me an one of my old roommates used to invite them in and make sure they saw the AD&D books. The look on their faces and how quickly they left was priceless.

[IDrinkaRum]

Our D&D books are in our basement. However, in our bookcases in the living/dining room combo in our townhouse, we have a whole shelf of graphic novels (i.e., Grimm Fairy Tales, Red Sonja, Hercules, etc.) and art books (from In the Land of Hummel to Conan to Michael Monte Moore to Nene Thomas to Luis Royo). So yeah, they might just back out slowly.

[lordlundar]

Oh god, I should have some of my first edition stuff by the door just in case. There's some fun stuff in there about Succubi and other daemons, and they even have pictures too!

[Dorath]

We had an early edition of the first edition DMG, with the thief looting the demon statue. Freaks them out every time.

[IDrinkaRum]

What I find amusing (and ironic), but I found out that one of my co-workers at the Gaming Store is a Mormon! And he goes to Gen-Con. And he plays Magic, and other CCG's. And I'm pretty sure he's tried his hand at RPGs.

[Jadedcarguy]

Now that the topic of books has been brought up, I'd like to mention Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian nation. It's short, I finished it in less than two hours, but it remains one of the best books I've read in years. Leave it out when the JW's come knocking.

[radiocerk]

Coffe table books...

I have a set of Hindu statues and a display of Hellraiser figures by the door and Olivia and Vargo artwork books on my coffetable. Needless to say, I don't fear the religion salesmen. And if I ever feel the need to invite them in for a drink, I have Lament Configuration coasters.
We are evil in my house.

[IDrinkaRum]

We have a book that details the 30 years of D&D (it's a few years old) and hubs does like to leave the mod he's running in his Friday night campaign in the middle of the dining room table.

[Colchek]

My experience with JWs was after my wife and I moved into our second apartment when I started a new job. They were doing their rounds to the building, and my wife is a religious person, so naturally they got to talking, and offered to come every Tuesday to do 'bible study'. She asked what they were, they said Baptists. So for nearly 4 months, they came by and did 'bible study'. Each time they'd leave their literature. One look at the back of the 'Watchtower' and saw 'Copyright 1999 Jehovah's Witnesses', I knew I smelled a rat. My wife, however, was still convinced they were Baptists. That is, until the day they asked her to come to church. Which one? 'Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses'.

Survey says.. BZZZZZZ.

They weren't welcome in the apartment after that. They out and out lied to get in, and I no longer trust them. My wife is under explicit instructions to not let /anyone/ into the house. For a while, she was just too trusting of a soul. Not any more.

[Norton]

If you want to get back at JWs who use dishonest or harassing tactics, get them in trouble within their own organization. JWs are not suppose to lie, and they are not supposed to harass people. Guidelines are given on the manner in which they preach, and a lot of the JWs mentioned in this thread are ignoring them.

Find out their names and what Kingdom Hall they go to. Pay the KH a visit, or you can try calling. Report the offenders to the Elders of the congregation. The Elders will in turn privately speak to the offenders, and will probably give a service to the congregation reminding them not to use such tactics as it gives a bad name to the religion.

Sounds mild, right? Let me tell you, though... when the Elders ask to meet with someone in private, it's often very scary and stressful for the individual being reprimanded. Also, when someone does wrong, word gets around the congregation very fast. If a service is given on a certain wrongdoing, all eyes will be on the person that commited the offense. Report the offending JWs, and they will most likely not repeat their mistakes.

[FormerCallingCardRep]

JWs are not aloud to talk to me any more. When I was growintg up we lived next door to their "Minister". I grew up with his children. Everytime they would talk to me about their faith I would tell them about mine. Inagine the reaction when his children left the hall and started going to church with me. I was in their opionion a very bad girl