I’d heard rumors that people were leaving the LDS Church in droves. I really began to believe these rumors when two female missionaries came to my door.
I live in a gated community primarily for senior citizens. Door-to-door salespeople are prohibited from calling on residents without appointments, so the two women came to my door in violation of community rules.
I foolishly welcomed them into my living room. When I pointed out some of the obvious fallacies of the book of Mormon, the missionaries became hostile. One of the missionaries kept yelling, “How dare you!” and the other said I’d insulted a servant of the lord. Then both threatened that I would learn the truth when I died, implying I would be punished in the afterlife.
This experience suggested to me the desperation of the church to get new converts. It also indicated how frightened and defensive missionaries can become when presented with truths, such as that Native Americans are not Jewish.
I’m a senior citizen in poor health. My wife, also a senior, is disabled. We are both well-educated, informed and have our own belief system. We don’t need naive teenagers telling us off because they have tunnel vision and do not respect the beliefs of others.
Ted Ottinger
Taylorsville
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