What makes them think they should do this?

[MargaretR]

Rather than admit to having no religion whatsoever (and so be a prime target for 'conversion') I say 'I'm Pagan' - I have seen hands go to throats ready to get out their crucifixes in defence

[WillowTheWhisp]

I've got a great deal of respect for pagans. More often than not they have respect for the earth and nature rather than abusing it.

[cherokee]

posted by willowthewhisp ....Yes, I agree with Garinda that street meetings are far less intrusive into people's personal lives and maybe with leaflet handouts that give people a contact number if they want to know more - we've done that in the past but I think it tends to be the council that doesn't go a whole hog on the idea.



i dont mean to sound rude willow but if they can respect the councils wishes then why cant they respect the wishes of the everyday person who dont want this type of thing at their door...... i have had so many calling lately that it becomes rather frusterating and repetetive , what will it take to stop it ? a sign at my door saying "please dont bother , im happy with my own religion" im sorry but it shouldnt happen..

[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by cherokee

i dont mean to sound rude willow but if they can respect the councils wishes then why cant they respect the wishes of the everyday person who dont want this type of thing at their door...... i have had so many calling lately that it becomes rather frusterating and repetetive , what will it take to stop it ? a sign at my door saying "please dont bother , im happy with my own religion" im sorry but it shouldnt happen..

The thing is Cherokee that until you tell them that you don't want to know, they don't know that you don't want to know. Some people actually do want to know or at least want to discuss and will happily invite them in for a chat. As I've already said, if you tell our lot that you don't want to know and ask them not to call again then they are supposed to respect your wishes and not call again. I'm not saying it always works and one of the main pitfalls is that the lads change areas. They only serve for 2 years anyway and during that 2 years they don't stay in the same place for long so you get new ones every few months. They are supposed to make notes and pass information on to the next guy etc but where it falls down is if the information gets lost or isn't passed on. Then sometimes you do get the over enthusiastic individual who will think that just because you didn't want to listen to the last guy doesn't mean you don't want to listen to the next guy and that he will seem far more interesting to you than the last guy was. Which is of course a fallacy if it's the total idea of religion that you object to.

Of course that won't stop people of different denominations calling on you because obviously they don't liase with each other. A notice in a window near your door would stop our guys, they are told to respect things like that and I presume the same goes for others too. At one time we did get Jehovah's Witnesses calling here a lot and I didn't mind them coming nor mind having a chat or discussion with them. I've often invited them in if I haven't been busy and we've had some very interesting discussions. In fact one guy left here with a copy of The Book of Mormon because he was curious about some of my beliefs, and I ended up going to their church one week because I was curious about theirs. I think they've given up on me now though because they know they aren't going to convert me so it's just wasting their time. If I'm busy and someone calls and I don't have time to talk to them I just tell them politely and they go away. It has never been a problem.

If there was a law, or even a local little rule that no missionaries should make house calls then ours would of course stop doing so. They are taught to respect local laws and rules. If you really are being pestered by LDS missionaries then do please let me know because that should never happen. Recently they have been trying the 'chat to people in the street' approach too. Lots of people do that - I'm always being given leaflets, flyers, asked if I want a mail order catalogue etc.

Some denominations use other subtle ways of winning kids over and I'm not so keen on those sort of tactics - our missionaries have also been told not to entice teens with stories of fun and games and sports teams they can join etc. It does happen with some other groups though and I agree that that can be extremely annoying as a parent to find your kids being lured into something which you as a parent may not agree with. This is something I personally feel very strongly about. Also where people with leaning difficulties are concerned who may not even understand what they are committing themselves to. Again, this should not happen but unfortunately sometimes it does.

Anyway, like I said they don't know that you don't want to know until you actually tell them and once you've told them they should accept that and leave you alone. It doesn't gain anybody anything if they keep annoying people. If you find our guys doing that (and you'll know they are ours because they'll have their labels prominently visible) then do please let me know, with the name of the lads themselves (which is also on the label) and I shall pass on the information to the relevant person.

[andrewb]

I found some in the park once and explained to them that it was incredibly hard to believe what they were saying when they thought the world was only a few thousand years old.

[ANNE]

I used to have witnesses knocking on my door all the time in Preston. I told them I was a Spiritualist and their first instinct was Daughter of Satan. One day I invited them in and chatted for hours bible in my hand. In the end I think I addled their Brain an d they didn't call again.
When we first moved to Accy it was the Mormons that were regular callers. They were a very insistent bunch.
I listened to what they had to say and even went to the citadel with them one Sunday.
They were interested in what I had to say about my religion but when they realised that they weren't going to make a convert of me they gave up.

[SPUGGIE J]

Well I got a mail from a religious political party today and that is a first. I am used to the idea of door visits or being stopped on the street but this was somewhat of a shock.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by ANNE

When we first moved to Accy it was the Mormons that were regular callers. They were a very insistent bunch.
I listened to what they had to say and even went to the citadel with them one Sunday.

That couldn't have been Mormons. We don't have citadels. We have churches which are sometimes referred to as chapels for Sunday worship and then for other stuff we've got temples but no citadels. The missionaries wouldn't have invited you to the temple on a Sunday cos it's shut on Sundays and anyway the nearest is Chorley. We've only got 2 of those in the whole country. Our nearest chapel is in Blackburn but at times when we haven't all fit in we've had a splinter group in various different rented buildings in Hyndburn (once was the Masonic Lodge in Ossy which was fun with the glitter balls and mirrored walls! ) Salvation Army have citadels but they don't do door to door tracting so I wonder who your mysterious visitors were? Where was it where they took you?

[***Mr D***]

Reading this it reminds me of one time a friend invited some bible people in to our new house, at that time we only had 1 chair.

Anyway they came in sat on the floor we had a debate on religion, they where respectful and polite and left when asked, before they left they insisted on saying a prayer.

They preyed and asked the lord to find us some furniture, and no word of a lie, in the morning in the front garden there was a settee and 2 chairs.

It turned out a frend had dropped them off as he heard we needed some, but still made me think.

They did return once more but when told we are not really into all that they left and never returned.

I agree though they shouldnt really go 'called calling' as there are some vunrable people out there and IMO thats not really fair.

[katex]

Trouble with your 'mormon' lads Willow .. they were always were quite dishy, and hard to shut the door in their handsome faces ... Definitely a sales ploy.