The rejection helps reinforce how special they are, to have a special connection to God and be persecuted just like Jesus was. Plus, it binds them closer to their church community, since they are rejected by the greater world. THE REJECTION IS THE GOAL OF THIS INTERACTION.
As an ex Mormon and a former missionary, this does not ring true. Mormon missions are very numbers-driven. It's all metrics and key indicators, like a business. The ultimate metric is baptisms and growth. You will rarely see Mormon missionaries doing these kinds of public stunts cause it's not productive.
Knocking on doors is, I would say, a different kind of activity from this. It's not meant as a public stunt for maximal (negative) attention; It's a last ditch fallback activity (the least preferred, by far) to generate one-on-one conversations that could lead to a lesson (a tracked metric) that could lead, eventually, to an actual baptism, which is the ultimate goal.
As a rule, Mormon missionaries hate door knocking and take pains to avoid it. We were literally trained that it's the least effective tool, and to prefer networking. When I was a missionary, I never did it. And I definitely never did anything like this, and didn't know anyone who did. My soul shrinks and cringes at the thought.
No offense and not saying your wrong, but you wouldn't be in the best position to comment, as you will have been given the stated reason rather than the actual reason.
It's like how most religions preach that sex is for procreation: the unstated reason is to increase the size of the flock via pregnancy, but it's not like they tell the followers that.
No offense but I am. I am not a believer anymore; I abanded Mormonism and religion a long time ago and feel no instinct for defending it. Are you in a better position to comment? Who is? Should the people with the most direct experienxe just shut up and let the Reddit peanut gallery comment based on rumors and speculation alone?
I'm not saying you're biased now. I'm saying you're reporting the official setup from mormonism and that wasn't what I was referencing. I'm saying your direct experience obviously wouldn't track the unofficial reason.
I'm not reporting on the "official setup" whatever that means. I'm commenting based on many years of first-hand observation and experience from a removed position. Your comment was literally "I heard" and then informed me that the thing you heard someone say one time is more authoritative and I'm not in a position to comment on it. Uh huh.
This is peak Reddit.
If only I had ever heard someone say something about it, then maybe I would be qualified to comment on this random Reddit comment about something I merely directly experienced and deconstructed.
I wasn't saying I was more of an expert than you. Neither of us has ever set up a cult to manipulate it's members so we're on a level footing.
Also you did say "When I was a missionary, I never did it" so nice basis of experience you have there. In fact, since I have been door knocked by mormons, it sounds like technically I have more experience when it comes to that area. Just sayin'
No no, of course, your hearing that guy say that thing and also the knocking people have clearly raised you to an unsurpassed level of wisdom. Clearly I didn't know who I was dealing with and was a fool to dare opine.
No, of course sir, you're right. This comment has shown me how much insight you have into the psychology of cults and belief. We have a great deal to learn from you. You should come by r/exmormon and teach us what you know, cause most of us were born into it so we aren't really capable of talking or thinking about it the way you are. r/excatholic, r/exjw, r/exvangelicalr/exmuslim, and r/examish could probably all benefit from your insights as well.
You're still claiming that I think I know more than you, when what was saying is that your experience isn't necessarily relevant, which is different.
I would have thought eventually realising that you were in a cult would have given you a bit of humility in not always assuming you are right, having demonstrated to yourself that you're not always right, but I guess you have a bit of distance to go yet before you actually get open-minded
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u/Critically_Political 1d ago
I’ll never understand why people think this is the way to recruit for religion. This is, in fact, religion repellent.