The manipulation pattern

[Paperback Writer]

I still have mine. I didnt bother to look for one when my son left on his mission. It was made in the days of missionaries taking on preachers and congregations of bible literalists. I think those days are gone and perhaps never really were.

Those days were alive and well in New England in the early 1980s. Mixed it up with a minister in every area I served. When was the Missionary Pal made?

[Jeff Lebowski]

I still have mine. I didnt bother to look for one when my son left on his mission. It was made in the days of missionaries taking on preachers and congregations of bible literalists. I think those days are gone and perhaps never really were.

Somebody gave me one and I hauled it all over my mission but never used it once. I laugh when thinking about it. Bible bashing in Japan. Ha!

[LA Ute]

I still have mine. I didnt bother to look for one when my son left on his mission. It was made in the days of missionaries taking on preachers and congregations of bible literalists. I think those days are gone and perhaps never really were.

I never had one. I didn't bash much, except for a couple of times when I ran into Jehovah's witnesses who wanted to mix it up and I was in the mood to fight. I had a couple of lively but pleasant conversations with Adventists, who were always very friendly and respectful. ("I have a lot of respect for Joseph Smith, but he is just plain wrong about the Sabbath Day!")

[NorthwestUteFan]

I never had one. I didn't bash much, except for a couple of times when I ran into Jehovah's witnesses who wanted to mix it up and I was in the mood to fight. I had a couple of lively but pleasant conversations with Adventists, who were always very friendly and respectful. ("I have a lot of respect for Joseph Smith, but he is just plain wrong about the Sabbath Day!")

We always got along swimmingly with JW's, so long as we didn't mention the Jehovah = Jesus theology and the fact that we didn't agree with the 'only 144k will be saved, no matter how many others are worthy' doctrine.

One of my best friends at work is Adventist. He is absolutely wonderful in every respect. We joke that Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists could merge if we could resolve that pesky Sabbath Day conundrum.

[SoCalCoug]

We always got along swimmingly with JW's, so long as we didn't mention the Jehovah = Jesus theology and the fact that we didn't agree with the 'only 144k will be saved, no matter how many others are worthy' doctrine

That's what I don't understand about Jehovah's Witnesses. If they believe only 144,000 will be saved, aren't they decreasing the odds that they're one of them by bringing more people into their church?

If we had something like that, I'd be sending hookers and porn videos to all the members of the priesthood on a regular basis, hoping that some of them would slip up and give me a better chance of making it.

[LA Ute]

One of my best friends at work is Adventist. He is absolutely wonderful in every respect. We joke that Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists could merge if we could resolve that pesky Sabbath Day conundrum.

I have Adventist buddies too. When I sit in their meetings I sometimes feel like I am in one of ours.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Somebody gave me one and I hauled it all over my mission but never used it once. I laugh when thinking about it. Bible bashing in Japan. Ha!

We typically spent around 6 discussions meetings worth of time getting through the first discussion (I spoke Mandarin in the US).

We taught Engrish classes at the church two nights a week. Some classes had up to 20 students. All of the students wanted to learn American English from American-born speakers (usually to get ahead in business). They would welcome us into their homes, but were very resistant to listen to any more than cursory discussions.

One lady in a class (who happened to be a member) really appreciated our classes, our preparation, our dedication, lesson plans, etc (we would purchase our own textbooks and write up our own classes, quizzes, etc). She invited my comp and I to go over and stay in her house in Taipei, and she would set us up to teach English to her business friends and their children. She told us we could expect to earn upwards of $100k/yr from them, and we could take care of her house in exchange for rent.

For some reason (which nobody this side of Andrew Luck would understand) we declined. My comp was returning home to Hawaii and his GF/fiancee in 2 months, and I had only been out for a year.

Looking back I should have jumped at the chance and done that for a few years. I could have done some great things for myself if I had done it and invested wisely in the 90's (as a 20-something student with no other overhead expenses). As it was, I spent most of the remaining term of my mission as an unpaid ESL teacher when similar ESL courses cost thousands of dollars per student.

To stay on topic, we were supposed to folow the 'Commitment (Manipulation) Pattern' to get investigators. Our MP wanted the Chinese missionaries to teach and baptize like the Spanish missionaries. We preferred to maintain a lower profile and stay connected with our people...

[Pheidippides]

Somebody gave me one and I hauled it all over my mission but never used it once. I laugh when thinking about it. Bible bashing in Japan. Ha!

You laugh, but I did it with the JWs. Twice. Friendliest and most cordial bible bash you'll ever see.

[Jeff Lebowski]

You laugh, but I did it with the JWs. Twice. Friendliest and most cordial bible bash you'll ever see.

I met a couple of them but refused to rise to the bait when they tried to bash with us. They seemed quite disappointed.

[myboynoah]

I met a couple of them but refused to rise to the bait when they tried to bash with us. They seemed quite disappointed.

They wanted to try to at least even the score after having been totally humiliated by happyone.

[Pheidippides]

I met a couple of them but refused to rise to the bait when they tried to bash with us. They seemed quite disappointed.

They used to come and visit to train new recruits in one of my areas. The real difference was that we were more direct by virtue of our cultural upbringing. But I daresay it was always cordial.

[Spicy McHaggis]

A missionary in my mission, rebellious kid out maybe six months. Living in an apartment with the AP's. One AP was a complete a-hole and constantly in this guy's face over every rule. The elder wasn't doing something right like waking up on time or something, I forget. The AP says will you commit to wake up on time from now on. The elder says "will you commit to suck my d***?" That kid became the mission hero.

Win.

[Shaka]

My mission president was Afrikaansers, this was 1992, and being militant was a way of life for him.

Did you serve in Coventry/Birmingham?

[Goatnapper'96]

Did you serve in Coventry/Birmingham?

Yup. Chappy was my first MP for about 9 months. His best friend from Durbain, name currently forgotten, ended up being the MP in Pocatello, ID after I got out of the service and moved to SE Idaho. We also hired a kid who grew up in Durbain to be our marketing director.

So did the militant part give Chappy away? Truly, the man was charitable within the context of his own cultural constructs. I loved the guy. Fearless and tireless worker. I respected him more than most high ranking military officers I ever met. He had a command presence like very few people I have ever met. But he also walked according to the beat of his own drummer, might have been why he appealed so much to me.

[BlueHair]

One particular manipulation that I fell victim to which resulted in me working my ass of every day of missions was a talk that was given in the MTC. We were told that if were lazy and not working and missed someone that would have accepted the gospel had we been working, we would be held accountable at judgement. This is silly because the church teaches that everyone will have an opportunity to hear the gospel. Why would it matter if it was today or after this life?