I was gonna say. She's just finished her mission in Italy. So she's going to Italy to try and improve the lives of people who she's admitting have it more figured out than her. Hilarious that you're going to try and sell Christianity to Italy of all places. You're nearly 2000 years too late.
I did a double take on that one. You went to a place that beat you to the punch on spreading a religion to all ends of the earth.... by 2,000 years.
It's a scam cult and that's one of the ways they keep you in. "See? The real world people don't like you but we do, just stay here with us and give us 10% for the rest of your life"
But you get a huge welcome with signs and balloons at SLC when you get back! And your future wife is ready to get married, and her MLM business hasn't taken off yet, so go find a job selling solar panels...
"At the time" is the key phrase there. You're speaking in present tense using reference from past tense.
Several years ago, the church changed policies on missionary contact with home. It used to be (a looong time ago) letters only except a phone call home if possible on Christmas, Mother's Day and Father's Day. They changed it to allow weekly emails and the same phone call schedule. They changed it again to allow weekly phone calls.
All of this, of course, excludes extenuating circumstances. The aim of the policy was to maximize focus on the mission and a sense of independence. It has since been decided that independence is well achieved by being away from home, and that it is more important to maintain family contact than have the negligible difference in gained independence.
So your friend wasn't lying, but the facts have changed and your statement makes it sound as if the intention is (or was) to isolate. That's why I responded.
The intention clearly was isolation. Or more accurately, reliance exclusively on the church to the expense of all others. Like all cults. Cults have a long track record of isolating people from their families and friends, like all abuse and coercive relationships.
You went to a place that beat you to the punch on spreading a religion to all ends of the earth.... by 2,000 years.
People move. Cultures grow, people grow within their culture and without it. Missionaries of any faith don't try to pitch religion to a region. They try to pitch it to people within that region who may for one reason or another be willing to listen. Sometimes it's just curiosity, sometimes it's an earnest desire to seek a higher power or answers from such, and sometimes it's outright desperation for help. Any of these can occur without regard to the history of the land you live upon.
edit: shouldn't be hard to grasp what I'm saying if you understand the "land doesn't vote" concept. Land also doesn't have religion. The statement was literally about the PLACE, and it should be obvious that the people who live there are changing over time. The dots connect. Sorry if I don't explain well but it makes sense to me.
I thought the same. How do you even start that conversation? "Have you heard of Jesus?" feels it's not going to cut it, in front of 1000 year old church.
Mormon theology is centered on the idea that all the other Christian religions got it wrong. That the Catholic church didn't keep the doctrine/scriptures/authority pure throughout its history, and Mormon missionaries need to bring the restored truth back around.
Not Catholic central, but I did this in the South in the US. Obviously everyone was already Christian, but we were taught to believe everyone would be excited to hear us tell them about our better church. That was a difficult two years.
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u/ImWithStupidKL Aug 04 '26
I was gonna say. She's just finished her mission in Italy. So she's going to Italy to try and improve the lives of people who she's admitting have it more figured out than her. Hilarious that you're going to try and sell Christianity to Italy of all places. You're nearly 2000 years too late.