It used to be several years between times when I would see missionaries in my neighborhood. I live in Phoenix Arizona. For the past few years, I've been seeing them around everywhere, sometimes every week or a few times in the same week in diffrent parts of town. It didn't used to be that way. I understand the surge of new missionaries with the age changes. But this still seems to go beyond that.

I have a theory. The church has been on the defense and loosing a lot of members for the past decade. The internet has really punched holes in their ability to control people, and has revealed to everyone what the church is really all about, mostly money and prejudice.

If you compare the church to the human body, they're wounded in multiple places world-wide. But all of the resources need to be applied to protect the vital organs first (Arizona, Utah, and Utah). What better way to counter bad PR than to send in thousands of extra representatives to work with the members? That's how they get access to non-members in high-LDS areas anyway. I don't think that missionaries tract in these areas anyway. So they spend most of their time working with the members, countering all of the bad PR.

Does anyone know if this is what's really going on? Is the percentage of missionaries going overseas shrinking? All I know for sure is that I'm seeing too many of them everywhere I go the past few years. Does anyone know the reason for such a dramatic increase?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2015 11:54PM by azsteve.

How funny, I never see any in my neighborhood any more.

Are they allowed to take McDonald's gift cards or anything? I feel sorry for them sometimes, if it's raining, or too hot out...

I would tell them their delicate ears wouldn't be able to handle my opinion of their mothership, but they could go get a smoothie or burger...

After a few years break from this, the neighbors just put up two missionaries in their house this week. Lovely, because this is how they roll here whenever this happens. They all drive to their house (a whole pack of them) and all leave their cars in front of all our houses ALL DAY LONG and pile into a couple of cars and leave for the day. This again hey? What a pain in the ass.

Hear that spies? ... you're mishies are even more of a pain in the ass to people than even just knocking on our doors! Of course they don't leave any cars in front of the host's house. Just all his neighbors ... here, go plug up the heathen's spots, who cares about them. It'll be this way for awhile now I guess. They'd taken a break for awhile, but he must have taken a new calling or however that works.

At some point they'll tract the street. But they purposely won't come to my house, it's just another one of the ways they shun me.

Sure, don't come to Satan's house. :(

I don't like to divulge my exact location, but I'm not overseas.

I'm sad they won't come see me. I've got so much to give!

Hey TNM,

How about getting some of those huge storage PODS and plant them in front of the neighbor/host's house (since there wasn't room in front of your house...) No, that would escalate to WWIII.

What would you tell the eager youngsters? =)

Ya, like WW ... TEN.

Oh, I'd dream of telling them everything I've learned here on RfM of course.

But in all reality, I won't engage them. The last ten years have taught me alot about what happen's when you engage, versus what happens when you don't engage. I've gotten the best results from never engaging them, after trying various other methods over the years that just caused more problems (not bad things, just confronting them about stuff.)

But in my fantasy, I'd tell them about Joe and the underage stuff. I'd talk about the 'translation' of the book of the dead. I'd talk about DNA and the American Indians. Then, I'd tell them about all the damage that has happened to real live families like they belong too, and marriages, and

oh wait, they're running away.

If the parking gets bad, I just wait till they're watching and fire up my lawn mower and go back and for right next to their car stirring up a big dust cloud by my pine tree, crunching and spitting pine cones. They usually don't want to park their car there after they see that. That's about how that will go.

But I dream of much greater things that I know I won't do so as to not be engaging them. Because then they've caused me to do something ... and that's them controlling me now.

I'll just mow the lawn. Back and forth and back and forth and. .. :)

But I like your idea of some big industrial containers. I have a big van I could park in front of their house. But you see, when I do that, they go AHA ... we've got to him. Then they make SURE to park there everyday. So see? Don't engage. Just mow the lawn. (What, I'm just mowing my lawn, aw, is this your car?)

Hahahahaha, hilarious! Pine cones flying around like a helicopter landing...! What? What??? I CAN'T HEAR YOU! THE MOWER!!!

=) Thanks for the laugh...

I live in Utah, and I've noticed more missionaries in my area during the past few years as well. This was always strange to me, because pretty much everyone around here is already TBM or unwilling to convert. I think you're definitely right about the missionaries spending much more time with the members than tracting. The closest they ever get to tracting is "going around the neighborhood saying hi to people," which is actually what they were doing earlier today.

Strange how they still keep cramming more missionaries into the same high-LDS areas, even with the surge of new missionaries. I wouldn't be surprised if they were losing their footing overseas, and now they're shifting gears to protect their stronghold while they still can.

Same here. The ward here has their own set of missionaries now, so I see them almost every day...the ward is only a few blocks. Not sure what they're doing since there haven't been any convert baptisms here EVER.

The church claimed that most of the new missionaries went stateside because those were the missions that could quickly accommodate the surge. So, saturated markets get 50% more missionaries while areas that are still baptizing lots stay flat? Makes no sense...until you look at it as a money-grubbing corporation. They don't want converts in S. America and Africa that will never pay a dime in tithing. They want families that will pay $1,000/mo. Unfortunately for them, they're not attracting anyone like that...all they can do is try to keep families like that from leaving. They're not doing a very good job.

Lds missionaries were a rare sight in the uk until a couple of years ago. Then suddenly I was seeing them regularly. Now I haven't seen any for months.

I can see why the church might decide that too much exposure to Brits might not be for the best. bwahahahaha!

I was in the Utah, SaltLake City North mission in the early 80's. The geographic area was all of Utah north of 45th South in Salt Lake City, covering also a very small part of Wyoming. We had roughly 200 missionaries covering that area then. I wonder how many missiinaries cover that same area now. Tracting was against the rules there. We worked strictly through the members for referrals of people to teach and baptise. Most of our converts were eight year old kids.

When I was a kid, I was always told that the SLC missions were the highest baptizing missions in the church. Not sure if this was even true, but it was cited as proof that the church is true...non-members in Utah couldn't help but be drawn to the church.

I've been in Utah now for over 15 years and I've seen two convert baptisms. One was at BYU and the other was a young woman that was baptized for her TBM spouse and never came back to church. In the last 10 years, I've only seen the missionaries get one investigator to church...they never came back. I've been in several wards over the years, but I've never met any long-time members that joined the church in Utah. I'm glad it's that way...Utah is becoming less Mormony every day...

I think a lot of the surge missionaries were placed in the Morridor. The church simply didn't know where to put them all.

They are all over the Moridor. I see them every single day wandering around. Now I see lots of sister missionaries too, I never used to see the sisters.

I don't think they have anything to do. TSCC passed the point of diminishing returns a long time ago.

I haven't seen missionaries on my street since 2008.

It would make sense to put them in the Morridor. Hundreds of thousands of spying eyes to keep them on the straight and narrow.

and they were EVERYWHERE I went and knocked on our door 3 times. Haven't seen ANY in over a year.

My friend's missionary son was allowed to run in a marathon. His companion couldn't keep up. The requirement was he had to wear a shirt that stated: ASK ME WHAT I BELIEVE. Some people asked, of course.

Has anyone else heard of using missionaries as ads?

Here in Silicon Valley we see them on bikes every couple of months or so. Once we saw them in a grocery store. I never speak to them. I'm afraid of what I might blurt out. Better to leave the teenagers in their protective cocoon.

I don't know, but I'll say this.

I haven't seen missionaries in my neighborhood in 12 years -- since they last tracked me down and I found myself forced to resign to make them stop tracking me down.

Imagine my shock when I was returning from an errand yesterday afternoon, and I turned on to my street and had to slam on the brakes to avoid running down a couple of mormon missionaries who were walking right down the middle of the street. It's not a busy street and my street doesn't have sidewalks (it's that minor), but still. Walking Right. Down. The. Middle. In the path of a car driven by a bitter exmo which they did not know.

They gave me a hearty, friendly wave and I smiled and waved back.

That was my mishie sighting for the decade.

Had 2 missionaries (with an older man) show up to my house (Mesa) about 2 months ago looking for my nevermo daughter. Just said no she doesn't live here.

Asked my TBM neighbor why they would come to my house. He is the guy in charge of helping find things for them to do. He acted shocked and had no idea why they came to my house. He actually insinuated that I was lying about their visit. He asked me if I was sure it was missionaries. SOB! I know what a missionary is.

He is the one who is lying saying he didn't have any idea why they came to my house.

a murder of crows; a puddle of tadpoles; a pod of whales; a spittoon of bulldogs; a quail of Coveys; a baptism of missionaries...

Just before I moved from Apple Valley, I came across a baptism of elders in line at Costco's $1.50 hotdog line. I was walking out with a basket of essentials...

I looked at them and then stopped with a look of amazement and yelled at them: "Oh man, are you guys in that book of mormon play? Where are the Black actors?"

Silence; glares. One elder did laugh, but quickly stifled it. My entourage and security people thought it was funny...

Thought I’d update my story about the ‘two’ mushbrains that came to stay at my Mormon neighbors, along with their usual inherent parking fiasco.

Well, I was wrong. This is something brand new entirely. It seems the couple have vacated their house (?), and there are now 11 cars supporting (at my best count) 15 boys who are now living in the house. One of them is currently parked half way across my driveway at the moment (since yesterday afternoon.) I guess this house just became a mushbrain ‘apartment.’

Where the hell are any of us residents supposed to park now?

The LDS church are such fuckers, I’ll tell ya.

Talk about having ‘too many missionaries in your neighborhood!' I'm going to have them standing around right in my yard every day now. :(

They are from outer space, they are posing as missionaries. They have eaten your neighbors and it is their unfamiliarity with earth customs that explains the poor parking job...

Check your local community's laws about how many unrelated people can live together in a home. In my college town, it was three.

Yes, that’s an idea. I’ll check online, even just for my own knowledge. I also know that it’s an infraction to park closer than a meter back from someone’s driveway too.

However, here’s the problem that presents when dealing with unscrupulous people who feel they are superior, entitled, and on the side of god. Any past attempts to set barriers with them, even one’s I had a perfect right to set, has (in the past) led to underhanded retaliation that has amounted to property damage, vandalism, and other acts of revenge by them.

It really has turned into an extortion of sorts, mess with us and you will pay with property and stress. Fifteen headstrong boys with no regard for others and on a mission from god? I’m not in any hurry to incur their wrath. The 'host' guy would encourage them, I know it from his past behavior. I’ve been having a lot of success the past few years with my approach of not engaging and not reacting to the barriers these neighbors cross, because they’ll never learn anyway it seems.

Thanks for hearing my cry of anguish summer.

Thanks for the comment too elder olddog. Yes, humor is the best medicine. Sometimes, all you can do is roll your eyes and shrug it off with a laugh.

I just needed to, you know, express my self with some foul language. This too shall pass.

Thanks for being here to smile back as I pulled my hair out! What would we do without RfM?

Seriously? Do you not have police in your town? Can they not write parking tickets? The mission office hates having to pay tickets.

I gather from previous posts that you prefer to avoid confrontation or conflict with these people. Now the Mormons think of you as a doormat. They are convinced they can wipe their feet on you without repercussions.

At least pull out your phone or a camera or whatever, and take pics of the car blocking your driveway, along with a photo of the car's license plate. Send those pics to the mission president with an implied threat that you will go to the police if you have to.

And what about your other neighbors? 11 cars and 15 people in one house may violate some local ordinances. If you band together, you might be able to put a stop to this nonsense.

At some point you have to stick up for yourself, or it's only going to get worse. FWIW.

Yes, I hear you Moridor. That’s how I played all my life anywhere else I’ve lived. But these neighbors are a strange animal. Honestly, after ten years of living here, it was when I stopped sticking up for myself that things got better. No damage or vandalism or stress any more (at least not as bad stress.)

As far as others on the street; if it bothers them, I’ll let them make their own complaints. We have no credibility on this street, not after the Mormons spent years letting air out of their own tires and walking around with empty gas cans framing us as the neighborhood criminal element. We have no pull here and just live our own private life. I’m sure if I reached out to a neighbor here with my concerns, they’d be happy I was inconvenienced. The only other people this will bother is the Chinese people who are fresh immigrants and aren’t going to be making any complaints to ‘authorities’, and our new neighbor on one side who is a single mother and lays really low her own self too.

The Mormon mofia wins, and I get to keep my kneecaps. I was just venting. You can’t stop these people, not without incurring more stress than it’s worth. My friends just won’t be able to park in front of my house when they come over, that’s all (or anywhere near it.)

But thanks for your advice. For law abiding citizens, it would probably work (as I recall from my previous life.)

Like I say, things actually got better when I stopped fighting against them. Go figure. I did used to stick up for myself. Still do, just not with these people, it just brings worse pain. I can't afford to fix the vandalism all the time. Lately they've even layed off trying to frame us for crimes. I don't need that to start up again. That was stressfull!

How come I don't encounter any in 4'th largest city of US?

Today I read an lds E-news article in german. it was about the recordshigh of fulltimemissionaries.
It stated that Germany has actually more per member converts than Utah and that its actually not fair to count converts per missionary because in the past there were always a high number of missionaries in Germany, so that it seems like it is a hard to convert area, but thats just not true ... yadda yadda. ...
Before they lowered the age there were only a few missionaries in the States esp. in the western states. So one set had a way wider area to cover and because of that the numbers of referrals were higher, that leads to a higher numbers of baptisms and so one Missionary had an average rate of 7 converts.
Now the raise the numbers of those serving stateside - as the article said nearly to german niveau (most of the wards have 2 sets, others 3 or even four for around 150-200 attending active members in the big wards - most willbe happy to have 30 attending active members and enough Priesthoodholder to cover the "basic" callings, there are plenty of branches with Elders in the leadership ). This, so it said, will lower the convert per missionary to the level of 0.7, like its here.
Yadda yadda.
So... now that's why you see them now so often, or more often than before. They have too many and most of them are going stateside. Because more in countries like Germany, France, UK, Scandinavia would be ridiculous.Because then you'll probably have here microbranches with 10 or less attending people and 8 missionaries.