Are You Rude to Mormon Missionaries?

[leftyladyfrommo]

I am using the computer at the library and every day the Mormon Missionaries come in to use the computers.

I lived in Salt Lake City for several years so I am pretty familiar with these guys. I went to high school with lots of young men who then went on their missions (2 years and their families pay to send them).

Then I watched the PBS special on the Mormons (which is really interesting if you ever get a chance to see it) and they showed just how awful most people are to these guys.

After that I decided never to be rude to them again. I think I am capable of being respectful without being rude. Although I don't agree with a word they say. And I think the Mormon religion is just a tad on the odd side.

[LeftyMom]

1. As rude as I am to anybody who shows up uninvited on my porch.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

2. i generally treat religious people in the same way that they treat my people

so if you are accepting and loving of women and gays then i am accepting and loving of you.

if you aren't, then i am not.

[AlCzervik]

3. not really, we have lots of them here, on their bikes wearing black pants, white button down

shirts and black ties, when they ring my door bell i usually just say "I'm not home" and they usually respond with "Ok then we'll leave you some information" "You do that".

[Poiuyt]

4. I just tell them that I'm Jewish

[Deep13]

5. I cut them off, tell them that we are atheists, and go back inside. nt

[RebelOne]

15. I do the exact same thing when the Baptist fundies

come knocking on the door on Saturdays. The minute they say they are from the Baptist church, I say I am atheist and shut the door. And I'm not lying.

[TheDoorbellRang]

62. It's more fun to tell them you're a druid

then when they ask what that is, you whisper that you worship oak trees. My mom actually did this several years ago, after we seemed to be getting hit on by door-to-door proselytizers about every other week. Really discouraged 'em. :)

[guitar man]

6. if they are using the computers

leave them a very conspicuous link to this...:rofl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRmC0DaE6rE

[Patiod]

7. I treat them the same way I treat Jehovah's Witnesses

from the Kingdom Hall down the road.

I open by window and say "thanks, but I'm very involved with my own church" and close the window. Not rude, but not welcoming.

[guitar man]

10. me too

I just tell them I'm a satisfied member of Landover Baptist Church and they skedaddle right on out of there :D

[Patiod]

37. I'm specify Quaker, but don't want to start a conversation

although Landover Baptist works for me, as does The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism

[flvegan]

8. Nope, don't have to be.

They never venture past the multiple "Beware of Dog" signs on my fence.

[Hekate]

9. I'm not rude to any missionaries. I have a sneaking hunch it's bad karma! But I don't talk, either.

I've had everyone from Jehovah's Witnesses to Lubavitchers come to my door.

The Lubavitchers came by looking for my husband last week (trolling for lost and strayed Jews for Sukkot) so he went out on the porch to do a quick blessing and sent them on their merry way. When he's not home I just wish them a happy holiday. They're the all from the same family here, so Mr. H likes to comment on how they've grown and essentially that he knew them when they were beardless boys and how's their dad. But that's as far as it goes. Mr. H is a Buddhist now, but no need to argue.

The JWs are more difficult because they are so very hard to get rid of. Back in college I learned that if I was not going to miss the bus to work I literally had to shut the door on them. So I started saying, "Go in peace" as I shut the door in their faces.

My father used to invite the JWs and Mormons inside, where they would chew up hours of time, leaving him unconverted and themselves unchanged. What's the point of that? It only encourages them in the false hope that if they come back often enough they will succeed. Bleah.

It's kinder not to give missionaries false hopes, I think. If pressed I say I'm on a different path and refuse to elaborate. They're all trying to do good, even if I don't agree on most of the details. Go in peace; serve the Lord; bye-bye.

Hekate

[FloridaJudy]

12. I don't get them at my door

I think that banner with the green-skinned Goddess makes its point.

I do have religious missionaries of various flavors accosting me in parking lots. The last one walked up to me and my sister to inquire "Do you know God loves you, and has a plan for you?". I sweetly replied "Yes. I know She does", and walked away.

[Hekate]

17. Excellent decor, excellent answer!

:hi:

Hekate

[tigereye]

22. wow! Cool.

I would like to have a banner with all my favorite deities on it - Ganesh, Siva, Durga, Goddesses of various types... Buddha. I like everyone's Gods for the most part and don't see why people have to bug people to change to another one from the one they prefer. :shrug:


Sometimes I mess with people who come to the door and tell em I'm a secular humanist, or a Taoist like my husband. They always looks rather confused.

[FloridaJudy]

35. Here's where I got my "Green Tara" banner

http://www.karunaarts.com/retail/catalogpage

The woman has flags/banners for just about every faith you could think off. She even has strings of Gods/Goddesses flags. I'm sure you could find something like what you described there.

[tigereye]

47. I want a banner of the Consitution AND a picture of Kwan Yin

or any deity who champions peace.

Thanks.

[Chovexani]

49. What beautiful art!

Thanks for the link, I really like her stuff. I found some great ideas for decorating my new apartment. :)

[Ariana Celeste]

11. Nah

I was when I was a teenager and they came knocking at my mom's or gramma's doors. But a couple of winters ago, as I was walking home from the store, there were a couple of them walking through the snow. In their nice suits with backpacks strapped on, it was somewhere around 20 degrees outside. They smiled and waved and said hello to me as we three entered my apartment complex. They started at the beginning- my building is halfway through- and ended up at my door pretty fast! I figured the least I could do is let them warm up for a few minutes in my apartment. I told them at the very beginning- "Just FYI, I am an Atheist and have no interest in converting, but I would love to talk to you and learn more about your beliefs as an educational thing." So, we sat together for about 45 minutes discussing their views and mine and world issues. Very sweet boys. They gave me a copy of the Book of Mormon and wrote down their number- they told me if I needed help with anything, anything, to give them a call. They showed up again a few weeks later, and we sat and talked for awhile then, too. Maybe I planted a seed, maybe I didn't, I don't really care... I just felt it was right to let them warm up for awhile, even if I don't agree with their methods of spreading the 'word'.

[CreekDog]

28. I admire this attitude and your actions

My grandmother, Catholic until the end, always invited them in to her house in South Philadelphia and fed them, she said, "they were sooooo thin, they needed to eat!" and they came over often, meanwhile the assorted Italian relatives would curse, smoke, swear, play cards, etc.

As a non-Mormon living in Utah, I always thought it was good for devout Mormons to see that God takes care of all of us, even through people who don't share our beliefs. When we think this way, we become a little less insular, hopefully.

[scarlet_owl]

13. I'm not rude to anyone.

[Downtown Hound]

14. I just tell them that I'm a happy Satanist and invite them to participate

in one of my sacrifices.

No, actually I pretty much just say, "I'm not interested" and shut the door. I don't give them time to respond because I have no interest in listening to their spiel when I know I'm not going to accept it anyway. I don't want to hear them talk, I don't want to read their damn literature, and they have ZERO chance of changing my mind. If that's rude, tough. I never asked them to knock on my door, or to help keep gays second class citizens, or vote for some whackjob psycho like Bush because of his "family values." There are a few liberal Mormons but most of them are Republicans, at least the ones I've met. You don't want to be treated rude by me, don't help murder a million people across the world and then come knock on my door lecturing me on family values.

[SacredCow]

16. Generally not.

I worked at a bike store for a number of years, so I dealt with them quite frequently.

When they come to the door, I'll usually tell them that though I respect them, I've heard their speeches a million times over and the end result is always the same: "I'm a gay man, and your religion is NOT ok with that. Let's just leave it right there and go on with our day, shall we?"

On a lighter side, I have a friend who is something of a naturist. He answers the door nude and tells them that he'd LOVE to talk to them, but that they'd have to get undressed as his home is a "no clothes allowed" zone. He hasn't had any come beyond his front porch yet. :)

[auburngrad82]

18. Absolutely not!

I figure if they can fight their way through six dogs ranging from 45-90 pounds then they deserve that I be courteous enough to say "No thank you, I'm not interested."



Liberal bumper stickers

[Tikki]

19. I silently shake my head... no..

and shut the door.

Tikki

[tigereye]

20. my dad was always polite to em -

he would ask em in and listen politely...


I just tell em I respect their views, but I also respect my own choices and don't need to be proselytized to. And send them on their way.

I tell the Jehovah's witnesses the same thing.

[supernova]

21. Nice asset about country living

I haven't had a missionary in the 10 years I've been living here.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

23. Yes.

IMO, door-to-door proselytizing is rude in and of itself. So I figure it's karma.

[tjwmason]

24. Certainly not.

My actions may or may not be swayed by the fact that they tend to be attractive young men ( :eyes: )...but I'm definitely not rude.

I haven't had them come around door-to-door, but they have been in the local town a few times - once I managed to keep one chap chatting over an hour, it was all fascinating stuff but I told him right at the beginning what my views were. I even invited them to come to Evensong at my parish church - one does have to be welcoming after all.

I've got a Book of Mormon from there around here somewhere - interesting stuff.

[regularguy]

25. Nope. I just respectfully decline as I might do with

anybody else pushing a product.

[CreekDog]

26. I went to BYU and those 'kids' are 19 or 20

Barely out of high school, and are thrust quickly into a mission they are told (and frequently believe) is from God --they get a letter from a man believed to be God's own prophet saying where they will serve. They then get sent for intensive but short training in the language to present the discussions.

I am in favor of being firm with them and if they do anything appropriate, giving a firm and pointed response, however rudeness is not called for.

[progressoid]

27. I say, "You're just in time"...

And then ask them if they want to help us with the human sacrifice in the back yard.

[DarkTirade]

29. Rude, no. Scary, sure. :)

I haven't had to deal with any personally myself, but I have nothing against answering the door in my underwear with my largest sword slung over my shoulder. :evilgrin:

[GoneOffShore]

30. I treat all missionaries the same

Tenderize them, cook the really good bits immediately and make the rest into "missionary confit" and paté for the winter.

Goes well with a nice glass of Chianti.

[caty]

31. I put them on the

same level as Scientology----just another cult.

The movie "September Dawn" is about to come out telling of the Mormans killing over a hundred unarmed people:

"This September marks the 150th anniversary of a terrible episode in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On September 11, 1857, some 50 to 60 local militiamen in southern Utah, aided by American Indian allies, massacred about 120 emigrants who were traveling by wagon to California. The horrific crime, which spared only 17 children age six and under, occurred in a highland valley called the Mountain Meadows, roughly 35 miles southwest of Cedar City. The victims, most of them from Arkansas, were on their way to California with dreams of a bright future."

"On Friday, September 11, Lee entered the emigrant wagon fort under a white flag and somehow convinced the besieged emigrants to accept desperate terms. He said the militia would safely escort them past the Indians and back to Cedar City, but they must leave their possessions behind and give up their weapons, signaling their peaceful intentions to the Indians. The suspicious emigrants debated what to do but in the end accepted the terms, seeing no better alternative. They had been pinned down for days with little water, the wounded in their midst were dying, and they did not have enough ammunition to fend off even one more attack."

"As directed, the youngest children and wounded left the wagon corral first, driven in two wagons, followed by women and children on foot. The men and older boys filed out last, each escorted by an armed militiaman. The procession marched for a mile or so until, at a prearranged signal, each militiaman turned and shot the emigrant next to him, while Indians rushed from their hiding place to attack the terrified women and children. Militiamen with the two front-running wagons murdered the wounded. Despite plans to pin the massacre on the Paiutes — and persistent subsequent efforts to do so — Nephi Johnson later maintained that his fellow militiamen did most of the killing."

http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=17bef28172543110VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD&vgnextchannel=9ae411154963d010VgnVCM1000004e94610aRCRD&gclid=CKLzpJCq7o4CFQsEIwod7mYPLA

[pitohui]

32. when i can get away with it, i sure am

sorry i am a female and i am well aware of their ideas about people of my gender

they don't deserve courtesy, they deserve scorn and contempt, as do all people who tell me that i'm inferior by judgment of their invisible friend

of course there are situations where we have to pretend that we don't think they are evil fuckwits spreading hate and evil (such as the airport) but if they knock on my door they get what they deserve

i'll tolerate them in public, which is more than they're willing to grant me, but in private? at my home? they can go to hell (i'm sure they will anyway!)

con artists are con artists, and when the con is called religion, it's more not less evil and more not less deserving of contempt

respect is not a given, it's earned, and if you think women are lesser, you don't get mine

[ghostsofgiants]

33. I'm not rude to anyone unless they're rude to me first.

I make a point of not being a dickhead.

[flamingyouth]

34. No.

My mother's side of the family is Mormon. I've talked to a few of them on the street before but we've never had any come to the house (then again, we don't make a habit of opening the door to strangers). I wouldn't be upset or rude if they came by to visit anyway and I already have a copy of the Book of Mormon.

[LibertyLover]

36. Generally, no

We have 5 dogs, 2 greys, 2 whippets and a Siberian Husky who looks like he would chew your leg off if he got ahold of it. The 4 sighthounds bark like a chorus of hellhounds whenever somebody rings the bell or knocks on the door. The Husky howls. So usually, when we answer the door, the person or persons doing the proselytizing are standing in the middle of the lawn. They will call out that they are with X Church and would like to leave some material for us. If I'm the one at the door, I generally say thank you but we are happy with our religion and have no desire to change. I don't bother explaining that we are pagan. They look very relieved that they don't have to brave the Hounds of Hell and leave quickly.

Two years ago, our daughter was at preschool at the local Baptist church. I wasn't particularly thrilled, but the school was accredited by the Middle States Education Association and, during her first year at least, the religion was minimal and very generic. Then last year, her second year, the school dropped that accredit ion, saying that the State of Maryland was going to come up with pre-school accreditation policies and they would be accredited that way. The religion got more pervasive. We started getting letters from the minister and invitations to come to church services several times a month. And we heard no more about accreditation by any agency, let alone the state of Maryland. I was so glad that she was out of there in June and going to public school for kindergarten this fall. Several times people from the church stopped by to invite us to services, usually just as we were sitting down to dinner. They didn't want to take no for an answer and we didn't want to be totally nasty because the kidlet was in school there, but finally one day I just had enough. I had just gotten home one Friday evening with pizza. I'm trying to unlock the front door and get in the house, while making sure the dogs don't get out or get the pizza. This woman comes up the driveway with Heritage Baptist Church fliers and tries to engage me in conversation. I snapped and asked her if she were so clueless as to believe she had caught me at a good time. She had the grace to say that perhaps she hadn't. I told her to please not come back and to take our house off the list of prospects. We were not contacted by them again.

[fishwax]

38. missionaries, not usually, but hte visiting teachers, sometimes--we get special attention because

my wife grew up in the LDS church. So no matter where we move, they eventually track us down and show up on our doorstep.

The visiting teachers have generally been harder to dispose of then the missionaries, and have, at times, been downright pushy. They tracked us down where we used to live, even though we had never had any contact whatsoever with the local ward of the church.

The last time the missionaries came to our door where I live now, I chatted with them quite politely for a while, as is my habit, but when they asked if my wife was home, I told them that she didn't wish to talk to them and that I would appreciate it if they didn't stop by again, as that would force me to be impolite. I haven't heard from them since, but I'm sure a new batch will be by one of these days.

[Common Sense Party]

41. Did she ever ask to have her name removed from church records?

In theory, that should stop the visits.

In practice, some clerks never do it right, or some bishops think "Maybe they'll change their minds" and they don't take her off the list.

[fishwax]

45. she's never submitted any official notice

At one point she talked about it, but never followed through--initially, I think she didn't partly because she doesn't trust the system, and so by sending an official letter thinks she would only be guaranteeing that they have her current information. She had a lot of experience, growing up, with the "Maybe they'll change their minds" type of bishop ;)

But the main reason now is that she has made peace with her status on her own, and so tendering a formal resignation would be submitting to official formal mechanisms that she no longer sees as relevant to her.

And, since we haven't had visiting teachers come in the two years since we moved to our new town (just the missionaries), it hasn't been an issue. Perhaps some day she will--more likely, I think, is that when we move away from here in a few years, her records will eventually follow, and the new ward will send someone new to be politely (but firmly) turned away.

Not a bad system, all in all :)

:hi:

[jmm]

58. I have a friend who was tracked down to a few different states

by them. I've got to admit though, ex-members are the only people I've ever heard of them being rude and pushy with. In my experience they tend to be the most polite of all the people that think my soul needs saving. I try to be polite to them although I have been known to make up a fake language and pretend not to know what they're saying.

[helderheid]

39. I am non LDS living in Sandy Utah and I am not rude to them. Many of my friends are LDS.

[Common Sense Party]

40. EVERY day?

Ask them if today is their "P-day."

If they say it isn't, tell them to get out there proselytizing, and to quit wasting time sending e-mails.

(They get one day a week for writing home, etc.)

[mitchum]

42. No, I always offer them coffee

[book_worm]

43. I try not to be rude to anybody without provication. If I say, "No thank you--I'm not interested"

and they continue on--then I may decide to slam the door in their face.

[LibDemAlways]

70. I was approached by a couple of Mormon missionaries in

a grocery store parking lot not long ago. I told them politely right away that I'm of a different faith and not interested. Instead of wishing me a nice day and backing off, they got persistent and told me their purpose was to tell me about their faith and perhaps I would change my mind. I again said, "No, thank you," but they still persisted. Finally I got in my car and drove off. I couldn't believe how aggressive these guys were. They were about on par with a used car salesman in terms of not taking "no" for an answer.

[Dukkha]

44. funny I just had one this morning

I just never answer the door and leave it at that

[Taverner]

46. Of course not! I witness to them the glories of Atheism and Freethinking!

Glory be!

[texas1928]

48. I follow them down the street and bump the back wheel of their bikes...

with my bumper.



:evilgrin:



:sarcasm:

[medeak]

50. I answer the door nekid

and tell them to bring their women and children next time.

[seemunkee]

51. I'm rude to anyone that comes to my door to tell me my beliefs are wrong

[fudge stripe cookays]

66. Me too.

I didn't ask you to walk around my neighborhood telling me I need whatever God it is you're selling.

Get off my porch.

[jgraz]

52. Would you consider trying to convert them to atheism to be rude?

I especially like it when they bring the kids along. :evilgrin:

[Book Lover]

53. Used to. Now, nobody knocks on my door

I was awfully and wrongly rude to a Baptist gentleman some years ago, so I think I'm on the master "Do not knock!" list.

[Redstone]

54. Is answering the door naked rude? If so, yes.

Redstone

[KamaAina]

55. Haven't seen any in a while

I do recall that a pair of them were about the only other white people riding the S. Claiborne Ave. bus in New Orleans around 1990.

[ContraBass Black]

56. No.

I tell them that I'm not interested and send them along with a pleasantry.

[Breeze54]

57. I'm unfriendly to all of the religious sales people that knock uninvited.

I've had Jehovah Witnesses, Nuns, Mormons, Apostolic Christians and who knows who else knock on my door.
The worst were the Apostolic's that sat in their van in my barnyard and sent their two kids, (12 &14) to my door.
I felt bad for the kids, so I asked them how they liked doing this 'door to door' crap and "wouldn't you rather be
playing baseball right now?" That changed the subject and they agreed with me they would rather be playing ball
and they said that their parents were making them do this. I asked them to tell their parents not to come back again,
and they didn't! :D

[mark414]

59. my opinion of (all) religion mirrors that of Bill Maher's, but why be a jerk?

but it takes a lot more effort to be an asshole then it does to say, "no thanks, i'm not interested, have a nice day."

i think religion is pretty much the biggest cancer in the entire world, but being rude and getting upset only works to raise your stress levels, and probably makes you more of an asshole in general

[southerncrone]

60. I am rude to all missionaries. Because their sole premise is that of rudeness to others.

They presume that their beliefs are superior to all other belief systems on the planet. That in itself is the supreme definition of RUDE!

[Scooter24]

61. Nope. I'm not rude to anyone unless provoked.

All the Mormon boys I've run into have been polite young men.

[Vidar]

63. Thrown them off my porch, one hand around each neck, chased them off

with a pipe wrench & reported their behavior to cops along with a cease & desist order.

[noamnety]

64. On the street, no

At my door, a little, if I answer it at all, which I normally don't.

It's rude to interrupt people at home, it's rude to assume you won't be waking somebody up, it's rude to assume the occupant hasn't spent 2 hours with a screaming baby who has just drifted off, only to be woken up by your door bell, sentencing the parent to another hour of misery trying to get them back to sleep again.

It's rude to assume people aren't actually doing anything important, or grieving, or having sex, or playing a game with their children, or recovering from surgery or otherwise ill, and that getting to the door isn't a hardship that puts them in physical pain. It's rude to assume that you have the right to demand that other people drop whatever they are doing because you decided you need to invade their personal space at your convenience.

If everyone was a little rude and unwelcoming to them, maybe they'd get the message that they aren't welcome, and they'd stop. The more pleasant the experience is for them, the more likely it is they will spend more time doing it.

[AZBlue]

65. I live alone - I don't answer the door unless I know you.

So, I just don't answer the door if they come by. However, if I bumped into them on the grounds, I wouldn't be rude - I simply would explain that I don't have time to stop and chat. Which would probably be true anyway.

[Left Is Write]

67. No.

Being polite doesn't mean being a doormat, though.

[zanne]

68. I warn them before I close the door on their faces.

I give them a chance to leave me alone and I warn them that if they don't I'll have to close the door on their faces, and that I don't want to do that. I usually wind up having to do that.

[Sugar Smack]

69. Never.

Sure, it can be odd. These guys were always so nice, though.

[cynatnite]

71. Nope...

We lived in Rexburg, ID for a while and I knew a lot of people who either had been missionaries or their kids were going to be ones. So, I make a point of being nice. Two showed up here a while back, we talked and since it was so hot I gave them each a bottle of water. Told them I was an atheist which surprised them. Misguided, but nice kids. We're in TN now so I imagine they've gotten their fair share of rudeness from people around here.

I think all religion is a tad on the odd side :)

[skygazer]

72. It's rude of them to show up at my door trying to convert me

When they stop being rude to me, I'll stop being rude to them.

[ironflange]

73. No, I'm nice to them

They're always such polite young men, and don't push me when I say I'n not interested. I have two cute stories:

One time, I was working on the basement, fininshing it, when II heard the doorbell. So I went up the stairs, grumbling, to find two well-scrubbed young men in dark suits. When I told them I wasn't interested, and busy building in my basement, they offered to come in and help! Maybe I should have took them up on it.

Another time, when they (two different guys) appeared on the doorstep, I gave them the usual brush-off, so the said OK, have a nice day. Then they headed next door, and I peeked out the window to see what would happen, because they're JW's. They had a good laugh; I heard her say, "Hey, we like to go door to door too!" Not surprising, they're cool JW's, a really nice family, and never have said a peep to me about it. They throw lots of backyard parties for their church friends, it's amusing to listen in on them, because the conversations will bounce from hockey to end times to golf to church elders to cars. . . They're a Polish couple, with two sons, who have been here about 15 years.

[LanternWaste]

74. No harm. No foul.

Nope. I think there's too much rudeness these days, and I'm not one of those guys who gets a kick out of making people feel uncomfortable or awkward regardless of the situation-- no reason for me to contribute to it (although I find myself strangely tempted to on DU sometimes... go figure).

I figure if someone is proselytizing in something they sincerely believe in, be it religion, politics or girl scout cookies, I can sacrifice a few minutes and get them away without hurt feelings on either side.

No harm. No foul.

[Mutley]

75. Nope.

I just politely tell them I'm not interested and I have to go.

[billyskank]

76. I open the door in my white robes, with tilaka on my forehead and chanting beads in my hand

with the scent of incense wafting out and the sounds of mrdanga and kartals from inside and the chanting "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna..."

They don't usually stay very long. :D

[Mutley]

78. billy has a mean streak in him.

:D

:rofl:

[Marrah_G]

77. I used to invite them in

The look on their face when they would notice the statues of my Dieties and symbols of my faith was rather priceless. You could see the panic start to slowly set in. One rare occasion ended in a very pleasant long conversation leaving the missionary with a new understanding of Wicca.

Now I just do not answer the door.

[cobalt1999]

79. My wife rushes to the door and tells them..

"Please, you have to get out of here before my husband comes! Run! NOW!"

I'm not really all THAT bad, but I do have a reputation for speaking my mind about people's beliefs in supernatural entities. :)

[GardeningGal]

80. Well, I guess it's how you interpret my response.

They just came to my door last week. When one of them asked me if I went to church I replied that it was none of their business. Was that rude? I thought the question was rude.

[Kali]

81. nah, I have a strange nostalgic fondness for them

I live in a pretty heavily infested area and my kids grew up with lots of them. We have old family friends that go back 2 and 3 generations (although most of them are Jack Mormons) And one of the areas I visit a lot in Chihuahua has a lot of them too including some good friends there as well.

They are kind of strange and kooky, but then I think that about "regular" religions too so whatever. Only some real hard core Babtist types ever brave the no-trespassing signs and bad road, so I don't actually have to deal with much front door missionizing, I might tend to get ruder if bothered frequently.