A Louisiana Catholic Learns Some Things from a Couple of Mormon Guys

Mormon missionaries Jarom Randall (left), 20, and Landon Hasson, 21, and leave a house on College Street in Highland after some during door-to-door evangelizing.
FORGIVE THE LACK OF BREAKS BETWEEN PARAGRAGHS> I MESSED THIS UP SOMEHOW

The Shreveport Times has an interesting article this morning on two Mormon missionaries that were working in my old neighborhood.

I like Mormons. I especially like Mormon Gary Crowton, the former head Louisiana Tech football coach and now Offensive Coordinator at LSU. Hopefully, Coach Crowton will introduce Louisiana to some of those Hawaian and Polynesian Football players that are not only often Mormon but play some tough and dirty ball on the football field. Get recruiting the West and Beyond Coach!!!!

Now ,as has been in the news, Catholic teaching does not consider non Catholics outside the Catholic /Orthodox structure as "Churches" in the proper sense. The question is do we Catholics or other historical Christians view Mormons as Christians at all? The answer is generally no. To be a "Christian" one needs to have a certain set of beliefs. Those beliefs can be found at the Council of Nicea for instance. Mormons differ there a good bit. However, does that mean that Christ is not active in their lives and using them?

I am of the opinion that when you invoke Christ's assistance then many times he shows up. Does that make them right? NO. Does that mean we should not evanglize Mormons? No. However, we don't need to approach Mormons, who are our neighbors, as like they were some Aztec human sacrifice religion. That also mean that as Christians we should not be spreading every unfounded rumor and hearsay statement about the Mormon religion. Like I said, I think there is some evidence that Christ is working somehow with individual Mormons all the time.

I find this article interesting. There are a lot of Mormon myths. In my interaction with Mormons it is not all Donny and Marie Osmand land(For those readers under 30, Donny and Marie were Mormons that were a popular singing act in our parent's day). They have faults, their families are not always perfect, they make mistakes, they sometimes become democrat, etc etc. However, there is much to the Mormon Faith that has attributes we Christians need to rediscover.

Read the whole article but here are a few excerpts that caught my attention

Hasson and his partner, Elder Jarom Randall, are two of several Mormon missionaries who are living in Shreveport spreading the word about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The 177-year-old church recently called its 1 millionth missionary leading to celebration throughout the church.Young men are not required to make a mission, but it is strongly encouraged that they spend two years somewhere in the world sharing their faith. They make up the most recognizable arm of the tradition, which claims 13 million members worldwide."I had to come through prayer and study," Randall said. "It's the best decision I ever made."

I think most people think this is mandatory to make a mission

For two years, the missionaries live a fairly nomadic life. They are sent to a region and then to various towns in the region. The local area includes Mississippi, north Louisiana, and parts of Texas and Arkansas.Randall was first sent to Winnfield."It was a definite change," from suburban Utah, he said, laughing. "But I love Winnfield."

Loving WinnField? I thought Mormons didn't lie. Only kidding.

Marine life prepared Hasson to adapt to foreign cultures."I was thrown off by how much work was involved — how much sweat and hitting the pavement," he said.Life as a missionary requires humility, patience and perseverance.

I think that last past of humility, patience and perservance is important as I shall point out later.

Strict rules limit their social activities. They are always assigned in twos or threes, and the companions are nearly inseparable.Trips home are allowed only in the case of a death in the immediate family. They only call home twice a year: Mother's Day and Christmas, although they are encouraged to write weekly."It's so we're all focused on the work," Randall said.The companions live in a modest, one-bedroom apartment. An old couch and two desks — covered in the graffiti of former missionaries — furnish the living room. Four pictures of Jesus and two maps of Shreveport adorn the walls. And two bikes lean against the front window.Noticeably absent: a TV, radio, computer, iPod or any other connection with popular culture.

There is something exciting about that life if you think about it. Again, I think we are seeing the true purpose of this mission activity. How is this different than the various Monks in our history, including American history , that followed a "Rule". Many native Americans were brought to Christ by Catholic Monks and Brothers just coming to a area and start praying the Liturgy of the Hours. They lived their lives as to a "Rule" whether it was the Rule of St Benedict or something similar.

Around 10 a.m. they start their mission work, which could be door-to door proselytizing, following up on those new to the church, or visiting those fallen away.On a recent day they picked College Street for their "finding" or door-to-door work. They drove, although bicycles are still preferred because it makes the missionaries more accessible.

I like these guys already. I have never gone door to door talking about the Catholic faith. But boy I have gone door to door as to political activities many of a time. Including this very street. This area they are at is pretty diverse. The Highland neigborhood has black, white, straight, gay, college students, poor, middle class couples renovating old homes. Just remember if these young men or people like them come to your door treat them with respect.

Occasionally, people they approach will be downright nasty, but they handle that with a smile and a prayer as well."We're the first message they see from the church so we try to be happy and go on our way," Randall said.

So true. A lesson we should all learn.

The door-to-door work is rarely fruitful. More people are reached by church members recruiting their friends or family.

I have always suspected that. But the key is that this really isn't the purpose of this mission trip is it? The whole purpose of this "Mission" is not so much to evangleize but to have themselves evangleized . We see that in this article all over the place. The Saints are always telling us this. Imagine if we Catholics and Christians had this attitude. How can not Mormon Families be such models at times when we see young men open themselves day after day to people that are made in the image of God. Even if those people don't know it or even believe it. . I imagine some of that rubs off.

The missionaries' daily work also means follow-up visits and strengthening the local congregation.They stopped in on Josephine Clay, a convert, who was having a particularly trying day with a neighbor. She vented a little and the men pulled out their Scriptures, immediately flipping to passages encouraging charity and forgiveness."It's a good thing you came by," Clay said. "I needed something else to concentrate on.".

Wow. That is a insight. I think this is a part of Mormon missionary activity we don't hear about. Building up and encouraging the convert. We Catholics should know the importance of doing this but we have a hard time putting it into practice. Catholics believe that the moment of salvation is not a "one time event". That it is a life time process. When a person enters the Church he enters what was called in the ancient Church the mystagogia. Mystagogia is an ancient Greek word meaning "education in the mysteries". Christian believers in the first century used the word mystagogia to describe the phase of continuing spiritual instruction that followed the initiation rites of the Church (baptism and Eucharist) – exploring questions of "Now that I’m alive, what's next?" and "What is life for? Here we see a important part of that being acted out by the Mormons in a real concrete way. Do we as Catholics abandon those that convert after they Easter Saturday? That is do we to continue to support them in their journey? How many times has a person had a momement of extreme grace(Often called "getting saved" up here) and then we do not think about them. Thus , after the "high" they come crashing down. I would have loved if some young Catholic guys had showed up at my dorm roon after I converted and gone " How are you doing? What are your Questions? Let's help you out. There is something to learn from here.

A schedule at the church fills quickly with families who want to host the young men in the evenings. They usually don't return home until around 9 p.m

The importance of community. These people are not told to be shut themselves out from the world after their workday is done. They are to interact with the local faith community. Again who is being evangelized here? In a sense this is real Christian community.

The missionaries have grown stronger and more confident in their faith. "I pray 20 or 30 times more," Randall said.They are also more comfortable talking to strangers and have built confidence in their beliefs."Before I just believed, now I consider things," Hasson said.Despite this being a relatively difficult mission field, Randall said he has also grown more optimistic. He said he sees the result of prayer and has become more grateful.Both men interrupted their lives for the mission. Hasson had enlisted in the Marines, and Randall had been attending community college.When they return to their lives, they are sure that they will be better students and soldiers.

I bet. Again who is getting is getting evangelized here? People are forced out their easy lives that secular society imposes on us.

John Paul the II commented on on this subject. These young men represent the exact opposite of what John Paull the II was warning about. His talk focues on Europe but we are seeing the same thing here. He stated:

At the root of this loss of hope is an attempt to promote a vision of man apart from God and apart from Christ. This sort of thinking has led to man being considered as “the absolute centre of reality, a view which makes him occupy – falsely – the place of God and which forgets that it is not man who creates God, but rather God who creates man. Forgetfulness of God led to the abandonment of man”. It is therefore “no wonder that in this context a vast field has opened for the unrestrained development of nihilism in philosophy, of relativism in values and morality, and of pragmatism – and even a cynical hedonism – in daily life”. European culture gives the impression of “silent apostasy” on the part of people who have all that they need and who live as if God does not exist.

Those who live as if God does not exist. Pope Benedict hits on this same theme in his new book. Needless to say these young men are not living that life. That is just a small part of who really is getting evangelized here.

So where does that leave Catholics. I am under no illusion that Catholic young men and women will go out in droves and copy this example. However, programs like this could be implemented at some Catholic schools. Perhaps something like this could be encouraged through a lay group. It would not have to be 2 years but a period of time such as 6 months(a semester) would have great benefits.

Besides "mission activity", the attitudes and practices of these young men show us much that we need to incorporate in our daily lives.

The whole article is a pretty good read.