Each week I read about 160 emails from my missionaries. A few are very disheartening , but most are uplifting and full of faith. I also get many chuckles. Many are are a few short sentences, some are pages long. I think the longest I have ever received was 3300 words long. Though some may think it would be boring, I find it fascinating to feel what they feel and to share in their joys and disappointments. Most write quickly with many grammatical errors and misspellings, but they write from the heart. I respond to about 50 percent of them especially when they ask me a question. I am going to try, from time to time, to give a sample of what they write and some of the questions I respond to. I have way more on my to do list than I will ever have time to.
Here is a sample of what I write to the missionaries that get stopped by the police for "soliciting" without a license.
We are not door to door salesmen--we do not solicit
"The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the constitutional right of missionaries and others to share their religious views door-to-door. This right was upheld as recently as 2002 in a case involving the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Supreme Court said that it is unconstitutional to require missionaries to get a permit before they can go door-to-door to share a religious message." That being said, many law enforcement officers do not know this or if they do tend to ignore it. If one of them stops you from going door-to-door, note the time and address and without being belligerent, see if you can get the badge number of the officer. Send all this to me and I'll address it with their Chief of Police.
2 comments:
That sounds familiar. I never had a policeman stop us, but a man did threaten to call the police on us. It was an interesting experience. We were in one area, my last, it was late in the evening and we were tracking an apartment complex. We knocked on one door, a middle aged man answered. We started to tell him why we were on his door step. He didn't let us finish before he began yelling that we weren't allowed on the property and that if we didn't leave he would call the police. We politely and calmly said that there was no law against us being there and that we had a right to do what we were doing. The man continued with his threats, saying we had ten minutes to get off the property or he would call the cops. We turned away and from his door, he eyed us as we went to the next door. From his door he yelled "They don't want to be bothered either, now go". We calmly and determinedly went to the next door and we heard him scream from his door, "I told you to leave, I'm calling the police", and he slammed the door. Whether he did or not we decided not to stay and find out. It amazes me the hold that Satan has on some people's hearts. That was the first time I experienced that kind of persecution. At the time I didn't understand why people would want to deny the existence of a God and religion; of hope in Christ; and the power of His redemption. Unless they do it so that they can justify their unrighteous behavior. Though, thinking on that, I tend to justify some of my actions with the thought that this is too little a thing for the majesty and power of the Atonement. I have come to the realization that that is wrong. I know that the Atonement covers all and that I should not disadvantage myself. Discovering this I have become more honest with myself and with God and have realized the many mistakes that I do need to repent of. I love my Savior. I have truly come closer to Him.
I'm so glad you've started this blog so that I can follow your missionary stories.
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