From: smith_w@apollo.hp.com (Walter Smith)
Subject: Looking for Sheep (was: Re: MORMONISM ??????)
Summary: Is there a middle ground between "debators" and "sheep"??
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Chelmsford, MA
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1992 12:41:55 GMT

>vbaker@hamp.hampshire.edu writes:
>>I've never interacted with a missionary who would discuss anything at
>>any depth.  They've been ordered not to engage in arguments and told
>>that the best way to do this is to avoid disagreement.  They'll nod
>>politely and then disregard everything you've just said.

In article <1992Apr12.143052.26998@hellgate.utah.edu> jwindley%asylum.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Jay Windley) writes:
>This is true -- the missionaries aren't apologists.  It is their duty
>to explain the LDS position, not to defend it.  As such, they focus
>their efforts on those who don't necessarily wish to debate, but
>simply to understand.



I've heard similar reasoning from members of other proselyzing denominations.
I'm not saying this is the case with Mormon missionaries (my only experience
with them is a few minutes in a laundromat one morning), but the underlying
idea seems to be, those who listen and don't "debate" are more likely to
be successfully recruited into the group, while those who debate are
unlikely to be 'convertable'.

Quite a practical approach.  Those who 'debate' likely have some conviction
as to why they believe what they do; those who don't, may not know on
what they base their 'spiritual/religious' values, and thus will be
much easier to indoctrinate.

What you also have is an effective mind-stopper built in.  If the person
doesn't accept (with minimal questioning) what you're saying, he can
be written off as a "debater", who really isn't interested in learning
the "truth" you are there to give to him;  such a person should be
avoided, and not listened to.  Instead, leave the "debator" and find
someone more accepting to talk to, a "sheep".  This 1) prevents the
missionary from being converted by the "debator", who has convictions
behind his beliefs, and 2) keeps the missionary productive by
making sure he's recruiting the right kind of people.  It also keeps
the missionary from critically analyzing his own beliefs; when you
are busy "dispensing the truth to others", you aren't going to be
critically analyzing if what you're dispensing (and what you believe)
is sensible, or good/bad.  The more importance the group places on
the missionary work (in other words, if your recruting a person into
the group means the person's salvation; no salvation outside the group)
the less likely the missionary is to be able to critically analyze his
beliefs.  

The missionary work in effect comes to serve 2 purposes; bring in
a steady flow of new "sheep", and internalize the doctrine to the
missionary.  If he's teaching it to others, (and 'saving' them in
the process) in his mind he will come to believe it more and more.
If he had doubts about things, this will help bury/cure them.
There will be dissonance between his doubts, and his actions;
namely, his missionary work.  If the motivation for believing
can be made stronger than the motivation for not believing,
he will end up solving the dissonace by believing, or just not
thinking about the things he wasn't sure about.  Control
his actions, and the mind will follow, in other words; the
action being teaching the doctrines to others.   If he believes
that by recruiting others he is saving them, then his actions
are controlled, he will recruit; and his mind will have to
follow by suppressing the doubts.  

The more the missionary is successful in recruiting people, the
more convinced he will be that his doubts were wrong; the new
converts seemed to believe the teachings in question;  so by
weight of numbers, they must be right.   If he ran into too
many people who were not convinced, and who could explain why,
that might cause his doubts to resurface, and make him question
if he should be teaching others these things he's not so sure
of himself; thus weakening furthur the process that supressed
the doubts in the first place.  

Of course, that is all taken care of if the missionary only
talks to "sheep"...

Walter Smith
smith_w@apollo.hp.com
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc