i kinda have a soft spot for mormon missionaries after a noteworthy act of kindness and service i won’t forget.
a story: years ago i was in the process of moving from a 3BR/2-story apartment into a rancher flat on the other side of town. had very little funding and a short window to get it all done by myself. picked up a big moving truck and began loading up the furniture, which required finagling the furniture dolly up and down the indoor flight of stairs plus an additional 3 steps off the porch to the pavement. while loading up a bookcase, two mormon missionaries rounded the corner and started approaching me. i was about to dip inside and close the door when they called out, offering help. they were gentle yet determined to provide assistance and i eventually relented. thanks to their strict gender rules i wasn’t able to be in the apartment with them at the same time, so they did it all themselves, loaded up everything into the truck.
going a step further, they then sent a different duo of mormon boys to my new apartment across town to help unload the same truck. i was so grateful that i spent a few hours afterwards listening to their whole pitch, accepted a copy of their cute book and asked a few respectful questions just to be engaged. They spend their missions with so few comforts and conveniences that it was quite surprising to hear. Had to decline the inevitable invitation to attend a morning service at the temple though… especially after learning they are each 4 hours long. yikes.
regardless, obv the meme is 100% valid and the mormon institution (and their political sway in the US) is undoubtedly troubling, but it was really nice to learn that at least some mormon bois while on mission do actually apply their beliefs through action by genuinely helping people in their community. not everyone can say that.
i kinda have a soft spot for mormon missionaries after a noteworthy act of kindness and service i won’t forget.
a story: years ago i was in the process of moving from a 3BR/2-story apartment into a rancher flat on the other side of town. had very little funding and a short window to get it all done by myself. picked up a big moving truck and began loading up the furniture, which required finagling the furniture dolly up and down the indoor flight of stairs plus an additional 3 steps off the porch to the pavement. while loading up a bookcase, two mormon missionaries rounded the corner and started approaching me. i was about to dip inside and close the door when they called out, offering help. they were gentle yet determined to provide assistance and i eventually relented. thanks to their strict gender rules i wasn’t able to be in the apartment with them at the same time, so they did it all themselves, loaded up everything into the truck.
going a step further, they then sent a different duo of mormon boys to my new apartment across town to help unload the same truck. i was so grateful that i spent a few hours afterwards listening to their whole pitch, accepted a copy of their cute book and asked a few respectful questions just to be engaged. They spend their missions with so few comforts and conveniences that it was quite surprising to hear. Had to decline the inevitable invitation to attend a morning service at the temple though… especially after learning they are each 4 hours long. yikes.
regardless, obv the meme is 100% valid and the mormon institution (and their political sway in the US) is undoubtedly troubling, but it was really nice to learn that at least some mormon bois while on mission do actually apply their beliefs through action by genuinely helping people in their community. not everyone can say that.
Thanks for sharing, this was a wonderful story.