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I've known plenty of them. Hardly any proselytizing, decent people, family oriented. They do get creepy on the "niceness" factor, but so do a lot of other churchy people. Pretty mainstream in the American West...
by asdf on Wed Jul 11th, 2012 at 09:09:49 PM EST
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Proselytizing comes with being a good Mormon.

Professionally (commercial financial analysis and extension of credit), so many Mormons had lied, misrepresented their businesses and misappropriated funds on accounts that I'd handled, that I begged my boss not to assign the Utah territory to me.  He declined my request leaving me to either decline the non-AAA businesses and thereby failing to meet production goals or approving risky business.  As I couldn't do the latter, the really nice field guys went around me and racked up a million dollars in losses in a year.  Guess who was let go?  

by Marie2 on Wed Jul 11th, 2012 at 10:57:58 PM EST
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asdf:
They do get creepy on the "niceness" factor, but so do a lot of other churchy people

Rings a bell with me for militant Evangelicals.

"In the world but not of the world". Can produce very creepy results.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Jul 12th, 2012 at 01:13:19 AM EST
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It's a different kind of creepy though.  The Evangelicals can be ignored, because you already know they think you're going to burn in Hell, and they'd do their best to get you there quicker if it were legal.

The Mormons actually seem sincere about it, to the point of coming across as cyborgs or something.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Thu Jul 12th, 2012 at 08:13:48 AM EST
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Drew J Jones:
The Evangelicals can be ignored, because you already know they think you're going to burn in Hell, and they'd do their best to get you there quicker

Nope. The militant ones know it's their duty to try to save you.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Jul 12th, 2012 at 08:41:22 AM EST
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... to 'Schland.

Amazing to see the numbers of early 20's young men in black suits accosting people in the streets here.

With a name badge preface: Elder...

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Thu Jul 12th, 2012 at 11:01:47 AM EST
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I think the Mormon community in Europe may be in a different situation than the one here in the U.S. It's pretty subtle here, and the (many) Mormons I have done business with are indistinguishable from people with other backgrounds. There are some pretty obvious examples of nasty, money-grubbing, dishonest, and generally horrible Catholics, Jews, Presbyterians, and Quakers.

I don't think there's much of a correlation between religion and business practices, or personalities.

by asdf on Thu Jul 12th, 2012 at 11:22:24 AM EST
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Some of this may be a difference in how religionists behave on the two sides of the Atlantic.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.
by Drew J Jones (pedobear@pennstatefootball.com) on Fri Jul 13th, 2012 at 06:25:51 AM EST
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I dunno about anyone else, but that creepy "niceness" rings very false. It feels dishonest when I encounter it, which chimes with what Marie2 as saying and what people say about how Bain Capital went about their business.

To your face they're all nice and smiley, but they're the most ruthless money grubbing bastards behind your back

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Jul 12th, 2012 at 03:02:39 AM EST
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I've always offered the young men who come to the door some ice-water and a chance to use the bathroom, and have sometimes chatted with them. They are nice as can be but patronizing out the ya-ya. I tell them "it's not a matter of ignorance that makes me disagree with you. I've learned about Mormonism and find the same faults with it I find with many religions. You won't be able to change my mind because I'm at least as smart as you, definitely more educated, and have vastly more experience of the world, so don't do any follow up. But any time you run into problems or need help or water or the toilet, feel free to stop by again."

I had to do some research at the Mormon library in Salt Lake City on a couple occasions, and on one of them, a lady almost drove me crazy with her "cursing" which consisted of a constant stream of such things as "oh, frog whiskers" and "well, daisy drops and do-dads" and "oh, shivering shishkabobs." I wanted to kill her.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Fri Jul 13th, 2012 at 04:52:22 AM EST
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