Japan
Elder Kazuta Takara speaks into an intercom box outside the gates to a Tokyo residence. The speaker phones have been coined "kekko" boxes or "no thank you " boxes by the missionaries because that is the response they nearly always get when they introduce themselves as LDS members. Most Japanese are either Buddhist or Shinto so they do not readily accept christian theology. The missionaries rarely get invited into a Japanese home when they are out proselytizing - most of their conversations are through intercoms or closed doors. Elder Takara is a 2nd generation Mormon from Kyoto. |
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Elder Kazutoshi Fujimoto, wearing a University of Utah sweatshirt pulls out a dozen ties from his suitcase as he unpacks after being transferred from Kyoto to Kobe, Japan. Visiting with him in borrowed duck slippers is Elder David Bonnell (23) from Kitimat, British Columbia. Missionaries wear civilian clothes only in their apartments - whenever they are out in public, they are required to wear their trademark white shirts and ties. Missionaries are periodically moved around during their two year missions. |
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Mormon missionary Sister Christie Jensen of Chatsworth, CA laughs as her Japanese english students rush through a word association game on the blackboard. Conversation english classes are taught by missionaries twice a week in Japan. Many of the Japanese people make their 1st contact with the church through these classes and consequently, some become interested in joining. Less than 2% of the Japanese come from a christian background which makes finding converts difficult for the LDS church. Thirty percent of their converts come through these classes.
In Tokyo, missionaries often found the doors closing as quickly as they opened. Speading the Mormon gospel was difficult .
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