KNOCKING on the doors of strangers is a daunting task but these “sisters” of the Church of Latter-Day Saints say Orange residents might not embrace the life of Jesus Christ but they’re welcoming none-the-less.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sister McKinley Johnson from Seattle and Sister Davaasuren Myagmarjar of Mongolia are spending 18 months in Orange as part of their missionary dedication to the church and their task is to teach the Orange community about Jesus.
“It’s beautiful here and so much of it reminds me of home,” Sister Johnson said.
Sister Johnson arrived in Orange two months ago and said doorknocking strangers’ homes in Orange was “a bit of a challenge” but said nearly everyone she has met has treated her with kindness.
“In Orange the people are not so open to the spiritual side but they’re so nice and happy to talk,” she said.
Sister Myagmarjar arrived in Orange in November and was in Sydney previously.
She said Orange already felt like home.
The women said they had not had a great deal of success converting Orange people to the church but had convinced two 16-year-old boys.
“But we are only here to serve others and to be a servant of Jesus Christ and everyone has been very polite and accepting of us,” Sister Myagmarjar said.
The women were at the Frost Street Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ celebration of its 50th year on Sunday with 200 members of the district congregation.
April 3rd, 50 years ago the first service for the Orange branch of the church was held and it had only two families.
Decades on, the building is the religious home of 40 people in the Orange branch.
The Orange Australia District of the church district president Derek Sullivan said people had misconceptions about the Mormon Church, particularly in regional areas but he invited anyone who wanted to know more to come inside the church.
It’s open every Sunday at 10am.
“Google is a wonderful thing that teaches people a lot but it can also teach people the wrong things as well,” he said.
Looking at the 200 people seated in the church, from the district, made Mr Sullivan proud the congregation had grown so quickly since 1960 when its members first prayed in Orange, in people’s homes.
He said he looks forward to the day the church is full but there is room for many more families yet.
“We are here because the Lord Jesus Christ restored his gospel, he established it in the latter days, to prepare people for his second coming,” Mr Sullivan said.
nicole.kuter@fairfaxmedia.com.au