The Mormons
Disclaimer: I do not, under any circumstances, own any of these characters, FOX and Ryan Murphy do. Additionally, I would like to point out that what I'm writing in this story does not apply to everyone, I'm simply writing from my own experiences. I hope you enjoy!
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints originates in the early 19th century, where an American boy named Joseph Smith was called as a modern day prophet by the living God to reestablish His true church back on the earth, as he had intended it. The LDS church, more commonly recognized as the Mormon Church, is one of the fastest growing religions in the world, and sends thousands of missionaries all over the world to spread the message about the restored gospel. In over 30 countries are 85,000 young missionaries currently serving, characteristically known as the extremely well dressed Elders and Sisters, sporting a black and white name tag, trying to bring back all God's children to His celestial kingdom in heaven.
This is a story about the Mormons, their missionary service and one Elder in particular as he learns that the best two years of his life might allow him to devotionally open his eyes and see the world for what it truly is.
Chapter One:
The Book is Blue.
"Hi, we're missionaries from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, and we're hoping to share a message with you about the true meaning of l-" Slam. The door closed seemingly rapidly as the two Elders looked at each other in desperation. The tracting was what Elder Anderson disliked the most, or to be exact, he wasn't particularly fond of the way people seemed so effortlessly carefree of their truly important service. He knew in his heart, that his Father in Heaven looked out for them, and that he wouldn't give His children unconquerable hardship, but after a 12 hour day, that optimism was starting to falter.
"Oh well, "Elder Evans sighed, slowly turning his heel before continuing on to the next house. The two Elders had only been companions for a mere week as they were both recently transferred to Lima Ohio, and so far Elder Anderson hadn't quite figured out his new companion. He was quite tall, blond hair, blue eyes and a burning passion for the Gospel. He was friendly and seemed responsible enough, but they hadn't talked much, which was strange considering they'd shared an apartment for almost 7 days.
"Shouldn't we start heading back to the apartment?" Elder Anderson piped up, following his friend carefully with his gaze. It was past 8pm and according to the missionary rules they were to be home at 9pm, 9.30 the latest. He'd heard stories of missionaries breaking the simple rules and let's just say, those Elders got to see their families earlier than expected.
"Let's just go to one more house, I have a good feeling about this neighborhood" Elder Evans eagerly said, as he walked along the sidewalk of this fairly nice little neighborhood. It was mid October and the air started to cool the short, dark haired boy's structured face. Though it was nothing like the home he'd left in California 8 months ago, it still felt pretty homey. Big houses clad the grassed lawns, SUV's were parked in the driveways and rooms were filled with flickering lights from the TV - wow, did this make him miss home.
The two well dressed young men straightened their posture, fixed their ties and showed a friendly smile before knocking on the last door of the day. Elder Anderson didn't really know what he hoped for, a nice family, ready to accept the gospel or just simply another no so they could return home and go to sleep. However, before he could make up his mind, a door swinged open, nearly hitting them in the face. To their surprise they came face to face with a smiling woman, probably around the age of 65, curly white hair framing her small face.
"Oh, hi!" The lady said, still smiling and looking friendly enough.
"Good Evening Miss" Elder Evans once again said. "We're missionaries from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we were hoping to share a message with you about the true meaning of life?" He mumbled in his usual tone, smiling even more brightly at the, hopefully, curious woman.
"Oh, okay" a puzzled look furrowed her crystal green eyes.
"My name's Elder Evans and this-"gesturing with his hand in the smaller boy's direction. "-is my companion, Elder Anderson, and we're wondering if we could come in for a few minutes to tell you a little bit about God's plan of salvation?"
XXX
30 minutes later, two cookies fuller and a phone number richer, they reentered the crisp October air, both wearing dashing smiles on their faces.
"Man, that was awesome" Exclaimed Elder Anderson, happily strutting yet again along the side walk.
"Tell me about it" Elder Evans laughed, opening his bag mid-walk to get their calendar and make a notice for the next day, days like these truly made everything worthwhile. Elder Anderson watched as his companion fished out the white little paper book but before they could proceed, they were abruptly stopped in their track by something, or more accurately, by someone. Suddenly they found themselves stumbling backwards while at the same time trying to catch Elder Evans bag before it hit the dirty ground. Luckily, the person who they so rudely stumbled into had already managed to get a hold of the black backpack.
"Here you go" A short, brown haired girl said in a sweet – yet clear voice. Elder Anderson studied her for a split second, noticing her preppy styled clothes, her dark – almost hazel eyes and of course, the bag which Elder Evans quickly reached for.
"We're so terribly sorry" Evans started "Are you hu-"
"We're fine" Another voice suddenly said. The song like male voice came from their right and belonged to a tall, well dressed man, probably around their age. He wore an expression of pure irony as the two Elders looked at him, discretely studying him. "You dropped this" The boy held forward one of the many copies of The Book of Mormon which they carried around in their bag.
"Oh, thank you very much" Now it was Elder Anderson's turn to speak up, kindly accepting the book while at the same time trying to initiate a common handshake. The boy looked taken aback, but wearily shook his hand, smiling.
"I haven't seen you guys around before!" the girl pointed out, unmistakingly gossipy.
"Well, we just recently arrived in the area" Elder Evans casually explained, looking at Elder Anderson as if asking for permission to introduce himself.
"I'm Elder Anderson" The dark haired missionary said, looking directly at the couple in front of them.
"And my name's Elder Evans" The light haired followed, also reaching out to shake their hand.
"You're both named Elder?" The boy with the ironic twist asked, confusion clearly showing in his pale blue eyes.
"No" Elder Anderson chuckled. "Elder is a title in our church, we're missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
"Wait, the Mormons?" The short girl hurriedly asked, crocking her brow.
"More commonly known as the Mormons, yes" Elder Evans answered, a little colder this time. The couple in front of them seemed to instantly react as most people did. Their previously friendly smiles turned forced and the distance between the four of them grew.
"Anyways" The girl said "Sorry for running into you but I think we'd better head inside" She pulled at the tall boy's arm and started dragging him by the hand toward a very beautiful house, not even batting an eye as she stampeded. The boy, however, smiled a little before stumbling after her.
As the Elders returned home that night, exhausted from a long day of work, they had no idea just how much of an impact that single encounter would have on both of their work, that it would change both of their views forever, and that the couple in front of them would make them way too attached to the small town they would grow to love.
TBC