Can I really just show up on sunday service?

[Liawen]

Hey@all

I'm quite fascinated and very curious about your faith so I decided to visit the local mormon ward on a sunday.

But is it ok if I just show up there?

I'm very shy with strangers and just showing up somewhere is something new to me so I thought I better ask you if that is really ok.

And would it be ok if I bring a friend with me, who is actually an atheist but also curious about mormon faith?

thanks in advance for answers :)

[Vort]

Visitors welcome. Please show up.

[Connie]

Yes, you really can. Here is a little video about what you can expect. Mormons Made Simple

[Dravin]

Visitors welcome. Please show up.

The whole visitors welcome thing is even on the signs:

[Guest]

Yes, please show up! If you show up 15 minutes early, the bishop might have the time to come over and say Hi.

But... this Sunday is Fast and Testimony meeting... it's a different service than all the other Sundays of the month.

Sometimes this is a good thing. You won't have "sermons". Instead, you'll see members of the church come up and say something about their spiritual experiences. Sometimes this is a bad thing - it's an "anything goes" type thing and some members take that to mean... "anything even non-doctrinal things"... which can get confusing to visitors.

[EarlJibbs]

Bring 10 friends. It doesnt matter.

I hope you enjoy your experience if you go. We love new faces. You should be welcomed with open arms.

[NeuroTypical]

I'm very shy with strangers and just showing up somewhere is something new to me

Hello fellow shy person!

Something to know about us mormons at church - it's like we have a 'new person' detector. We tend to shake hands and introduce and fellowship and say hi and invite folks over for dinner and get to know someone, until we're satisfied that the new person is 'adequately befriended'. This can be unnerving for an introvert like me, especially when you get done doing it with one mormon, and the next one along starts the whole process over again because they didn't see that someone else just did it. This isn't really anything unique to mormons, just friendly people in general. You showed up to just see what's going on, you don't really want to be the center of attention, right?

So this doesn't have to scare you off, it's just something you have to prepare for. Here's a good way to deal with it: When you come in, ask if you could sit with the first friendly hand-shaker that comes your way. "Hi - we're visitors to your church and don't know much about you - could we sit with you?" Talk to them, ask lots of questions, make it obvious you're talking with them. This way, you've got a shield against all the future friendly mormons, because they'll see you're being attended to. And if other people start shaking your hand anyway, you can say "We're visitors, and these fine folks offered to let us sit with them."

(This tactic also works at just about any social group event, churchy or otherwise. I used it a while ago when checking out a local hobby club meeting. I used it when the local Methodists put on a job workshop.)

We shy people need to stick together.

[Hyena]

Hello fellow shy person!

Something to know about us mormons at church - it's like we have a 'new person' detector. We tend to shake hands and introduce and fellowship and say hi and invite folks over for dinner and get to know someone, until we're satisfied that the new person is 'adequately befriended'. This can be unnerving for an introvert like me, especially when you get done doing it with one mormon, and the next one along starts the whole process over again because they didn't see that someone else just did it. This isn't really anything unique to mormons, just friendly people in general. You showed up to just see what's going on, you don't really want to be the center of attention, right?

So this doesn't have to scare you off, it's just something you have to prepare for. Here's a good way to deal with it: When you come in, ask if you could sit with the first friendly hand-shaker that comes your way. "Hi - we're visitors to your church and don't know much about you - could we sit with you?" Talk to them, ask lots of questions, make it obvious you're talking with them. This way, you've got a shield against all the future friendly mormons, because they'll see you're being attended to. And if other people start shaking your hand anyway, you can say "We're visitors, and these fine folks offered to let us sit with them."

(This tactic also works at just about any social group event, churchy or otherwise. I used it a while ago when checking out a local hobby club meeting. I used it when the local Methodists put on a job workshop.)

We shy people need to stick together.

This is great advice. And also terrifying. I don't think I'll be visiting a church any time soon now.. haha!

[Liawen]

Thank you all very much for your answers and advice :)

It helped a lot really, also thanks @Connie for posting that video.

I think I will go to sunday service the next sunday, because I promised my mum to visit her on this one.

And yeah beeing shy isn't always easy but I'm ok, as long as others take the first steps in talking to me.

If someone starts talking with me, I soon lose quite a bit of my shyness.

I mostly have problems starting a conversation.

I hope you all have a great day