The year was 1979. I was being persuaded to become a member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At 22 years old, I had not had
any previous religious training.
I could not possibly tell you what in the world the missionaries
had begun to teach me, but I can distinctly remember that I had no clue what
they were talking about. I finally had to tell them that I did not want them to
teach me anymore. At that point, one of the missionaries switched gears and
began teaching me out of a church book instead of the scriptures.
The rhetorical principle of decorum is the idea that one’s words
and subject matter fit each other, and that they also fit the occasion, the
audience, and the speaker.
Forty years later, as I tell my conversion story, I recount this
terrible experience that I can now label as the misuse of decorum. I have come
up with a short explanation: why would I care if Heavenly Father and Jesus
Christ visited Joseph Smith if I do not even know who Heavenly Father and Jesus
Christ are?
The missionaries had not considered their audience. They failed
to find out what, if any, previous religious training I had had. This seemingly
small error resulted in my being baptized without having had the opportunity to
learn even the basics of the gospel. It is easy for me to see why decorum has
become a governing principle for all rhetoric.
Image credit: www.nothingwavering.org
My stupidest question as a missionary was, "Do you know what a prophet is?" to which my investigator replied, "Oh yeah! Isn't that what making money is called?" Knowing your audience and what their background is is definitely important!
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