Many people investigating The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in France were confused and worried when the French news mistakenly reported that Mormons were accused of raping young girls and forcing teens into plural marriages. The story was actually about the FLDS Church.

"Our newest investigator, Annie, was really worried about what she had heard the Mormons were doing in Texas," said Elder Matthew Donohue from the Paris France Mission. "She was confused and kind of scared and had a lot of questions.

"Fortunately, once we talked to her and explained that it was not really the Mormon church, she was fine with it. But it makes me wonder how many other people here in France are being scared away from the church because of this misunderstanding."

The FLDS conflict in Texas is getting a lot of news coverage, which sometimes inaccurately places the Mormons at the forefront of the issue. This is affecting missionary work both within the United States and overseas.

"People ask about it," said Elder Preston Johnson from the Porto, Portugal Mission in an email to the Daily Universe, noting that many people confused the LDS Church with the FLDS Church. "But [mission] President Henry came down this last weekend, [and] he talked to us about it for a while to make sure we knew how to deal with the questions."

"We've had a couple of families ready to be baptized and then suddenly drop us," said Elder Jordan Driscoll from the McAllen, Texas Mission. "But for the most part, it only affects those investigators who haven't really developed a testimony yet."

"Most people seem to understand that we are two different churches, but there are still many who think we are the same," said Elder Chris Capener, a church missionary serving in San Angelo, Texas. "We went to one lady's house and she wouldn't even shake our hands or anything. And the Spanish Elders had an investigator give back the Book of Mormon and refused to talk about it."

However, not all of the effects on missionary work have been bad.

"On the flip side of things," Capener said, "some of our investigators have been out with their friends who brought up this issue and started to criticize Mormons, and they have come to our defense. It's also bringing a lot of good publicity because the media keeps asking us questions about it, and it gives us an opportunity to explain our beliefs and why we are two separate churches."

Copyright Brigham Young University 6 May 2008