These Mormons are on a mission to spread the faith among wicked Brits

the mormons are coming

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Scottish missionary James Chalmers was known to the tribes of New Guinea, who fought under his name, as ‘Tamate’.

To his friend, the author Robert Louis Stevenson, he was one of the “brave men who do not return.” The two men explored the South Seas together, with the writer describing Chalmers as “the handsomest, simplest, bravest, most interesting man in all the Pacific”.

In April 1901, Tamate and his protégé Oliver Tomkins sailed by steam launch to the island of Goaribari in Papua New Guinea to preach the Christian gospel. They were met on the shore by a war party, who promised them a feast.

As they walked towards the town, the two Europeans were beaten to death. A fellow Papuan who survived said the bodies of the men were cooked with sago and eaten. Tamate and Tomkins were the main course at their own homecoming party.

Sarah Moore (pictured second left), presenter of Money For Nothing and winner of Beeb’s Grand Interior Design Challenge, was creating a haven for herself, away from the ills of British society, on the island Skiathos where Mamma Mia was filmed

Back then, being a missionary was a dangerous business. Today, the worst fate that awaits a young evangelist is mortal shame.

It was hard not to be embarrassed by Sister Cooper and Elder Cook, both just out of their teens, as they accosted members of the public in malls and tried to interest them in Mormon Biblical studies.

The Mormons Are Coming (BBC2) followed a group of enthusiastic young people, ages 18 to 25, as they trained at a training center, not in the US, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded, but in Chorley, near Manchester.

Their chances seemed doomed from the moment they attended a workshop on how to achieve “normal and natural interactions” with non-Mormons.

For most of them, this was the first time they had been away from home alone. There was much to discover: Americans among them had never slept under duvets before.

They were not allowed alcohol, tea, coffee, or any unsupervised contact with the opposite sex. . . not even ‘normal and natural interactions’. And to ensure they blended in with the Chorley locals, the girls wore modest dresses and the boys were never seen without neatly knotted ties.

Long hair was also prohibited on men, except for Jesus, who smiled from a portrait in each room. The Lord was not wearing a tie either. I’m not convinced that he was actually a Mormon.

All the young missionaries were perfectly aware that their studied naivete made them easy targets for ridicule, but they were armored by their faith. And, really, it’s no surprise to learn that your statistical chances of a good job and a happy marriage are much better than average.

The truth is, if it is now so rare in Britain for young people to stay sober, respect their parents and believe in being married for life, perhaps society needs to save itself.

Sarah Moore, presenter of Money For Nothing and winner of Beeb’s Grand Interior Design Challenge, was creating a refuge for herself, away from the ills of British society, on the island of Skiathos, where Mamma Mia was filmed.

Home Home Greek (More4) traces her sunny trials to a tiny seaside house she bought, unseen, over the internet for £100,000 during lockdown. “Even though it’s not a very good idea,” she said, “my heart tells me it’s a fantastic opportunity.”

A platoon of local builders was tearing down walls and hauling away the roof and doors. The concern is whether they will reinstall new ones.

With an open-air bathroom and a single room on the ground floor, the place is small. But one of the builders revealed that his mother grew up there. . . with her parents and 12 brothers and sisters. Mamma mia, there they go again.