Is witnessing door to door a good idea

One day when I was working on my truck in the driveway, two young Mormon "elders" came by. We had a nice discussion about Mormon beliefs (they were very well versed) and they even offered to help me put my transmission back in. They went to change cloths. (This is not exactly work for white shirts, ties, and dress slacks.) By the time the returned, the transmission was already in. Nevertheless, I respect the two young men for their willingness to be helpful. Helpfulness is part of their mission. I have learned a lot about Mormonism from listening to these and other missionaries. Some time ago another missionary came by (a man and his young son). The man started our discussion out with what was dressed up as a philosophical question: "What do you think it means to be happy?" Of course he did not want to have a philosophical discussion. He came to tell me that I was wrong and that he had the answer. This conversation did not go on for long, nor was it pleasant. Two teenage Jehovah Witness girls stopped by last year to share "a message of hope" from the book of Revelations. "Doesn't that sound nice?" they asked after reading the passage. "Sure," I replied, "but in what context was it written, who said it, and in what way does it relate to me?" I asked. "It is a promise that God is making to you," they replied. To which I replied that they were not taking the Bible seriously by pretending that it was a book written for me. I sent them away with some contradictory passages to give them a sense of the polyphony of voices that make up the bible. They said they would talk these over with their pastor and return the next week. Alas, they never came back. Here is the etiquette for witnessing at my house: (1) If you come to my door to witness, be prepare to listen as well as to talk. (2) Be humble. I recognize that I don't have all the answers, you shouldn't pretend to either. (3) Don't assume that I am a "lost" or "uninformed. " If you want to share your beliefs, I welcome it. Just don't tell me what I must believe. Finally, one last point about attitude: I work in neighborhoods where I occasionally see door to door missionaries. I have noticed that many tend to walk slowly and solemnly. They never speak to people working in their yards, only to people who answer a door. They walk like they were going to the gallows, not delivering the good news. If you really think that you have good news, then let that news liven your walk. To be a convincing messenger of God, you should look at least as happy and walk with as least as much purpose as does the man who is mowing the lawn.