Mormons Are Going Where?

The other day George came home from school and asked, "Are all Mormons going to hell?" We said no, and why are you asking? He said his friend from school told him that his dad said that. George doesn't beat around the bush, and he isn't shy to tell you how he feels. I don't think I could have responded any better than George did. I asked George what he said when his friend told him this, and George said, "I told him, well, tell your dad he is wrong." How great is that? George didn't get offended, he didn't quite understand why Scott and I were having discussions about it. Well, it turns out this is George's best buddy at school. George has been asking if his friend could come over and play. I totally bribed him (chores, good behavior) I told him if he was good his friend could come over. I talked to this boy's mother. We had never met before. This boy is her oldest and she had never let him go over to a friend's house without knowing the family first. I told her she was welcome to come over and spend as much time as she wanted, etc. I did fess up and tell her I didn't pretend we were a normal family....we are a little crazy, so on and so on. After thinking about it, I thought I should let her know we were Mormon. Since she wasn't super comfortable anyways, I thought it might be a deal breaker. So, I called her up and told her George came home and told us a not so favorable comment about Mormons that her son shared with him, and let her know we were in fact Mormon. I think she was so embarassed. When I was talking with her, I told her there are a lot of odd rumors about our faith, and if she had any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them for her. Now, my evil side thought this was hilarious. We are not normal people, so I forget that people that aren't exposed to our kind can be a little afraid, worried, or whatever. She apologized, didn't even ask me what her son said, which made me believe that she was fully aware of what he may have said. For those that are close to me, know that I can be a bit extreme. So, when she brought her son over, I made sure the house was super clean, made homemade cookies, asked if I could feed him dinner, had the Christmas lights on, etc. etc. I tried to make it so she couldn't dislike me, which normally I don't really care, but realized we could be her first impressions of Mormons.....what pressure! We'll see if he ever comes back. By the way, he was a super nice and polite kid, and is welcome back in our house anytime. I always wonder what I would have thought of Mormons if I hadn't been born into it, because even being born and raised in it, I think we are a little weird....in a good and different way.