Every member ought to be a missionary, but face it, those who have just returned from their missions really stand out. Here are just a few clues that the person you met at church has just been released from serving a full time mission.
1. In every activity, from ward car washes to cleaning up a park, they show up in their Sunday best. Suits and ties for the men, full length dresses and hose for the women – even on the hottest summer day!
2. You ask them what their name is and they introduce themselves as Elder or Sister So-and-So. Then they point to where their nametag used to be. Another big sign – they are still wearing their nametags because they are uncomfortable going without.
3. When you discuss the weather with them, they manage to bear their testimony. Somehow the conversation wanders around to a nonmember friend of yours, and before you know it, you are scheduling an appointment for said friend to meet the missionaries for the first discussion.
4. Every time you try to find them, they are with the current missionaries. They are either on splits or maybe just hanging around.
5. They are the only person you know who wakes up before sunrise to study the scriptures for an hour and then put in another hour of reading before going to bed at 10. (Other than the full-time missionaries, of course.)
6. When you invite them to see a movie, they decline because there is too much sex and violence. This even applies to Disney and other G-rated movies. Then again, those Disney movies are starting to nudge the G-rating, aren’t they?
7. Even at ward pool parties, they don’t show up in a bathing suit, or if they do, they are wearing a t-shirt that extends to their knees. It may take a few hours to get them into the water.
8. They are always looking for their companion. (Hmm, maybe that’s the real reason returned missionaries get married so quickly!)
9. When a question is asked in Sunday School, they can easily site the scripture and the verse. You may even get a recitation of the First Vision, if appropriate!
10. Finally, on a more serious note, you can feel that same sweet spirit around them as you can with the regular missionaries. Shouldn’t we all be working to have the Holy Ghost be so strong a presence?
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