Missionary conduct

The Missionary Handbook: The basic standards of missionary service and conduct are contained in the Missionary Handbook. Missionaries are instructed that following these standards will protect them both physically and spiritually. Mission presidents have discretion to adjust some of the standards according to local circumstances. The Missionary Handbook is also commonly and informally referred to as "the white bible". Dress and grooming: Previously, full-time LDS missionaries were required to adhere to a dress code: for men, conservative, dark trousers and suit coats, white dress shirts, and conservative ties. For women, modest and professional dresses or blouses and mid-calf length skirts were worn. In recent years, the LDS Church has updated their grooming standards. Young men are no longer required to wear dark suits, and they do not have to wear a full suit during regular everyday proselyting activities. They must, however, remain in professional, conservative attire. For instance, a light colored suit is acceptable. They are also allowed to wear a sweater or suit vest over their dress shirt and are encouraged to wear colored ties. Sister missionaries may wear skirts and dresses that cover their knees and are no longer required to wear skirts and dresses that are mid-calf length. Young women are encouraged to dress in colors and patterns, and they may wear appropriate jewelry and accessories. Sister missionaries may not wear slacks (outside of service activities or exercise) and must wear shirts that cover their entire shoulder. In some areas these standards are altered slightly according to the discretion of the mission president. For example, in hot, humid climates, suit coats are not required, and dress shirts may be short-sleeved. Casual clothes may be worn only in limited circumstances, such as when missionaries provide manual labor or exercise. All full-time missionaries wear a name tag that gives their surname with the appropriate title ("Elder" or "Sister" in English-speaking areas, or their equivalent titles in other languages). The name tag also bears the church's name, unless the mission president considers this inadvisable due to circumstances in the area (e.g., adverse political conditions). Missionaries are required to wear the tag at all times in public. Companionships: A missionary companionship, consisting of two (or occasionally, three) missionaries, is the smallest organizational unit of a mission. Every missionary is assigned by the mission president to be another missionary's companion. Missionary companionships are generally maintained for months at a time and most missionaries will have served with multiple companions by the end of their mission. These companions rarely have prior acquaintance outside of the mission. Companionships are always of the same gender. Missionary companions are instructed to stay together at all times and not to go out of the hearing of their companion's voice. Privacy is allowed only for personal care such as showering. One of the intentions of this strict policy of staying together is to discourage missionaries from breaking any mission rules. Companions share the same living quarters and the same bedroom, but not the same bed. When companions have conflicting personalities or interests, they are encouraged to try to resolve them themselves. If a missionary's companion is having difficulty with the work or with personal problems missionaries are instructed to give criticism constructively, in private and with respect. In dealing with a problem missionaries are first to raise the issue with their companion and if it is not resolved to raise it with the mission president. "A missionary's first priority is to the Lord, then to the mission president and finally to their companion", as the missionary handbook states. High value is placed on the spiritual commitment to the virtues of humility and love. Missionaries are urged to treat the companionship as a relationship that must succeed in being cooperative and selfless, thus improving the spirituality, character and social skills of each individual missionary. Married couples: Married couples serve as a companionship for the entirety of their mission and have more relaxed rules. Unlike single missionaries, they share the same bed and are able to travel outside of the mission boundaries. Personal relationships: Missionaries are encouraged to write a letter to their parents weekly. Since almost all of their time is otherwise occupied, other communication is limited. However, a missionary may use preparation day to correspond with any person that is resident outside of the boundaries of the mission. Missionaries do not go on vacation and are generally permitted to telephone their parents only on Christmas Day, and one other day of the year, usually Mother's Day. Missionaries are provided with a free, filtered church e-mail account to correspond with their parents on preparation day only by using a computer in a public location, such as at a public library or an internet café. In the event of an emergency, family members of a missionary may contact him or her via the mission president's office. Single missionaries are prohibited from dating or courting while serving missions. The policy of companionships staying together at all times serves to discourage these activities. While missionaries may interact with members of the opposite sex, they may never be alone with them or engage in any kind of intimate physical or emotional activity (e.g., kissing, hugging, holding hands, flirting). They may not telephone, write, e-mail, or accept letters from members of the opposite sex that live in the area where they are assigned to proselyte. Missionary companionships are also asked not to visit with members of the opposite sex unless at least one person of the missionaries' same sex is present to chaperone. Alternatively, those contacts may be referred to a companionship of the same gender as the contact or to married couple missionaries, when available. In the early days of the LDS Church, men were called to serve missions regardless of marital status. Today, however, married young men are not expected to serve missions, unless called to oversee a mission as a mission president. A call to be a mission president is typically extended to the married couple, and in turn, the entire family of the chosen mission president. Older retired couples also may serve as missionaries, but do not take their families with them. Schedule: Generally, missionaries wake up at 6:30 am. After praying, exercising (30 minutes), and eating breakfast, they spend two hours studying the scriptures and other materials. If they are teaching in a foreign language, they'll spend another 30 minutes to an hour studying the language. Missionaries leave their place of residence at 10 am to proselytize (or 10:30 am or 11 am if teaching in a foreign language). They have an hour for lunch and dinner, and return to their apartment by 9 pm, or 9:30 if they are in the process of teaching a lesson at the end of the day. They plan for the next day's activities, pray, and are encouraged to write in their personal journal, but are not required to. They then retire to bed at 10:30 pm. Media rules: Missionaries are admonished to "avoid all forms of worldly entertainment." Generally, they are not permitted to watch television, listen to the radio, watch or go to movies, or use the Internet (except to use email, and Facebook for their work, see Personal relationships above). They are not permitted to listen to music that has romantic lyrics or overtones, or merely entertains. The general interpretation of this guideline is to listen to only religious music, such as that performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, though the rule's application has been variable in some missions. They are only permitted to read books, magazines, or other materials authorized by the church. Slang: Missionaries are instructed to avoid slang and casual language including when they are alone in their apartment and in their letters to family. They are also instructed to refer to missionary leaders only by their correct titles. However, as with the members of any organization, some missionaries use certain missionary-specific jargon when communicating with one another. Some words and expressions are mission- or language-specific, while others are universal, such as calling the halfway point of a mission the "hump" or hump day, or describing a missionary who is excited about returning home as "trunky" as he has already packed his trunk. Foreign-language missionaries often develop a "mission language", distinct from but combining aspects of their first and acquired languages, that they use when communicating with each other; the senkyoshigo of Japan is an example.