Reading a Missionary's Letters

Getting weekly letters or emails from a friend or family member serving a Latter-day Saint (“Mormon”) mission? They’re often packed with shorthand — companions, transfers, investigators, P-Day — that can be baffling if you’re not a member. Here are the words that come up most, so the letters actually make sense. Tap any term for the full definition.

The quick version: a young missionary serves a full-time mission — about two years for men, 18 months for women — unpaid, far from home, and known simply as Elder or Sister plus their last name. They’re assigned a constant companion, moved between areas every few weeks, and spend their days teaching people who want to learn about the Church.

Who’s who

Elder / Sister — the title a missionary goes by, always with their surname; it’s how they’ll sign off.
Companion (“comp”) — the assigned partner a missionary lives and works with around the clock; they’re rarely out of each other’s sight.
Mission president — the adult leader over the whole mission, usually serving with his wife for three years.
Assistants to the president (APs), zone leaders, district leaders, and sister training leaders — experienced missionaries who help lead and support the others.

Where they serve

Mission call / called to serve — the official letter from Church headquarters telling them where in the world they’ll serve.
MTC — the Missionary Training Center, where they spend their first weeks learning to teach (and often a language) before heading out.
Area — the local patch — a town, or part of a city — a companionship is responsible for.
Transfer — being reassigned to a new area, a new companion, or both; it happens roughly every six weeks, so expect the return address to change.
Zone and district — the larger groupings of nearby missionaries that an area belongs to.

The people they teach

Investigator — someone taking the missionary lessons to learn about the Church, often weighing whether to be baptized.
Referral — a lead about someone who might want to learn more, often passed along by a member or through the Church’s website.
Baptismal date — a target date set with someone who’s preparing to be baptized.
Golden investigator — affectionate slang for an especially eager, prepared person who takes to the lessons quickly.

A day in the life

P-Day — “preparation day,” the one day a week (usually Monday) for laundry, shopping, sightseeing, and writing home. This is often when their letter arrives.
Tracting — knocking on doors uninvited to find people willing to listen.
Contacting — striking up gospel conversations with people in public.
Companionship study and the area book — the daily study-and-planning time, and the running record of everyone their area is teaching.
Exchanges (or splits) — temporarily swapping companions for a day, often with a leader or a local member.
Preach My Gospel — the handbook that guides how they study and teach.

Slang you’ll spot

Greenie — a brand-new missionary, fresh to “the field” (missionary life outside the MTC).
Trainer — the experienced missionary assigned as a greenie’s first companion to show them the ropes.
Trunky / trunking — mentally checked out and preoccupied with going home (as in packing the “trunk”).
Whitewash — when both companions are new to an area at once, so neither knows the people or the work yet.
Dear John / Dear Jane — a break-up letter from a boyfriend or girlfriend back home — a running source of missionary humor and heartache.

Beginning and end

Set apart — the priesthood blessing that formally begins their missionary service.
Name tag — the black badge reading “Elder” or “Sister” with their surname and the name of the Church.
Returned missionary (RM) — someone who has finished their full-time mission.
Senior couple — an older married couple serving a mission together, usually in support roles rather than door-to-door.