ach year, approximately twenty to thirty thousand Latter-day Saint
young adults leave to serve missions throughout the world.₁ Once
these young adults return home from their missionary service, most go on
to further their education, begin a career, marry, and establish a family.
Returned missionaries are a unique group in the Church and are often a
point of interest. Parents, for example, note the challenges their missionary
has as he or she makes the transition from the mission field to home. They
sometimes observe their returned missionary confronting increased stress
levels as he or she shifts from the singular focus of the mission field to making
multiple and major decisions about school, work, and dating. Ward
and stake leaders also have an interest in returned missionaries, often giving
them counsel and encouragement as well as assigning them a suitable
calling during this transitional time. President Gordon B. Hinckley
emphasized the importance of this duty to Church leaders by saying, “I am
satisfied that if every returning missionary had a meaningful responsibility
the day he or she came home, we’d have fewer of them grow cold in their
faith. I wish that you would make an effort to see that every returned missionary
receives a meaningful assignment. Activity is the nurturing process
of faithfulness.”₂
Missionary service and returned missionaries are also a point of discussion
in day-to-day conversations among Latter-day Saints Churchwide.
Statements or questions such as “He is a returned missionary” or
“She went on a mission” or “Did you serve a mission?” are often heard
wherever Church members are gathered. Why are Latter-day Saints interested
in knowing whether someone is a returned missionary? One reason
might be that when members learn that someone has served a mission,
BYU Studies , no.  () 131
Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries
in the United States
A Survey on Religious Activity and
Postmission Adjustment
Richard J. McClendon and Bruce A. Chadwick
they see that person differently. Members somehow expect that returned
missionaries are spiritually grounded, that they ought to be leaders in the
Church, that their homes and families should be stable, and that they
ought to be successful in their schooling and careers.
These assumptions, although often experienced, are not always the
case. While serving as a bishop in a Brigham Young University singles
ward, one of the authors observed a number of returned missionaries who
regretted the “loss of the Spirit” since returning from the mission field,
including some whose Church attendance gradually dropped off until they
eventually disappeared from the Church landscape. Others had dropped
out of school, were working in low-paying, dead-end jobs, were waiting a
long time to marry, and were alienated from their family. Some had experienced
severe depression during their first two years home, while others
had committed rather serious sins including sexual transgression and
involvement with drugs, alcohol, and pornography.
Are these behaviors isolated cases or part of an emerging pattern of
secularization among returned missionaries in the United States? We set
out to further investigate this and other questions by surveying five thousand
returned missionaries scattered across the United States, hoping to
collect more accurate data about their postmission lives—both at the
early stages of their return home as well as at the later stages as they settled
into adulthood.
Three general areas were assessed in this study. () How successful are
returned missionaries in their current spiritual, familial, and educational
pursuits? We answered this question by looking at a number of the demographic
factors concerning returned missionaries. These factors include
the educational attainment, socioeconomic status, family life, and religious
experiences of those who had been back from their missions two, five, ten,
and seventeen years.₃ Assessing these areas in the lives of returned missionaries
provided a barometer for how successful they are in the various life
roles they have ventured into. Part of this assessment was also intended to
identify similarities and differences between the demographic traits of men
and women. Duke and Johnson surmise that for Latter-day Saints “the
experiences of men and women are quite different and have a significant
impact on the way they feel and worship.”₄ Thus, we sought to understand
the unique differences and similarities in life outcomes of returned missionary
men and women.
() A second question we set out to answer is whether more recently
returned missionaries are as committed to gospel values and Church activity
as those who returned from their missions decades ago. Unlike most recent
research on returned missionaries that has mainly looked at the impact of
the mission experience itself, our objective here was to examine whether
132 v BYU Studies
social change in America over the past several decades has influenced
returned missionaries’ religiosity in some way.₅ In the s, Madsen found
that, overall, returned missionaries were doing very well in their religious
activity. He summarized his findings by saying that “the vast majority of
returned missionaries attend church meetings regularly, possess a current
temple recommend, serve in church callings, pay tithing, and observe
the Word of Wisdom.”₆ We used Madsen’s study as a baseline to compare
the religious behavior and marital status of returned missionaries
in our sample, thus allowing us to observe any changes that have
occurred in the interim.
One of the theoretical foundations for hypothesizing whether
returned missionaries of today should be any more or less religious than
those studied back in the s comes from the secularization thesis, a
commonly discussed theme in sociology. Scholars who accept this thesis
propose that religious commitment in American society has been in a
decline over the past several decades.₇ They believe that as modernization
and science have increased in the United States, faith in God has dwindled.
Taking this view, we might predict that the religiosity of returned missionaries
is also in decline and that our sample of returned missionaries would
have lower religiosity than those in Madsen’s sample.
On the other hand, those who reject the secularization thesis argue
that, despite science’s increasing influence, religion is reviving rather than
declining and that religious devotion in the United States is as high as it has
ever been.₈ Given this perspective, we would anticipate that religiosity
among returned missionaries has actually increased over the past three
decades or has at least remained steady.
() Finally, a third question we desired to answer was, What things will
help returned missionaries stay active and committed to the gospel after
they return home? We assessed this area with two approaches. First, we
asked those in our sample to report their own insights about postmission
adjustment challenges as well as the ways returned missionaries and the
Church can help with that adjustment. Second, because private religiosity
is a significant part of a Latter-day Saint life, we applied statistical modeling
procedures to identify the most important factors that lead to private
religiosity in adulthood among returned missionaries. Private religiosity
involves such things as reading scriptures, having personal prayer, and
thinking about religion.
In summary, an assessment of these three areas showed that as a whole
returned missionaries are adjusting well to the religious and the secular
aspects of their postmission lives. The vast majority of returned missionaries
hold strong to their religious convictions, and their religiosity levels
remain relatively high compared with the  study.
V 133Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries in the United States
Research Methods
In winter and spring , four random samples were generated of one
thousand men and five hundred women who had been back from their missions
for two, five, ten, or seventeen years. A final sample of , returned
missionaries (, men and , women) from the United States was produced.
Data were then collected via standard mail survey procedures, which
included four separate mailings. A response rate of  percent was obtained.
Given that the primary focus of our study was the religiosity of
returned missionaries, we were concerned that those who did not respond
to the survey might be significantly less active than those who did, which
would introduce a nonresponse bias. To investigate this possibility, a phone
survey was conducted of a random sample of the bishops of those returned
missionaries who did not respond to the survey. Among the bishops contacted,
 percent indicated that the returned missionary in question
attended Church meetings at least three or more times a month and in
their opinion was active in the ward. Based on this figure, we concluded
that nonresponsiveness to the survey was based on factors other than significant
inactivity or disassociation from the Church.
Results
Our study showed how returned missionaries in this sample compare
with the larger United States society and with returned missionaries of the
s and ’s. The results also indicate ways returned missionaries can
adjust to life after the mission.
Returned Missionaries:
Socioeconomic Status, Family Life, and Religiosity
As we mentioned earlier, it is commonly believed that missionary service
not only produces a strong testimony in missionaries but also prepares
young people for success in a number of other areas of their life. Our findings,
presented below, provide solid evidence to support this claim.
Socioeconomic Status. Church leaders have consistently stressed the
value of preparing oneself for life’s work through proper education. In
, President Hinckley counseled youth and young adults:
You are moving into the most competitive age the world has ever
known. All around you is competition. You need all the education you
can get. . . .
You belong to a church that teaches the importance of education. You
have a mandate from the Lord to educate your minds and your hearts
and your hands.₉
134 v BYU Studies
How are returned missionaries doing in this endeavor? We found that
 percent of those who had been back from their missions the longest
(seventeen years) had at least some college or skill training (see table ).
Thirty-seven percent of the men and  percent of the women had completed
an undergraduate degree. Another  percent of the men and  percent
of the women had earned an advanced degree. The rate for both men
and women combined in these two categories is  percent with an
V 135Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries in the United States
Family Income (1998)
Returned Missionary United States
(17-year group) (Age: 35–44)
Family (%) Family (%)c
(N=749) (N=18,823)
Under $19,999 3 Under $14,999 10
$20,000 to $29,999 7 $15,000 to $24,999 9
$30,000 to $39,999 12 $25,000 to $34,999 11
$40,000 to $49,999 17 $35,000 to $49,999 18
$50,000 to $74,999 30 $50,000 to $74,999 24
$75,000 and Over 31 $75,000 and Over 28
Total 99 Total 100
Employment Status (1999)
Returned Missionary (%) United States (%)b
(17-year group) (Age: 35–44)
Men Women Men Women
(N=451) (N=306) (N=n/a) (N=n/a)
Employed 98 57 93 77
Not Employed 1 44 7 23
Total 99 101 100 100
Education Level (1999)
Returned Missionary (%) United States (%)a
(17-year group) (Age: 35–44)
Men Women Combined Combined
(N=453) (N=308) (N=761) (N=44,462)
Did Not Finish H.S. 0 0 0 12
High School 4 3 4 34
Some College/Skill Training 26 38 31 18
College 37 45 40 18
Graduate/Professional School 33 14 25 8
Total 100 100 100 100
Table 1
Educational Attainment and Socioeconomic Status of LDS Returned
Missionaries Compared with National Rates
a
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1999, 119th ed.
(Washington, D.C.: Bernan, 1999), no. 265.
b
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1999, no. 650.
c
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2000, 120th ed.
(Washington, D.C.: Bernan, 1999), no. 746.
Note: This scale is not exactly the same as the returned missionary scale, but is close enough
to see the relative differences between the two groups.
undergraduate degree and  percent with an advanced degree. These rates
are considerably higher than the national average. For example, among
those in the United States of about the same age (thirty-five to forty-four)
in , only around  percent of men and women combined had a college
degree, and an additional  percent had an advanced degree.₁₀
It is important to note here that this and other comparisons
between returned missionaries and the national population in this study
must be viewed with caution since the differences between them may be
a result of other factors that we could not statistically control. For example,
the age of most of the returned missionaries in the seventeen-year group is
around  to  years old. The age of those in the national sample is between
 and  years old. Other factors that may represent any differences
between these two groups are race, premission economic status, and educational
goals.
Two other important indices of socioeconomic status are employment
and income. Returned missionaries rank relatively high in both. We found
that  percent of the men and  percent of the women were gainfully
employed at the time of this study. Employment among the seventeen-year
group was at  percent of the men and  percent of the women (see table ),
while the national rate for men of the same age group was almost  percent
for the men and about  percent for the women.₁₁ The lower employment
rate among returned missionary women when compared to women
in the United States is not surprising given the Church’s view that the primary
role of women is centered on home responsibilities.₁₂
The higher rate of education found among returned missionaries is
evident in family income, which was a little above the national average.
Eighty-five percent of the men in the seventeen-year group and  percent
of the women ( percent combined) made $, or more in  (see
table ). By comparison, around  percent of families in the United
States₁₃ made $, or more in .₁₄
Family Life. The Church is known for its strong family values. Accordingly,
we looked at a number of family indicators to ascertain the family life
of returned missionaries. Table  shows the marital status of returned missionaries
in the seventeen-year group. Among the men, about  percent
were in their first marriage while  percent had been divorced or remarried.
Only  percent were currently divorced, and  percent were still single.
Among men in the national sample in , around  percent were married
(first marriage or remarried), almost  percent were divorced, and
almost  percent had never married.₁₅ This difference is considerable.
Returned missionary men are more likely to get married and less likely to
divorce than men across the United States.
136 v BYU Studies
Among women
returned missionaries,
 percent of those in
the seventeen-year
group were married
(first marriage),  percent
were remarried,
about  percent were
separated or divorced,
and  percent had
never married. The
national marriage
rates () of women
of comparable age
indicate that about 
percent of women
were married (first
marriage or remarried),
around  percent
were divorced,
and about  percent
had never married.₁₆
Like those for the
men, these figures
show that the divorce
rate among returned
missionary women is
much lower than the
national rate. The percent
of returned missionary
women who
had not yet married
was nearly identical to
the national rate of
single women.
We also found that
nearly all returned
missionaries who were
married had a spouse who is a member of the Church, and  percent
either had married in the temple or had been sealed later. In addition, a
relatively high fertility rate was discovered. Latter-day Saints have been
known for having larger families than the national average, and this study
V 137Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries in the United States
Marital Status (1999)
Returned
Missionary (%)
United
States (%)
a
(17-year group) (Age: 35–44)
Men Women Men Women
(N=454) (N=312) (N=22,055) (N=22,407)
Single, never married 2 13 19 12
Cohabiting 0 2 n/a n/a
Married, first marriage 89 76
Remarried 6 5
Divorced 1 3 12 14
Widowed 1 0 0 1
Total 99 99 100 99
Table 2a
Marital Status of LDS Returned Missionaries
Compared with National Rates
a
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1999,
no. 63.
69 72
Number of Children (N=426) (N=297) (N=723)
None 4 15 9
One 3 5 4
Two 12 14 13
Three 25 20 23
Four 30 20 26
Five 14 16 15
Six + 12 10 11
Total 100 100 101
LDS Spouse (N=438) (N=260) (N=698)
Yes 99 95 98
No 1 5 2
Total 100 100 100
Men (%) Women (%) Combined (%)
Marriage Type (N=438) (N=260) (N=698)
Temple Sealing 91 87 90
Civil Ceremony 3 7 4
Civil Ceremony/
Temple Sealing
6 7 6
Total 100 101 100
Table 2b
Family Characteristics of Married LDS Returned
Missionaries, 17-year group
verifies this pattern. The average number of children among returned missionary
families for the seventeen-year group was . for the men and . for
the women. In contrast, the average number of children born to women
between the ages of thirty-five and forty-four in the United States in  was
around ..₁₇
Religious Activity. Fulltime
missionary service provides
young adults with an
opportunity unlike any other
to develop personal spiritual
habits. Results from our
research suggest that these
habits are not abandoned
once missionaries return
home. For example,  percent
of all returned missionaries
attend sacrament
meeting almost every week
(see table ). Sunday School
and priesthood/Relief Society
attendance are slightly lower
with  and  percent
weekly attendance reported
respectively. Forty-eight percent
read their scriptures at
least a few times a week,
 percent pray privately at
least a few times a week,
 percent hold a current
temple recommend,  percent
are full-tithe payers, and
 percent keep the Word of
Wisdom. A comparison between
men and women
reveals women are consistently
higher in their religiosity
than men. This fits
the same pattern found
nationally: women are often
much higher in their religious
belief, commitment,
and behavior than men.₁₈
138 v BYU Studies
Personal
Scripture Study
(N=1,876) (N=1,330) (N=3,206)
Not at all 5 3 4
Less than once a
month
11 9 10
About once a month 9 6 8
2–3 times a month 13 13 13
About once a week 20 15 18
A few times a week 30 34 32
Every day 13 20 16
Total 101 100 101
Priesthood/Relief
Society Attendance
(N=1,880) (N=1,333) (N=3,213)
Never 3 2 3
Few times a year 2 2 2
Every other month 1 1 1
Once a month 3 2 3
2-3 times a month 11 8 10
Almost every week 79 86 82
Total 99 101 101
Sunday School
Attendance
(N=1,880) (N=1,332) (N=3,212)
Never 3 2 3
Few times a year 2 2 2
Every other month 1 1 1
Once a month 4 2 3
2–3 times a month 12 8 10
Almost every week 79 85 81
Total 101 100 100
Men (%) Women (%) Combined (%)
Sacrament
Attendance
(N=1,882) (N=1,337) (N=3,219)
Never 1 1 1
Few times a year 2 1 2
Every other month 1 0 1
Once a month 2 1 2
2–3 times a month 10 7 9
Almost every week 85 90 87
Total 101 100 102
Table 3
Religious Activity of LDS Returned Missionaries
(All Age Groups)
The relatively high rates of
religiosity for returned missionaries
is notable. This is
especially significant given
that our sample not only
included recently returned
missionaries but also those
who have been home for a
considerable length of time.
These findings, when added
to results from previous
research on returned missionaries,₁₉
provide consistently
strong evidence that the vast
majority of returned missionaries
stay faithful to gospel
values not only immediately
upon their return home but
also later in their lives.
Family religious activities
are at the core of a Latter-day
Saint home. Elder Russell M.
Nelson counseled, “Happiness
at home is most likely to
be achieved when practices
there are founded upon the
teachings of Jesus Christ.
Ours is the responsibility to ensure that we have family prayer, scripture
study, and family home evening.”₂₀ We assessed these three religious
activities among returned missionary families. As table  illustrates, we
found that  percent of married or divorced returned missionaries have
family prayer at least a few times a week,  percent hold family scripture
study that often, and  percent hold family home evening at least two or
three times a month. Given the complexities and demands on the modern
family, these figures indicate a relatively sound commitment to family religious
practices in homes of returned missionaries.
Comparing Recently Returned Missionaries
to Those of a Generation Ago
Research on secularization of Latter-day Saints shows that they may
have a unique immunity to the acceptance of so-called worldly values.
V 139Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries in the United States
Word of Wisdom (N=1,887) (N=1,339) (N=3,226)
Yes—Completely 96 98 97
Most of the time 3 1 2
No 1 2 2
Total 101 100 101
Tithing Status (N=1,886) (N=1,338) (N=3,224)
Full tithe payer 89 92 90
Partial tithe payer 7 5 6
Non tithe payer 5 4 5
Total 101 101 101
Current Temple
Recommend
(N=1,885) (N=1,339) (N=3,224)
Yes 84 91 87
No 16 10 14
Total 100 101 101
Men (%) Women (%) Combined (%)
Private Prayer (N=1,877) (N=1,330) (N=3,207)
Not at all 2 1 2
Less than once
a month
6 2 4
About once
a month
4 2 3
2–3 times a month 7 4 6
About once a week 7 6 7
A few times a
week
26 23 25
Every day 49 62 54
Total 101 100 101
Table 3 (continued)
Stark found little evidence
to support that the
Church was in any kind
of religious decline.₂₁ He
explained that the “secularization
thesis would
hold that religious movements
such as Mormonism
will do best in
places where modernization
has had the least
impact. . . . These assumptions
about secularization
are refuted by
research. . . . Mormons
thrive in the most, not
the least, secularized
nations.”₂₂ In , Albrecht
and Heaton found
that among many religious
groups in the
United States “educational
achievement impacts
negatively on
religious commitment
and that increased levels
of education often lead to
apostasy as individuals encounter views that deemphasize spiritual growth
and elevate scientific and intellectual achievement.”₂₃ Among Latter-day
Saints, however, Albrecht and Heaton found a positive relationship between
education and religiosity and concluded that there was very little evidence
to support the secularization thesis. Others have found similar results.₂₄
To test the secularization notion among returned missionaries, we
compared the religiosity of returned missionaries of the s and s to
those of the s and s. In , Madsen conducted a survey of
returned missionaries from the United States who had been home from
their missions up to ten years.₂₅ This information provided a baseline
against which we compared our sample in both private and public religiosity
as well as marital status. Private religious behavior includes such
things as conducting personal scripture study, having personal prayer,
holding a current temple recommend, and paying tithing. Areas of public
140 v BYU Studies
Family Home Evening (N=1,589) (N=1,068) (N=2,657)
Not at all 16 7 16
Less than once a month 16 11 14
About once a month 15 12 14
2–3 times a month 21 21 21
About once a week 31 38 34
Total 99 99 99
Family Prayer (N=1,659) (N=1,091) (N=2,750)
Not at all 7 7 7
Less than once a month 6 5 6
About once a month 5 3 4
2–3 times a month 5 4 5
About once a week 7 6 7
A few times a week 21 18 20
Every day 50 58 53
Total 101 101 102
Men (%) Women (%) Combined (%)
Family Scripture Study (N=1,657) (N=1,084) (N=2,741)
Not at all 14 14 14
Less than once a month 16 11 14
About once a month 10 8 9
2–3 times a month 12 10 11
About once a week 12 13 12
A few times a week 23 23 23
Every day 13 22 17
Total 100 101 100
Table 4
Family Religious Activity of LDS Returned Missionaries
(Only Married and Divorced, All Age Groups)
religious behavior are sacrament meeting attendance, Sunday School attendance,
priesthood/Relief Society meeting attendance, and adherence to the
Word of Wisdom.₂₆
Private Religious Behavior. We found that returned missionaries in our
sample read their scriptures and prayed somewhat less than those in
Madsen’s study. Forty-nine percent
of current returned missionaries
had personal scripture
study at least a few times a week
or daily compared to  percent
of those thirty years earlier (see
table ). In addition,  percent
had daily prayer, compared to
around  percent in Madsen’s
sample. About  percent in each
group held a current temple recommend,
and both groups were
between  and  percent fulltithe
payers.₂₇
Why returned missionaries
are praying and reading their
scriptures less today than they
did thirty years ago is not clear.
Certainly secularization could
account for this decline. Modernization
has set up a more
competitive world requiring
greater time demands on the
family. More fathers are working
longer, more mothers are entering
the work place, and children
are competing and specializing
at school more than they were
thirty years ago.₂₈ For returned
missionaries, as with the rest of
society, this tide of busyness may
be sweeping them up, perhaps
leaving them less time for private
religious observances. Another
possible explanation is that,
given the added emphasis the
V 141Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries in the United States
Temple Recommend (N=1,128)f
(N=2,611)
Yes 85 85
No 15 15
Total 100 100g
Tithing Status (N=1,123) (N=2,613)
Non tithe payer 3 4
Partial tithe payer 5 7
Full tithe payer 92 90
Total 100 101e
Personal Prayer (N=1,118) (N=2,594)
Not at allc
3 2
Infrequently 8 20
Few times per week 18 24
Daily 71 54
Total 100 100d
1977
Study (%)
1999
Study (%)
Personal Scripture Study (N=1,122) (N=2,600)
Not at Alla
4 4
Infrequently 21 18
Weekly 20 30
Few times per week 35 33
Daily 20 16
Total 100 101b
Table 5
Private Religious Behavior of LDS Returned
Missionaries in 1977 and 1999 (Collapsed Scales)
a
Madsen’s wording for this category was “Seldom or
Never.”
b
For Madsen’s (1977) study, Mean=3.473 SD=1.141.
For our (1999) study, Mean=3.386 SD=1.065. The
t-value is 2.18 and is statistically significant at p <– .05
c
Madsen’s wording for this category was “Specific
occasions or rarely.“
d
For Madsen’s (1977) study, Mean=3.570 SD=0.773.
For our (1999) study, Mean=3.305 SD=0.847. The
t-value is 9.46 and is statistically significant at p <– .01
e
χ2
= 4.95
f
Madsen (1977) did not provide the N for this category,
so 1,128 (N for his total response rate) was included as
the N in order to calculate the χ2
value.
g
χ2
= 0.013
Church has placed on the family
during the past several decades,
private religious practices are
being replaced by family religious
practices. In other words, married
couples, although recognizing the
value of private religiosity, may
end up substituting family prayer
and scripture study for personal
prayer and scripture study in
order to keep up with the
demands of other responsibilities.
Public Religious Behavior. As
for public religiosity,  percent of
the returned missionaries we studied
attended sacrament meeting on
a weekly basis (see table ). This is
higher than the  percent reported
by returned missionaries thirty
years ago. Both groups of returned
missionaries ranged between 
and  percent weekly attendance
at Sunday School and priesthood/Relief
Society. Adherence to
the Word of Wisdom for both
groups was extremely high, with
 percent of the current sample
indicating adherence and  percent
of the earlier group of returned
missionaries indicating the same.₂₉
Even though sacrament meeting
attendance is significantly
higher now than thirty years ago, a
second look at where the significant
shift occurs is between those
who attended “– times a
month” and “almost every week”
(see table ). In other words, the
difference is found among those
who were already very active and
then became even more active.
142 v BYU Studies
Word of Wisdom
Status (%)
(N=1,128)f
(N=2,613)
Yes 97 99
No 3 1
Total 100 100g
Priesthood/
RS Attendance
(N=1,121) (N=2,601)
Never 2 3
Infrequently 3 3
Once a month 1 4
2–3 times a month 20 12
Almost every week 74 78
Total 100 100e
Sunday School
Attendance
(N=1,119) (N=2,602)
Never 1 2
Infrequently 3 3
Once a montha
2 4
2–3 times a month 19 12
Almost every weekb
75 79
Total 100 100d
1977
Study (%)
1999
Study (%)
Sacrament Attendance (N=1,120) (N=2,604)
Never 1 1
Infrequently 2 2
Once a montha
1 2
2–3 times a month 18 10
Almost every weekb
78 86
Total 100 101c
Table 6
Public Religious Behavior of LDS Returned
Missionaries in 1977 and 1999 (Collapsed Scales)
a
Madsen’s wording for this category was ”One time per
month.“
b
Madsen’s wording for this category was ”Every week.“
c
For Madsen’s (1977) study, Mean=4.686 SD=0.710. For
our (1999) study, Mean=4.777 SD=0.650. The t-value is
-3.64 and is statistically significant at p <– .01.
d
For Madsen’s (1977) study, Mean=4.638 SD=0.773. For
our (1999) study, Mean=4.636 SD=0.849. The t-value is
0.07.
e
For Madsen’s (1977) study, Mean=4.616 SD=0.807. For
our (1999) study, Mean=4.603 SD=0.898. The t-value is
0.40.
f
Madsen (1977) did not provide the N for this category, so
1,128 (N for his total response rate) was included as the N
in order to calculate the χ2
value.
g
χ2
= 13.55 and is statistically significant at p <– .01.
The increase of public religiosity during the past thirty years can certainly
be attributed to an increase in personal faith. There may be, however,
a couple of structural explanations as well. One is that the Church has continued
to construct meetinghouses closer to the people, allowing members
to attend Church more often than they used to. A second possibility may
arise from the establishment in the early s of the three-hour block of
Church meetings. Prior to that time, members attended Sunday morning
meetings comprised of priesthood and Sunday School, and later in the
evening they would return for sacrament meeting. The establishment of
the more time-and-travel-efficient three-hour meetings may have played a
part in higher Church attendance among returned missionaries of the s
and s. Whatever the reasons, in the end, returned missionaries continue
to remain extremely active in the public aspects of their religiosity.
When looking at the overall trend in religiosity among returned missionaries
during the past several decades, then, we can see that some measures
in the private realm have declined while others have held steady. In
the public sector, some indicators have increased, and others have
remained the same. It would be premature to suggest that secularization is
found among returned missionaries. Other than private prayer, it is our
belief that, as a whole, the religious behavior of returned missionaries
today is generally similar to those studied in .
Marital Status and Temple Marriage. Another indicator of religious
conviction among Latter-day Saints is temple marriage. We found
that  percent of all returned missionaries in our sample had a current
temple marriage as compared to  percent of Madsen’s sample (see table
). This marks a decrease of four percent over a thirty-year period. However,
the number of those remaining single has increased by six percent to
 percent in our sample as compared to  percent in Madsen’s sample.₃₀
It appears that the decrease in temple marriages is attributed to the higher
numbers of those not yet married
rather than to an increase in civil
marriages. This tendency for
returned missionaries to wait longer
to marry follows the pattern in the
United States over the same period
of time. In the s, men and
women in the United States married
around the age of twenty-three and
twenty-one, respectively. The average
age in  for men was twentysix
and for women, twenty-four.
V 143Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries in the United States
1977
Study (%)
1999
Study (%)
Marital Status (N=1,114) (N=2,618)
Current temple marriage 67 63
Current civil marriage 4 2
Single, never married 28 34
Single, divorced 1 1
Total 100 100a
χ2
= 19.15 and is statistically significant at p <– .01.
Table 7
Marital Status of LDS Returned Missionaries
in 1977 and 1999 (Collapsed Scales)
Increased opportunities for both education and work are two of the reasons
attributed to the postponement of marriage among Americans.₃₁
Helping Returned Missionaries Adjust and
Stay Committed to Gospel Values
As mentioned earlier, Church leaders have encouraged returned missionaries
to continue living the same standards after their missions as they
did while serving. Elder Dallin H. Oaks reminded:
I say to our returned missionaries—men and women who have
made covenants to serve the Lord and who have already served Him in
the great work of proclaiming the gospel and perfecting the Saints—
are you being true to the faith? Do you have the faith and continuing
commitment to demonstrate the principles of the gospel in your own
lives, consistently? You have served well, but do you, like the pioneers,
have the courage and the consistency to be true to the faith and to
endure to the end?₃₂
We found that the large majority of returned missionaries in the current
study were doing well in their early postmission adjustments. For example,
when asked how difficult it was for them to adjust to postmission life, only
about  percent indicated that it was either “quite difficult” or “very difficult.”
The vast majority ( percent) indicated that this adjustment was
either “somewhat difficult,” “a little difficult,” or “not at all difficult.”
We further examined adjustment issues by asking returned missionaries
to respond to three open-ended questions about the specific difficulties
they encountered as they returned home, things family and Church leaders
could do to help ease the stress of this transition, and things returned missionaries
themselves could do to help ease transition stress.
Adjustment Concerns. The major concerns among returned missionary
men are handling dating and marriage issues, adjusting to family and
friends, and dealing with culture shock (see table ). One man wrote, “Dating
was a challenge as relationships with young women had been carefully
monitored by myself for two years. Also, dating leads to marriage and with
my parent’s marriage ending in divorce, this activity was scary.” Another
man reported the most difficult adjustment he faced was how “to make so
many critical decisions about my schooling, career, employment, social
adjustment in such a short time.”
Women rated “adjusting to family and friends” and “dating, courtship,
and marriage” issues as the top two problems they faced. One young woman
explained that because she saw her family in a new light, she was “very critical
of them. This caused big problems with [her] mother.” Other women found
144 v BYU Studies
that old friends had changed. “My friends were all married,” one woman
wrote, “so the friends I had were all in the mission field. I was very lonely.”
Another commented, “All of my closest friends were either married or currently
serving a mission, so I felt the adjustment of making new friends. Also,
I had a boyfriend who had waited for me and we went through an adjustment
phase and the stresses of deciding whether to get married, etc.”
Women ranked psychological adjustments higher on the list than men.
One woman explained that the most difficult adjustment she faced was “having
a focus on myself! I felt so guilty. . . .[F]inding a new social group seemed
so daunting and impossible. I felt so ‘nerdish’ and that was a new feeling and
made me feel guilty that I cared about all that.” It appears that some young
women may be more prone to experience a sense of guilt or frustration than
men as they make the transition from the mission field to home.
Although our focus here is on returned missionaries, it should be
pointed out that these types of feelings and adjustments are certainly not
V 145Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries in the United States
Men (N=1,639) Women (N=1,245)
Response Rate (%) Response Rate (%)a
Dating, courtship, and marriage 22 Adjusting to family and friends 28
Adjusting to family and friends 21 Dating, courtship, and marriage 20
Adjusting socially, culture shock 14
Adjusting socially, culture
shock
19
Finding employment 13
Adjusting psychologically:
feeling lonely, selfish
15
Lacking routine, rules, structure,
goals, and effective use of time
13 Maintaining spirituality 15
Maintaining spirituality 13
Encountering identity crisis—
not being needed
14
Schooling 12
Lacking routine, rules,
structure, goals, and effective
use of time
13
Adjusting psychologically:
feeling lonely, selfish
9 Finding employment 10
Encountering identity crisis—
not being needed
7
Longing for companionship,
associations, and activities of
mission field
11
Longing for companionship,
associations, and activities of
mission field
7 Schooling 8
Question: Upon arriving home from your mission, what were the most difficult adjustments or
problems you faced?
Answer: Because this was an open-ended question, some returned missionaries gave several
suggestions. Up to the first three suggestions were included in the response rates. Thus, the
total response rate for each group may exceed 100%.
Table 8
Top Adjustment Problems and Concerns among LDS Returned Missionaries (1999)
unique to returned missionaries. Latter-day Saint young adults, regardless
of returned-missionary status, experience similar challenges and must
navigate their way through what is termed “the transition into adulthood.”
Ways the Church Could Help. When asked how the Church could
help returned missionaries successfully cope with adjustments upon their
return home, the respondents’ most frequent suggestion was for them to
receive a call to a responsible position as soon as possible (see table ). This
is important in light of the statement by President Hinckley mentioned
earlier that if all returning missionaries had a “meaningful responsibility”
once they returned home, they would have a greater chance of remaining
strong and active in the Church. Confirming President Hinckley’s invitation,
one young man stated, “Put the R.M.’s to work right away, meaning a
calling. Don’t let them drift for weeks or months with no responsibility.
Challenge them. Most missionaries enjoyed the challenge of knocking on
stranger’s doors, etc. Don’t feel like they need ‘time off.’”
146 v BYU Studies
Men (N=1,397) Women (N=1,146)
Response Rate (%) Response Rate (%)a
Call to responsible position 38 Call to responsible position 52
Involve them in service 18 Involve them in service 18
Encourage involvement in YSA
programs
11
Encourage involvement in
YSA programs
10
Interview at regular intervals 9
Hold special classes/
firesides for RMs
7
Hold special classes/
firesides for RMs
7 Interview at regular intervals 7
Place less emphasis on
marriage immediately after
release
5
Call RMs as stake
missionaries
6
Provide educational and career
counseling and job placement
5
Hold RM gatherings/
support/reunions
6
Call RMs as stake
missionaries
4
Place less emphasis on
marriage immediately after
release
5
Offer special programs
through elder’s quorum/
RS/Sunday school
4
Offer special programs
through elder’s quorum/
RS/Sunday school
3
Hold RM gatherings/
support/reunions
3
Provide educational and
career counseling and
job placement
3
Question: What could the Church (stakes and/or wards) do to help missionaries successfully
cope with the adjustments or problems they face upon returning home?
a
Because this was an open-ended question, some returned missionaries gave several
suggestions. Up to the first three suggestions were included in the response rates. Thus,
the total response rate for each group may exceed 100%.
Table 9
Top Ways the Church Could Help Returned Missionaries
This sentiment was also expressed among the women in the study. For
example, one women declared, “I think that missionaries need to be
involved immediately in church positions so they stay active in serving
and teaching.” She concluded, “They need to feel that their experiences and
service to the Lord are valued and appreciated. The best way to do that is
use them.” Another women advised, “Give them a calling, or keep them
busy. Be their friend. Talk with them on an individual basis. Really care
about them.”
Other insightful suggestions from both men and women included
Church leaders involving returned missionaries in service, providing
strong young single adult programs, conducting interviews at regular
intervals, and holding special classes or seminars for returned missionaries.
Counsel, support, and encouragement from Church leaders concerning
educational pursuits, the launching of careers, and dating would perhaps
ease the difficult decisions following mission service.
Ways Returned Missionaries Could Help Themselves. The most frequent
suggestion on how returned missionaries could help themselves was
for them to request a Church assignment, keep busy, and get involved in
Church activity and service (see table ). In other words, newly returned
V 147Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries in the United States
Men (N=1,469) Women (N=1,204)
Top Responses Rate (%) Top Responses Rate (%)a
Request Church assignment,
keep busy, get involved in Church
activity and service
23
Request Church assignment,
keep busy, get involved in Church
activity and service
36
Get involved in school/work 18 Have personal prayer 22
Study gospel regularly (scriptures) 17 Study gospel regularly (scriptures) 22
Have personal prayer 16 Get involved in school/work 20
Date/Get involved socially 13 Set goals; priorities 14
Set goals; priorities 13 Date/Get involved socially 12
Get involved generally (social and
community)
10
Get involved generally (social and
community)
11
Maintain mission standards 10 Maintain mission standards 11
Stay close to Spirit, God, Christ,
build testimony
5 Seek spiritual associations 8
Attend all church meetings 3
Stay close to Spirit, God, Christ,
build testimony
8
Seek spiritual associations 3 Attend all church meetings 5
Question: What could missionaries do to help themselves with the adjustments of returning home
from the mission field?
a
Because this was an open-ended question, some returned missionaries gave several suggestions.
Up to the first three suggestions were included in the response rates. Thus, the total response rate
for each group may exceed 100%.
Table 10
Top Ways Returned Missionaries Could Help Themselves
missionaries should be proactive in finding ways to serve. Setting goals,
getting involved in school and work, having a regular gospel study program,
and continuing to hold personal prayer were also important activities
suggested by returned missionaries. One young man said, “Continue
to keep mission grooming standards and scripture study and prayer schedules.
Don’t ‘take a break’ from serving in the Church (go on splits, home
teach, attend firesides and socials, etc.).” Other suggestions were getting
involved in dating, maintaining mission standards, seeking spiritual associations,
attending all Church meetings, and accepting personal responsibility
for adjustment.
Commitment to Private Religiosity in Adulthood
Another way in which we probed the dynamics of the postmission
experience was by statistically assessing what factors in returned missionaries’
high school and mission years are related to helping them stay strong in
their private religiosity after they return home. In other words, we wanted
to know what things people can do before, during, and soon after their missions
that will help them to maintain a strong commitment to reading their
scriptures, praying, and thinking often about religion later in their adult life.
Figure  shows a conceptual model of the various dimensions or factors
that we hypothesized influence private religiosity in adulthood. Private,
public, and family religious practices at various times in life; parent
and peer influences during adolescence; mission experiences; and religious
education and Church social involvement after a mission were all included
in the model.₃₃ From this conceptual model, a statistical model was constructed
using variables that measure each dimension in the conceptual
model. The statistical model was then tested using Structural Equation
Modeling (SEM).₃₄ Essentially, SEM assesses the simultaneous interaction
between multiple variables, thus providing a more realistic picture of the
complexity of human behavior. The results of all significant factors are
modeled in the figures in the appendix.
The strongest correlation in the model was between early postmission
private religiosity and later adult private religiosity for both the men and
the women. (The men had a coefficient of ., and the women had ..)
The relationship between premission private religiosity and early postmission
private religiosity was also significant (men, . and women, .).
Thus, if returned missionaries had a strong commitment to reading their
scriptures, praying, and thinking about religion during their high school
years, they were more likely to continue these practices during the first year
home from their mission, which itself led to higher commitment in this
area later in life.
148 v BYU Studies
Another essential factor that led to strong private religiosity in adulthood,
at least for the men, was the avoidance of R-rated movies and videos after they
came home from their mission. (The coefficient for this relationship was .;
see appendix.) We used R-rated media as an indicator of exposure to things
such as profanity, violence, and pornography in the media. A strong relationship
between avoiding R-rated movies and videos before a mission and
staying away from them immediately after was also found (.). In other
words, if youth disciplined themselves not to see R-rated media (and, for
that matter, any media regardless of rating that offers exposure to inappropriate
behavior) while in their high school years, they were less likely to
view this material during the first year home from their mission as well as
later in their adult life.
Private religiosity in adulthood was influenced by the type of mission
experience as well, albeit indirectly. Findings vary between men and
V 149Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries in the United States
Premission
Experiences
Religiosity
Private Behavior
Public Behavior
Family Religiosity
Religious Adherence
Seminary
Family
Parent/Child
Acceptance
Behavioral Control
Psychological Control
Peer
Peer Influence
Mission
Experiences
Rules
Relationships
Satisfaction
Early Postmission
Experiences
Religiosity
Private Behavior
Public Behavior
Family
Parent/Child
Acceptance
Psychological Control
Peer
Peer Influence
Church Social
Experiences
Church Calling
Ward Experience
Social Involvement
Religious Education
Religious Education
Current Adult-Life
Experiences
Religiosity
Private Behavior
Fig. . Conceptual model for predicting early postmission, mission, and premission factors on
private adult religiosity.
women, but, in general, missionaries who kept the mission rules, who got
along well with their companions, and who had a satisfying mission experience
were more likely to continue to read their scriptures, pray, and think
about religion right after their missions, which as we showed above is
strongly linked to private religiosity in adulthood. In addition, men who
kept mission rules (.) and were more satisfied with their mission (.)
were more likely to avoid R-rated media immediately after their missions,
which was correlated with higher religiosity in their adult life. So, the mission
experience seems to matter when it comes to religious commitment
later in life. However, we are cautious when interpreting these correlations
because we are unsure whether they represent a causal relationship or are
the outcome of selection bias. In other words, certain missionaries bring
with them into the mission field traits that help them keep mission rules or
get along with a companion. Thus, the indicators we used to measure the
mission experience may actually be measuring premission characteristics.
In addition, we found that family experiences, including family religious
practices and the parent/child relationship, had a significant influence
on private religiosity in adulthood. Specifically, men who were raised in
homes where family home evening, family prayer, and family scripture
study were practiced had higher adult private religiosity (.). Notably, this
direct relationship was not found for the women. They seem to be more
resilient to any neutral or negative experiences in their family than the men
in terms of premission family religious practices. Perhaps the influence of
Church advisors and/or friends during adolescence helps to moderate
these effects in some way.
We also found that the parent/child relationship during high school is
indirectly related to adult private religiosity through their mission experiences.
For both men and women, their mother’s level of acceptance before
their mission influences their experiences in the mission field. Social scientists
refer to “parental acceptance” as the positive interpersonal relationship
and emotional ties between parents and children.₃₅
In addition, returned missionary women were influenced by their
mothers’ psychological control, which directly influences how these
women get along with their mission companions. Social scientists explain
that psychologically controlling parents intrude upon their children’s
development of individual identity, sense of efficacy, and feelings of selfworth.
Such parents refuse to listen to or quickly dismiss their teenagers’
ideas, opinions, and feelings.₃₆ Thus, women who experience this while
teenagers may be hindered from developing a strong sense of self and the
inner control necessary to resist selfish impulses that cause conflict with
mission companions.
150 v BYU Studies
The significant negative relationship that seminary (years of seminary
completion) has on several factors in the men’s and women’s models is
opposite of what we expected (see appendix). As we further investigated
this outcome, we found several possible reasons why this is the case. Perhaps
the most important of these is that this outcome is simply a statistical
aberration. In multiple regression analysis, this type of outcome happens
once in a while and is often attributed to a phenomenon known as suppression.₃₇
This occurs when an independent variable, which originally has
no significant bivariate correlation with a dependent variable, becomes
highly significant to that dependent variable when it is tested in a multivariate
model with one or several other independent variables with which
it has a strong correlation. In our case, seminary (years of seminary completion)
was found to have no significant bivariate relationship with keeping
mission rules, early postmission religiosity, avoiding R-rated movies, or
adult private religiosity for the men and the same for early postmission private
religiosity for the women. However, when seminary was put into a
multivariate model that included premission private religiosity (with
which it has a significantly strong positive correlation), the interaction
between these two variables creates a suppressor effect that renders seminary
to have a significant negative relationship with the variables mentioned
above. In the end, although seminary is found to be negatively
correlated to several factors in both the men’s and women’s multivariate
models, these relationships are a statistical anomaly and should therefore
be considered spurious.
Conclusion
Many feel that the postmission experience is a pivotal time for Latterday
Saint young adults where maintaining the religious identity they developed
in the mission field is tested. Latter-day Saints tend to attach high
spiritual and social expectations to returned missionaries given their
unique “life-transforming” experiences in the mission field. Results from
this study indicate that such expectations may be warranted. Returned
missionaries as a whole are doing very well, not only in the religious
aspects of their lives, but in a number of other areas as well. Of significance
is the finding that the socioeconomic status among returned missionaries
exceeds that of the national average. Family characteristics are also different
than those nationally, with returned missionaries showing a much
lower average of divorce and also more children than their peers across the
United States. As we have stated earlier in this article, these differences
must be viewed with caution since we cannot statistically control for age,
race, premission economic status, and educational goals.
V 151Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries in the United States
High religiosity across a number of indicators was also found among
these returned missionaries. Although it is unfortunate that any returned
missionary falls into inactivity, the fact that almost nine out of ten
returned missionaries continue to regularly attend Church up to seventeen
years after their missions is remarkable. A comparison of returned missionaries’
private religiosity over the past thirty years shows a modest
decline in their scripture study and prayer, yet these levels still remain
relatively high. On the other hand, an increase in their Church attendance
was also found. A number of other factors remained the same. These findings
() underscore the point that the vast majority of returned missionaries
in our  study continue to hold strong to their religious convictions
and () refute the notion that there is an emerging pattern of inactivity or
secularization among them. The recent raising of the bar for missionary
eligibility and personalizing their teaching of the gospel would only tend to
strengthen these positive results in coming years.
The results from our multivariate modeling showed that if returned missionaries
had a strong commitment to private religiosity during their high
school years, they were more likely to continue that practice during the first
year home from their mission, which practice, in turn, continued into adulthood.
Thus, it is important for parents and Church leaders to help young men
and young women begin a habit of personal prayer and scripture study during
the impressionable high school years. Other notable factors associated
with private religiosity in adulthood were avoiding R-rated or inappropriate
media; having positive mission experiences and attitudes; being involved in
family home evening, family prayer, and family scripture study while a youth;
and as a youth having a positive relationship with parents.
Finally, the majority of returned missionaries are adjusting well to
postmission life. As suggested by the returned missionaries themselves, the
most important thing they can do to help themselves during this stage is to
continue to maintain good spiritual habits such as holding daily prayer and
scripture study, attending Church meetings, and serving in a significant
ward calling. Many of the returned missionaries recognize that such spiritual
maintenance will help them have the spiritual resources to draw upon
when they are challenged by other areas in life—dating, family, culture
shock, school, and work.
In , President Hinckley counseled Church leaders to help retain
new converts by providing them with “a friend, a responsibility, and nurturing
with ‘the good word of God.’”₃₈ Certainly this counsel can pertain to
all members of the Church, and, based on the findings in this study, it can
especially be applied to “retaining” newly returned missionaries. If
returned missionaries are immediately provided with the responsibility of
152 v BYU Studies
a Church calling, involve themselves in Church social activities where they
can develop good friendships, and continue to be nurtured through personal
prayer and scripture study, they most likely will find the strength to
successfully navigate their way through their postmission pursuits and
continue to contribute as members of their family, society, and the Church.
Richard J. McClendon (rjm@email.byu.edu) is Visiting Assistant Professor
of Sociology at Brigham Young University. He received a PhD in sociology from
Brigham Young University.
Bruce A. Chadwick (bruce_chadwick@byu.edu) is Professor of Sociology at
Brigham Young University. He received a PhD from Washington University
at St. Louis.
. The total number of full-time missionaries serving at the end of  was
,. “Statistical Report, ,” Ensign  (May ): . A small percentage of
full-time missionaries are older adults.
. Gordon B. Hinckley, “Latter-day Counsel: Selections from Addresses by
President Gordon B. Hinckley,” Ensign  (March ): .
. The original strategy was to look at those who had returned from their missions
fifteen years previous to our study rather than seventeen years. However, a
two-year adjustment was made because missionaries who returned fifteen years
previous to our study served for only eighteen months. We thus selected the
seventeen-year group who served for twenty-four months, which is the same
length of time as the two, five, and ten-year groups.
. James T. Duke and Barry L. Johnson, “The Religiosity of Mormon Men and
Women through the Life Cycle,” in Latter-day Saint Social Life: Social Research on
the LDS Church and Its Members, ed. James T. Duke (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft,
), .
. Darwin L. Thomas, “Reflections on Adolescent and Young Adult Development:
Religious, Familial, and Educational Identities,” Family Perspective , no. 
(): –; Darwin L. Thomas, Joseph A. Olsen, and Stan E. Weed, “Missionary
Service of LDS Young Men: A Longitudinal Analysis,” paper presented at the
Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion in Conjunction
with the Religious Research Association, October , in Salt Lake City.
. John Max Madsen, “Church Activity of LDS Returned Missionaries” (PhD
diss., Brigham Young University, ), abstract.
. Frank J. Lechner, “The Case against Secularization: A Rebuttal,” Social
Forces  (June ): –; David Yamane, “Secularization on Trial: In Defense
of a Neosecularization Paradigm,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 
(March ): –.
. Theodore Caplow, Howard M. Bahr, and Bruce A. Chadwick, All Faithful
People: Change and Continuity in Middletown’s Religion (Minneapolis: University
of Minnesota Press, ); Rodney Stark and Laurence R. Iannaccone, “Sociology of
Religion,” in Encyclopedia of Sociology, eds. Edgar F. Borgatta and Marie L. Borgatta
(New York: Macmillan, ), :–; R. Stephen Warner, “Work in
V 153Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries in the United States
Progress toward a New Paradigm for the Sociological Study of Religion in the
United States,” American Journal of Sociology  (March ): –.
. Gordon B. Hinckley, “A Prophet’s Counsel and Prayer for Youth,” Ensign 
(January ): .
. U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: , th ed.
(Washington, D.C.: Bernan, ), no. .
. U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: , no. .
. “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign  (November ): .
. In the United States, the measure is for families in which the husband or
wife is between thirty-five and forty-four years old.
. U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: , th ed.
(Washington, D.C.: Bernan, ), no. .
. U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: , no. .
. U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: , no. .
. Bruce A. Chadwick and Tim B. Heaton, Statistical Handbook on the American
Family, d ed. (Phoenix: Oryx, ), .
. Rodney Stark, Sociology, th ed., Internet ed. (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth,
), .
. Most of the research on returned missionaries prior to the s was conducted
on either a local or regional basis by stake leaders or seminary and institute
personnel. See Le Roi B. Groberg, “A Preliminary Study of Certain Activities, the
Religious Attitudes and Financial Status of Seventy-four Returned Missionaries
Residing within Wayne Stake, Wayne County, Utah” (master’s thesis, Brigham
Young University, ); Alma W. King, “A Survey of the Religious, Social, and
Economic Activities or Practices of the Returned Missionaries of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Who Now Live in the Garland Ward of the Bear
River Stake, Utah” (master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, ); Reed G.
Probst, “A Study of Fifty-seven Returned Missionaries of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints in Idaho Stake of Bannock County, Idaho, –”
(master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, ); and Wilford J. Hoglund, “A
Comparative Study of the Relative Levels of Physical Fitness of Male L.D.S. Missionaries
Who Are Commencing and Those Just Concluding Their Missionary
Service” (master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, ).
However, two studies by Rudger Clawson and John Madsen were more
sophisticated and produced more generalizable information about LDS returned
missionaries. Rudger Clawson, “The Returned Missionary: A Statistical Survey,”
Improvement Era  (October ): –; Madsen, “Church Activity of LDS
Returned Missionaries.” Clawson surveyed a total of , returned missionaries
in the Church (, men and , women), finding almost  percent to be full
or part tithe payers and  percent observing the Word of Wisdom. Also, over
 percent were reported to be active in the Church. Clawson concluded, “Clearly,
missionary service has a most excellent and lasting effect upon the missionary,
from a spiritual and temporal point of view. . . . Probably no better preparation for
life’s labors exists than a period of earnest, active, devoted service in the mission
field.” Clawson, “Returned Missionary,” . Findings from Madsen’s study are
discussed in detail in the next section.
154 v BYU Studies
. Russell M. Nelson, “Our Sacred Duty to Honor Women,” Ensign  (May
): –.
. Rodney Stark, “The Rise of a New World Faith,” Review of Religious
Research  (September ): –; Rodney Stark, “So Far, So Good: A Brief
Assessment of Mormon Membership Projections,” Review of Religious Research 
(December ): –. This analysis showed that, between  and , the
average rate of growth per decade for the Church was  percent. Stark made both
a  percent (low estimate) and a  percent (high estimate) straight-line projection
through the year  of the growth rate of the Church. A follow-up study in
 found that the Church’s actual membership in  exceeded Stark’s  high
estimate of  by about  percent.
. Stark, “Rise of a New World Faith,” .
. Stan L. Albrecht and Tim B. Heaton, “Secularization, Higher Education,
and Religiosity,” Review of Religious Research  (September ): .
. Gerald Stott, “Effects of College Education on the Religious Involvement
of Latter-day Saints,” BYU Studies  (Winter ): –; Ray M. Merrill, Joseph L.
Lyan, and William J. Jensen, “Lack of Secularizing Influence of Education on
Religious Activity and Parity among Mormons,” Journal for the Scientific Study of
Religion  (March ): –; Brent L. Top and Bruce A. Chadwick, “‘Seek
Learning, Even by Study and Also by Faith’: The Relationship between Personal
Religiosity and Academic Achievement among Latter-day Saint High-School Students,”
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel , no.  (): –.
. Madsen, “Church Activity of LDS Returned Missionaries.” Madsen surveyed
, returned missionaries who were from the United States and who had
been released from full-time missionary service for one, two, three, five, and ten
years. After two mailings of the survey, , of the subjects completed and
returned the questionnaire, a response rate of  percent.
. It is important to note that the statistical testing used to compare Madsen’s
sample with the current sample required that the scales for several of these measurements
be collapsed or recombined in order to better match each other. This
could potentially introduce some inaccuracies in the comparisons; therefore, caution
should be used concerning these comparisons.
. Madsen, “Church Activity of LDS Returned Missionaries,” –.
. Chadwick and Heaton, Statistical Handbook on the American Family, .
. Madsen, “Church Activity of LDS Returned Missionaries,” –, .
. Madsen, “Church Activity of LDS Returned Missionaries,” .
. Richard J. Gelles, Contemporary Families: A Sociological View (Thousand
Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, ), .
. Dallin H. Oaks, “Following the Pioneers,” Ensign  (November ): .
. Although the general design of this model applies a life course analysis,
the data were collected cross-sectionally rather than longitudinally. This required the
respondents to provide retrospective data about personal attitudes, behaviors,
and events that had taken place years earlier. Such reflection may not always be
accurate. For example, it may be that some of those who are highly religious now
may think of themselves as always having been highly religious, even though they
were not. The low accuracy of certain types of retrospective has been shown in
findings of several studies. (See T. B. Heaton and V. R. A. Call, “Modeling Family
V 155Latter-day Saint Returned Missionaries in the United States
Dynamics with Event History Techniques,” Journal of Marriage and the Family 
[]: –.) It is important to keep this in mind while assessing the results of
each model.
. SEM statistically estimates both the direct and indirect effects of the independent
variables on the dependent variable.
. See Brian K. Barber, “Introduction: Adolescent Socialization in Context—
The Role of Connection, Regulation, and Autonomy in the Family,” Journal of
Adolescent Research  (): –.
. See Barber, “Introduction: Adolescent Socialization in Context.”
. Judith M. Collins and Frank L. Schmidt, “Can Suppressor Variables
Enhance Criterion-Related Validity in the Personality Domain?” Educational and
Psychological Measurement  (): –.
. Gordon B. Hinckley, “Converts and Young Men,” Ensign  (May ): .
156 v BYU Studies
.09
.10
.11
.47
.11
-.11
.37
-.11
-.14
.16
.08 .16
All coefficients are significant
at the .05 level or lower
N=939
X2
=366.112
DF=215
GFI=.970
AGFI=.957
RMR=.029
R2
=.18
Appendix
Model of significant estimates for predicting early postmission, mission, and premission factors
on private adult religiosity
.39
-.11
.08
.15
-.18
.08
.17
-.08
.08
.40.13
-.07
.23
.08
.08
.08
All coefficients are significant
at the .05 level or lower
N=1,282
X2
=452.085
DF=227
GFI=.972
AGFI=.960
RMR=.048
R2
=.28
R2
=.32
R2
=.26
.07
.14
.14
Premission
Experiences
Mission
Experiences
Early Postmission
Experiences
Current Adult-Life
Experiences
Private
Religiosity
Private
Religiosity
Private
Religiosity
Family
Religiosity
Mother
Acceptance
Peer
Religiosity
No R-rated
Movies
No R-rated
Movies
Seminary
Kept Rules
Companion
Relations
President
Relations
Mission
Satisfaction
.10
.43
.15
.07
.11
-.13
.07
Premission
Experiences
Mission
Experiences
Early Postmission
Experiences
Current Adult-Life
Experiences
Private
Religiosity
Private
Religiosity
Private
Religiosity
No Alcohol
Mother
Acceptance
Mother
Psychological
Control
No R-rated
Movies
Seminary
Kept Rules
Companion
Relations
President
Relations
Mission
Satisfaction
Women
Men
KEY
Ovals are factors made up of several indicators
Boxes are factors made up of one indicator
Heavy arrows show strongest estimated significant indicator