The truth is, missionaries are living something deeply emotional and spiritually stretching. They’re growing, adjusting, missing home, learning how to love people in new ways, and trying to become more like the Savior in real time. When they sit in our homes, we’re not just hosting “missionaries,” we’re hosting young adults in the middle of a very formative, very human experience.
Sometimes the most meaningful conversations don’t come from asking more questions, but from asking different ones. Questions that don’t feel like an interview. Questions that don’t require a “correct” answer. Questions that let them breathe a little and just be themselves.
Here are some ideas you can use the next time missionaries are in your home:
- What’s been something unexpectedly funny about your mission?
- What’s a small moment recently that made you feel like you were exactly where you needed to be?
- What’s something about the people in this area that you’ve really grown to love?
- What’s a meal, tradition, or habit from your mission that you want to keep forever?
- What’s something your mission has taught you about people in general?
- What scripture has felt especially personal to you lately?
- What’s something you appreciate now that you didn’t appreciate before your mission?
- What’s been one of the most peaceful moments you’ve had on your mission?
- What’s something that surprised you about being a missionary?
- What’s a Christlike quality you’ve seen in your companion or another missionary?
- What’s one thing you wish members understood better about missionaries?
- What’s a testimony you’ve seen grow—not necessarily dramatically, just quietly and steadily?
- What’s something simple that has brought you joy lately?
- What’s a lesson from your mission that you think will stay with you for the rest of your life?
- What’s something you’ve learned about the Savior from serving people every day?
- What’s a tender mercy you almost missed until you looked back on it later?
- What’s one thing that has strengthened your faith recently?
- What’s something you’ve become better at since serving?
- What’s a question someone asked you that really made you think?
- What’s something you hope you never forget from your mission experience?
- If you could bring one thing from this mission area home with you permanently (besides people), what would it be?
- What’s something members have done that made you feel especially cared for?
- What helps you feel recharged on hard days?
- What’s been your favorite way to see the Lord working in ordinary people?
- What’s something you’ve learned about yourself while serving?
You don’t need to ask all of these, and you don’t need to turn it into a checklist. The goal isn’t to “get good answers,” it’s to create space for real connection. Even one thoughtful question can completely change the tone of a visit and help a missionary feel seen as a whole person, not just a representative of a calling.
What’s interesting is that when we ask better questions, we often get better stories, and sometimes even more sacred moments. The kind that don’t feel performative or rehearsed, but real and grounding.
And those moments don’t just bless the missionaries. They change the spirit in our homes too.
