Dating as or with a Returned Missionary can be an awkward, funny, and rewarding experience. Whether you have served a mission and have recently returned home from that service, or if you are not a return missionary and find yourself dating one, there are some unique circumstances that can have an impact on the success of your dating.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fall into an interesting situation around the time of their early 20’s, a prime dating and courting age, to go through a romantic sabbatical of two years to 18 months. While missionary service is often very rewarding and can be a powerful aid in having a successful marriage and professional life following that time in service, that sacrifice doesn’t come without some, well…sacrifices.

Dating a Returned Missionary, especially a recently Returned Missionary involves seeing someone adjust, in real-time, to contact and communication that was previously and expressly counter to the daily life and focus of a missionary. With nothing but a handshake to be offered to members of the opposite sex, physical contact is one of the most apparent points of adjustment. There are even some great examples of where missionaries in the mission field faced some interesting collisions of mission rules with romantic feelings. (Lock your hearts!)

But the individual that has not yet served a mission, or perhaps even served many years previous to dating a returned missionary, may find these behaviors comical, perhaps even personally offensive at times.

So what are the best ways to navigate this unique phenomenon? Barbie, Steve, and Nick have some advice as well as some funny stories on the subject of Dating as or with a Returned Missionary. This is also a special crossover episode with the Latter-day Saint MissionCast; a podcast hosted and produced by Nick. This podcast features advice and inspiration to be a better missionary, specializing in topics from preparing to serve as well as coming home and maintaining a solid life after returning home from missionary service.