Mission Stories - Lingo

Here I define the words that are very mormon/SSM specific and I felt that they needed defining. If you ever liked the Dictionary of iippo, you might like this :P
If there is something missing (as there is), make a comment please. :) I'd like this to be as complete as possible.


Area = a) on a mission, an area is the smallest area to which the mission is divided. One area is taken care of one missionary companionship b) in the church at large an area is a bigger part of the world (for example, Europe) that is led by the Area President and his councellors, who are General Authorities.
Assistant/AP = Assistant to the president is a priesthood leadership position in the organisation of a mission^(b). The assistants are two elders who help the mission president (by training leaders, going on splits with other missionaries when needed, teaching in zone conferences, and doing pretty much whatever the president asks them to). They also gather weekly key indicator data for the mission president.
Bishop = is a priesthood leader who leads a ward. He has two councellors, and also talks with a ward council about some decisions. A Bishop is an official representative of the Lord in matters of repentance, he is a judge in Israel and as such holds the keys to ministering to the members of his ward. Able to help materially as well as spiritually. A man must be married to be a bishop.
BOM/Book of Mormon = a sacred book of scripture like the Bible.
Branch = a conregation that is not big enough to be. a ward, or is not within the boundaries of a stake. Led by a branch president.
Companionship = two or three missionaries of the same sex working in the same area for a transfer. Every missionary is assigned a companion, it is the pattern that the Lord has set up for the preaching of His gospel. Missionary rules state that companionships have to be together (within sight and sound of each other) all the time (except in the bathroom and such).
Contacting = stopping people on the street to talk to them about the gospel. It can be an incredibly interesting and fun thing to do - or it can be terrible, depending on how you approach it.
DA = Dinner appointment, when missionaries go visit someone and they give them food.
District = a) on a mission, a district is a bunch of missionary companionships, who have weekly district meeting together, and are led by a district leader. In the SSM most districts consist of two missionary companionships (a pair of elders and a pair of sisters, or two pairs of elders), occasionally accompanied by a senior couple. b) in the church at large, a district is an area that does not yet have a stake. A district can't have wards only branches and it is essentially led by the priesthood keys held by the mission president. A district can be organised into a stake once it is strong enough.
District leader/DL = an elder assigned to serve as the leader of one or more other companions. He prepares weekly district meetings for his district and helps the other missionaries in his district when needed.
District meeting = a weekly meeting where the missionaries meet the members of their district. Alike a regular church-meeting it begins and ends with a hymn and a prayer, usually includes announcements, a spiritual thought and teaching from the district leader. In the SSM we also always had a language lesson/activity, and we had lunch together (sometimes cooked for each other, sometimes we went out to eat).
EFY/Especially For Youth = Kind of a cool summer camp for teenagers, and/or music related to that. Most EFY music is sort of easy happy mormon pop.
Elder = title of a male missionary. In Swedish, Äldste.
FHE/Family Home Evening = Monday night is designated as a night where there will be no meetings or activities in Church so that people can stay home and spend time with their families. That night (or any other night in the week if Monday doesn't work) is for the family to spend time together, study the gospel together, do something fun, etc... The Norrland Zone has an FHE phone call on Sunday evenings.
First Presidency = the president of the Church and his two councellors make the first presidency. They are the leaders of everything, and, together with the Council of the Twelve Apostles are prophets, seers and revelators.
Food Storage = A way to be prepared for bad stuff to happen. Church members are encouraged to have a year's worth of food for their family in storage, and also easy-access 72-hour kits (of food, clean clothes, etc... necessities) in case of an emergency.
General Authority = The general leaders of the Church, so the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve apostles and the first two Quorums of the Seventies. 
General Conference = A biannual event where the prophets and apostles speak. http://www.lds.org/general-conference
Greenie/golden = A brand-new missionary. His/her companion is their trainer (also called mum/dad), 
Mission/miss/mish = a) The two/one-and-a-half years that young mormons spend in a place not-their-home teaching people about the Church, while wearing a nametag. b) One mission is usually an area (sometimes a whole country, sometimes a part of one, they are all different shapes and sizes) in which a missionary can serve during his mission(a). Each mission is led by a mission president.
Missionary = a person who is called and set apart to preach the gospel. Wears a name tag. One can be a missionary when young and unmarried, or when old, married and retired.
Mission Call = a letter from the prophet telling the missionary-to-be where they have been called to serve in, when and at what language, etc... A very expected piece of paper. Mine: <URL:stuff/call.mp3>
Mission home = the place where the mission president and his wife live. In the SSM the mission home is a wonderful, beautiful place, which is a safe haven for missionaries if there is a problem or something. It is also the site for training such as Zone Leader Council or District Leader Training or Sister's Training. Equipped with bedrooms to house a large number of missionaries at a time, and a general furnishing that is so beautiful that the whole place just feels like a temple. <3
Mission office = where the administrative side of the mission is controlled. In the SSM an older couple and a companionship of elders (secretaries) serve in the office, and take care of material things, such as paying bills and printing newsletters and such much. The secretaries also make and deliver missionaries' orders.
Mission president = a married couple can be called to serve as a mission president and wife. They lead a mission and take care of the missionaries serving there. A mission president and wife are full-time missionaries with nametags, but they serve for three years, and they are called (as opposed to other missionaries who apply)
MoTab = Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Very famous and popular among mormons and especially missionaries.
MTC/Missionary Training Centre = a school on how to be a missionary. Also a place to learn the mission language. I went to the MTC in Preston, most people go to the biggest MTC in Provo, Utah, which is where most of the language training takes place.
MTC teacher = a Returned Missionary whose job is to train missionaries.
Norrland = the north part of Sweden, and the coolest zone in the SSM.
OP/Off the programme = Against the rules, anything that missionaries aren't supposed to do. In other missions they use the term "apostate." 
Orders = The requesting and delivering of missionary materials (such as books, cards etc...) necessary for proselyting. The secretaries deliver these two the missionaries.
PMG/Preach My Gospel = the missionary handbook. PME in Swedish.
P-Day/Preparation day = Missionaries' day "off", during which they have to clean, wash laundry, do grocery shopping, write letters to the mission president and home and friends, wash their car, etc etc... And then if they have time they can do something else than proselyte, like go to a museum or play a sport.
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles = basically, the twelve apostles that are the leaders of the church.
RM/Returned Missionary = a person whose mission is over and is now back home.
Rock, the = The Island of Gotland, off the cost of Sweden. One companionship of missionaries serves there, in Visby. They are quite isolated over there...
Ring, The = A round, wrought iron railing around a round hole on the floor, so you can see down to the lower level, at the Stockholm main train station T-Central. The gathering place for missionaries during transfers.
Sister = title of a female missionary, or a female member of the Church, or a female anybody :D Any woman can be called sister by mormons. In Swedish: syster.
SSM = Sweden Stockholm Mission, the mission^(b) that covers the country of Sweden.
Stake = larger area covering a part of a country (or a couple of blocks if you are in Utah...). It is built up of a number of wards and branches, and led by a stake president.
SYL/Speak Your Language = means speaking the language of the mission, in SSM Swedish. The Swedish verb form for speaking your language is "att syla" :P
Temple = A big usually-white church-like building, a sacred place, a House of the Lord for mormons. It is where further covenants are made after baptism, inc. marriage for time and all eternity.
Testimony = A feeling of knowing a spiritual truth. Also saying that testimony out loud (bearing testimony). Every first Sunday of the month in church is a testimony meeting, when any member of the Church is welcome to stand up and talk for a short time to share their thoughts and feelings of the gospel.
Tracting = When missionaries knock on doors. Along with contacting it is the usual backup plan of what to do if you've got nothing else to do. Not the preferred method of working, since it tends to not be very effective. But it can be fun (or awful, depending on how you look at it, I liked it) and it can be a way to show the Lord that you are willing to work.
Trainer = a missionary whose companion is a brand-new missionary, greenie. A trainer is sometimes referred to as the greenie's mum/dad.
Transfer = one 9-week period. E.g. "This is the best transfer ever!"
Transfers = swapping of places. E.g. "Did president tell you any news of transfers?" Sometimes it is obvious from context that one is speaking of a plural of 'a transfer', e.g. "I was in Sundsvall for four transfers."
Transfer day = In SSM the thursday when people swap places, happens once every 9 weeks.
Transfer week = the week that has transfer day.
Ward = a congregation, led by a bishop and his two councellors.
We = As a missionary, you quickly begin to speak in the Royal We, because you are constantly with your companion. "We need to go to the bathroom".
Whitewash = when both missionaries transfer out of the area at the same time and two new ones come in.
Zone = each mission is divided into smaller areas called zones. Each zone has its own zone leaders, and its own zone conference. The SSM has five zones, which are the same as the four stakes (Stockholm, Stockholm South, Göteborg, and Malmö) and the Umeå district which is called the Norrland zone.
Zone Conference/ZC = A meeting where all the missionaries of a zone come together to be taught by their leaders and to practice their skills together and be edified. Much loved event that takes place once a transfer. Sometimes there were joint conferences for several zones at the same time, like at Christmas or when there was a General Authority visiting.
Zone Leader/ZL = The two elders that lead the zone. They teach in zone conference, go on splits with other elders, interview baptismal candidates, visit district meetings, gather weekly key indicator data for the assistants from their zone, and generally minister to and take care of the missionaries in their zone. Mainly they lead by example.



For a humoristic treatment of the mission organisation, see Mission Organisation :P