Interesting from Utah

Ever wonder where the term "returned missionary" came from? Well, I don't have an answer. But I can tell you that it was in use in the mid nineteenth century.

Proof:

“Several returned missionaries gave accounts of their journeying and works in foreign lands."
[The New York herald: NY-H no. 7053 (20 Dec 1855) p. 3, column 1, 19 ¼ col. in. italics are mine]

So, there you go.

This is a report on the announcements and happenings at general conference. Interestingly, there were several missionaries who were called to missions within Utah territory: the first stateside missionaries! Yay! (too bad three such stateside missionaries were killed by Indians...)

Also Interesting: Instead of saying "missions" to refer to the area, as in the Washington Kennewick Mission, the nineteenth century Mormons (and those who wrote about them) said "missionary station" as in the "Elk Mountain missionary station." This is from the same article above. Another article I read today said that Mormons had "missionary stations" all over the world, including France, Germany, Norway, and Russia. (NYH, no. 6845 (24 May 1855) [p. 1]) Elk Mountain is a missionary station in southern Utah--where the three missionaries were killed by Indians. I guess stateside missions were quite dangerous in those days.