The Field is White-ish
Finding comics
Knocking doors, talking to everyone, and searching for people ready to listen. Comics about finding (and forgetting names).
20 comics
In the missionaries’ app, a green dot marks someone they’re actively teaching. A family whose name is literally Greendot seems like a sign. Missionaries take every hint they can get.
In white shirts, dark ties and name badges, missionaries get mistaken for FBI agents all the time. On Halloween, the costume takes almost no extra effort.
Missionaries often pray that someone will open their door to them. On Elm Street, that someone may be Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street. An answered prayer is an answered prayer.
The Book of Mormon is also a Broadway musical about two young missionaries, and real missionaries hear about it often. The Church’s answer has been cheerful: you’ve seen the play, now read the book.
Moroni 10:3–5 is the promise near the end of the Book of Mormon that anyone who reads it and sincerely asks God can know it’s true. Missionaries quote it at nearly every door. On Halloween it may not beat a full-size candy bar.
Missionaries meet a lot of dogs going door to door, and “Beware of Dog” signs come with the territory. Editing the sign might send a fine message, but it doesn’t make the dog any smaller.
Missionaries share their beliefs all day, and many people don’t believe them. Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy know exactly how that feels.
Missionaries are always looking for something they share with the people they meet, whether it’s family, faith or a love of dogs. These sisters found it on the fence. The dog does not seem convinced.
Some people at the door come ready to debate, with Bibles full of colored tabs marking their favorite verses. Missionaries are taught to share and testify, not argue. Here it looks more like a standoff at high noon.
Missionaries serve all over the world, often in a language they learned only months before. To a local, two clean-cut young Americans in matching outfits asking lots of questions can look like something other than a church visit.
Missionaries often begin by asking whether someone believes in God or a higher power. The Energizer Bunny, the pink drum-playing mascot from battery commercials, is famous for running on a different kind of power. He keeps going and going.
Latter-day Saints believe God’s children can grow to become like Him, and missionaries often hear that belief brought up at the door as a challenge. It’s a big conversation to have on a porch. Some days the door just opens to a debate.
Companions often take turns knocking on doors, and each one keeps careful track of whose turn it is. In hilly areas, some doors are a lot harder to reach than others. This one is a workout.
“Bible bashing” is missionary slang for a scripture argument at the door, and missionaries are taught to avoid contention and leave those alone. It is definitely not a party. Some elders take a little longer to learn that.
Missionaries always travel in pairs and dress alike: white shirts, dark ties, backpacks. Add sunglasses and they look less like messengers and more like an FBI unit reporting for duty.
White shirts, dark slacks, ties, and a pair of serious young men at the door: missionaries get mistaken for federal agents more often than you’d think. It doesn’t help that asking questions is how the gospel conversation starts.
Missionaries on bikes meet a lot of neighborhood dogs. It turns out the dogs have noticed the missionaries too.
Missionaries are always looking for new ways to contact people. After meeting this dog, a phone call sounds like a great idea.
Missionaries look for “the elect,” people prepared to hear the gospel (Doctrine and Covenants 29:7). Remembering their names is a separate spiritual gift.
Every missionary has knocked on a door where a child answers, “My mom isn't home,” while Mom is clearly peeking through the blinds.