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Although some Mormon missionaries serving in foreign countries are amused when they're mistaken for CIA agents, many of them accept employment with the Central Intelligence Agency when they return home.
CIA recruiter Charles Jackson told the Salt Lake Tribune that returned missionaries possess several qualities that make them valuable agents: foreign language ability, experience living abroad, a "sense of conformity and respect for authority [learned] as missionaries" and abstinence from drugs and alcohol. These factors, coupled with the Church's traditional support of government service, have encouraged many former missionaries to accept jobs as agents.
Dr. Gary Williams, head of BYU's Asian Studies Department, commented that the CIA hires "almost anybody who applies" from the church school. However, many former BYU students become disillusioned with their work because they are given desk jobs rather than foreign assignments.
Williams also noted that some governments-those of Brazil and Taiwan-were concerned about the number of missionaries returning to their countries as agents.
"There are a lot of Mormons in the CIA and FBI," agrees Dale Van Atta. " They're represented disproportionately. You have a better chance of getting in if you're Mormon and one of the reasons is that Mormons don't drink. But the real reason is that they're trusted, and there's a lot to be said for trust. Most Mormons I would trust far before I'd trust other people."