You've seen them riding down the street. .

. dark pants, white shirts, dark ties, with a black, square name badge over their breast pocket.

Baby-faced, and oddly handsome, these young missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seem to be everywhere. They have been lampooned on TV, in the movies, and on Broadway.

They are endlessly mocked, yet they seem to always take the criticism with a smile. You've seen them, but do you really know their story? I do.

I was one of them. I entered the two-year mission in the late 1980s as a country-boy from East Texas, but I returned.

. .

different. My experiences in East Los Angeles changed me.

. .

I left battle-hardened and street savvy. The is not like any book about Mormons that I have ever seen.

The stories in the book from the Arcadia Mission are the unvarnished truth of my experience. The book is accessible to Mormons and non-Mormons alike.

Members of the Church will appreciate the stories from a devout perspective. Non-Mormons get a tasty look "behind the curtains.

"How does a missionary handle Hollywood, hookers, and homicides?. .