How are missionaries like soldiers?

Adam Smith argued that a standing army (full-time soldiers) was much better than a militia (townspeople that are ready to grab their guns or pitchforks occasionally).

"The soldiers who are bound to obey their officer only once a week or once a month, and who are at all other times at liberty to manage their own affairs their own way, without being in any respect accountable to him. . ., can never have the same disposition to ready obedience, with those whose whole life and conduct are every day directed by him, and who every day even rise and go to bed, or at least retire to their quarters, according to his orders. In what is called discipline, or in the habit of ready obedience, a militia must always be still more inferior to a standing army."

He then proceeds to give several examples of countries that were successful because of their standing armies.

I will compare militia to faithful people who are not full-time missionaries, and will compare full-time missionaries to a standing army.

During the mission that I served in Guatemala, I learned about the importance of obedience, as do most missionaries, I imagine.

While I believe we should always strive to obey God and the leaders He calls, soldier-like obedience happens more during full-time mission service than during common life.

All missionaries have a mission president who has been called of God and cares about all the people living within their mission's boundaries.

The missionaries have decided to literally lose themselves (like when I would get to a new Guatemalan village without addresses) in the service of others, and so their decisions are not just impacting themselves, but the salvation of others. It also seems that small things that missionaries do have a large impact on the culture that incoming missionaries fall into. For these reasons, it seemed especially necessary to the success of the mission that we be ready to change our behavior according to the guidance that we received from our mission president.

Non-missionaries are like militia who can do a great variety of good things in their families and professions. Full-time missionaries are comparable to the standing armies that Adam Smith mentioned; they are specialized in moving forward a battle against things that stop the Gospel of Jesus Christ from moving forward (laziness, apathy, addictions, etc.). I saw on my mission that persistence on our part to incorporate counsel from our mission president led to great progress.

I suppose that as 'militia', we want to do everything we can to have the same quality and spirit that 'standing armies' achieve through their ready obedience, while striving to help our families and obtain secular education. I am impressed by and try to emulate the simple obedience that I see in the missionaries around where I live.

There are great blessings to be had by gaining a testimony of whether our leaders are called of God and then obeying their inspired counsel with a cheerful heart.

Perhaps this idea will help metaphors with soldiers to make more sense (2 Timothy 2:3). Yay for sharing the Gospel! : )