At 3:00 a.m. one cold morning, a missionary candidate walked into an office for a scheduled interview with the examiner of a mission board. He sat in the waiting room until 8:00 a.m. when the examiner finally showed up. Without a word a explanation about his five hour delay, the examiner said, "Let's begin the test. First, please spell baker."

The young man responded, "B-a-k-e-r."

"Very good," responded the examiner. "I'm impressed. Now let's see what you know about figures. How much is two plus two?"

The applicant replied, "Four."

"Fine," the examiner said, "You have passed the test. I'll recommend to the board tomorrow that you be appointed."

At the board meeting the next day, the examiner spoke highly of the applicant. He said, "He has all the qualifications of a missionary, as I discovered in my test. First, I tested him on self-denial. I told him to be at the office at 3:00 a.m. He left his warm bed and came out in the cold without a word of complaint. Then, I examined him on patience. I made him wait five hours to see me. I tested on temper. He failed to show any sign of it. He did not complain and did not question my delay. Finally, I tried his humility. I asked him questions a small child could answer, and he showed no offense. He has all the characteristics to be the kind of missionary we need."