In this section I will include a few more information about mormon missionaries.
Formal Missionary Service
The formal missionary program for the Church is responsible for sending out over 56,000 missionaries to approximately 330 organized missions around the world. Missionaries are a common sight in many areas, biking, going door to door, talking to people on the street, or doing service in communities small and large. These young men, typically 19 to 24 years old, are not the only missionaries that are fielded by the Church. There are missionaries who are old, young, male, female, proselyting, and service oriented. Missionary service can be full-time, like the young men and young women who proselyte and preach the Gospel in places far from their home, or it can be part-time in the missionary’s own local community. These part-time missions are often call ‘’stake missions”, since they are done within the local church administrative area called a ‘’stake.” A stake is similar to a diocese in the Catholic Church.
Young Missionaries
In 1974, then Mormon prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball, issued a call to all young men of the Church, calling them to serve full-time missions. The members responded and number of young men and women serving missions doubled in a few short years, and continued to grow thereafter until today when an average of 55,000 missionaries are proselyting in any given year.
Mormon missionary efforts, however, have had a long history. In 1830, not long after Joseph Smith had published the Book of Mormon and established the Church, the first missionaries were sent out. Samuel Smith, Joseph Smith’s brother, was the first missionary. He took the newly printed Book of Mormon and began preaching in the regions of upstate New York. Through this mission, many important future leaders of the Church were converted, including the second President and Prophet of the Mormon Church, Brigham Young.
Since that time, no matter how sever the circumstances, or fierce the persecution, the Church has continued to send out missionaries to all corners of the globe. This fulfills the prophesy of Jeremiah when he said:
:Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
:Jeremiah 16:16
Today, every worthy young man of the Church is expected to fulfill a mission. Every worthy, young woman can also serve a mission, and many do. The missionaries and their families are expected to pay their own way, or as much as they can. In circumstances where extreme poverty or hardship may prevent a young person who is desirous of serving from going on a mission, the members of the missionary’s home congregations, called a ”ward,” will help out. Missionaries are also aided by a general Church fund set up to assist missionaries. In general, however, most missionaries and their families save up for the expected time. Many young Mormons will have a missionary fund in which they can save money for their future mission.
When young men turn 19, or 21 in the case of women, they can submit their name to the Church to prepare for a mission. Mormon leaders, including the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, prayful consider where missionaries are needed and what applications they have. They then assign each missionary to a particular ”mission,” of the Church. As of 2005, there were over 330 missions worldwide. When the soon-to-be missionary receives his or her ”call,” it is time for the whole family to celebrate.
Depending on where the missionary is called, he or she will report to a ”Missionary Training Center,” or MTC, where missionaries receive intensive language training, study the gospel, and learn how to teach the Gospel. See Missionary Training Centers below for more information. After a few weeks of training, missionaries leave for their mission. Mormons often refer to this as “entering the ”mission field”” The ”Mission field” refers to every place where the Gospel is preached and hence refers to the whole world. Sometimes, Mormons use this word to refer to areas outside Utah, Northern Arizona, and Southern Idaho, where Mormons make up the majority of the population, even though many missionaries proselyte within Utah, too.
Every mission is presided over by a ”Mission President.” He supervises the missionaries, and assigns them to work in various areas within the mission boundaries. Each missionary is assigned a companion, since the Lord commanded his disciples to go forth that way. In Mark 6:7, we read, “And he called [unto him] the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;” Each companionship usually stays together for four or five months.
Missionaries spend their time studying the holy scriptures, including the Bible and the Book of Mormon, preaching the Gospel to everyone they meet, and providing community service like cleaning city parks, teaching English, or even helping out their neighbors. Missionaries are expected to devote at least 10 hours per week toward community service, though many do much more. Serving others and teaching the gospel allows missionaries to follow the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ who “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38).
These young men and women must sacrifice much to serve a full-time mission, including time and money. Many must take time from school or careers to do so, but they are richly rewarded by the joy they bring to themselves and to others, as well as the great experience and feeling of accomplishment that a mission brings. Many ”returned missionaries,” sometimes called RMs by Mormons, report that their mission was the hardest, and most rewarding experience they have ever had. For this reason, many RMs refer to their mission as “the best two years” of their life. One of the greatest sacrifices is being away from family and friends. Missionaries may write weekly, but only call home twice a year, on Mother’s Day and Christmas.
