Missionary Service
"Today I reaffirm strongly that the Lord has asked every worthy, able young man to prepare for and serve a mission. For Latter-day Saint young men, missionary service is a priesthood responsibility. You young men have been reserved for this time when the promised gathering of Israel is taking place. As you serve missions, you play a pivotal role in this unprecedented event!
"For you young and able sisters, a mission is also a powerful, but optional, opportunity. We love sister missionaries and welcome them wholeheartedly. What you contribute to this work is magnificent! Pray to know if the Lord would have you serve a mission, and the Holy Ghost will respond to your heart and mind." (President Nelson, Preaching the Gospel of Peace, April 2022 General Conference)
Young men, we hope that you answer the Lord's invitation to prepare for and serve a mission. Please seek the Lord's guidance to determine when He would have you serve.
Young women, we encourage you to prepare to serve a mission, should the Lord direct you to serve a mission. Preparing to serve will bless your life regardless of the direction the Lord provides for you.
The following links are provided as shortcuts to the relevant sections of this webpage.
Resources for Parents (and Their Children)
Parents play an important role in helping your children prepare to serve a mission. Please review the following material with your children as you consider ways to help your children prepare for missionary service.
Appendix A: For Parents--Preparing Your Children for a Lifetime on God's Covenant Path, found in the back of the Come, Follow Me manual
Preach my Gospel: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which your missionary will use throughout their mission
Adjusting to Missionary Life, which is a great resource to help your missionary prepare for the stresses and demands of diligent missionary service
Safeguards for Using Technology, which provides helpful guidance in staying safe in a digital world
Called to the Work, by Elder Bednar, which discusses the differentiation between the call to serve and the assignment to labor as well as the role of missionary service after receiving the important ordinances of receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood (for young men) and the temple endowment (for young men and young women)
Section 24.5.2 of the General Handbook, which provide guidance about sacrament meetings where missionaries speak and open houses
During Your Youth: Becoming a Missionary
“The single most important thing you can do to prepare for a call to serve is to become a missionary long before you go on a mission. … The issue is not going on a mission; rather, the issue is becoming a missionary and serving throughout our entire life with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. … You are preparing for a lifetime of missionary work” (Elder Bednar, Becoming a Missionary, Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2005, 45–46).
As you prepare to serve the Lord, we encourage you to develop scripture study habits that will deepen your discipleship in the Savior, Jesus Christ. As part of that effort, we encourage you to study the following:
On your own, read the entire Book of Mormon and pray to know of its truthfulness by the power of the Holy Ghost
Study regularly about principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, including in the Book of Mormon and in Preach my Gospel: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, especially Chapter 3: Study and Teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Gospel Study Guide: Inviting All to Receive the Gospel in the Gospel Library
New Era article, Get Over Yourself, which describes some advice Elder Bednar provided about preparing for missionary service
We also invite you to engage meaningfully in the following ways:
Enroll in, attend, and engage in seminary
Register for, attend, and engage in FSY Conferences
Engage regularly and consistently in family scripture study, regular quorum or YW class meetings, and Sunday School classes
Develop other habits to prepare for the physical, emotional, intellectual, and social demands of missionary service
In the Year Before: Preparing to Serve
In the year or so before you intend to serve a mission, regularly attend the Stake Missionary Preparation Class, which meets every Sunday @ 3:45pm in the Relief Society Room of what is known as the Red Church (on the corner of 1200 N and 1000 W). We encourage you to continue attending until you leave on your mission. Doing so is a powerful way to come unto Christ as you prepare to preach His gospel.
In addition, we invite you review the following material to further assist you in your preparation for missionary service:
Continue studying the material outlined above, including the resources listed for parents
Review the Missionary Interview Questions, and discuss them with your parents or another trusted adult
With the assistance of your parents or other trusted adults, make goals and plans associated with building the skills that will help you be a successful missionary, including the following:
Develop a good work ethic and exercise regularly
Develop healthy coping skills for managing stressful schedules, meeting deadlines, resolving relationship conflicts, and fulfilling commitments
Practice grocery shopping, meal preparation, and laundry responsibilities
Discuss basic budgeting skills and plans for paying for your mission
Have all dental and orthodontic work completed
Have a strategy for treating any chronic health concerns; if you take prescription medicine for a chronic health concern, continue to do so unless advised by a physician
Start setting aside personal interests and devote increasingly more time and attention to serving the Lord
Approximately Six Months Before: Preparing Your Missionary Recommendation Form
When you’re ready, contact your Bishop and ask him to start a missionary recommendation form for you
Complete your portion of the missionary recommendation form online at missionary.churchofjesuschrist.org; if needed, create a Church Account or resolve account issues if your Church Account and your FamilySearch Account are not the same
Visit your doctor and take them the Physician’s Health Evaluation Form to complete; also provide a stamped envelope addressed to your Bishop
Visit your dentist and take them the Dental Evaluation for Missionary Candidate form to complete; also provide a stamped envelope addressed to your Bishop
Complete and submit your missionary recommendation form online; be sure to follow all the steps outlined in the Instructions to Missionary Candidate document, found at missionary.churchofjesuschrist.org
Common Issues when Completing your Missionary Recommendation Form
Make sure your photo meets the requirements listed in the photo guidelines, which includes being "dressed and groomed according to missionary standards;" note that this photo will be used by your mission president throughout your mission
Remember to bring the Personal Health History Form to your physician (Instructions to Missionary Candidate, item 6); your physician is required to review this information before signing the Physician’s Health Evaluation Form (Instructions for Physicians Evaluating Missionary Candidates, item 5)
You may need to request lab results for a Tuberculosis screening so that Question 19 of the Physician’s Health Evaluation Form can be completed; the Tuberculosis screening results cannot be left blank
Be sure to have your immunization history completed in Question 20 of the Physician’s Health Evaluation Form
If a Nurse Practitioner (NP) or Physician's Assistant (PA) performs the evaluation, the supervising physician needs to countersign the Physician’s Health Evaluation Form (Instructions to Missionary Candidate, item 5)
Approximately Five Months Before: Submitting Your Missionary Recommendation Form
Section 24.4.3 of the General Handbook states, "The stake president may submit a recommendation for a young missionary candidate up to 150 days before his or her availability date." Based on this guideline, you can meet with your Bishop prior to 150 days before your availability date.
When you’re ready, contact the Ward Executive Secretary to schedule an appointment to meet with your Bishop; inform him this is to discuss your missionary recommendation form
Meet with your Bishop to discuss your preparation and worthiness and to review the Missionary Interview Questions
Your Bishop will relay your medical and dental evaluation forms to the Stake Assistant Executive Secretary, and he will verify that the information is complete
Contact the Stake Assistant Executive Secretary to schedule a meeting with your Stake President, which typically lasts about an hour; inform him this is to discuss your missionary recommendation form; your parents are encouraged to join you for this meeting
Meet with your Stake President to discuss your preparation and worthiness and to review the Missionary Interview Questions; when you and your Stake President agree that you are ready, your Stake President will submit your missionary recommendation form to the Missionary Department; if additional information is needed, either the Missionary Department or your Stake President will reach out to you
Continue to attend the Stake Missionary Preparation Class as often as you can until you leave on your mission
Receiving Your Call and Assignment
As you await to receive your mission call and assignment letter, we encourage you to consider the setting in which you will open your letter. For example, since you will be departing on your mission only with the companionship of the Holy Ghost, that may be how you decide to open your letter: by yourself with the Spirit as your companion. Alternatively, your close family may be supporting you on your mission, and you may decide to open your letter with your family at your side as well. Other settings can also be considered.
Regardless of the way in which you decide to open your letter, we encourage you to consider the dignity associated with serving the Lord. We also invite you to find ways to share your testimony and faith in Jesus Christ as you embark in this incredible opportunity of serving a mission.
Once you receive your call letter, please review the other material provided to you. As needed:
Arrange to secure the clothing and supplies you'll need
Arrange to receive any required vaccinations
Prepare to serve in an area with minimal medical and dental care
Speaking in Your Ward
Section 24.5.2 of the General Handbook provides guidance about sacrament meetings where missionaries speak. We invite you to remember the primary purpose of sacrament meetings, namely, to make and renew covenants as we come unto Christ. The focus of these meetings and the talks that are shared should be on the Savior, Jesus Christ, not the speakers. We remind you that your Bishop is responsible for sacrament meetings in your ward, and family members and friends of a missionary who is speaking generally should not be invited to participate in the program of the sacrament meeting.
Living in a predominantly Latter-day Saint community, you likely have friends and acquaintances departing on missions. What a blessing to be surrounded by strong and faithful peers! This strength can also pose a challenge. A popular custom is to invite friends to leave church after sacrament meeting to enjoy an open house at the home of a missionary. Instead, we invite you to be a missionary before you go on a mission! Begin by inviting your friends and family to stay and attend class at church, just as you will be inviting your friends to attend church as a missionary.
To invite all to come unto Christ and partake of His goodness, we encourage departing and returning missionaries and their families to consider the following:
Carefully and prayerfully consider the counsel in Section 24.5.2 of the General Handbook
Find other ways and other days, such as on a Saturday, to celebrate a missionary’s service
Invite family and friends who attend the sacrament meeting in which a missionary speaks to also participate in the other church meetings that day
Schedule Sunday family gatherings after all the Sunday meetings, or even in the evening after every ward’s meetings have concluded
These reminders are not intended to dampen enthusiasm or curtail appropriate expressions of support. Instead, they will help to maintain the dignity of your calling while also supporting others in their discipleship of Jesus Christ, including their service in their own wards. We commend and congratulate you on your willingness and worthiness to serve the Lord as one of his missionaries.
Preparing to Leave
Shortly before you are scheduled to report to the Missionary Training Center (MTC), contact the Stake Assistant Executive Secretary to schedule a time for the following two meetings:
Your final interview, which is typically held a week before you are set apart and usually lasts about half-hour
Your setting apart, which is typically held the evening before reporting to the MTC and usually lasts about an hour
Once you are set apart, you are "given authority from God to act in that calling" (Section 3.4.3.1 of the General Handbook). Once you complete any at-home MTC experience, report to the MTC as instructed in your mission call. If you are reporting to the Provo MTC, additional details are available at mtc.byu.edu.
Financing Your Mission
"Financial sacrifice is part of missionary service (see Mark 1:17–18; Alma 15:16). Missionaries and their families have primary responsibility for contributing financially to missionary service. They should make appropriate preparation and sacrifice. They should be financially self-reliant to the extent possible in meeting contribution commitments. " (Section 24.3.4 of the General Handbook).
Here are a few additional items regarding financing your mission:
The current monthly contribution commitment is $400; with your parents and your Bishop, please discuss plans to cover this monthly contribution commitment
The monthly contribution commitment is typically pro-rated for the first and last month of your missionary service; please work with your ward financial clerk to determine the amount of the commitment for the first and last month, which may need to take place after you conclude your mission
Donations may be made physically using tithing envelopes or online using the same Donations tool used your tithing and other offerings; you can select your name from the list under Ward Missionary
Feel free to check with your ward financial clerk at any point to get a report on the current balance of your missionary account; please ask for a report in the final months of your mission so that your missionary account can have a zero balance when you conclude your mission
"Funds beyond the monthly amount should not be contributed in advance. Funds contributed in advance cannot be refunded if a missionary returns home early” (Section 24.3.4.1 of the General Handbook).
Additional Ideas and Resources for Preparing
These ideas and resources are designed to help you further prepare to share the gospel of Jesus Christ as a missionary and in your efforts to invite all to come unto Christ and partake of His goodness:
Use For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices to guide the choices you make as you prepare to serve
Become familiar with finding ancestors on FamilySearch so that you can help your investigators do the same
Review the Gospel Topics Essays to become familiar with the doctrines and history they contain
Memorize Your Purpose on the first page of the first chapter of Preach My Gospel
Ask the full-time and/or ward missionaries if you can join them for an upcoming appointment
Review other online resources about preparing to serve a mission
Watch The District videos to see examples of missionaries in action
Review excerpts from the Seminar for New Mission Leaders, available on the Church News podcast