Missionary Training Center

Provo Utah Missionary Training Center

Each week, hundreds of families around the world bid farewell to their sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, as they embark on an 18-month (females) to 24-month (males) journey as Mormon missionaries, fulfilling the Great Commission of taking the Gospel to all the world. Because the daily life of a missionary is demanding – a life that is devoted entirely to teaching others about Jesus Christ and serving the needy – the first stop on the journey for each new missionary is at one of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ 15 Missionary Training Centers (often called MTCs). They will spend anywhere from two weeks (for those not learning a foreign language) to nine weeks in training before departing to serve in one of the Church’s 418 missions (number of missions as of 2015).

Mormon missionaries generally arrive at an MTC with a basic, foundational knowledge of religion and the scriptures gained from the years of instruction that they receive both at home and at Church. Many Mormon families have daily prayer and scripture study together. Mormon youth also attend weekly [high school] and [college] religion courses offered by the Church. And, the family generally attends Church together on Sundays for three hours of additional religious instruction.

The Origin of the Missionary Training Center

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints originally started the Missionary Training Center to provide language training, and to provide a place for missionaries to be housed until difficulties in obtaining passports and visas to their assigned areas could be resolved.

The MTC was originally called the "Language Training Mission." The name was later changed in the 1970s to the "Missionary Training Center." The name was changed to note that it was for more than just language training, although language training would continue to be an important part of the facility's function.

Preparing Missionaries to Teach the Gospel

Missionary Training Center Ghana

From the moment they arrive, the new missionaries are never alone; they are assigned a "companion" who is going to the same mission and will be with them always while at the MTC. The missionaries are not allowed to phone home, chat with friends on the Internet, watch TV or non-Mormon videos, read a novel or a newspaper, listen to popular music, or go on dates.

The rigorous course of study at the MTC is rooted in gospel fundamentals. While at the MTC, missionaries engage in daily practice teaching situations and intense gospel classroom instruction from teachers who are themselves returned missionaries. They also attend weekly devotional addresses from Church leaders and MTC staff and perform weekly service opportunities. Missionaries are encouraged to actively study the Church's doctrine to receive inspiration on how best to teach and help others.

The Provo MTC, the largest Missionary Training Center campus of the Church, teaches more than 50 languages. It ranks second among the nation’s largest on-site language schools, behind only the U.S. Defense Department’s Language Institute in Monterey, California. Each language instructor is either a native speaker or is fluent thanks to his or her own missionary service. In addition to language instruction, teachers provide cultural training – the use of proper manners and non-confrontational behaviors - to help missionaries make a smoother transition into their assigned foreign country.

For many of these 18 and 19-year-old men and women, this is their first experience of living away from home, so they also learn some of the basic, necessary skills needed to live on their own. They do their own laundry, exercise daily, eat nutritious meals provided by each MTC cafeteria and stay in touch with family and friends via weekly emails.

Regardless of the MTC attended, all missionaries are given the chance to further learn the doctrines of Jesus Christ and to develop and strengthen Christlike attributes. Missionaries learn to teach principles with clarity and to help others have faith in Christ, repent, be baptized in Christ's name, receive the Holy Spirit, and continue in the ways of the Savior.