Trends in Mormon Missionary Work: Filling The Great Commission

In October 2012 Thomas S. Monson, prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often mistakenly called the Mormon Church), announced the lowering of the qualifying age for Latter-day Saint missionary service. Previously, young men could qualify to serve for two years if worthy at the age of 19, and young women could serve for eighteen months if worthy at the age of 21. The new qualifying ages would be 18 for young men and 19 for young women. At the time, there were about 58,000 Latter-day Saint missionaries serving all over the world. After the announcement, applications to serve missions increased by nearly 500 percent, with young women submitting nearly half the applications. Previously, young women's applications totaled about 15 percent.

Young men in over 40 countries had already been allowed to serve at 18. In some countries students are not allowed to take a leave of absence from their studies and then expect to return and find a place reserved for them in school. The previous age qualifications also had other problems. There was an "empty space" between high school graduation for young men and the qualifying age of 19. Now the energy generated by high school graduation can launch a young man right into mission preparations. Some young women were married (and so unable to serve) or on the verge of graduating from college at age 21, a difficult time to depart. At nineteen, most are able to take time off to serve. It also means that male and female missionaries will be around the same age.

The decision directly opposes trends in the United States wherein youth are maturing later and later. It means that young people will need to prepare early and be mature enough to serve. Most people envision Latter-day Saint missionaries going door to door looking for converts, but their responsibilities required maturity, knowledge, and wisdom. Missionaries run congregations where mature leadership is lacking, maintain records for whole missions, perform humanitarian aid and community service, and counsel seekers with sage advice through the promptings of the Holy Ghost. They perform holy ordinances and run meetings.

“I've never seen anything affect a generation of young people like what President Monson announced the Saturday morning of general conference,” says Elder David F. Evans, executive director of the Church’s Missionary Department and a General Authority Seventy. “What we're seeing is just an absolute overwhelming response from this generation to the invitation of the Lord and His prophet to rise up and go and serve your fellow man and preach the gospel.” [1]

The Church operates 411 missions around the world,[2] each with an average of 170 missionaries. To accommodate this new influx of missionaries, capacity for many missions will rise to 250 missionaries. When missions exceed that number, new missions will likely be created as needed. These missions will divide up larger missions in areas where Mormon missionary work is already being done. No countries where Latter-day Saint missionaries have not been allowed will be opening up to receive these extra missionaries.

Mission presidents are preparing for increased numbers by training their missionaries who are already serving so they can train incoming missionaries. Mission presidents are also looking at how they can best deploy missionaries within each mission’s boundaries. While the responsibility placed on mission presidents will increase, Elder Evans notes that it won’t be overwhelming.

Adjustments will also be made at each of the Church’s 10 missionary training centers (MTCs).[3] Training time for same-language and foreign-language missionaries will be reduced by 30 percent — those not learning a language will be at the MTC for two weeks instead of three, and those learning a language will have two weeks cut from their MTC stay.

Two recent developments make reduced MTC time possible. First, the Church initiated a 12-week in-field missionary training program a year ago — before anyone knew of the coming age announcement — in which much of the training that occurs at the MTC is retaught and reinforced in the mission field. Second, the Church initiated a study several months prior to the missionary age announcement that shows that it is possible to improve a missionary’s ability to learn a second language by sending him into the field earlier. These two changes would have occurred with or without the missionary age announcement.

To increase MTC capacity, each training center is maximizing empty space, including putting more bunk beds in each room. For example, the Church’s flagship MTC in Provo, Utah, will increase capacity from 3,000 to 4,800 in the short term. Long-term plans are also being considered. Although in mid-October Church leaders decided to not move forward with the construction of a nine-story building originally proposed for the Provo MTC, plans are still in the works to increase the center’s long-term capacity.

The impact of the missionary age announcement also has a significant impact on enrollment numbers at universities in Utah and elsewhere.

Elder Evans notes that the Church is deeply grateful to university administrators who have taken steps to accommodate young men and women who choose to serve. For example, at the end of November the University of Utah announced a new enrollment deferment policy that allows students to defer the start of their schooling for up to seven semesters. And in October Utah State University appointed a task force that is currently considering strategies the university can implement to best adapt to those who choose to serve a mission.

It’s no secret that many more young women have volunteered for missionary service since 6 October. Church leaders are grateful for their willingness to serve. In a press conference following the announcement, Church apostle Jeffrey R. Holland said he is “absolutely delighted if this change in policy allows many, many more young women to serve,” noting that “those [women] who do serve are stunningly successful.”

Missionary Work and COVID-19

Missionary work was impacted and positively altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most missionaries were sent home to their native countries and reassigned to different missions, some missions were cut short. Many missionaries learned "the immense good that comes from the righteous and intentional use of technology," as Elder Uchtdorf called it, as they worked with digital devices, technology, and online proselyting.

• In January 2020, under the direction of President Nelson, then the President of the Church, approval was given for every missionary in the Church to have access to a smartphone.

• “Think about January of 2020, but most important of all, think about what happened in March of 2020,” Elder Nielson said. “On March 11, 2020, almost every country in the world closed its borders, closed its airports, and international flights were canceled. People were either encouraged or mandated to stay in their homes, and almost all of our missionaries worldwide were unable to leave their apartments. There were many questions proposed to us in the Missionary Department about how we would continue to do missionary work, but I have to tell you that we were ready.[4]

• “Way back in 2014, under the direction of two inspired members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, we had begun the process of figuring out how to do missionary work using these devices. When the world closed down, our missionaries stepped forward and performed a miracle.”

"The Lord Is Doing His Work"

In a December 2023 interview with the Deseret News, Elder Marcus B. Nash, then executive director of the Church Missionary Department, noted: "The great story is that we live in a world, at least much of the Western world, where those known as Gen Z are turning away from God. I said this in my October 2021 talk in general conference, that many among Gen Z are abandoning God. But this segment of Gen Z missionaries — I’m getting emotional — this segment are turning to God and standing forward to serve God and helping others to turn to God. They’re bucking the trend of the world and I admire them. I have so much respect and love for our missionaries. So it’s really exciting. That’s the great story. That’s the miracle, in a lot of ways, is that contrary to the winds of the world and the currents of the world and trends of the world, our missionaries go in the other direction. They’re turning to Christ. They’re stepping forward to serve him. And they’re helping others receive the peace, healing and strength that only Christ can give."[5]

Nash said that "at the end of 2019, we had 67,000 missionaries. Then we had the pandemic sealing off the world and went down to 56,000 missionaries. In 2022, we go up to 62,000. And now, as of Nov. 1, we’re at 72,689 total missionaries — I’m talking about full-time teaching missionaries, young service missionaries, missionaries in the MTC and the senior missionaries. I get a front-row seat and we’re seeing increases in the number of missionaries responding to the prophet’s call. We’re seeing increases in missions. We’re seeing increases in convert baptisms. The Lord’s doing his work, and I get to watch and participate in it. I’m just grateful to be here.[6]

External Links

• Church News, "Missionary Work Will Continue to Move Forward despite COVID-19 Pandemic, Says Elder Uchtdorf," by Sarah Jane Weaver
• Church Newsroom, "Embracing the Future of Missionary Work," by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
• Church News, "A look back on the digital and online developments in the Church’s missionary work," by Scott Taylor
• Church News, "Elder Uchtdorf’s devotional on technology in missionary work is ‘almost like a worldwide Zoom meeting,’" by Scott Taylor
• Deseret News, "A front-row seat to new growth in Latter-day Saint missionary work," by Tad Walch