Missionary Work

A big part of my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which I won't write out very often), is missionary work. Growing up, I always thought I would serve as a full-time missionary, but then I met Spencer and we got married.

 Full-time missionaries set aside everything else and serve for an extended period of time. Young women serve for 18 months and young men serve for 24 months. They drop school, relationships, and jobs to go proselyte and serve wherever the church sends them. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles receive all the mission applications and assign a "call" through divine inspiration. Missionaries pay for their own missions, many saving from childhood in order to pay their way. Of course, under circumstances where a person cannot pay for their own mission, the church may help them. I have three siblings on missions right now. My brother is in Novosibirsk, Russia; my sister-in-law is in Las Vegas, Nevada; and my brother-in-law is in Eugene, Oregon. Spencer served a mission before we met in southern France. All full-time missionaries spend time in a Missionary Training Center (MTC) learning about the gospel, how to teach, and studying their new language, if they are assigned to a foreign-speaking mission.

My brother and 3 other missionaries.

Missions are hard, but the church currently has 80,000 full-time missionaries out. Why on earth would a 18 to 20-something year old do this? (Older people can also serve full-time missions after they are retired.) They don't go because they have to. They volunteer to give up years of their lives because they have something so precious, they can't not share it. They know where they came from and why they are here on earth. They know where they are going after this life. They know how to find peace and forgiveness for sins. They have something that makes them happy, and they want others to have it, too.

Anyway, while we do have amazing full-time missionaries out there, my church also has a focus on what we call member missionary work. It's the idea that we, as members living our regular lives, should be sharing the gospel with the people around us. This blog is my effort to be a better member missionary. Maybe when Spencer and I are old we'll get to serve a full-time mission together, but I still want to share now.