Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serve all around the world, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to all who will listen. Elder Jeffery R. Holland has stated, "Every truth that a missionary...teaches is only an appendage to the central message of all time--that Jesus is the Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, the Holy Messiah, the Promised One, the Savior and Redeemer of the World."
This week, we put together a list of 10 facts about Mormon missionaries that may surprise you:
1. Over 1.1 million Mormon men and women
have served full-time missions for the Church since its founding in 1830.
2.
The number of full-time Mormon missionaries has
increased from 43,651 in 1990 to 85,039 as of March 31, 2014. Single male
missionaries (“elders”) serve for 24 months, and single female missionaries (“sister
missionaries”) serve for 18 months.
3.
Before President Thomas S. Monson lowered the age of availability for all male
missionaries to 18 and for all female missionaries to 19 in October 2012, the age of
availability for male missionaries was first lowered to 18 in Germany,
the United Kingdom, Albania, Cape Verde, Spain, Italy and all of South America
to accommodate educational and military requirements. As of March 31, 2014, the breakdown of missionaries is 64% elders, 28% sisters, 8% seniors.
4.
Although elders and sister missionaries email or
write letters home weekly during their missions, they are allowed just two phone
calls home per year: one on Mother’s Day and one on Christmas.
5.
Mormon missionaries and their families fund
their own missions—except for transportation to and from their field of
labor—and are not paid for their services. In recent years, the Church has implemented a program to equalize
missionary costs across the globe: each missionary contributes $400 a month to
cover mission costs.
6.
There are now 15 Missionary Training Centers
(MTCs) around the world, where missionaries spend the initial 3-8 weeks of
their assignments learning the basics of missionary service. Only the largest
MTC, located in Provo, Utah, near Brigham Young University, teaches foreign
languages. In total, 55 languages are taught at the Provo
MTC by a staff of over 1,200 teachers. 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. In addition to living accommodations
and classrooms, the Provo MTC includes a gymnasium/auditorium, a massive
kitchen and cafeteria, a health clinic, a bookstore, a laundry, a travel
department, a barbershop and so on. It is about to undergo a major expansion to
accommodate the rising number of missionaries. During 2010, missionaries at the
Provo MTC consumed 200,400 apples; 163,430 pounds of bananas; 10,893 gallons of
ice cream; and the equivalent of 684,800 eggs.
7.
Approximately 283,000 converts were baptized
members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide during
2013.
8.
Missionaries
do not choose where they serve. The missionary application they submit to Church
headquarters contains basic information (e.g., what
languages they speak, how interested they are in learning a new language, their
performance in school, their ancestors’ nationalities), and a member of the Church’s presiding Quorum
of the 12 Apostles prayerfully assigns each missionary to one of 405 missions
around the world. About 2-3 weeks after submitting an application, prospective
missionaries receive a large envelope from church headquarters that announces
where the missionary will serve. Anticipation is understandably off the charts
when opening the letter that reveals where a future missionary will serve
around the world. (Here is a great video of new missionaries opening their mission calls.)
9.
160 million copies of the Book of
Mormon have been published and are freely distributed by missionaries around
the world.
10. About 80 physicians serve as full-time volunteer
missionaries around the world so mission presidents have access to the best
medical advice right within the boundaries of their own areas. Also, an
additional 200 volunteer nurses and others with medical and health-care
backgrounds assist the missionaries.
