When do mormons go on missions

The survey, compiled by Jana Riess, sampled over 1, self-identified Mormons and former Mormons. The findings show that there is a higher percentage of Mormons serving missions now than ever, especially among women. But roughly one in five Millennials come home early. But Ellsworth hopes something happens to help the stigma of coming home early become a thing of the past. Search Query Show Search. How To Listen. Show Search Search Query. Play Live Radio. Next Up:. Most missionaries are young people under the age of 25, serving in missions throughout the world.

Missionaries work with a companion of the same gender during their mission, with the exception of couples, who work with their spouse. Single men serve missions for two years and single women serve missions for 18 months. Missionaries receive their assignment from Church headquarters and are sent only to countries where governments allow the Church to operate. Missionaries do not request their area of assignment and do not know beforehand whether they will be required to learn a language.

Prior to going to their assigned area, missionaries spend a short period of time at one of 10 missionary training centers throughout the world. There they learn how to teach the gospel in an orderly and clear way and, if necessary, they begin to learn the language of the people they will be teaching.

A typical missionary day begins by waking at a. The day is spent proselytizing by following up on appointments, visiting homes or meeting people in the street or other public places.

Missionaries end their day by p. At the end of the 19th century, missionary work had to take a back seat to the church's survival in Utah. McKay in the s and s, the mission grew to 13, Kimball called for all able, worthy young men to go on a mission, and within a few years the number had doubled. By , the Missionary Training Center was built in Provo, Utah, and today is one of 17 training centers around the world. Each year, approximately 53, Mormon missionaries go out into the world to win as many as , converts to their faith.

The missionary force has always been the engine that has driven the church's success. In the early years, older men were called to a mission, but now it is mostly young men and women who serve. All Mormon men aged 19 to 26 are eligible to receive a mission call and concentrate two years of their life to what current LDS President Gordon Hinckley calls "this sacred service. The vast majority of the missionary force -- 76 percent -- are young men. In addition to women, a few missionaries are married couples or older Mormons serving a second mission.

Missionaries are expected to cover all expenses of their mission; many Mormon children start saving for their missions when they first get an allowance, at 6 or 7 years old. Many young Mormons also work after-school jobs to save for their missions. Once accepted, missionaries are trained at the nearest Missionary Training Center. The rigorous training can last up to three months of sixteen-hour days.

The trainees learn six basic lesson plans designed to take the potential convert to the goal of baptism. Every aspect of their behavior and appearance is scrutinized.

They are taught how to listen, to smile, to find common ground with a stranger on the street, and to answer difficult questions or deal with hecklers. The location where missionaries serve is entirely determined by the church. The mission itself involves long work days, six days per week.

A typical day involves two hours of scriptural study and eight to nine hours of going door to door "teaching and contacting" potential converts. One day a week is set aside for personal activities like laundry, letter writing or sightseeing in the host country. While on their mission, missionaries can call home only on Christmas and Mother's Day; they must be with their missionary companion 24 hours a day; they cannot come within arm's length of the opposite sex; they cannot watch television or films; and they are only allowed to listen to music and read books that are of a religious nature.

At the end of their mission they will return to their communities, often to a banquet where they can discuss their experiences with family and friends. Many veterans of the missions describe their experience as transformative, but most missionaries make very few converts. Nevertheless, their missions are considered successful because these years of service train young LDS men to be leaders in their local wards.