Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) is a missionary religion ; it is currently mobilizing around 65,000 full-time missionaries worldwide.
Preparation for missionary service
In the Church of Jesus Christ, young men between the ages of 18 and 25 are invited to serve two year full-time missions for their church. The prerequisite for this is that the young men are active in the Church and hold the office of elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood . Unmarried women can also serve as a missionary for 18 months when they are 19 years old. Elderly retired couples can work together as full-time missionaries for periods of three to 36 months. In addition, there is the possibility that older single women perform missionary service at variable times.
Missionaries do not choose their field of activity and do not know what area they will serve or whether they will need to learn a new language prior to their calling. Those who have volunteered and have been recommended by their local church leaders will receive a letter from the President of the Church telling them which of the more than 400 mission areas they will be called to worldwide. Missionaries are only sent to countries where the Church is officially authorized to do missionary work.
Their stake presidents appoint those who wish to serve in a missionary service and receive priestly blessings. In addition, future missionaries receive temple ordinances if they have not done so earlier.
Mission costs
Missionaries usually bear the full cost of their missionary work without financial support from the church they serve during this time. Family members and friends can help them with the financing. In the past, each missionary paid his own actual cost of living. However, this meant that missionaries in countries with high living costs were more financially burdened than others. For this reason, social burden sharing was introduced in 1990. Instead of the actual cost of living, each missionary pays a monthly contribution equal to the average cost of living in his country of origin. In Central Europe this mission contribution was 285 euros in 2008. The actual cost of living is covered by the church.
Young Church members are encouraged to start saving for missionary work as early as possible. Individuals unable to raise the financial resources by themselves or with the help of their families and their local congregation are supported through the Church's General Mission Fund, to which members worldwide can donate. Retired couples who go on a joint mission must always bear their own expenses.
Missionary school
After being called to the missionary service, all missionaries first spend a few weeks in a missionary school (also called MTC from Missionary Training Center ). The largest missionary school is located in the US state of Utah in Provo . If necessary, they can learn the language of the mission area there in just a few weeks and are instructed in their tasks and duties. There are currently 12 missionary schools worldwide. These are located in the following locations:
Clothing and well-groomed appearance
On a mission there is a set dress code that the missionary must adhere to. All missionaries also wear a name tag with the name Elder (Engl. Elder ) + surname or Sister (Engl. Sister ) + surname. Under her name is the name of the church. Young full-time missionaries are encouraged to speak to Elder and Sister among themselves to keep the importance of their calling alive.
Organization and rules
| Time | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| activity | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sports exercises | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| eat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal hygiene and clothing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal study | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joint study | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Proselytizing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Plan and pray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A normal day for missionaries begins personal scripture study at 6:30 am. After sufficient preparation time, the day will be preached on the gospel - missionaries check where appointments have been made, make house calls, do volunteer work, or speak to people on the street and in public. A missionary's working day ends around 9:00 p.m. The boundaries of the mission areas are determined by the church leadership. A mission president and his two counselors preside over a mission area. He oversees the work in the assigned area and coordinates the mission work on site.
In some places missionaries are only used for humanitarian purposes or other special tasks. These missionaries are not doing conversion work.
Relationships and marital status
Single missionaries are not allowed to meet privately, go dancing, or flirt during their mission time. During this time, keep your distance from the opposite sex. Missionaries are encouraged to communicate with their families weekly via telephone, video chat, online messaging, and mail. Contact with the family should also be made on special occasions (birthdays, Christmas, Mother's Day).
useful information
In areas where the majority of the population belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , there are isolated cases where young people go on missions due to social pressures and expectations of family members and then break off the missionary service prematurely. In order to counteract this problem, the church offers mission preparation courses, which are intended to ensure that only people begin missionary service who are physically and psychologically capable of doing it and who are also motivated to serve a mission. Young people who cannot do missionary service for health reasons are given the opportunity to serve elsewhere within the Church or in their own area.
See also
Web links
- Sandra Schaftner: Mormons on a Mission: How Missionaries Use Smartphones , www.spiegel.de, July 22, 2019
- Ralf Kaminski: Two years on the road on a mission , www.migrosmagazin.ch, November 22, 2019
- Felix Kraxner: Bringing the Viennese closer to God , www.wienerzeitung.at, October 19, 2018
Individual evidence
- ↑ Numbers and facts. Church of Jesus Christ, accessed August 15, 2019 .
- ↑ Mission Program . Church of Jesus Christ, accessed August 15, 2019 .
- ↑ Numbers and facts. Church of Jesus Christ, accessed August 15, 2019 .
- ^ Missionary Schools . Church of Jesus Christ, accessed August 15, 2019 .
- ↑ Clothing and appearance. Church of Jesus Christ, accessed August 15, 2019 .
- ^ Latter-day Saint Missionaries Can Now Call, Text Home Weekly, First Presidency Announces. Church of Jesus Christ, accessed August 15, 2019 .
- ↑ Mission preparation . Church of Jesus Christ, accessed August 17, 2019 .