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Step 1
Meet the basic requirements. Men must be at least 19 years old to serve a 2-year mission for the LDS church. Women must be at least 21 years old to serve a mission that lasts 18 months. Older married couples can serve on mission too, and their term of service may last from 3 to 36 months, depending on their means.
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Step 2
All prospective missionaries must meet standards of merit. You must be baptized into the LDS church and attend church meetings regularly. You must devote yourself to personal prayer and spend time reading the standard works, or LDS scriptures. These include the Bible (King James Version) the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and The Pearl of Great Price. Prospective missionaries must also obey the law of chastity--this means no sex before marriage. Members of the LDS church also live what is known as the Word of Wisdom, a set of guidelines, prohibitions and recommendations dealing with diet, harmful substances and general health issues. Finally, you must pay tithes regularly to the church.
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Step 3
If you meet these criteria, apply to be a missionary with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles through your bishop. A bishop is the local clergy for your congregation (known as a ward). After completing paperwork with the bishop, the application is sent on to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. This group determines who will be missionaries for the church.
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Step 4
After you have received notification that you have been accepted for missionary work, you will be told where you will do your missionary work and if you will be learning a foreign language.
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Step 5
On the appointed departure date, you will go to one of 17 Missionary Training Centers (MTC's) located worldwide. If you are not going to be learning a foreign language, you will spend approximately 3 weeks at the MTC. Missionaries going to international locations will spend 8 to 13 weeks studying the languages they will use for their mission.
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Step 6
After you have completed your training at the MTC, you will be sent to your missionary location. While you may feel lonely and isolated in your new area of service and you may miss your family. However, you will be paired with a full time mission partner, known as a companion, so work to develop a relationship with that person. You can also keep in regular contact with your family so you remain close to them.
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Step 7
You will be expected to help pay for some of your mission. This can be expensive for missionaries who live in the United States and Europe. However, some missionaries have been planning their entire childhoods for this time, so they and their families have been saving money for a mission. Church funds are also available to help with costs.
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Step 8
Mormon missionaries are required to conform to a strict dress code. Both men and women are to look professional most of the time. Men wear dark suits, ties and white shirts. Women wear skirts and blouses or professional looking dresses. However, depending on the climate the missionary is stationed in, dress codes can be less stringent. If a missionary is located in a hot climate, the men may not have to wear the jacket. When the missionaries do manual labor, they can wear casual clothing. Both men and women wear name tags identifying them as Mormon missionaries. Missionaries are addressed as "Elder" or "Sister" while on a mission.
Comments
sarahlynnknows said
on 1/8/2009 It's a lot of work to become a great missionary, but definitely worth it!