The ‘pioneering’ journey for the first missionary called after the Church allows senior single males to serve

Meet Elder Paul Newton, whose journey includes his wife’s death, an application process requiring Missionary Department assistance and a call to Croatia

Published: April 9, 2025, 7:18 p.m. MDT

Elder Paul Newton points to his photo on the assignment board of the Adriatic North Mission in Zagreb, Croatia, on March 21, 2025. Provided by President Brian E. Cordray, Adriatic North Mission

Elder Paul Newton has been called a pioneer and a guinea pig — appropriate for the first-called senior single male missionary since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently expanded missionary opportunities for single men 40 and older.

And he is starting a pilot program as part of his 12-month service in the Adriatic North Mission.

Elder Newton’s pioneering journey spans more than just the physical distance from his Salem, Utah, residence to the nearby Provo Missionary Training Center and on to the mission office in Zagreb, Croatia.

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