- Several general leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrate updated opportunities for young women to begin missions at earlier age.
- The decision to alter the mission age reflects the church's confidence and faith in its young women.
- Brigham Young University states support for the church's new mission age policy.
Friday’s announcement that Latter-day Saint young women can now begin missionary service at 18 — a year earlier than previously allowed — was greeted with support and a few misty eyes from church missionary leaders.
“It’s an exciting time,” Elder W. Mark Bassett, a General Authority Seventy and the executive director of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Missionary Department, told the Deseret News.
“This opportunity for young women to consider their options at age 18 will be a blessing to them. … It’s for those that have a desire to serve.”
Elder Bassett noted that policies regarding the ages of missionary service have sometimes changed during the church’s 195-year history.
“And now the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have decided that now is the time to make this change.”
Elder Bassett added that he and others had spoken with young Latter-day Saint women to gauge their interest. “And it was clear ... that this was a change that should be made.”
So is a surge of women serving full-time missions expected?
That’s unknown, said Elder Bassett.
Currently, there are approximately 85,000 full-time missionaries serving in the church.
But in light of 55 new missions that were recently created, “we believe that we have a sufficient number of missions to be able to provide an opportunity for all that want to serve.”
Mission-bound young women — like young men in the church — can now begin their application for missionary service 150 days before their 18th birthday.
Missionary duty is a priesthood duty for young men, Elder Bassett emphasized.
Young women who choose to serve missions, he added, make powerful impacts across the globe — but it’s optional.
“If a young woman has a desire to serve, we want to give her the opportunity,” he said. “This gives her one more thing to consider. So I would not want to put any kind of pressure on any young woman to serve — but if the desire is there, then we certainly welcome that service.”
A former mission president, Elder Bassett said he has witnessed the strength that devoted women bring to the mission field.
“Young women can reach people in a way that a young man can’t,” he said. “They have different talents. … We know that they can be capable and ready to serve at 18. We have confidence in them.”
President Freeman: Seek prayerful guidance while making missionary decisions
Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman, who serves on the church’s Missionary Executive Council, fought emotion while processing Friday’s missionary age announcement.
“I’ve been sitting on my phone and watching videos come in from (young women) from all over. … They are crying,“ she said. ”They are so happy and so excited.”
President Freeman added that she relishes imagining the many conversations that young women will be having around dinner tables and in family rooms in the coming days — along with their many private prayers for guidance.
“What a sweet opportunity it will be for these girls to look at their lives and the choices that are ahead of them.”
Friday’s announcement also signals the confidence that Latter-day Saint leaders have in the faith and capacity of today’s young women, she said.
“We see a hastening taking place — and we see, everywhere we go, this great enthusiasm to engage in the work of the Lord.”
President Freeman then added a message for Latter-day Saint young women: “We trust you. The Lord has a great work in store for you. Rise up and live up to the privileges that are yours — and the opportunities that are ahead of you.”
So what counsel would the leader of the church’s Young Women organization give to teenage girls who are debating the decision to serve a mission?
“The most important thing they will do is counsel with the Lord, and then they will counsel with their bishop and their families,” said President Freeman.
“They will look at all of the options that are open for them. And I know that the Holy Ghost will not fail them. The answers will come. Inspiration will come. Direction will come.”
President Freeman added she’s enthused that seminary-age boys and girls can now prepare for missions knowing that they share the same time frame for potential mission calls.
“This will be life changing for this generation of the church,” she said.
“We will prepare them through the tools that we have and through the scriptures. And as they learn to listen and counsel with the Lord and to walk with him, it will be a powerful time for the rising generation of the church.”
Why missionary prep begins in Primary
Sister Amy A. Wright, first counselor in the Primary general presidency and a member of the church’s Missionary Executive Council, said Friday’s announcement is a byproduct of revelation.
“This is just another one of many manifestations of how the Lord feels about his precious daughters,” she said. “He loves them, he trusts them, and he needs them. They are an important part of this great work, and he wants them to have options.
“(The Lord) is very confident — and we are confident — in their ability to discern the path forward; which path is best for them.
“That needs to be a revelatory path. With all big changes and decisions in our life, we hope that prayer is a foundational part of the decision-making process.”
Even Primary-age girls can begin preparing to serve a mission, if they choose, added Sister Wright.
“These young children are ready and are willing and worthy to serve — and the preparations that we see from a Primary-level are as early as age 8, when they are baptized and confirmed. … And with that membership, they have responsibilities.
“They can teach. They can lead. They can gather. They can invite. They can be part of the revelatory process, as they plan activities with their leaders.”
Male and female missionaries: ‘A powerful complementary force’
Elder Matthew S. Holland, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church Communication Department, appreciates Friday’s announcement from multiple angles.
He has served as a university president (Utah Valley University) and as a mission president. So he’s worked with young women of all backgrounds at pivotal times in their lives.
And missions, he’s learned, are transformative.
“It’s such a magnificent opportunity and a blessing for those who so engage. And we know that there’s great power in the experience of losing yourself in the service of other people.”
The decision to change the age of missionary service for women comes at the perfect moment, added Elder Holland.
“This is a rich time of blessing for young people that can have choices now to serve at different times and different ages that will provide a richness and a blessing … as they grow and develop.”
As a former mission president, Elder Holland said he’s witnessed the strength women bring to the work of sharing the gospel.
“I loved serving as a mission leader and loved serving with both young men and young women. It’s a powerful complementary force to have both young men and young women serving in a mission in the way that they resonate and serve together and in the community.”
For young women deciding if 18 is the right age to serve a mission, Elder Holland echoes the counsel of his fellow general church leaders.
“I would invite them to do what the prophets of God have asked them to do: First, take this question to their Heavenly Father and be prayerful about it.
“It’s an option. It’s a wonderful option. They may have other options that they’re considering, and that they should consider. And as they do, they should extend their counseling process with people who know them well — family members, educational mentors, local leaders.
“And they will know. They will know if and when it’s right for them.”
Many Latter-day Saint women are making missionary decisions even while finalizing education choices. The church’s flagship higher education institution — Brigham Young University — issued a statement following Friday’s announcement:
“We love when our students choose to serve missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — and we’re eager to support our students as they embrace this exciting announcement from the First Presidency.”