What Mormon Missionaries Do, Why, And How They Do It

And so, it begins.  I have started to prepare myself for being a missionary 3 weeks before I enter the field.  To do this, I have cut out Facebook from my life, as I knew it was something that I was on ALL the time which would cut in greatly into my studies and preparation.  So, this blog will sort of act as my public journal until I leave (after which my good Mom will post letters/stuff that happens to me/pictures, etc.)  I also have personally stopped listening to any music other than spiritual, gospel oriented music (that means no more dubstep, techno, or rap.)

To fill my time, I have begun a schedule of playing piano, cleaning, writing letters, shopping (for things I'll need on the mission), spending time with family and friends, and most importantly - reading the scriptures.  LOTS of reading.  My aim is to finish re-reading the Book of Mormon in these three weeks before I leave, so it will be fresh in my mind to teach and draw examples from.

HERE'S MY SHOUTOUT TO MY NON-MORMONS - So.  Some of you might be wondering what I'll be doing for the next year and a half in the Philippines.  Here's the general daily schedule of a missionary (which he or she does all completely accompanied by his or her companion - another missionary), which can be modified slightly depending on what my mission president says, but likely what I do each day will be very close to this (and here's a picture of some Sister missionaries):

Missionary Daily Schedule
6:30 a.m. Arise, pray, exercise (30 minutes), and prepare for the day.
7:30 a.m. Breakfast.
8:00 a.m. Personal study: the Book of Mormon, other scriptures, doctrines of the missionary
lessons, other chapters from Preach My Gospel, the Missionary Handbook, and the
Missionary Health Guide.
9:00 a.m. Companion study: share what you have learned during personal study, prepare to teach,
practice teaching, study chapters from Preach My Gospel, confirm plans for the day.
10:00 a.m. Begin proselyting. Missionaries learning a language study that language for an
additional 30 to 60 minutes, including planning language learning activities to use
during the day.
Missionaries may take an hour for lunch and additional study, and an hour for dinner
at times during the day that fit best with their proselyting. Normally dinner should be
finished no later than 6:00 p.m.
(Proselyting, by the way, means anything from knocking on doors to try and contact people who have a desire to hear the Gospel to doing service to teaching people who are already interested in learning more, or teaching people who were referred by members to the missionaries.)
9:00 p.m. Return to living quarters (unless teaching a lesson; then return by 9:30) and plan the next
day’s activities (30 minutes). Write in journal, prepare for bed, pray.
10:30 p.m. Retire to bed.

Missionaries also have a Preparation Day each week, commonly referred to as a P Day.  For half of this day, missionaries take care of smaller things such as doing laundry, perhaps doing very limited shopping if necessary (for groceries, etc.) and writing letters and emails to friends and family.  Missionaries call home (or, depending where they are and if it's available, Skype home) only twice a year - once on Mother's Day, and once at Christmas.  Otherwise, missionaries only contact friends and family through letters and emails.

As you can see - Mormon missionaries have a slightly different experience than most missionaries.  Missions can be fun at times, but they are mostly hard, hard work.  Why do we do this, you may ask.  Why do we willingly choose (yes, I made the free decision to go on this mission - there was no obligation or pressure on me to do so) to sacrifice a year and a half at age 19 or older (or two years, for guys, starting at age 18 or older) to live this strict schedule in a place far from home?  Well, I'll tell you this much - it is not a decision made lightly.  Missionaries, or their families, also pay $7,000 (for female missionaries) or $10,000 (for male missionaries) to go on a mission.  Not only does the missionary sacrifice their  time, connections back  home, and lifestyle, but they also pay to do so.

Some missionaries at the Manila Missionary Training Center, where I will be taught how to be a missionary for 6 weeks at the beginning of my mission.

The world would call such an act "crazy" or "insane" that we would go to such lengths just to share our religion.  However - I think that if people would take a moment to really think about myself and many of the other Mormons they know who are now on missions, we are not crazy or insane.  We are simply sharing the key to our personal happiness.  Our hope is that we can bring lasting happiness and light into the lives of others, and show them that we have a deep knowledge of the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because of personal revelation - our church emphasizes personal growth, understanding, and progression in faith and knowledge.  My own desire is to help anyone who is ready and willing to accept the teachings of my church to see how much they could be blessed, not only now, but forever - and not only by themselves, but their whole family.  I am serving a mission to proclaim the availability of the most important thing I have ever come across in my entire life, and because it means so much more to me than anything else I have in my life, I know that those who choose to accept the truthfulness of the message the missionaries teach will come to value their belonging to the Mormon church as deeply and as fully as I do.  I know the other 60,000 missionaries currently serving (and that number is ever growing) feel the same way, and are serving with the same purpose.

If you (or anyone you might know) would be interested in learning more about Mormon missionaries, the Mormon religion, or any other questions you might have, I would recommend visiting this site -Mormon.org.  You can even chat to real live missionaries online with this link - mormon.org/chat.  Feel free to message them, they'd love to talk to you!

Some happy Sister missionaries in the Philippines.