Changes Coming For How Latter-day Saints Will Receive Mission Calls
Sep 5, 2018, 10:24 AM | Updated: 9:59 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – It’s tough waiting for the official letter assigning a mission location. Just ask any missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The wait for the mission call will soon be a little shorter, though.
The Church announced Wednesday that members preparing to serve full-time missions are “… getting a quicker, more convenient way to open their mission calls.”
“The Church is rolling out a new initiative in which missionary candidates receive their assignments online instead of in the mail,” according to a media release. “This process has been tested in various parts of the world for the past several months and will now be expanded to all of Utah and Idaho.”
The change will reportedly take effect for nearly all missionaries with reliable internet access worldwide by the end of the year.
“Technology is there, and it’s so easy to do,” said Elder Brent H. Nielson, executive director of the Missionary Department. “We just put it online and they can read it in a matter of minutes.”
Calls are often opened in the company of friends and family as the missionary finds out along with his or her loved ones where the location will be. The new system will still allow for that shared moment to come minutes after the call is made — instead of weeks later.
Here’s how it will work.
Missionaries will receive an email or a text message informing them their mission call is ready to open. Once they’re ready, they can access the official letter using a smartphone, tablet or computer.
The only change to the opening of the mission call ritual will be that it is paperless.
Missionaries can also access all mission materials, maps, country information and checklists online.
The Church’s release makes sure to note that “Call letters and related materials can also be printed and downloaded for remembrance and record keeping.”