Just 2 months ago, President Thomas S. Monson announced that LDS women are now eligible to serve full-time missions beginning at age 19.
Already, it appears that faithful younger women are responding to the prophet’s invitation in record-breaking numbers.
Here are a few reports:
- One stake president in Mapleton said he interviewed 18 young women in one week in October.
- A sister on Facebook reported, “In our tiny branch of less than 100 people, we have 5 sisters who have been called since Pres. Monson’s announcement, and one more who is expecting her call this week! None of them were old enough to go before Oct.”
- A sister missionary in the Florida Tampa Mission wrote to her parents that over the next 3 months 80 new sister missionaries will be arriving.
- A sister in the California San Diego Mission reported that 120 new sister missionaries are scheduled to arrive during the months of December and January.
- A new Facebook group Many Are Called… But Few Are Sisters was created for “those sisters about to submit papers or those who have already received calls, so we can share our experiences and help each other prepare.” Within 4 days, over 1,900 future sister missionaries joined the group from all over the world. There are now over 2,250 members.
On December 8, 2012, hundreds of future sister missionaries gathered at various temples across the West. Below is a video of the sisters who met at the Salt Lake City Temple to take a picture to show the First Presidency how excited they are about the age change and the opportunity to serve a mission.
For more background on this story, read “Newly Called Sister Missionaries Unite and Create EPIC Video” by Kathryn Skaggs.
Below is a photo of sisters who gathered at other temples around the world.
Oh, to turn back the clock! I was a 17-year-old freshman who asked her BYU bishop if they ever made exceptions and let sisters serve full-time missions any earlier than 21. I wanted to go so badly! Of course, I met my husband soon after, and was married at 19.
I am so excited and thrilled by this new change, and grateful that my own daughter will be able to take advantage of the choice to serve a mission at a much younger age.
I am grateful to live on the earth at this time, when the Church is so strong and growing ever stronger, and temples dot the land. It really brings me comfort at those times when national news is soooo depressing. Yay for the restored gospel!
One of my missionary sons is thrilled that his girlfriend has received her call. She hadn’t even contemplated serving before the announcement, assuming that she’d wed close to her 21st birthday. Now they will at least be serving on the same continent. (Thankfully, a long way away from each other speaking different languages.)
My other missionary son quipped to my wife that he expects a bumper crop of returned sister missionaries about the time he returns from his mission. Perhaps he anticipates what in his vernacular has become known as a “missionarriage.”
Thank you so much for posting this! My daughter helped create the facebook page. Who would know it would grow from a small group to such a force for good? So proud of these young women, and of course the young men who choose to serve missions. It is a difficult, but rewarding experience for them. The preparation, effort, and of course the sacrifice that brings so many blessings to so many. What a powerful force for positive change! So grateful to them that they chose to witness their faith in this manner. We are waiting for her mission call, it will be our best gift of Christmas!
We wish you the best. Thanks for all the service you give. You an inspiration.