Mission president

Last updated
The mission home for the Bulgaria Sofia Mission. A mission home is the official residence of a mission president. Mormon-mission-in-Sofia-Bulgaria.jpg
The mission home for the Bulgaria Sofia Mission. A mission home is the official residence of a mission president.

Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending on the particular mission, a mission president may also be the presiding priesthood leader of some or all Latter-day Saints within the geographic boundaries of the mission. Mission presidents are ordained high priests of the church.

Contents

Selection

Mission presidents are assigned to a mission by the leadership of the LDS Church and typically discover the location a few months before their departure. [1] Mission presidents are men typically between 40 and 65 years old. [2] In the past some mission presidents have been much younger; LeGrand Richards and Stephen R. Covey both served as mission presidents while in their 20s and Thomas S. Monson became a mission president at age 31. In more recent years younger mission presidents have been more rare. In 2005, there were 130 new mission presidents, the youngest of them, Norbert Ounleu, was 35. [3] The only mission president called under the age of 30 since 2005 was Kerving H. Joseph, who was 29 when he became president of the Haiti Port-au-Prince Mission in 2009.

Mission presidents are generally assigned to areas other than where they reside at the time of their call. There are exceptions, such as Richard G. Hinckley, who presided over the Utah Salt Lake City Mission. In 2009, at least two of the newly called mission presidents resided within the boundaries of the missions over which they served: Kerving H. Joseph (who was then still the president of the Haiti Port-au-Prince mission at the time of the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake) [4] and Claude R. Gamiette, a native and resident of Guadeloupe, who was appointed president of West Indies Mission, which covered Guadeloupe. [5] [6] Tonga has also had a few men native to the country who were residing in the islands when called to serve as presidents of the Tongan mission. [7] Effian Kadarusman, an Indonesian, served as president of the Indonesia Jakarta Mission for four years in the 1980s. [8] With over 400 missions, there are few which have a president who was a resident in the mission boundaries at the time of his call at any given time. An example of an exception occurred in approximately 2005, when the church decided to have Venezuelan natives serve as presidents of all the local missions due to growing discord between the United States and Venezuela, but often the presidents were from areas of Venezuela other than where they were called to.

According to current policy, a mission president must be married. Typically, his wife and any dependent children accompany him on his mission. During the first 100 years of the church, there were some single mission presidents and several others who left their wives and children elsewhere while they served. On the other hand, when Wilford Woodruff presided over the Eastern States Mission in the 1840s his wife, Phoebe, was set apart to serve with him. Brigham Young, Jr., not only had his wife, Catherine Curtis Spencer Young, serving with him while he presided over the British Mission in the 1860s but one of their children was born while they were there. [9] When Heber J. Grant brought his wife and six daughters with him when he came to preside over the British Mission in 1903, Francis M. Lyman looked unfavorably upon this new innovation. [10]

Mission presidents are either retired or leave their vocations for three years to preside over their mission. They live in properties owned or leased by the LDS Church, which also covers basic living and household expenses for mission presidents. Prominent examples include former United States Congressman Wayne Owens, [11] former Governor of Utah Norm Bangerter, [1] two-time Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award recipient Dale Murphy, [12] and Harvard Business School professor Steven C. Wheelwright. [13] They usually receive training in late June and begin the service about the first of July, unless there are emergencies or medical conditions that require otherwise.

Candidates are typically interviewed in the last few months of each year, initially by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. If candidates are chosen, the First Presidency extends the call to serve. The official announcements of new mission presidents is typically done through the first few months of the subsequent year via the weekly Church News .

Unlike most positions in the church, when they are initially called, mission presidents are not subject to the common consent acceptance of any body of members. [14] Once serving, they are subject to frequent votes of common consent in branches and districts over which the mission president presides.

Administrative responsibilities

Mission presidents generally supervise a group that ranges between 60 and 200 missionaries and direct their missionary labors. [12] Missionaries are typically between the ages of 18 and 25, but can also include senior-aged couples and older single women.

Mission presidents are usually assisted by two counselors, who reside within the mission boundaries, in overseeing areas of the mission boundaries that are not organized into stakes; the three men together constitute the mission presidency and are each given the honorific title "President". The counselors serve in the mission presidency for varying periods of time while maintaining their regular employment. The responsibilities of the counselors are generally oriented towards the members of the church within the mission, often organized into districts and branches.

Additionally, mission presidents are assisted by two or more full-time missionaries under the title of "assistant to the president", whose duties are primarily directed toward supervision of the missionary work, under the direction of the mission president. These assistants lead an independent hierarchy that may or may not correspond with local church units.

The role of a mission president's wife varies depending on the age of her children and her background. She typically joins her husband in conferences or other major church gatherings, and is often invited to give remarks before as his companion. If she has extra time after taking care of the children, she may assist with mission supplementary works such as medical, transportation or catering.

Spiritual responsibilities

Mission presidents are assigned to train and watch over the missionaries who serve under their direction. Mission presidents are typically respected and admired by the missionaries they supervise. Obedience to the mission president is considered a vital part of missionary work.

In areas within mission boundaries where there are no stakes, the mission president is the presiding church authority. In those circumstances, the mission is divided into districts which are composed of branches. In that role, he serves in a capacity similar to that of a stake president.

While missionaries have responsibility for the spiritual progress of those investigating the church in their individual area, the mission president is responsible for all those investigating the church within the mission boundaries, and in special cases interviews those desiring to be baptized. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)</span> Governing body of LDS Church

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy. Members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are apostles, with the calling to be prophets, seers, and revelators, evangelical ambassadors, and special witnesses of Jesus Christ.

A ward is a local congregation in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with a smaller local congregation known as a branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David O. McKay</span> American religious leader (1873–1970)

David Oman McKay was an American religious leader and educator who served as the ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1951 until his death in 1970. Ordained an apostle and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1906, McKay was an active general authority for nearly 64 years, longer than anyone else in LDS Church history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffrey R. Holland</span> American educator and religious leader (born 1940)

Jeffrey Roy Holland is an American educator and religious leader. He served as the ninth President of Brigham Young University (BYU) and is the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Holland is accepted by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Currently, he is the third most senior apostle in the church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell M. Nelson</span> President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Russell Marion Nelson Sr. is an American religious leader and retired surgeon who is the 17th and current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nelson was a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for nearly 34 years, and was the quorum president from 2015 to 2018. As church president, Nelson is recognized by the church as a prophet, seer, and revelator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles W. Penrose</span> American Mormon leader (1832–1925)

Charles William Penrose was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1904 to 1911. Penrose was also a member of the First Presidency, serving as a counselor to church presidents Joseph F. Smith and Heber J. Grant from 1911 until his death.

In the Latter Day Saint movement, a bishop is the highest office of the Aaronic priesthood. It is almost always held by one who holds the office of high priest in the Melchizedek priesthood. The Latter Day Saint concept of the office differs significantly from the role of bishops in other Christian denominations, being in some respects more analogous to a pastor or parish priest. Each bishop serves with two counselors, who together form a bishopric.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church membership council is an ecclesiastical event during which a church member's status is considered, typically for alleged violations of church standards. If a church member is found to have committed an offense by a membership council, they may have their name removed from church records, or their church membership may be otherwise restricted. Church membership councils are at times referred to unofficially as church courts.

A mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a geographical administrative area to which church missionaries are assigned. Almost all areas of the world are within the boundaries of an LDS Church mission, whether or not any of the church's missionaries live or proselytize in the area. As of July 2020, there were 407 missions of the church.

Devin George Durrant is an American retired professional basketball player. From 1984 to 1985 he played with the Indiana Pacers and with the Phoenix Suns. He later played in European basketball leagues until 1988. In a Deseret News poll in the year 2000, he was voted one of the top 10 college basketball players in the state of Utah over the previous 100 years. In 1999, Sports Illustrated listed him as one of the 50 greatest Utah sports figures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph L. Wirthlin</span> American religious leader

Joseph Leopold Wirthlin was the eighth presiding bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area (LDS Church)</span> Administrative unit of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an area is an administrative unit that typically is composed of multiple stakes and missions. These areas are the primary church administrative unit between individual stakes or missions and the church as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel K. Judd</span>

Daniel K. Judd is an American educator and religious leader who served as first counselor to A. Roger Merrill in the Sunday School General Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2004 to 2009. From 2019 to 2021, Judd was dean of Brigham Young University's (BYU) Department of Religious Education. He had previously served as chair of BYU's Ancient Scripture Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Thomas Fyans</span> American Mormon leader

John Thomas Fyans was a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1974 until his death.

Richard Charles Neitzel Holzapfel is a former professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University (BYU) and an author on topics related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Western and Utah History, and the New Testament. As of 2018, Holzapfel is working in the LDS Church's Missionary Department as a senior manager.

John Richard Clarke was a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1976 until his death. He has been a member of the church's presiding bishopric and a member of the Presidency of the Seventy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L. Whitney Clayton</span> American religious leader

Lyndon Whitney Clayton III has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 2001. He became a member of the church's Presidency of the Seventy in 2008 and was its senior president from 2015 until 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen L. Chipman</span> American politician

Stephen L. Chipman (1864–1945) was a member of the Utah State Legislature in 1903 and a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah County. He was also the first president of the Salt Lake Temple who was not also an apostle in the LDS Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David John (Mormon)</span>

David John was a leading figure in Utah at the dawn of the 20th century. He served as a stake president in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a member of the Brigham Young University (BYU) board of trustees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Africa</span>

Three missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints started proselyting to white English-speaking people in Cape Town in 1853. Most converts from this time emigrated to the United States. The mission was closed in 1865, but reopened in 1903.The South African government limited the amount of missionaries allowed to enter the country in 1921 and in 1955. Starting around 1930, a man had to trace his genealogy out of Africa to be eligible for the priesthood, since black people were not permitted to be ordained. In 1954 when church president David O. McKay visited South Africa, he removed the requirement for genealogical research for a man to be ordained, stipulating only that "there is no evidence of his having Negro blood in his veins".

References

  1. 1 2 "Bangerter Called To Serve as LDS Mission President", Deseret News , 1996-02-26, retrieved 2012-01-10
  2. Vinyard, Valerie (2011-06-27), "Ex-restaurant exec shifts direction to lead Mormon mission in Japan", Arizona Daily Star , retrieved 2012-01-10
  3. Stale, Shaun D. (2005-07-02), "Always A Missionary: Pres. Monson details significance of calling", Church News , retrieved 2012-01-10
  4. "New mission presidents", Church News, 2009-02-28, retrieved 2012-01-10
  5. "Mission President assignments 2009", Church News , March 7, 2009.
  6. "New mission presidents", Church News , February 7, 2009.
  7. Shumway, Eric B. (1991), Tongan Saints: Legacy of Faith, Laie, Hawaii: Institute for Polynesian Studies, BYU–H, ISBN   978-0-939154-52-4, OCLC   23144746 [ page needed ]
  8. "Country information: Indonesia", Church News, 2010-01-29, retrieved 2012-01-10
  9. Susa Young Gates, "Genealogy of Brigham Young Family", Utah Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 12
  10. Walker, Ronald W. (2004), "Heber J. Grant's European Mission, 1903-1906", BYU Studies , Provo, 43 (1): 264
  11. "Church leader pays tribute to Wayne Owens", Church News, 2003-01-04, retrieved 2012-01-10
  12. 1 2 O'Keefe, John (1999-10-18), "Dale Murphy, Braves Double MVP", Sports Illustrated , retrieved 2012-01-10
  13. "Renowned Harvard Scholar Named as New BYU-Hawaii President", Church News , 5 June 2007. Retrieved on 22 March 2020.
  14. "Callings in the Church", Handbook 2: Administering the Church (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church, 2010) § 19.
  15. "Mission President", Newsroom: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Retrieved on 22 March 2020.

Further reading