Latter-day Saint missionaries practice what they and their ‘captain’ preach through service
Three missionaries piled out of the car that had pulled over and parked a short, suburban block up the street.
They walked our way and surprised me when they volunteered to help finish raking and bagging the leaves from the seven trees in our front and side yard. It was an easy decision to accept service from these young men from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I’ve personally watched missionaries muck out homes flooded by hurricanes in Texas, clean a mosque outside Washington, D.C., teach cooking classes in Rome, hand out school supplies in Peru and support humanitarian aid projects in India and Africa.
Bishop Jordan Marcks, left, Sister Hannah White, Sister McKenna Fairbanks and Dewaine King talk after they cleaned out one house before heading to work on another in Lumberton, Texas, on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017.
Elders and sisters have reported that some mission presidents ask their missionaries to do regular service each week. Sometimes that means rolling up their sleeves and working in yards in their Sunday-best clothing, though they usually change clothes if the service is planned ahead of time.
The church’s 80,000 missionaries play a key role in disaster cleanup, welfare projects and other community service and humanitarian aid efforts in 450 missions around the world, a vital part of the volunteer service that is “the backbone of the humanitarian, welfare and self-reliance work” done by the church worldwide, according to a news release issued this week.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a missionary who’s ever used the word ‘no,’” said Kevin Cox, CEO and founder of the Hope Crisis Response Network, one of the organizations that joined the church’s six-day wildfire disaster recovery hub at its Pasadena Stake Center in May.
“It’s like, ‘We’ll figure this out. Let’s see how we can do this,’” he said in the news release. “The church needs to be very proud of its missionaries. When you send these young people out, they’re learning a lot of life lessons, but they’re also sowing such great seeds. And that’s what we need in our country.”
One of our photographers, Kristen Murphy, and I were embedded with some of these volunteers in Texas after Hurricane Harvey. We covered some of the work done by 11,000 Latter-day Saint volunteers who pitched in to help recovery efforts on a single weekend.
This past hurricane season, 21,284 Church volunteers mobilized over six weeks across five states to help with cleanup and aid efforts after Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck North and South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.
The leaves in our yard fall in bunches over several weeks. A few weeks after those elders spontaneously pulled over to help, a couple of sister missionaries stopped walking by to assist.
“We’re just doing what our captain taught us,” one of the women said when the leaves were all bagged.
She handed me a business card bearing the image of Jesus Christ and then turned to go find others who needed help.
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Behind the Scenes
“I want to thank Azul and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who worked alongside the Brazilian Air Force and managed to get the donations we received to Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, this Wednesday. These included mattresses, sanitary pads, hygiene kits, blankets, and other items. Brazil remains united for Rio Grande do Sul!” — Brazilian first lady Rosangela “Janja Lula” da Silva on May 9, 2024.
