“Should girls go on missions?” New Era, Mar. 1972, 30–31

“Should girls go on missions?”

This involves two questions: Would the mission be good for the girl, and would the girl be good for the mission?

The answer to the first question is almost universally yes. Nearly any girl with a positive attitude and a desire to serve will benefit greatly from mission service. She can build her testimony, firm up her direction in life, develop a spirit of tolerance and love, build self-confidence and a positive attitude, come to an appreciation of home, parents, and family, and see more clearly the importance of choosing a husband who will go with her not only to the temple but also to the celestial kingdom. She will feel the joy and satisfaction that comes from unselfish, full-time service to others.

Would the girl be good for the mission?

This question cannot be answered in a general way. It’s an individual matter. Today’s typical lady missionary is an energetic, young (usually just turned twenty-one), enthusiastic girl who will, traditionally, participate in about twice as many conversions as will the average elder. She is usually in the mission field because she has a desire to serve, not because she is compelled by social pressure.

My mental photo album of lady missionaries is filled with pictures of sisters like Ruth Price of West Jordan, Utah, whom our well-organized greeting committee passed up at the airport (we thought she was an airline stewardess); Sister Candy Lippard from Hickory, North Carolina (now in the Texas South Mission), an energetic, blonde, former high school cheerleader and a convert of three years who counted every day until she was twenty-one and could go on a mission; and Sister Connie Sue Berrett from Roberts, Idaho, a registered nurse of considerable experience who left an interesting, remunerative career to serve on a mission. The list could go on and on.

A girl who enters the mission field to find a solution to her personal problems is likely to feel very out of place in such company. The vigorous schedule of the mission field affords little time or place for eccentric behavior or personal problem solving.

On the subject of girls and missions, I consulted my board of advisors—three of my children: Leola (an adopted daughter), who served in the North Carolina-Virginia Mission; Roger, who returned this year from service in the Washington Mission; and Greg, currently serving in the California Central Mission. Here are their capsule comments:

Leola: “There are certain people who are more approachable and more responsive to sisters. We found this especially true in military areas where the husband is away and the wife usually will not let men into her home.”

Roger: “The lady missionaries in our mission were hard-working, conscientious, and always cheerful.”

Greg: “There isn’t much time to write; I’ve got to run. I’m tired! Why? Because we worked with the sisters today, and they worked us into the ground. Sisters surely ‘spark’ the zone.”

Greg suggested reading the fourth section of the Doctrine and Covenants as an aid to making a decision about missionary service: “Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work.”

Note the two requirements: desire and commitment. It is the desire to serve God that should motivate a sister (or an elder) to accept a mission call. If the desire to serve him is strong enough, the missionary will understand that it is a 100 percent commitment to “see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength.” (D&C 4:2.) If your heart isn’t in it, there is little reason to put your physical self in it. It is that 100 percent commitment that makes missionary service a happy, productive experience. Without that commitment it can be a long, miserable time.

And the rewards? “… he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul.” (D&C 4:4.) “… Great shall be your joy with him [the convert you helped to influence] in the kingdom of my Father!” (D&C 18:15.)