My parents and others have offered to pay the full cost of my mission, so I don’t need to save any of my own money, right?

Photo illustration by Christina Smith

It is good and honorable for parents or other family members to sacrifice to help pay the cost of young people’s missions. Nevertheless, Church leaders have encouraged missionaries to work and sacrifice to pay for at least part of their missions themselves. For instance, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said, “Prospective missionaries … ought to have a job and save money for their missions. Every mission president would concur with me that the missionary who has worked and saved and helped pay for part or all of his or her mission is a better-prepared missionary” (“How to Prepare to Be a Good Missionary,” New Era, Mar. 2007, 9).

As you pray and counsel with your parents and priesthood leaders about this question, rather than thinking of how little you need to do, perhaps it would be best to think of how much you’re able to do to help finance your mission.