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OREM— It isn’t always easy to get a teenager to prepare for a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but Julianne Muhlestein was determined to help prepare her oldest son, BJ.
Muhlestein tried to think of ways to help prepare him the way she would like, but when BJ came to her for help in completing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, she realized she needed to come up with something that harnessed social interaction and positive peer pressure.
That’s when she got the idea to create the LDS Mission Prep Xtreme app.
A socially motivating app, LDS Mission Prep Xtreme assists in preparing prospective missionaries and giving them missionary experiences, Muhlestein said.
After launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for the app, Muhlestein ended up raising more than $11,000.
The app, which will be available in September, comes with 21 different challenges. Once a user has completed the 21 challenges, they have the option to participate in more.
Muhlestein said as they post their experiences on social media and people ask what they are doing, the user will be able to tell those inquiring that they are preparing for their mission and open up a conversation. 
Julianne Muhlestein
“I believe the reason that this app will succeed is because it’s engaging and will draw in the youth and young adults because of the social aspects of seeing what others have posted on the news feed,” Muhlestein said. “Their testimonies are strengthened from reading those posts.”
There are a variety of challenges, from trying three new foods to arranging a meal with another family to making a list of four prophets from the scriptures and learning about the rejections those prophets faced.
App users can access a news feed, view where they rank in the challenges compared to their friends and see when their friends pass them, so “it feels like it’s more of an exciting adventure and a social experience instead of kind of an overwhelming or boring to-do list.”
I believe the reason that this app will succeed is because it's engaging and will draw in the youth and young adults because of the social aspects of seeing what others have posted on the news feed.
–Julianne Muhlestein
Muhlestein, a mother of six, said her primary motivation for the app is her children, whom she said are all prospective missionaries. She also thinks it would be a help and strength to other prospective missionaries.
BJ Muhlestein recently graduated high school and Julianne Muhlestein said he has been a great sport and a great help with the app.
Muhlestein said her husband Kerry, a religion professor at Brigham Young University, Steve Mann, a program manager with the LDS Family History Department and her mother, JoAnn Larsen, have also provided great support with the app.
UX/UI designer Jeff Pease is currently working on the app design before he and Muhlestein send it to developers. While the initial development will focus on iOS platforms, Muhlestein hopes to make the app available for all platforms and to make it multilingual.
Because Muhlestein would like everyone to have an opportunity to use the app, it will be free. Any excess money raised from the Kickstarter campaign will go to the LDS Missionary Fund.
Muhlestein said she is not looking to replace Preach My Gospel or any other existing programs that help missionaries, she just wants to provide an additional tool that is not only spiritually based, but also addresses other aspects of missionary life.
