Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released a video showcasing the Provo MTC experience.
- The church will open 55 new missions on July 1, making a total of 506 missions.
- Temple Square Visitor's Center reopened Monday, and is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
PROVO — As new mission presidents are about to begin their service on July 1 in missions around the world, including 55 new missions, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a video with a rare look inside the Provo Missionary Training Center.
The church has over 84,000 full-time missionaries teaching around the world, as well as thousands of service missionaries, it said in a release associated with the 20-minute video.
The video, released on Sunday through the church's YouTube account, follows missionaries through the process of arriving at the MTC, attending classes, the cafeteria, practicing teaching, exercising, going to devotionals and leaving to go to their assigned missions. Many of them are learning one of the over 50 languages taught there.
Elder Dale G. Renlund, of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said in a recent social media message that there has been "remarkable growth" in the number of church members applying to serve missions. He questioned why this is happening, given that trends show that people in his age group around the world are less involved in religion.
"What we are witnessing today is more than growth in numbers. Across the world, missionaries are demonstrating a deep devotion to the Savior and a sincere consecration to his work. An increasing number express that their fundamental reason for serving is their love for Jesus Christ and their desire to join him in his work," Elder Renlund said.
Over 40,000 young men and young women come to the Provo MTC each year, one of 11 such training centers around the world, to "grow spiritually, to teach the gospel and prepare themselves for what will be a life-changing experience," the video's host, Danor Gerald, said.
After speaking with missionaries about why they decided to go on a mission, he said he was impressed with how prepared the missionaries are as soon as they arrive. He said many of them sacrificed and worked hard to get there.
"There's so many people coming from so many places, and from what I can tell, they're all committed to their calling and they take it very seriously from the heart," Gerald said.
He interviewed MTC President Stephen Owen, who said the best advice he has for a missionary is to learn they're serving the Lord.
"Their whole purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ, so it's really turning outward toward others and helping them," President Owen said.
His wife, Sister Jane Owen, said missionaries "live a higher standard than the world."
To families preparing to drop missionaries off, she said: "The best thing you can do is be a missionary yourself ... to love, share, and invite."
At the MTC, missionaries study the gospel between eight and 10 hours each day.
Gerald encouraged people to talk to missionaries and get to know them and their stories.
"These young men and young women have courage, they have faith, they have a lot of discipline, and most of all, they're committed to what they're doing. I'm walking away from this experience feeling excitement, enthusiasm and a sense of hope for the future," he said.
New Temple Square Visitors' Center opens
Monday is also the first day the Temple Square Visitors' Center is open to the public, which is a good place to meet and speak with missionaries.
The opening "marks a significant step in the reopening of Temple Square in anticipation of the Salt Lake Temple Celebration" beginning next April, the church said.
Right now, stone paving and decorative fencing are being placed around the temple. Inside, chandeliers are being installed in the celestial room and "intricate finishing" is being done in the sealing wing addition and staircase railings. The temple's new copper roof has been fully installed, the church said. The copper is expected to darken in about a year and then gradually develop a natural green patina to match the roof's appearance before renovations.
The visitors' center is open each day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It doesn't require any reservations; the 30-minute "Inside a Temple" experience does require reservations, which can be made on the Temple Square app or website.
Beginning on June 1, new tickets for that experience will become available every other Monday.
