008: What is a Service Mission and Should I Consider Serving One?

In this episode, Elder and Sister Wilkey discuss their roles as Latter-day Saint service mission leaders in the Utah Valley Service Mission and share valuable information about the way service missions are developing and all the different ways to serve in Utah Valley (which they hope will extend to other areas soon!). They share with me the similarities and differences between a service mission and a proselyting mission. They also discuss the role of parents in service missions and explain the involvement of parents better. They are very candid and honest about the best parts and hardest parts of serving the Lord as a service missionary while sharing real examples of the various experiences that service missionaries they work with have had. Finally, they discuss the stigma that still surrounds service missions and how they hope that will soon change.

To learn more about service missions, please visit https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/service-missionary.

For other perspectives, please listen to episode 9  and episode 18 which feature missionaries who came home early and then chose to continue their service as service missionaries.