From knocking on doors to Facebook posts: Missionary work moves online
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Sarah Matusek Staff writer
| ARVADA AND AURORA, COLO.
When missionary Marcus Adams heard the news, he went out to the courtyard to cry. He no longer noticed the sticky, midday heat of the Philippines, a country he鈥檇 grown to love but now was forced to leave.
In mid-March 2020, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began to fly thousands like Mr. Adams back to their home countries. Seven months into his two-year mission, he鈥檇 just begun to master the Tagalog language. He鈥檇 become more comfortable approaching the cinderblock homes of strangers, who would often welcome him in for a stir-fry meal.听
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 feel like I had done enough 鈥� and that just tore me apart,鈥� he recalls.
Why We Wrote This
Among the traditions upended by the pandemic are religious rites of passage. Yet some Latter-day Saint missionaries are finding that going virtual still yields personal growth.
After four 鈥渟tir-crazy鈥� months back home in Utah, he was reassigned to a mostly virtual mission in the Oklahoma City area. Mr. Adams says he was instructed to meet new people by joining Facebook groups, and once conversation started, try to 鈥渟egue it to the gospel.鈥�
In both locations, he says the highlight of his mission was deepening his empathy for others as he grew in his faith.
鈥淭hat is the greatest gift 鈥� bar learning a language, bar trying fancy food, or going across the sea,鈥� says Mr. Adams, who is now adjusting to post-missionary life back home.
Limited by the pandemic, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints scaled back physical outreach and intensified virtual proselytizing, calling on the flexibility and social media savvy of young missionaries. Along with disappointment, that brought complications, yet 鈥媔n an America whose share of self-described 海角大神s continues to decline while religious 鈥渘ones鈥� rise,听these Latter-day Saints still see their role as spreading hope. And some like Mr. Adams say their missions, even the virtual parts, yield personal growth.听
In fact, character development is central to the program. Missionaries gain 鈥渁 foundation, an understanding, and an ability to learn that life isn鈥檛 just about themselves,鈥� says Elder W. Mark Bassett, assistant executive director of the Missionary Department.听
Digital natives rise to the occasion
Latter-day Saint missionaries date back to 1830, the year Joseph Smith founded The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While its leadership听 the full title, the global religion that claims听 members is also widely known as the Mormon church.听Its missionary tradition remains popular within the church, despite the imperial undertones some Americans may associate with missions in general.
Male, full-time missionaries, addressed as 鈥渆lders,鈥� serve for two years. 鈥淪ister鈥� missionaries serve for 18 months. Missions are voluntary and largely funded by the individuals themselves, who are typically under 25. Unmarried missionaries are constantly accompanied by a 鈥渃ompanion鈥� of the same gender.
Nearly 32,000 missionaries 鈥� almost half of those serving full time pre-pandemic 鈥撎齬eturned to their home countries in spring 2020, with the option of deferring their mission or pursuing reassignment, which听often听involved virtual outreach.听
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see us going back to just knocking doors. 鈥� We鈥檒l see a combination moving forward,鈥� says Mr. Bassett.听
Some current missionaries say they鈥檝e never knocked on doors 鈥� not even once. Instead, the Utah-based faith has increasingly relied on the skills of its digital natives, says Mr. Bassett. Virtual outreach can include promoting their faith on social media via original posts, videos, and messages; teaching over Zoom; and collaborating with local members to update church profiles on Google and Yelp.
Sometimes, though, virtual meetings lead to in-person encounters.听
Baptism during the pandemic
The boy holds his breath. A room full of silent, masked guests watch his immersion underwater, guided by his uncle who, like the boy, is dressed in white.
Dino Aikne resurfaces moments later, symbolizing his rebirth.
鈥淚 want to go to heaven,鈥� the middle schooler later says in a shy voice. His jet-black hair shines as it dries.
Double doors close on the baptismal font of this Aurora, Colorado, church. Toward the end of the August service, Elder Ryan Fagergren steps to the front. Eyes shut and hands clasped, the teenager from Texas prays aloud in Marshallese, a language of the Marshall Islands spoken by Dino and his family. This is the culmination of a series of religious lessons, both virtual and in person, Mr. Fagergren shared with Dino with the hope that he鈥檇 鈥渂e able to grow closer to God鈥� and, with parental support, seek baptism.
Mr. Fagergren is supposed to be in Japan. He wanted to serve there like his grandfather, who used to share mission stories as they drove around in his truck. Mr. Fagergren studied Japanese throughout high school. Then he received his call to serve in Sapporo in early 2020, but the virus upended his plans.
After 鈥減raying long and hard,鈥� he opted for reassignment. At first, Mr. Fagergren says he was unsure how to cultivate contacts in Colorado during quarantine, but he began posting church-related content to personal and mission Facebook accounts. He also taught church doctrine and English virtually.
Besides Marshallese, Mr. Fagergren is learning Spanish and Portuguese to widen his reach in the Denver suburbs. He reports having spoken to 鈥渉undreds鈥� of people, in person and virtually, about a year into his mission. The outreach has also uplifted him.
鈥淢y faith in myself, my faith in God is way higher than what it used to be,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檇 say I鈥檓 definitely more patient and more humble.鈥�
Changing with the times听
Leveraging social media to reach pandemic converts recalls how Western churches and agencies funded radio stations during the Cold War 鈥渁s a means of evangelism into areas that would otherwise not be accessible,鈥� says Kirsteen Kim, associate dean for the Center for Missiological Research at Fuller Theological Seminary. Some denominations also use television and the internet as avenues for outreach.
鈥淭he medium of the message keeps shifting according to the global conditions, and according to what鈥檚 available,鈥� says Dr. Kim.听
In fact, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints听has gradually piloted and permitted more missionary use of the internet and digital devices over the past decade. Today, all 404 missions worldwide allow the use of cellphones.听
鈥淎lmost by necessity, they have really ramped up the use of the internet. Now they try to keep control,鈥� says Robert Lively Jr., author of 鈥淭he Mormon Missionary: Who Is That Knocking at My Door?鈥澨�
鈥淭here is the expectation that you will be very careful in using the technology, and that your companion is going to help you do that,鈥� Dr. Lively adds. For example, companions review each other鈥檚 social media posts before they鈥檙e published. They鈥檙e also expected to be within sight of each other鈥檚 screens whenever they鈥檙e being used 鈥� a practice former missionary Mr. Adams calls 鈥渇our eyes, one screen.鈥�
Connecting virtually through loss听
Some missionary training centers have begun to reopen in person as more foreign posts resume. Over 53,000 missionaries are currently serving full time, among them a smiling Sister Kimberly Russon.听But back in the summer of 2020, she wrestled with doubt as she sat behind the glow of her laptop screen for hours a day during online missionary training.
Raised in the church, the 20-something from Utah had put her life on hold 鈥� including a boyfriend and job 鈥� for a mission to Portugal. After COVID-19 canceled those plans, she settled for a domestic mission.听
鈥淚 was just feeling really down, and wondering if I, you know, made the right decision 鈥� if I was going to be capable to serve in the way that I wanted to serve others,鈥� she says.
Her brother came to comfort her one night. Sitting on her bed, the teen assured her everything would be OK, that he looked up to her and loved her.听
Ms. Russon realized the mission was a way to serve as a role model for him, to honor her family. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about me,鈥� she says.听
Now based a state away in Colorado, she鈥檚 shared her gospel with countless people online and in person over the past year. She says her faith has deepened, too.听
But she has also had to overcome heartbreak 鈥撎齠ar beyond the disappointment of not going to Portugal.
Partway through her mission, her brother 鈥� the same one who comforted her in her moment of doubt 鈥� died. The teen was the life of the party, she says, loving to make others laugh.
Yet the pain of loss has been countered by something she calls sacred. After her brother鈥檚 death, Ms. Russon began to notice how many of her contacts had also lost a loved one. Painting a promise of hope for others has in turn comforted her.
鈥淲hat better to help you with grief than to turn outward,鈥� she says.
