Church announces new missionary approach at Temple Square – Church News

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is adjusting how sister missionaries serve at Temple Square to enhance the guest experience and increase missionary opportunities as the Church prepares for the anticipated Salt Lake Temple open house in 2027.

Sister missionaries will continue serving on Temple Square but will now be assigned to a surrounding mission, sharing their time between a teaching area and Temple Square. This approach mirrors successful models used at the 13 other temple visitors’ centers worldwide.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke about the adjustment in a morning devotional with the 128 sister missionaries of the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on Friday, Jan. 9.

The sister missionaries reacted to the historic news with audible gasps.

Elder Rasband, who chairs the Missionary Executive Council, acknowledged that the sisters were feeling a wide range of emotions.

“I bear witness that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know you and love you,” he told them.

And he testified that the Lord is hastening His work.

“This is the Lord’s work. You are a part of it,” he said. “You are the pioneer sisters who will begin this now. Others will follow you for years now in this new model, but you are the first ones.”

He gave them an apostolic blessing that Heavenly Father would bless every one of them and they will be able to share not just this news with others but also their witness and their testimony.

Elder Rasband told the sisters more about his experience serving as a part-time guide on Temple Square from 1972 to 1976 when he was a university student after his full-time mission.

“Missionaries at Temple Square play an important role in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, as they welcome millions of visitors from around the world,” he said. “The Church expresses gratitude for these faithful sisters who have served in this mission over the years. Moving forward, the dedicated service of sister missionaries will continue to be a blessing and allow Temple Square to be a place of inspiration for people of all faiths and backgrounds.”

As Elder W. Mark Bassett, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Missionary Department, outlined the adjustments and offered further explanation on Friday morning, he testified to the sisters that “this is a wonderful opportunity.”

Elder Bassett was president of the Arizona Mesa Mission, which included the Mesa Arizona Temple Visitors’ Center, so he saw firsthand the blessing of sisters serving both in teaching areas and at a visitors’ center.

While this adjustment has been in the works for a long time, “this was given to us from heaven,” Elder Bassett said. “I want you to know that this work is led by the Savior, Jesus Christ. … This comes from the Lord, and I can promise you it will be an incredible experience.”

Explaining the adjustment

In coming months, sister missionaries assigned to the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission will be reassigned by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to one of the surrounding missions. This transition is expected to be completed by July, at which time the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission will be discontinued.

The surrounding missions are the Utah Salt Lake City Mission, Utah Salt Lake City East Mission, Utah Salt Lake City West Mission, Utah Salt Lake City South Mission, Utah Layton Mission, Utah Ogden Mission and Utah Saratoga Springs Mission.

The assignment of new missionaries to Temple Square will continue to be made by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

As part of this adjustment, some returned missionaries will be hired as part-time guides to work with the sister missionaries in enhancing the guest experience.

With missionaries coming from multiple missions to serve on Temple Square, more will be available during major events and peak visitor periods, such as the summer months and the Christmas season. During times of lower visitor traffic, missionaries can focus more on ministering in their assigned teaching areas. The sister missionaries can travel to Temple Square using public transit, including Frontrunner or TRAX, or, in some instances, by vehicle.

‘Arise and shine forth’

Elder Brian K. Taylor, General Authority Seventy and president of the Utah Area, spoke to the sisters as well on Friday. He read Doctrine and Covenants 115:5, which says, “Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations.”

Elder Taylor told the missionaries that is what they are doing. “That is what you will continue to do for the rest of your lives, and we are so proud of you and so grateful to be serving here in the Utah Area with you.”

The Utah Area presidency had already planned a meeting on Temple Square with the other mission presidents in the Utah Area and their wives, and so they were also in attendance Friday morning and heard the news at the same time.

Elder Bassett invited the mission leaders to stand, and the sister missionaries were able to turn around and see the couples who will be their new mission leaders when their reassignments are made in the coming months.

Sister Clara Alba, from Barcelona, Spain, said now she will have the chance to serve with Church members in other parts of Utah.

“I truly believe that the Lord is preparing His Church to grow even more. I am very happy. The opportunity to serve other people in other places brings me great joy,” she said.

Sister Eliza Simpson, from Huddersfield, England, said even with all of her emotions from the news, she knows how much the Lord loves His children.

“So many lovely memories here that we’ve been able to create with all the sisters here, but I feel like the Lord has a plan, and I feel like that’s where He needs all of us to be,” she said.

‘Visitors love our young sisters’

Temple visitors’ centers around the world also use a model where sister missionaries serve part of their day in a teaching area and part of their day at the visitors’ center.

Meanwhile, missionaries at historic sites spend the first four months of their missionary service there before they move on to a teaching mission.

The Church’s New York and Pennsylvania Historic Sites Mission President Thomas McCoy and his wife, Sister Lani McCoy, said that in addition to gaining strong testimonies of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Restoration, sister missionaries who serve at the historic sites become “comfortable talking to not only individuals but large groups of people, and they learn how to testify in normal and natural ways,” said President McCoy.

The sisters are also a blessing to visitors, particularly young Latter-day Saints. The McCoys have often observed young women asking the sister missionaries about their decision to serve, listening intently and frequently ending the conversation with, “I’m going to serve a mission.”

“The visitors love our young sisters. They possess a vitality, and their spirits are strong and so ready to share the gospel,” Sister McCoy said. “It’s powerful.”

Temple Square missionary timeline

Volunteers and missionaries have served on Temple Square for more than a century.

In 1922, the Church began organizing and staffing part-time and full-time volunteers to welcome visitors.

In the 1980s, full-time missionaries, primarily senior couples, began assisting with tours at Temple Square, with language support by young missionaries in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission.

In 1995, the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission was officially established.