Two women serve on missions





Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang, a 19-year-old from Westlake Village, was in her freshman year of college when Thomas S. Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made an announcement that threw her plans up in the air. Monson changed the age requirements for the LDS church’s missionaries. Women can now serve missions at age 19 instead of 21 and men at 18 instead of 19.

Lang, who will depart for her mission service in the Philippines this month, recalls that the night before the announcement was made at the LDS church’s General Conference, she felt a sense of discontentment, “like I should be doing more with my life than just going to school. Then came the announcement. I decided to drop everything and go.”

The Oct. 6 announcement prompted an unprecedented number of young adults to fill out missionary applications.

“I’ve never seen anything affect a generation of young people like what President Monson announced the Saturday morning of general conference,” says Elder David F. Evans, executive director of the church’s missionary department. “What we’re seeing is just an absolute overwhelming response.”

The most dramatic response has come from the young women of the LDS church.

In the weeks after the missionary age announcement, the church reported that missionary applications had increased dramatically, from 700 applications per week to 4,000. More than half of the applications came from women.

Before Monson’s announcement, women made up about 15 percent of the applicants for missionary service; now they make up about 50 percent.

Lexi Hesen of Agoura Hills, now serving in Minneapolis, dropped everything to serve her mission now. She put her mission plans on the fast-track when she heard about the age change.

“This is a moment in history,” Hesen said. “I’m part of a giant wave of sisters.”

In a press conference after the announcement, church apostle Jeffrey R. Holland said he is “absolutely delighted if this change in policy allows many, many more young women to serve,” noting that “those [women] who do serve are stunningly successful.”

Since the founding of the LDS church in 1830, more than 1.1 million men and women have served full-time missions in countries throughout the world. Nearly 60,000 missionaries are serving at any one time. Most are young people under the age of 25 serving in nearly 350 missions throughout the world.

Missionaries receive their assignment from church headquarters and are sent only to countries where governments allow the church to operate. Missionaries do not request their area of assignment and do not know beforehand whether they will be required to learn a language.

A typical missionary day begins at 6:30 a.m., when they wake for personal study. The day is spent proselytizing— following up on appointments, visiting homes or meeting people in the street or other public places. Missionaries end their day by 10:30 p.m.

In some parts of the world, missionaries are sent only to serve humanitarian or other specialized missions. Those missionaries do not proselytize.

Missionary work is voluntary. Missionaries fund their own missions and are not paid for their services.

Contacts with family and friends during time of service are limited to letters and occasional phone calls to family at special times. Missionaries avoid entertainment, parties or other activities so they can focus entirely on the work of serving and teaching.

“The world has always said that your 20s is the time in your life to go out and be crazy,” Hesen said. “But I’m not doing anything like that.”

Lang is excited about her mission, even though it comes at a sacrifice and will mean being away from family and friends for 18 months.

“The Lord expects a lot from me and he trusts me. I feel happier than I ever have. His plan for me is better than the one I had for myself,” she said.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Newsroom contributed to this article.


Lexi Hesen

Lexi Hesen

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