By David Butler
Thousands of Latter-day Saints are heeding the prophet?s call to serve?many from the comfort of their own home.
Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encourage its members to leave friends and family behind to serve full-time missions in various parts of the world.
In recent years, however, an emphasis has been placed on the Church Service Missionary Program for those members who may not be able to serve full-time missions.
Elder Larry Whiting, the Church Service Missionary office director, said they are not set up to detract from full-time missions, but to give people an opportunity to serve.
?We are not here to compete with the full-time missionary program,? he said. ?We recognize that it is the first priority, and encourage people that way if they come to us. Anyone who can serve a full-time mission should do that.?
Elder Russel M. Nelson, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, emphasized in general conference that service opportunities for those with limitations are vast and varied.
?Sometimes people are ill like Elder Nelson said, or have another circumstance ,? said Whiting. ?That is where these people can enter in, and be a great blessing.?
There are approximately 12,500 church service missionaries in the world. They serve anywhere from four to 32 hours a week for six to 24 months.
Elder Whiting said there are over 5,400 church service missionaries serving in Salt Lake County in every department of the church.
?We have entertainers, geologists, translators, computer-help specialists, employment center specialists, cannery specialists etc., etc.,? he said.
Bill Reynolds is manager of the LDS Humanitarian Center and works with approximately 40 church service missionaries. These missionaries are a mixture of young-single adults, couple missionaries, and single-adult missionaries.
?They bring this delightful mix of youth and maturity that adds to the mix of people we have here,? he said.
The missionaries in the LDS Humanitarian Center do various tasks to get the work done. One of the sisters who serves as a church service missionary at the center is Sister Emilie Oveson.
Sister Oveson works in the fabric department of the center where she organizes donations of fabrics so they are available for sisters who come in seeking them for various projects.
?She lives in Bountiful and comes down three days a week all day to serve,? Reynolds said. ?Her youngest son is on a mission and the rest are gone, and she comes because she says, ?I?ve got the extra time to serve and I want to serve.??
Sister Coleen Ashby is also a church service missionary and donates her time and talents helping out at the LDS Motion Pictures Studio. She and her husband have been serving for 11 months and have just extended their mission another six. Coleen works as a receptionist at the studio and her husband works in the wood shop.
?It?s really a good mission for us,? she said. ?My husband had some health problems, so it is a perfect mission for us.?
She said the Church Service Missionary Program is designed to give people who want to serve an opportunity to serve.
Reynolds said having church service missionaries is essential to getting the things accomplished.
?They help us get the work done,? he said. ?If we didn?t have the missionaries we would have to bring in more staff. They are hands that help do the lifting.?
Reynolds also said the church service missionaries benefit them through the spirit of service that accompanies them.
?They are sacrificing to serve. The missionaries bring a great spirit of service and you can feel the spirit when you come here to the Humanitarian Center,? he said. ?Part of the spirit that people feel when they come in here, and they often comment on it, is a result of having these people come in who give of their time and talents and materials and energy and money so they can serve here.?