Missionaries in the Provo and Orem Utah missions have a unique experience among missionaries. They often spend much of their time teaching and sharing their faith on BYU and UVU campuses — an area with the highest population density of church members in the world.
Surrounded by thousands of fellow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their work presents both opportunities and challenges unlike those in other missions.
When returned missionary Dallin Bradshaw first got his mission call to Orem, he was surprised by his friends and family’s reaction.
“One thing in particular I remember was people apologizing to me,” Bradshaw said. “How terrible is that?”
When Maxwell Schow — another returned missionary — got his call to Provo, he assumed there would not be anyone to teach the gospel to, and the mission would mostly consist of service.
The Provo and Orem Utah missions have some of the highest baptism rates for English missions in the world, and Schow's busiest area was BYU campus, where they taught lessons every day and performed baptisms every week.
“I think there's also just overexaggeration of how many people are not looking for the gospel in Utah,” Schow said. “Even members are looking for greater experiences with conversion, and I think that leads them to seek missionary work.”
The stage of life college students are in can lead many of them to seek out the missionaries, especially in Utah where they are constantly surrounded by members of the church, he said.
“People go to college looking for something,” Schow said. “They can go to college looking for themselves usually, and so I think college campuses are one of the places missionaries are needed most.”
Many students who are not members of the church who come to BYU are either international students who wanted an American education without the "crazy partying" culture, athletes or just people who had member friends that convinced them BYU could be a good option, Schow said.
The majority tend to be religious in some way, he added. Those who want to learn more about the church reach out to the missionaries or, more commonly, their roommates.
“Members would reach out to us and say, ‘Hey, I basically taught all the lessons. I've just got back from my mission, and one of my roommates is not a member … He's ready to get baptized. Do you want to come over and meet in person?’” Schow said.
Bradshaw served as a Spanish-speaking missionary on UVU campus and said another big part of the job is reactivation. Some college students in Utah either only went to church when they were growing up because their family did, or their family never went to church but they now get to decide if they want to for themselves.
“So many people reach a pivotal decision point in (college). It's a big opportunity not just for temptation or Satan, but for the spirit of the gospel to take hold,” Bradshaw said. “You have people who are just like, 'I don't know what I want in life,' and all they need is somebody to ask them, 'Have you considered our Heavenly Father?'”
Tyson McOmber served as a Spanish-speaking missionary on BYU campus and said most of their contacts came from references, particularly when knocking doors at apartment complexes. Contacting on campus tends to be less successful for finding contacts, though it can help increase awareness that there are missionaries available for the students.
Contacts being surrounded constantly by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a benefit to their missionary work, McOmber said. He and his companions would ask their contact’s roommates to help keep them accountable with scripture reading, praying and activity attendance.
“We'd be like, ‘Okay y'all, ask your roommate if you have any questions,’” McOmber said. “It's honestly just a huge blessing because there's just so much ministering and so much nurturing.”
Though the ministering from members of the church can be a blessing, it can also be a burden, Schow said.
“There is a point where contacting becomes overbearing,” Schow said. “So, being able to read when someone just needed ... like, some food dropped off rather than, ‘Hey, you want to meet the missionaries for the 87th time?’”
Although serving on Utah college campuses presents unique challenges, it also presents unique opportunities for connection and conversion.
“I feel like in college, there's such a need for (the gospel),” McOmber said. “Because it's your first time, you're out on your own experiencing life, and you honestly need a ton of help. So it's just a perfect time in someone's life to introduce Jesus and how much he can help them right then and there.”