August 2, 2025, 9am MDT
When most people consider missionary services at Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ, they imagine young adults tagged with names preaching the gospel at a distant gateway.
But increasingly, the quiet movements of skilled disciples are changing the face of missionary work. We are changing one temple, one phone, one online lesson, one bishop’s warehouse shift at once.
These are missionaries of senior service. Every day, Latter-day Saints serve the Lord near his home in a powerful way.
Unlike full-time senior missionaries who serve away from home, senior missionaries live in their homes and serve the local community.
Men and women over the age of 26 – single or married, retired or still working – are eligible to serve assignments tailored to their schedule, abilities and spiritual gifts. Many only offer 8 hours a week. up to 30 or 40 years old, like Elder Gary Huttral and sister Nancy Huttral of Ackworth, Georgia.
“There’s training in all advanced service missions, even if you don’t think you can do that because you don’t know anything about it,” said sister Hutral: “The Lord doesn’t want us to just sit down and do nothing.
Mission built for Elders and Sister Jones
For Elder Carlos Jones and Sister Tammy Jones of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, serving as a missionary in senior service was not something they had planned. It was simply a matter of being happy. Both worked full time and they were nervous, but they felt the phone was inspired and accepted.
Jones is currently the senior missionary coordinator in Northern Florida. Their jobs include hosting information tables at stake meetings, training stake leaders and working with future missionaries to help them find the right fit.
One of the joys of their calling is witnessing the transformation of those they helped. Sister Jones felt she wasn’t sure if there was anything to offer as a missionary, as she remembered a woman whose husband couldn’t leave the house.
They matched her with a remote family history assignment that said she had changed her life.
Sister Jones recalls a woman who said, “It just gave me a purpose. It helped me realize I needed it.”
“The Mission for Everyone”
The elder and sister Hutral also did not imagine himself serving the mission.
They first he was hesitant as his daughter with Down syndrome still lived in the house – until their stake president approached them about opportunities for local service in the bishop’s warehouse.
“I didn’t know how it would work with my daughter, so I agreed to do it for a year,” recalls Elder Hutral. “It was a five-year mission in the end.”
Now, a few years later, futures and their daughter, sister Vanessa Hutral – have all left as missionaries – are serving together.
Sister Hutral smiled and explained that one of Vanessa’s unofficial missions was to give him a free embrace.
In an interview with Church News, Vanessa said that giving her arms around her parents is a favorite part of her mission.
Personal growth through quiet sacrifice
In Florida, Georgia, or anywhere in the world, futures and Jones experiences refer to the same truth. It changes both your mind and your home.
“It’s a great pleasure to serve together,” Sister Hutral said. “It gave me so many opportunities to grow as a family.”
Elder Jones loves being able to advise against other missionaries and church leaders, especially.
“To be able to meet them and to advise them is very spiritual for me,” he said.
Uncovering the myth
Senior Service Missionaries are employed, may have dependents at home, and may serve alone or with a spouse. Assignments are flexible and are often designed to meet individual needs.
“We can also provide services through a recliner,” Elder Hutral said. “My biggest need is that missionaries are still away from home, but if they need to serve from home, that’s also effective and valuable.”
The only requirement is that the senior service missionary commits to at least 8 hours a week and is at least 26 years old.
A sacred invitation
President Russell M. Nelson spoke about senior missionaries many times, calling them “irreplaceable” and reassures you that you are there if you are being seduced to think you don’t need them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utbrkpeiol0
President Jeffrey R. Holland was urgent. “The message to all of our mature couples is simple. We need you. We do everything we can to make it as convenient as possible to go.
The Lord has rushed his work late, and church leaders taught that the service of senior missionaries was central to his efforts.
Whether it is the work of the temple, the efforts of the missionaries, the teachings of the Byu-Pathway, or the coordination of humanitarian projects, senior service missionaries can quietly and dramatically help to fulfill the sacred purpose of the church.
For those wondering if it’s worth it, Jones and the Future testify that the answer is yes.
“We can find something for you to do.
To see the available opportunities, visit seniormission.churchofjesuschrist.org.
