A little more than 30 years after it was formally established, the one and only Latter-day Saint mission made up solely of female proselytizers is being dissolved.
Starting in July, a Friday news release announced, the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission will shutter, replaced by the same model under which other visitor centers run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have long operated. That is, so-called sister missionaries from surrounding Utah missions will divide their time between the site, answering guests’ questions and providing tours, and engaging in traditional proselytizing in their assigned geographic region.
There will be a notable difference, however. Unlike other visitor centers, the popular landmark — which draws millions of visitors a year — will get a helping hand from former Temple Square missionaries “hired,” the release points out, as part-time guides to work alongside the volunteer evangelizers (those interested in applying are encouraged to reach out to their bishop, or lay leader of their congregation).
In the meantime, those missionaries currently assigned to the site of church headquarters of the global faith will, the release explained, be reassigned to neighboring missions.
According to the announcement, one reason for the change includes the ability to more quickly and easily adjust the number of missionaries stationed at the site in response to demand.
And demand will almost certainly swell in April 2027, when the renovated pioneer-era Salt Lake Temple is scheduled to open to the public for the first time since its 1893 dedication for a six-month open house.
“The church expresses gratitude for these faithful sisters who have served in this mission over the years,” apostle Ronald A. Rasband, who volunteered as a part-time guide decades ago when he was attending college in the area, said in the release. “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.”
End of an era
Proselytizing at Temple Square began in 1922, when church leaders started populating the site with part- and full-time volunteers. Not until the 1980s did full-time missionaries begin assisting with tours, generally run by senior couples.
In 1995, the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission was officially formed, creating an international sisterhood of Latter-day Saint women who, within the shadow of the patriarchal church’s headquarters, were permitted to lead in roles reserved for men in other missions.
For alums of this diverse, women-centered community, its closure represents not just a personal loss but a potential loss for visitors and the church as a whole.
“What made Temple Square especially powerful was its diversity and dedication,” said Roxana Baker, an Arizona native who served there from 2010 to 2011. “I served alongside dedicated sister missionaries from all over the world — different countries, cultures, languages and life experiences — called to serve specifically at Temple Square.”
(Roxanna Baker) Roxanna Baker served at Temple Square from 2010 to 2011. The Arizona native is mourning the mission's closure — and not only for personal reasons.
That focus, Baker said, “matters,” arguing that a rotation system will inevitably lead to “divided focus” and “diluted effectiveness” — all during an “era of misunderstanding and polarization around religion.”
‘There is no mission like it’
Kathryn Frost, who served during this same period, expressed similar concerns.
“I learned how to love and live with different cultures other than my own,” said Frost, who grew up in Colorado. “And it deepened my faith immensely to see other women who went to hell and back to” serve a mission.
Referring to the less-visible proselytizing performed by Temple Square missionaries in call centers full of computers and headsets, Frost added: “There’s so much that…will be missed — like teaching houses full of people in Pakistan over the phone.”
(Kathryn Frost) Former Temple Square missionary Kathryn Frost, center, said she loved the experience of serving alongside women from around the world. Here she is pictured with volunteers from Germany, Mexico, Australia and France.
(Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rows of female missionaries speak to contacts from Temple Square in 2018.
The release did not specify the fate of these behind-the-scenes evangelizing efforts.
California’s DaMinikah Rigby returned from her Temple Square mission in 2022. Rigby also stressed the unique opportunities that came with her assignment.
“We taught so many people, and there is no mission like it,” she said, “It was a very demanding mission. … We had lessons constantly and would get five new people on average to teach a week.”
(DaMinikah Rigby) DaMinikah Rigby, who served from 2021-2022, described the Temple Square mission as "demanding" and highly productive.
Deo Balmoi, a former Temple Square missionary from Uganda, was less dismayed by the news, theorizing that current events also mean the dozens of languages once spoken by a global-facing mission are less relevant than when she served more than a decade ago.
“Considering all the changes in the political landscape, the likelihood of getting more international travelers is getting slim,” Balmoi said, “and so sisters today don’t have the same opportunities as times past.”
Still, the former missionary said, she couldn’t help but feel “nostalgic sadness” over the change.
“We will keep the mission alive,” Balmoi said, “in our hearts and memories.”