Missionary Training Center

“There really aren’t words to describe our experience at the MTC. But in many ways it was like being in the temple. The spirit was so similar.” - Barbara's journal

     After being in the Commissioner’s Office and serving as the Associate Commissioner for Religious Education and specifically for the Seminaries and Institutes of Religion for the nine years from 1970 to 1979, I was called to be the President of the Missionary Training Center in Provo.  The year or two before leaving CES, Henry B. Eyring, Stan Peterson and I were serving in a “troika” arrangement administratively so that when we went into the field around the world, we could represent all of the educational programs including Church Schools and colleges as well as the religious educational programs.

     Shortly before starting our service at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, the English-speaking missionaries who had been trained in the Mission Home in Salt Lake City were combined with the Language Training Mission (LTM) in Provo so they were altogether when we arrived.  When we started on July 1, 1979, the Brethren made our calling an ecclesiastical call like all Mission Presidents rather than a professional assignment as the LTM President.  As a result, we received the mission president’s living allowance rather than a regular professional assignment as had been the practice since the LTM was established.  Like all mission presidents, we were provided with a President’s home and a car for transportation.

     The calling turned out to be a very stimulating, challenging and enriching assignment.  We thought we would be there “for two or three years” as they said, we were privileged to be given a “bonus” and were asked to stay for four years during which time 58,200+ missionaries received their initial training.

     During our service, we had several missionaries arrive without the proper clothing or materials for missionary service. As one example, we had eight Elders arrive from Tonga wearing their lava-lava’s and open sandals in February with nothing else. Mac Christensen, found of “Mr. Mac” clothing stores had informed Barbara to always come to him in such circumstances and he would provide missionaries with their suits, shirts, shoes, etc. When such missionaries would arrive, Barbara would tell them that she had a friend that would love to provide their necessary clothing and arrange for them to go shop. Mr. Mac always requested that we not say who was giving the clothing. We don’t know how many missionaries he outfitted in our service there but it was many.

     Dr. Richard Cowan wrote a book entitled: The History of the Missionary Training Center and included a chapter about the years we were there which he entitled “An Era of Refinement.”  Perhaps he thought that for a title as a result of developments in the missionary discussions from being 18,000 words of rote memorization which presented real challenges and stress for missionaries who had some difficulty reading or memorizing in their own language let alone in a second language to more simplified versions in English and language versions with some latitude for missionaries to use their own words when it seemed appropriate.  All of the adjustments, of course, were approved by the Missionary Department and the General Authorities of the Church.

The following are excerpts from Brother Cowan’s book that might be of interest:

     “From the beginning of his term, President Christensen stressed to administrators and teachers alike, that they need to make a conscious effort to ensure that all missionaries experienced the application of four basic principles while at the MTC: 1) respect for each missionary as an individual, 2) confidence that each missionary could rise to the level of his or her potential through effort, 3) trust, allowing the appropriate use of individual responsibility, and 4) love. At the same time, missionaries received more responsibility and were encouraged to “take more seriously” their sacred callings.

     In December, 1979, approval was given to call missionaries, both, "hearing" and "hearing impaired" to work with the deaf. The first group of missionaries to learn American Sign Language arrived during 1980.

    Later in this same year, plans were announced to add "English as a second language." This move reflected the continuing international growth of the Church, and showed that there were more and more instances in which missionaries from other cultures were needed to learn and teach in English.

   While numbers being trained in Provo were growing, others were receiving orientation at one of the Church's "Area missionary‑Training Centers." By the time President Christensen assumed leadership, there were four of these area MTC's in operation: Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Auckland (New Zealand), and Tokyo. During his administration, additional centers were established in Manila, Philippines, and Santiago (Chile).

     Because these new centers were located where temples had recently been dedicated or where temples would soon open, the missionaries trained there would also receive the strength and perspective provided by the temple endowment.

     When President Joe J. Christensen arrived in 1979, he encouraged efforts already being made to meet the special needs of the approximately three percent of missionaries having serious learning difficulties. In October, 1980, the Teaching Resource Center was established to assist missionaries with learning difficulties. Teachers were invited to refer them to the TRC where special diagnostic tests would reveal their learning strengths and suggest methods by which they could succeed.

     One of the TRC's most far‑reaching projects was the development of a new simplified version of the proselyting discussions. Word counts and other technical tests determined that the existing discussions were written on a ninth to fourteenth- grade level while most popular magazines are pitched at the fifth to the eighth-grade level. LuAnn Johnson and Lloyd Porritt therefore developed and wrote a more simplified version on about the fifth-grade level. Though simplified, these discussions were designed in such a way that they would not be condescending or belittling to the investigator. Beginning early in the summer of 1981, these discussions were used by missionaries when specifically authorized by the TRC personnel. This proved to be a blessing to the missionaries who had found learning the standard discussions to be unusually frustrating, and in some cases, impossible. As they succeeded in mastering the adapted discussions, many missionaries gained hope and preserved their self‑esteem. Letters from mission presidents in the field attested to the success of this program. They frequently requested additional copies of the simplified discussions to use with missionaries already serving who were experiencing learning problems.

     The simplified discussions prepared by the TRC proved to be just what was needed. In March, 1981, General Authorities directed that they become the basis for all future translations.

     Under the leadership of Barbara K. Christensen, wife of the mission president, the "Lady Missionary Personal Development Program" was further developed. More than one hundred women from the community were selected to teach such topics as self‑esteem, poise, etiquette, grooming, and hygiene. Susie Olsen and a capable team of volunteers provided very significant supervisory service. One of the helpful contributions to lady missionaries was the development of a clothing guide to assist them in purchasing appropriately styled clothing before they began their missions.

     Another area to be improved and refined was that of scripture and gospel study for missionaries. In June of 1981, a proposal was submitted to the Brethren recommending a worldwide, uniform missionary study program. It would enable all missionaries to read the Standard Works sequentially and, at the same time, study gospel doctrines by topic. The program involved personal and companion study as well as gospel discussions in district and zone meetings. By following this outline, a missionary could read the standard works several times during his mission."