Filling out your Mission Papers

Filling our your mission papers is such an exciting step in your journey to prepare for your mission. I felt so anxious and excited that I was finally doing this after waiting anxiously for years!

Gaining access to fill out your papers

The first thing you have to do before you can start filling out your papers is meet with your bishop. He will ask you a lot of questions about your testimony and personal worthiness. If you are worried about some of these things, I encourage you to read more about it on the churchofjesuschrist.org missionary page. You can read more specifically about about personal worthiness here. Once you go through the worthiness interview, your bishop can open your missionary portal which will allow you to start filling out your paperwork.

Filling out your Papers

Filling out your mission papers has a conspiracy notion that it takes forever. Just like filling out college applications, I didn’t feel like it took a lot of time. The website has is all set up in a checklist format with a total of 15 sections that you need to complete. I would attach a screenshot of the page, but I kinda forgot to get a picture of the page before I submitted my papers. Sorry! The sections are titled:

• Complete Identification Information Form

• Complete Education and Service Form

• Complete Insurance Information Form

• Complete Personal Health History Form

• Complete Additional Health Information Form

• Attach Photo/Documents

• Print Personal Health History Form

• Print Additional Health Information Form

• Print Physician’s Health Evaluation Form

• Print Dental Evaluation Form

• Obtain Physical Examination

• Obtain Dental Examination

• Review and Accept Privacy Agreement

• Submit Electronic Recommendation

The “Complete Forms”

These forms ask lots of questions that you fill out through drop down boxes, and typed responses. One question that I found particularly interesting asked me to list close family members and the missions they served or are serving in as well as the place your boyfriend/girlfriend was or is serving in if you have one.

The personal health history form asks a lot of questions about your physical and mental health. If you have any health problems (which there is no shame in that by the way!) then you will have to fill out the additional health information form. This just asks questions that go more in-depth than the health history form.

Attach Photo/Documents

This is the place you will attach a picture of you that the brethren will see when they assign you to the mission you are to serve in. It doesn’t need to be super fancy or taken by a professional photographer. I just had a family member take a quick picture of me by an empty wall in my house! You will also upload documents like pictures of your drivers' license here.

The “Print” and “Obtain” Forms

These forms are to be printed so that when you go receive your physical and dental evaluations, the doctors can fill them out. I thought I would scan these and turn them in with my mission papers online, but I actually ended up turning them into my stake president. More on that later. While at the doctors, you may need to get some vaccinations. You will most likely have to come back and get additional vaccinations after you find our where you are serving. Some countries require more vaccinations than others depending on how foreign and primitive it is.

The Last Sections

The final two sections are just there so you can review and make sure everything is correct. Once everything looks good, you will submit your papers and electronically sign them confirming that the information is correct.

Final Actions on your Part

After you are done filling out your online paperwork, you will meet with your bishop again to finalize things. Make sure you bring the health forms that doctors filled out earlier. Once he has approved your online application, it will be sent to the stake president’s office. He will have you put the physical copies of your health forms into an envelope that will also be sent to the stake president’s office.

One of the clerks in the Stake President’s office went through my paperwork to make sure it was all correct before I went through the interview process with my stake president. For me, this interview went more in-depth about my physical, mental, and spiritual health. After that was finished and approved my papers sat in the office for two weeks. You can turn in your mission papers up to 120 days before your availability date. I finished my paperwork a couple of weeks before my 120-day mark, so they sat in the system for a couple of weeks. My stake clerk was able to submit them on my 120-day mark to the church. After that, I just had to patiently wait for my call to come.

Waiting for your Call

I turned in my papers at the end of March. This is a crazy busy time to turn in mission papers because there are lots of boys who are finishing up their senior year of high school that are turning in their papers. It was also around General Conference, and it is said that the brethren don’t assign mission calls during the week of General Conference. Because of these things, I think that is why it took three weeks for my mission call to come. With the way mission calls are available online, it is really hard to predict when they will come. I had a friend turn in his papers the same day as mine who got his 9 days later. I had another friend turn in their papers a week after mine, and they got their call a week before I got mine. The order in which they assign mission calls seems to be very sporadic. Just wait patiently for your call to come, and when it does, be sure to read my post about opening your mission call!