Catholic college students gathered in Salt Lake City recently for the 2025 SEEK conference — an event organized by FOCUS, the largest U.S. organization sending Catholic missionaries to college campuses. 

Less than an hour south, in Provo, Utah, young members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (popularly known as LDS or Mormons) train year-round in their faith and foreign languages before embarking on two-year missions.

Given SEEK’s focus on strengthening faith formation, particularly for FOCUS missionaries, the Register examined how Mormons train their young missionaries by comparison.

 

LDS Missionary Training

Sending young missionaries abroad is a defining LDS characteristic, with conversion through baptism as a central goal. (In Catholic teaching, the Vatican has ruled LDS baptism invalid, requiring converts from Mormonism to be baptized in the Catholic Church.)

The U.S. has about 6.9 million Mormons (17 million worldwide), compared to 67.8 million Catholics in the U.S. and 1.39 billion globally, according to The Official Catholic Directory (2023).

While the Catholic Church has various missionary religious orders, most Catholics do not engage in full-time missionary work, nor is it expected. Catholic missionary orders and groups are voluntary. FOCUS sends missionaries to college campuses in the U.S. and five foreign countries, with each missionary committing to two years of service.

By contrast, the majority of young Mormons do go on mission.

“Missions are not mandatory,” said Sam Penrod, LDS media relations manager. “Young men are encouraged to serve for what is generally 24 months, and young women also have the opportunity to serve for 18 months.”

Though officially voluntary, there is strong encouragement for young men and women to serve right after high school. Those unable to serve abroad due to health or other reasons may serve locally through community service. 

A key difference between Catholic and Mormon missionaries is age. LDS missionaries typically begin their service at 18 or 19, whereas FOCUS missionaries must complete college first. Catholic missionary orders, such as the Missionaries of Charity, the Salesians or the Franciscans, require years of training and religious vows before entering the mission field.

LDS missionaries train at one of 11 Missionary Training Centers (MTCs) worldwide, with the Provo MTC offering instruction in 50 languages. Courses, taught by native speakers or fluent missionaries, include cultural training for assigned countries.

LDS missions focus on preaching and doctrinal study. Most FOCUS missionaries serve at U.S. college campuses where the mission work is in English, though there are now 40 missionaries serving abroad in five countries, taking language classes as needed.

LDS missionary training lasts three to nine weeks, depending on the country. Those going to English-speaking countries, or who stay within the continental U.S., stay for three weeks or less, and those going to non-English-speaking countries usually remain for the full nine weeks. During this training, individuals study LDS fundamentals, practice teaching, and learn from former missionaries. Their language and doctrinal studies continue throughout their two-year mission work.

 

FOCUS Training 

FOCUS training takes place over five to six weeks during the summer.

The location for the training has changed over the years, with last year’s training taking place at the University of Nebraska and Ave Maria University in Florida. Sessions feature notable Catholic speakers such as The Bible in a Year’s Jeff Cavins and Msgr. James Shea, president of the University of Mary in North Dakota. 

Summer training teaches each FOCUS missionary how to pray, lead a Bible study and make a Holy Hour. It also emphasizes forming holy friendships and relating to others. Ongoing formation continues throughout the year with team leaders.

“During this training, we talk about the virtues that we can grow in ourselves and ways to grow in faith in the Lord,” said Delaney Bach, 23, a FOCUS missionary at the University of Cincinnati.

“We learn how to evangelize properly. The most important thing is that we learn to love well. Everything we do has to come from a place of love.”

“We learn about the different aspects of formation: human formation, apostolic formation and intellectual formation,” explained Daniel Sahyouni, 28, a FOCUS missionary at Indiana University. “Everything builds on character development.”

FOCUS missionaries follow a daily schedule of Mass, Rosary and a Holy Hour of Eucharistic adoration. “We try to go to Mass together as a group at least three times a week,” said Bach.

FOCUS missionaries also train in apologetics and the fundamentals of communication.

“We school people on how to have a good conversation,” said Sahyouni. “We want missionaries to be people that students would want to imitate. The training can be summed up as learning to imitate Christ.”

FOCUS considers the Holy Hour foundational to missionary work.

“We believe that the power of evangelization flows from the Holy Spirit in you. The Holy Hour is where you grow in intimacy with Christ, who gives you the power to evangelize. Outside of the Mass, the Holy Hour is the most important part of our day,” said Sahyouni.

 

Life and Work in the Field

There are currently 80,000 LDS missionaries serving around the globe. “We are in a total of 450 missions worldwide,” said Penrod. “Missionaries may be called anywhere in the world. So a young man from Oklahoma could be called to Oregon or Thailand. Not all mission assignments are necessarily international. Also, a missionary may be from Brazil and serve in a different region of Brazil or could also go to Oregon or Thailand.” 

FOCUS, by comparison, has 1,048 missionaries at 210 college campuses, 29 parishes, nine international campuses and seven digital campuses. In 2021, the Vatican reported 410,440 lay Catholic missionaries worldwide, not including hundreds of thousands of missionary priests and religious. 

After applying and receiving approval, young Mormons receive a “call to serve” from the LDS president, assigning them a location and language to study if necessary. Receiving a call to serve is a significant milestone in the prospective missionary’s life. 

FOCUS missionaries receive their two-year assignment during summer training. While still meaningful, the process differs from the LDS experience in key ways. 

“[LDS] missionaries may communicate with their families on their weekly preparation day via text messages, online messaging, phone calls and video chat, in addition to letters and emails,” explained Pernod. “Families of missionaries do not visit them while they are serving.”

FOCUS missionaries have more flexibility, following the academic calendar for breaks and maintaining regular communication and visits with their families.

While abroad, LDS men are required to wear business attire. Traditionally, this meant full dark suits with white shirts and conservative ties, but, today, they may wear light-colored suits, sweaters or dress shirts without ties. Female missionaries must wear modest dresses, though, since 2018, they have been permitted to wear dress slacks.

FOCUS missionaries do not have a formal dress code. Catholic missionary orders such as the Missionaries of Charity typically wear religious habits.

LDS missionaries serve in pairs, with men assigned to male companions and women to female companions.

FOCUS teams typically consist of four missionaries — two men and two women — with one serving as the team director. Team sizes vary by campus needs; for example, the University of Nebraska in Lincoln has 11 FOCUS missionaries.

During their mission, LDS missionaries cannot go on vacation or date. 

“Missionaries avoid entertainment, parties or other activities common to this age group as long as they are on their missions, so they can focus entirely on the work of serving and of teaching others the gospel of Jesus Christ,” said Pernod.

FOCUS missionaries are also asked to refrain from dating during their first year. However, those in existing relationships may continue them. There are no formal restrictions on TV or entertainment for FOCUS missionaries.

“As you go further into becoming a missionary, most missionaries will regulate themselves [on these issues],” said Bach.

LDS missionaries fund their mission trips with family and friend support, typically costing between $10,000 and $12,000.

FOCUS missionaries also raise their financial support. “We go to family and friends and our own parish,” said Bach. “We ask if people want to support us through monthly donations. It is a great way to evangelize. We send out monthly newsletters telling our donors about our mission.”

When asked how they define success in missionary work, FOCUS staff do not measure it merely by the number of student conversions.

Said Sahyouni, “Success is if you become closer to being a saint.”