Accepting the call

When the Saints settled throughout the Intermountain West, the assigning of mission calls switched from a call from the pulpit or a personal conversation to correspondence by mail. One large collection spanning the presidencies of John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, and Joseph F. Smith (1877–1918) has been digitized by the Church History Library, and most of the letters have been linked on the individual pages of the Early Mormon Missionaries database.

These letters are often written directly by the prospective missionaries outlining details of their lives and the sacrifices required with accepting missionary service.