Online Resources

Missionary Department Missionary Registers, 1860–1959 (CR 301 22)

A record of missionaries set apart in Salt Lake City, Utah, for full-time missionary service. These volumes are sometimes referred to as the “Missionary Record.” Missionaries who did not come to Salt Lake City to be set apart are generally not listed in these registers. Occasionally, especially in the 19th century, persons traveling on Church business or to collect genealogical information were also set apart as missionaries and, as such, are listed in the registers. Entries are in chronological order of the date the missionaries were set apart. Each entry includes birth and parentage information, baptismal date, priesthood office of male missionaries, residence at time of call, mission assignment, and other setting-apart information. In some cases, entries indicate when the missionary returned or include other comments.

Historian’s Office Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, circa 1925 (CR 100 160)

This collection is a listing of nearly 14,000 full-time missionaries who began their service between April 1830 and December 1900. This compilation, prepared under the direction of assistant Church historian Andrew Jenson, is arranged chronologically. It includes a list of missionaries called each year and features biographical information about many of the missionaries. The list of missionaries who served prior to 1860 is incomplete; this subset of names was compiled from a variety of sources, which are often cited in the record. Information about those who were set apart in Salt Lake City between 1860 and 1900 was drawn from the missionary registers mentioned above. Because Jenson and his assistants drew upon several sources, the biographical information found in this collection is sometimes more extensive than that provided in the registers.

Missionary Reports, 1831–1900 (MS 6104)

A collection of reports submitted by returned missionaries that describe their experiences. Most reports are for missions in the United States.

First Presidency Missionary Calls and Recommendations, 1877–1918 (CR 1 168) and Missionary Department missionary papers 1888-1928 (CR 301 28)

Two collections of correspondence pertaining to mission calls issued during the administrations of John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith, and Heber J. Grant. Series includes prospective missionaries’ responses to inquiries and official calls, endorsement letters from local ecclesiastical leaders (usually bishops), and "genealogy" forms completed by missionaries to fill in the missionary register. Also includes letters written by stake and priesthood quorum leaders, mission presidents, members of the First Council of Seventy, and Apostles to submit names of potential missionaries.

Missionary Department Missionary Record Index, 1830–1971 (CR 301 43)

This is a card index on microfilm listing full-time missionaries set apart through 1971. It also serves as an index to missionary registers kept from 1830 to 1959 (see CR 301 22) and setting-apart forms used from 1960 to 1971. Remote digital access for this collection is limited. Please sign in with your Church Account and click “Request Digital Access” to submit a request for access to the needed section. These records are also available on microfilm in the Reading Room of the Church History Library.

Lists and Registers

Some lists were also compiled to document those who had served as missionaries for the Church. Many of the lists and registers are closed to research because they contain private information about missionaries (for more information, see our access policy). However, some are available for research, a few of which have been digitized:

• Hawaiian Mission Missionary Lists, 1850–1900
• Samoan Mission Missionary List, 1888–1924
• Southern States Mission Record of Missionaries, 1900–1916
• Fremont Stake Missionary Record, 1905–1912

If you feel that a register is necessary to your research, use the Ask Us service to request more information. In your request, please include the call number of the register and describe the information that you are looking for.

Photographs

The library has a large collection of portraiture and other photographs. You can search for the names of missionaries or missions in the Church History Catalog; select the “digital” and “photographs” filters on the left side of the screen to find collections containing their pictures. For more information on finding missionary photographs, check out the Missionaries section of the Photograph Collections research guide.

Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia

Compiled by Andrew Jenson, this four-volume set includes a large collection of life sketches and photographs of early members of the Church. The volumes include a few selected entries about women in the early Church. Entries include missionary service, although specific dates or locations are not always mentioned. The first volume was published in 1901 and the last in 1936. The index found in volume 4 covers the entire set. The digitized copies are hosted by the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.

Encyclopedic History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Compiled by Andrew Jenson and published in 1941, this volume contains brief histories of missions, as well as branches, wards, stakes, conferences, districts, selected localities, and Church publications; it also contains entries on miscellaneous subjects, such as the Salt Lake mission home, Historian’s Office, YWMIA and YMMIA, and The Tabernacle Choir. A digitized copy is hosted by the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.

Mormon Missionary Collections

This is an index to the holdings of Brigham Young University’s L. Tom Perry Special Collections that relate to the missionary efforts of the Church. The index includes the Mormon Missionary Diaries, which is a digital collection of missionary diaries spanning from 1832 to the 1960s. The website is hosted by the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.

Journal History of the Church

The Journal History is a daily history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1830 to 2008. It is a scrapbook created from newspapers, minutes, diary entries, and other sources. Parts of the Journal History have been indexed, and it is available online up through 1923. The link above connects to the research guide on the Journal History for more specific information and help in navigating the collection.

Digitized Church Periodicals

The Church History Library and FamilySearch have made many early periodicals published by the Church available online. These early publications often contain information on missionaries and their work in various areas. Two examples are:

• The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star 1840–1970: Published in England, the Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star was the official Church publication for the Saints in the United Kingdom. It was overseen by the European Mission and contains a variety of information on missionaries and mission activities from throughout Europe.
• Liahona, the Elders’ Journal 1907–1944: A combination of the Liahona 1907 of the Central States Mission and the Elders’ Journal of the Southern States Mission 1903–1907, Liahona, the Elders’ Journal served a broader audience and contains arrival, transfer, and release information for missionaries throughout the United States. It would also occasionally publish photographs of missionary groups.

Other missions at various times have published similar periodicals; some of these are available digitally. Some are closer to newsletters than they are to magazines.

Utah Digital Newspapers

In the early years of the Church, it was common for missionaries to send reports to their hometown newspaper or the Deseret News. Utah Digital Newspapers houses a digital collection of many Utah newspapers published since the mid-19th century which contain these reports. This searchable database is hosted by the University of Utah and the Mountain West Digital Library. Try searching for a missionary’s surname along with the word “mission.”

Preach My Gospel

This Church-produced manual is designed to help missionaries learn how to teach the basic principles of the gospel to those interested in learning about the Church.

Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ

This small, Church-produced handbook outlines the basic standards and conduct for full-time missionaries. Some previous editions are available at the Church History Library as well.