1. It’s in our Blood
Okay I know not every member has ancestors who crossed the plains or came across the Atlantic, but it is in our blood to travel. All our ancestors came from across the ocean. Even Native Americans – you descended from Lehi, who crossed the ocean. We are all travelers from the beginning.
2. A Million Missionaries
We have missions in almost every country in the whole world. Over 80,000 are serving at this time and the millionth missionary served in 2007 (there are now well over a million that have served). With this amount of world travel, we become a very diverse people. We speak a lot of languages. Many are bilingual, some trilingual (or more). We have MTCs all over the world. We will not cease to travel until we have, like the prophet Joseph said “penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” 1
3. We Value Education
The BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies
I believe that a crucial part of education isn’t just reading the books, but going to the places we read about and being in the same airspace as the things we read about. There are travel study programs all over the world that are run through the Church. Maybe I am biased, but I believe that the most amazing one is the incredible BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. There are also educational travel-study programs from China to Thailand to England to Africa to Chile to Alaska. And while we seek learning “out of the best books” you could say that we also seek learning out of the best trips! 🙂
4. We are a Worldwide Church
photo credit – mormonnewsroom.org
There are more members outside of the USA than inside. The Book of Mormon is fully published in at least 84 languages (and partially into another 25) 2, General Conference is translated into 94 languages and viewed by people in over 197 countries 3 It just makes sense that we would travel a lot. Though we all belong to some country as a citizen, we are ALL fellow citizens in the Kingdom of God. And the Kingdom of God stretches across the whole earth.
5. We Follow the Prophets (and Apostles)
Jesus said: “Go ye unto all the world and preach the gospel unto every creature.” The early apostles (Peter, Paul, John, etc.) were travelers, going to Rome and all over “the world.” They ventured all over the known world, at large. During this dispensation, since the early days, many of the prophets and apostles have traveled the earth to fulfill this mandate from the Savior. Among other amazing missions of the early apostles, Orson Hyde was called to go to Jerusalem on a mission and traveled across the world to get there in April 1841.4
Why else do you think Mormons travel?
- History of the Church 4:540 ↩
- See Mormonnewsroom.org ↩
- See LDS Media Talk General Conference Post. ↩
- See Orson Hyde: Olive Branch of Israel. ↩
Andy Proctor
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