Tall
ceilings, big windows, inspiring photos and motivational quotes bring many
forms of light into the new Missionary Training Center facilities built by The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
But what is even more impressive than
the buildings are the young people who come here.
On the self-guided tour, young men
and young women stood at every corner, guiding visitors along the marked path.
Their smiles welcomed us, and they
were anxious and willing to share where they were from and where they were
going.
They were from Ogden, from Idaho
Falls, from Seattle, to name a few. They were going to Las Vegas, southern
California, South Korea, and places beyond.
They would be gone from their
families and friends, their schooling and jobs, for 18 months to two years.
They would be representing their
church all over the world, even places where people didn’t have the time or the
interest to hear their message.
We saw them at work in classrooms,
in lobbies practicing questions and answers, in courtyards studying
individually.
And they seemed genuinely happy.
The tour went through the old
facility, built in the mid-70s, and still an important part of the campus.
Visitors saw the cafeteria, the
dorm rooms, a large meeting room and an entry lobby with its first-edition Book
of Mormon. They saw the halls that featured the map where it is traditional for
missionaries to be photographed pointing to their assigned area, photos of
mission presidents, and art featuring scripture stories and thoughtful messages.
They then were guided between more
buildings and past more tree- and message-lined walkways and an open courtyard,
to the new facilities, two six-story buildings.
Informational plaques, such as one
indicating the campus can now train 3,700 missionaries, were dotted along the
route.
The tour took visitors past large
classrooms, a gymnasium, a meeting room and halls lined with photographs with
messages of encouragement and faith. Large windows brought more light to the
space.
And so did the faces of the young
people studying there.
