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Here’s why the Church has decided to close 4 international MTCs

Elder Fernando Armindo Zuca, left, and Elder Jorge Gabriel, right, work with other missionaries on a lesson at the Missionary Training Center in São Paulo, Brazil on Thursday, May 24, 2018. Credit: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News, Deseret News
The Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. New renovations have been made to accommodate 2200 Elders and Sisters. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News, Deseret News
The Missionary Training Center in São Paulo, Brazil is photographed on Thursday, May 24, 2018. Credit: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News, Deseret News
Missionaries walk across the grounds of Peru Missionary Training Center on Oct. 19, 2018. Credit: Sarah Jane Weaver, Church News, Church News
Missionaries study the 3-dimensional map of the Mexico City MTC. Photo by Jason Swensen Credit: Jason Swensen, Deseret News, Deseret News
Sister Graziele Lima Alves and Sister Fátima Luis Ndava work on a lesson together at the Missionary Training Center in São Paulo, Brazil on Thursday, May 24, 2018. Credit: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News, Deseret News
New missionaries, with luggage full of clothing and supplies for their two years of service, head to locate their rooms at the Mexico Missionary Training Center in August 2013. Credit: Courtesy LDS Church, Courtesy LDS Church
The Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. New renovations have been made to accommodate 2200 Elders and Sisters. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News, Deseret News
Credit: Aaron Thorup, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom
Credit: Aaron Thorup, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom
Credit: Aaron Thorup, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom
Credit: Aaron Thorup, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom
Credit: Aaron Thorup, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom
Credit: Aaron Thorup, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom
Credit: Aaron Thorup, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom
Credit: Aaron Thorup, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom
Credit: Aaron Thorup, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom
Credit: Aaron Thorup, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom
Credit: Aaron Thorup, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom
Credit: Aaron Thorup, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom, Missionary Department, lds.org, Church News and Deseret News archives, Newsroom
Philippines missionary training center. Credit: Photo courtesy of Philippine area
Brother Farias, an instructor, prays with Elder Abraham Gutierrez and Elder Erick Puche while they role-play a home visit at the Missionary Training Center in São Paulo, Brazil on Thursday, May 24, 2018. Credit: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News, Deseret News
Missionaries study at the Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. New renovations have been made to accommodate 2200 Elders and Sisters. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News, Deseret News
Missionaries walk through the Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. New renovations have been made to accommodate 2200 Elders and Sisters. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News, Deseret News
Missionaries enjoy the temperate weather at the Mexico City MTC to practice their Spanish and practice training techniques. Photo by Jason Swensen Credit: Jason Swensen, Deseret News, Deseret News
Credit: Elder Douglas Hadley, Africa West Area Public Affairs
The missionary training center in Lima, Peru on Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News, Deseret News
Elders Hymie Bravo and Julio Varela study at the missionary training center in Lima, Peru on Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News, Deseret News
Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
The Argentina Missionary Training Center, located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photos courtesy of Provo MTC) Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
Arial view of the Brazil Missionary Training Center in São Paulo.
The Colombia Missionary Training Center.
The England Missionary Training Center. Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
The Ghana Missionary Training Center. Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Guatemala City Missionary Training Center. Credit: Courtesy of Central America Area
Scenic entrance to the Mexico City Missionary Training Center. The "B" found on the mountain on the background is a reminder of the center's history as the Benemerito de las Americas school. Photo by Jason Swensen Credit: Jason Swensen, Church News, Church News
The New Zealand Missionary Training Center, which along with the Brazil MTC was one of the first international training centers to open, is now located in Auckland, New Zealand. It had been in Hamilton, New Zealand, before being moved to Auckland last fall. (Photos courtesy of Provo MTC) Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Peru Missionary Training Center, located in Lima, Peru. (Photos courtesy of Provo MTC) Credit: Intellectual Reserve, inc., Deseret News, Deseret News
The Philippines Missionary Training Center, located in Manila, Philippines. It is currently expanded this year to increase capacity from accommodating 80 missionaries to 140. (Photos courtesy of Provo MTC) Credit: Provo MTC
The Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. New renovations have been made to accommodate 2200 Elders and Sisters. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News, Deseret News
The South Africa Missionary Training Center, located in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photos courtesy of Provo MTC) Credit: Provo MTC
Missionary training centers located around the world.

With the closing of four of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ missionary training centers in Spain, Chile, Argentina and the Dominican Republic, one might expect a subsequent decrease in the number of missionaries being trained at international locations.

However, more missionaries have been trained outside of the flagship Provo Missionary Training Center for several years — and that trend is expected to increase this year and in years to come.

Elder Brent H. Nielson, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Missionary Department, points to the size and potential of several of the largest international MTCs — specifically the Mexico, Brazil and Philippines MTCs, along with the one in Provo, Utah.

“These four have great capacity,” he said.

During the recent MTC Leadership Seminar for the new presidents and companions serving in the Provo, Mexico, Brazil, Philippines and New Zealand MTCs, Elder Nielson noted that those five centers collectively would be training 75 percent of this year’s projected 40,000 new missionaries.

The Philippines Missionary Training Center, which was expanded in 2017.
The Philippines Missionary Training Center, which was expanded in 2017. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Philippine area

With its roots dating back to the Language Training Mission of the early 1960s, the Provo MTC has a capacity of hosting 4,800 missionaries at a time, ending up having trained nearly 20,000 during 2018.

Operating since the late 1970s, the seven-story Brazil MTC in Sao Paulo has a capacity of 626 and trained 4,068 last year.

After expanding several times in the past eight years, the Philippines MTC in Manila can host 280 at time, having totaled 1,537 missionaries last year.

“We’ve doubled the size in Manila,” Elder Nielson said, “and that one brings people in from all over Asia — missionaries from Pakistan, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.”

85 percent of the recently announced temples are international. Find out more about them here.

And then there is the Mexico MTC, which moved into the Church’s Benemerito de las Americas school campus in 2013. It boasts some 80 buildings over 88 acres and trails only Provo among the current 12 MTCs with a capacity of 1,160 and a 2018 training total of 4,902 missionaries.

Missionary training centers located around the world.
Missionary training centers located around the world.

“We have the capacity of 1,100 missionaries at a time, and right now, we usually have about 250 or 300,” Elder Nielson said. “We can triple the size of missionaries going to Mexico.”

The other large international training center is the Ghana MTC, which like the Philippines MTC also expanded in 2017; those two share similar facility designs and aesthetics to the Provo MTC buildings added that same year. The Ghana MTC has a capacity of 320 missionaries and trained 1,817 in 2018.

This year, international MTCs are expected to collectively train their highest percentage of missionaries when compared at the Provo MTC. “Each year it has gone up about 1 percent,” said Lane Steinagel, the Missionary Department’s director of international MTCs, noting that last year, 53 percent of new missionaries were trained outside of the United States, compared to the Provo MTC’s 47 percent.

“And this year, it’s going to be 1 or 2 percent higher again.

Steinagel underscored another benefit of fewer MTCs. “We’ll spend more resources and more time with these more established MTCs now,” he said, “and we may visit them more because they’re going to be getting more missionaries there.”

The Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Newly constructed training buildings were added to accommodate more missionaries.
The Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Newly constructed training buildings were added to accommodate more missionaries. | Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News, Deseret News

The three international missionary training centers closed in January 2019 were in Santiago, Chile, and Madrid, Spain, as announced in March 2018; and in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, as announced in December 2018. The Argentina MTC in Buenos Airies is scheduled to close in July. The announcements cited Church leaders continuing to seek the best use of resources worldwide, with plans for the future use of the facilities and space still being determined.

The closing of MTCs is nothing new — other previous training centers that have since been shuttered include those in Tokyo, Japan, and Seoul, South Korea.

“We have actually learned that it is often less expensive to bring a missionary to Provo than to maintain an MTC in their home country,” said Elder Nielson. “And they can come here and have a good experience, they can go to Temple Square, they can see the Church’s headquarters. … We’re always looking at the best and most efficient ways possible.”

With the closures, the Church now has 11 missionary training centers — the aforementioned in Provo, Mexico, Brazil, Philippines, Ghana and New Zealand as well as the Argentina, Colombia, England, Guatemala, Peru and South Africa MTCs.

“It’s not only saving costs, it’s making us more efficient in training the missionaries,” Elder Nielson said, adding that the decisions have nothing to do with the number of missionaries worldwide but taking advantage of available resources. “It’s been a good change.”

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