PROVO, Utah — Days before departing for service in the Barcelona Spain Mission, Sister Christina Eyring received an unexpected email while studying at the Provo Missionary Training Center.
She was told her grandfather, President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, would be attending and speaking at the 2025 Seminar for New Mission Leaders. And he wanted to spend a few minutes with her.
Sister Eyring is one of President Eyring’s 34 grandchildren — the youngest child of Stuart and Carol Eyring’s nine children (and the ninth to serve as a full-time missionary).
“My grandpa had a huge impact on my decision to serve a mission,” Sister Eyring said.
Recalling the home evenings she participated in as a child with her grandparents, Sister Eyring spoke of the love her grandfather has for Jesus Christ and the feeling that always came when he testified to his family of the Doctrine of Christ.
“That influenced my decision to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of the Savior,” she said.
During her brief meeting with President Eyring, Sister Eyring shared some of the Spanish she has learned in the MTC; he cheerfully responded with a few Spanish words and phrases.
Sister Eyring departs for her mission on Tuesday, June 24 — the very day her older brother, Elder Zachary Eyring, will be returning from service in the Brazil Curitiba Mission.
She told her grandfather she is hoping to cross paths with her brother in the airport in Atlanta, Georgia — where both missionaries have an overlapping layover.
“It is good to see you,” she said. Then referencing her time in the MTC, she added, “Five weeks feels like an eternity.”
A few minutes later, President Eyring addressed new mission leaders — offering the same assurance to them that his granddaughter received as a child. “I give you my promise that the Lord will reward your faith and bless your ministry,” he said.
