PROVO, Utah — It is hard for the Church to be established by missionaries without the involvement of members, said Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The Church, after all, consists of members — members who must “join themselves unto the church” as they are “baptized unto repentance” (Helaman 3:24).
“While sharing the gospel can occur in the absence of full-time missionaries, it is uncommon for it to be fruitful in the absence of member involvement,” Elder Renlund said. “Yet typically, when we teach this, many heads hang down, members feel guilty, and little changes.”
Elder Renlund spoke about member involvement in missionary work on Saturday, June 20, during the 2026 Seminar for New Mission Leaders held at the Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah.
Newly called mission leaders gathered remotely and in-person from June 18-21 to hear counsel and instruction from each member of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as well as other members of the Missionary Executive Council, before reporting to their missions in July.
Problems and solutions
In Elder Renlund’s remarks, he outlined three problems that get in the way of members and missionaries effectively working together to fulfill the missionary purpose:
- Some members and some ward councils feel that sharing the gospel is the sole responsibility of full-time missionaries.
- Some members do not know how to help with missionary activities, yet Church leaders persist in setting higher goals to focus more and work harder.
- Some members and missionaries feel that the only thing a member can do is provide teaching referrals to missionaries.
Involving Church members in missionary work can be simple, normal and natural, Elder Renlund said.
He invited his wife, Sister Ruth Renlund, and Elder Jörg Klebingat, a General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Sister Julia Klebingat, to participate in a roleplay demonstrating possible ways that members and missionaries can collaborate in missionary work. Following their roleplay, the group was joined by Elder Peter M. Johnson, a General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Sister Stephanie Lyn Johnson, and Elder Ricardo P. Gimenez, a General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Sister Catherine Gimenez, to discuss ways their scenario could help wards or branches and missionaries to work together.
For instance, missionaries might first emphasize to members all the good missionary work they’re already doing — everything from raising children who serve missions to teaching Sunday classes to paying tithing that contributes to the Church’s progress around the world.
Missionaries might also take a “menu” approach when asking members to participate in missionary work, rather than applying one mission plan to the entire ward. This might look like providing options of varying difficulty — from praying for the missionaries or carrying pass along cards to inviting someone to a Church activity — and simply asking members to choose what they’re willing to do.
“Every member who is willing can do something,” Elder Renlund said. “As that happens, the miracle prophesied in Jeremiah 16 will be realized. No more will the big miracle be that ‘The Lord … brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The Lord liveth, that’ gathered scattered Israel in the latter-days (Jeremiah 16:14-15). Indeed, everyone who is willing will become a ‘fisher’ and a ‘hunter’ for others who are willing to let God prevail in their lives (Jeremiah 16:16).”
‘How can we help?’
Elder Renlund also encouraged mission leaders to help their missionaries understand the importance of never speaking negatively about local Church members. He shared how, in 1983, he was called as a bishop for a newly formed ward in Baltimore, Maryland, with only 10 men willing to accept home teaching assignments. Overwhelmed by the ward’s “horrible” statistics and his ongoing medical training, Elder Renlund described himself as a negative, pessimistic Church leader.
But his attitude changed with the arrival of two missionaries who enthusiastically asked “How can we help?” Despite Elder Renlund telling them there wasn’t much they could do, the missionaries proceeded to fellowship inactive Church members. Two weeks later, a woman Elder Renlund didn’t recognize approached him and, with tears in her eyes, thanked him for sending the missionaries to invite her back to Church.
Elder Renlund said those two missionaries lifted and inspired those around them. By the time they were transferred six months later, “they had changed the character of the ward; they had baptized people who had family who already were members; they had activated less-active members. And they had gifted me optimism and faith.”
Quoting from the “Preach My Gospel” manual, Elder Renlund promised mission leaders that God will magnify their efforts to the degree with which they work in unity with local leaders and members. “Make working with them an important part of your goals and plans.”
