When JD and Kaylea Stoddard got married in 2011, she had two boys and he had four children from previous marriages. The children were ages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 years old, and the Stoddards knew that there was a chance some of the siblings would serve missions at once.
But now there are four missionaries serving at the same time — three Elder Stoddards and one Sister Stoddard. Two other brothers have both returned.
“It’s been a lot,” Kaylea Stoddard said, smiling. “We’ve had to have wisdom teeth removed, we had to get passports, we had to get visas. We’ve had so many church interviews.”
JD Stoddard added: “We were going to the bishop and stake presidency’s office, like, every other week for a few months. The last month and a half has been Stoddard farewells and one homecoming in our ward.”
The Stoddards moved to Lehi, Utah, last year and also lived in Oregon, Arizona and Texas as they raised their children.
Elder Dallin Stoddard, 22, reported to the Provo Missionary Training Center on March 4 and is now serving in the Washington Everett Mission.
Bryson Stoddard, 21, returned from the Argentina Comodoro Rivadavia Mission in October 2024 and is now married and soon to be a father.
Joey Stoddard, almost 21, returned from the Washington Yakima Mission on Jan. 16, 2026.
Elder Jett Stoddard, who just turned 20, reported to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Feb. 23 and is now in the Arizona Phoenix Mission.
Sister Lucy Stoddard, 18, will report to the Provo MTC on April 1 and is assigned to the England London Mission.
Elder Brodey Stoddard, 18, will report to the Mexico Missionary Training Center on April 2 and will serve in the New York Syracuse Mission, speaking Spanish.
The siblings and parents are still coordinating how to handle phone calls home on their respective preparation days and said the time-zone differences will help.
Covenant-keeping and mission-minded
Over time, the Stoddards’ blended family has become an eternal family. On Jan. 23, Jett, Lucy and Brodey went through the temple together for the first time on a special day their family will never forget.
Getting to this point has not been easy, with emotional, financial and other challenges. But they have seen miracles in their own lives and their children’s lives — many too tender to share.
They don’t expect blessings for having so many missionaries at once, but JD Stoddard said he knows that “if you put the Lord first, He is going to help you through things.”
Added Kaylea Stoddard, “We were definitely blessed when we started putting a priority on all the spiritual things.”
A hand-carved map covers much of the Stoddards’ living room wall, showing the location of each child’s mission, including JD Stoddard’s full-time mission in Honduras when he was a young man, and JD and Kaylea Stoddard’s temple sealing date.
They are a covenant-keeping family, Kaylea Stoddard said, and a mission-minded family.
“This mission board is third generation. My grandparents had a missionary wall like ours. My parents have one now,” she said. It becomes a conversation piece for friends and extended family members who are not members of the Church and provides a chance to talk about the gospel.
Having four children serving at once makes it easy to talk to people about the gospel, JD Stoddard said. For example, if a coworker or acquaintance asks about his family, it’s a way he can bring up missionary work.
The Stoddard missionaries
Bryson Stoddard, who served first, has been an example to his siblings, his parents said. He gave them great advice and encouragement for their missions. He also married a fellow missionary from his mission with whom he connected at a mission reunion when they returned from Argentina.
Elder Dallin Stoddard was originally called on a mission a few years ago but never made it past home MTC when shortcomings resurfaced. “That chapter of serving a mission felt closed, but the Lord was not finished with me,” he said in his most-recent farewell talk.
The right people came into his life at the right time. He went with roommates to the August 2025 young single adult devotional in the Conference Center with the late President Jeffrey R. Holland, then the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and felt the unmistakable prompting to serve a mission.
He was called to the same mission as before and worried at first about being too old, but he found other missionaries at the MTC who were also in their early 20s. Single young men can serve a full-time teaching mission until they are age 25.
“I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, the Shepherd who left the 99 to find me,” Elder Dallin Stoddard said.
In her farewell talk, Sister Lucy Stoddard spoke about what she has learned about trust and faith in God’s plan.
“Heavenly Father doesn’t always show us the whole path at once. Instead, He gives us enough light to see the next step,” she said.
For a long time, serving a mission stayed on her mind. She thought she would serve when she was 19. Then the age changed for sister missionaries to 18, and she opened her missionary portal the next day. She felt a feeling of peace and joy when she received confirmation to serve.
She said she wonders how her parents have stayed calm through helping send four missionaries at once. “I have never seen my mom or dad lose their focus on what truly matters. They have always centered their lives on faith in Jesus Christ.”
Elder Brodey Stoddard said that it is special to see his siblings decide to serve missions. “To dedicate that time of our lives to the Lord is truly special,” he said in his farewell talk.
Hearing his grandfather, Kevin Hunt, talk about Church history and learning about his ancestors and pioneers having testimonies of the gospel always inspired him. “To spread that gospel across the world is the most beautiful thing.”
Before his mission, Elder Jett Stoddard worked at Deseret Industries, where he had opportunities to serve other people he didn’t know. Now he will serve other people on his mission.
“God wants us ... to serve Him not only because it lifts their lives, but it shows we care about His children,” he said in his farewell talk.
He testified that people can experience joy when sharing the gospel because they are bringing others back to Him. “As we share the gospel, the words sink deeply into our hearts.”
Joey Stoddard also spoke about service in sacrament meeting when he returned from his mission. “There’s so much joy you can find when you serve God’s children.”
He said he now knows that “the Lord always prepares a way; He prepares a path for us to do His work.”
JD and Kaylea Stoddard said the Lord surely brought their family together, and now they can go out and serve together and bring the same eternal blessings they received to families around the world.
