In July, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a new all-time high number of full-time missionaries serving worldwide — 88,500.
That number has now surpassed 90,000, according to a Sept. 18 news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The Church reached the milestone thanks to the largest cohort of young women serving full-time missions — more than 30,000.
The surge of young women serving missions follows a November 2025 announcement from the First Presidency that young women who choose to serve a full-time mission may begin their service at age 18.
The milestone also comes as the Church opened 55 new missions on July 1, bringing the total number of missions to over 500.
Addressing new mission leaders at the 2026 Seminar for New Mission Leaders in June, President Dallin H. Oaks called the growth of the missionary force a historic moment for the Church.
“Missionary work is soaring to new heights,” the Prophet said. “We are currently being reinforced by the first wave of 18-year-old sisters beginning their service.”
In October 2025, in a media interview with the new First Presidency, President Oaks said the source of the Church’s growth is found in the message of Jesus Christ.
“It’s a gospel of happiness and growth and information about the purpose of life,” he said. “People who subscribe to its doctrine find that it makes their life more happy, more significant, more resistant to the difficulties we all experience in mortal life, and more able to serve their fellow men and to raise their children.”
Added President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency: “The growth of the Church will accelerate when they find the gospel of Jesus Christ presented by missionaries. They see hope,” President Eyring said.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who chairs the Missionary Executive Council, wrote about the missionary landmark in a social media post on July 14, noting the increase of missionaries reflects the “faith and devotion of a rising generation of disciples of Jesus Christ.”
In a May 11 social post, Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote that several factors have contributed to the growth in missionaries.
He noted the following:
- Bishoprics focusing more on the rising generation, specifically on young men and young women.
- For the Strength of Youth conferences are more readily available.
- More families are engaging in earlier scripture study, especially with the aid of the “Come, Follow Me” curriculum, which has altered Sunday worship practices.
- Young women and young men are learning to work in counsel with each other.
“What we are witnessing today is more than growth in numbers,” Elder Renlund wrote. “Across the world, missionaries are demonstrating a deep devotion to the Savior and a sincere consecration to His work. An increasing number express that their fundamental reason for serving is their love for Jesus Christ and their desire to join Him in His work — an inspiring reflection of the faith and commitment that characterize today’s missionary force.”
More youth and young adults worldwide are also enrolled in the Church’s seminary and institute programs, the highest enrollment in the programs’ history.
With the rise in full-time missionary applications and the creation of more missions worldwide, the Church produced a video offering prospective missionaries and their families an inside look at how missionaries are trained.
