France Marseille Mission

France Marseille Mission

Here are free resources about the France Marseille Mission:

*Other Mission Pages: France LDS Missions.

France Marseille Mission Address

Here’s a recent address for the France Marseille Mission. We try to keep this information up to date, but it’s a good idea to check the mission address with several sources, including your mission packet or the mission office.

This mission does not currently exist.

Phone Number: N/A
Mission President: N/A

France Marseille Mission Map

Here’s a link to the mission map for the France Marseille Mission (LDS). To access the official, up-to-date LDS.org map for the France Marseille Mission

*Mission does not currently exist. (Browse LDS.org mission maps)

Videos with France Marseille RMs

Here are in-depth YouTube video interviews with returned missionaries from the France Marseille Mission.  We interview hundreds of returned missionaries each year, so check back regularly to see new RM interviews. Coming soon..

LDS-Friendly Videos about France

Here are LDS-friendly educational videos about France. We scoured YouTube to find the best quality videos about France, that are free from inappropriate music, immodesty and profanity.

LDS Church  places  history  food  nature  language  weather  Cities  Traditions  Music

France Marseille Missionary Blogs

Here’s a list of LDS missionary blogs for the France Marseille Mission. This blog list includes the missionary’s name, URL and when their mission blog was updated.

*Send your missionary a gift (mission-specific shirts, ties, Christmas stockings/ornaments, pillowcases, etc.)

none found yet

France Marseille Mission Groups

Here are France Marseille Mission Groups- for LDS missionary moms, returned missionaries, mission presidents and other alumni of the mission.

  1. France Marseille / Toulouse Mission Alumni Group (655 members)
  2. Mission Francaise de Marseille Thatcher 1991 era 25 year Reunion Group (91 members)
  3. France Marseille Mission Group (11 members)

France Marseille Mission T-Shirts

Here are T-shirts for the France Marseille Mission!

Shirt designs include France Marseille Mission logo/emblem shirts and Called to Serve shirts. The shirts make great gifts for pre-missionaries, returned missionaries and missionaries currently serving. LDS Mission shirts come in all sizes: Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, up to 4XL.  The mission designs are printed on white shirts and are shipped to you.

*Simply click on a shirt design to view the details and submit an order. The designs on mission t-shirts may also be printed on other LDS mission gifts, including: France Marseille missionary aprons, Christmas stockings, ties, pillow cases, teddy bears and Christmas ornaments.

*Click here to browse France Mission gifts

France Marseille Mission Presidents

Here’s a list of current and past Mission Presidents of the France Marseille LDS Mission.

  1. 1999-2002, Reed N. Wilcox
  2. 1996-1999, Elbert M. Dansie
  3. 1993-1996, Galen S. Woolley
  4. 1991, Mission created.

France LDS Statistics (2016)

  • Church Membership: 37,996
  • Missions: 2
  • Temples:
  • Congregations: 108
  • Family History Centers: 66

Helpful Articles about France

France Marseille Missionary Survey

Here are survey responses from France Marseille RMs, to give you a snapshot into what it’s like to live in the mission.

*Click here to take a survey to help pre-missionaries going to your mission.

When did you serve?

  • 2000-2002 (Ben)
  • 1997-1999 (Spencer)
  • 1997-1998 (Melissa)
  • 1991-1993 (Warren)

What areas did you serve in?

  • Nice, Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Nîmes, Perpignan. (Spencer)
  • Salon-de-Provence, Avignon, Perpignan, Vitrolles, Martigues. (Melissa)
  • Avignon, Cannes, Marseille, Beziers, Carcassone, Montpellier, St. Raphael. (Warren)

What were some favorite foods?

  • Caprese, pizza, salads. (Ben)
  • Doner Kebab, Steak Frites, Couscous, Ratatouille, Pizza. (Spencer)
  • Poulet frites, crepes, calaissons d’Aix, salade Provençale (corn, tomatoes, tuna, dressing), quiche Lorraine, canteloupe – fresh canteloupe tastes very different than American canteloupe. Pain au chocolat! Baguettes!!! Use herbes de provence in cooking. Get fruits des bois yogurt. Pumpkin soup with creme fraiche in it is so good! We rarely had dinner invitations so experiment with stuff you find in Aldi or Lidl. (Melissa)
  • Ratatouille, Crepes, Couscous, Roquefort cheese. (Warren)

What was a funny experience?

  • Ward talent show where the missionaries performed Ode to Joy with the items you would find at a dinner table. (Ben)
  • As a new missionary who could speak French relatively well but with limited confidence and a few holes in my vocab, I listened to my trainer speak at the door with an incredulous college-aged girl. After a few minutes, she asked what I thought was a ridiculous question–Do you use “préservatifs”? I jumped into the conversation, saying “in our food, of course we use preservatives.” Except that “préservatifs” means “condoms.” We all had a very hearty laugh at that one…and still laugh to this day thinking or reminiscing about it. (Spencer)

What was a crazy experience?

  • Walking to an appointment over a restricted railroad area. 😐 (Ben)
  • I’m not sure why we thought this was a good idea, but as we taught a drug addict, seeing starts and stops in his spiritual progression, we physically restrained him at one point from injecting drugs into his arm. Syringe in his hand, we held him back, explaining why God wanted him to take care of his body and why he could do better. Not something I would recommend anyone else (or myself) doing. Crazy 19-year-olds… (Spencer)
  • Hit by a car while biking in Cannes. Attacked by crazy person in Beziers. (Warren)

What was a spiritual experience?

  • Teaching about Nephi and his revelation in 1 Nephi 2:16. (Ben)
  • Too many to recount, but one I will always hold dear is when we met Myriam at her aunt’s house (whom we were teaching with limited success). When we started talking about the Book of Mormon, Myriam said “Oh, I’ve read that book.” Hard for us to believe, we pressed her on it, but she had indeed read it a couple of years prior. We invited her to read more, invited her to church, and then left her. The next night after a particularly hard day, we got a message on our answering machine saying that she believed the Book of Mormon was true and that she would see us at church meetings on Sunday. And she came! Such a joy for us! (Spencer)
  • During a week of epic flooding weather broke long enough for a baptism en pleine aire. (Warren)

What are some interesting facts about the France Marseille Mission?

  • Lots of cool old Roman ruins, like bridges and walls. (Ben)
  • There was one main train line going from end to end in the mission. In about 5 hours by train, you could go from the Italian border to the Spanish border–a trip I made during my third transfer. There were lots of Italian speakers on the East, lots of Spanish speakers on the West. (Spencer)
  • At the time I served, the mission had the highest percentage of sister missionaries in the world (outside of Temple Square). Most cities hold church in rented buildings, apartments, or offices. The only satellites were in Marseille and Nice, so the western half of the mission just had regular church on general conference weekend. (Melissa)
  • We did so much crazy stuff that would probably not fly nowadays. (Warren)

What was the weather like?

  • Beautiful most of the year! (Ben)
  • Generally beautiful–much like California. Mostly mild winters, although I remember begging for long-johns in the dead of winter in Perpignan (near Spain and the Pyrénées Mountains). Summer could get hot, but never unbearable. Lots of sunshine. (Spencer)
  • Hot. So very hot in the summer, especially when there are almost no buildings with air conditioning. Go to McDonalds and order the cheapest thing on the menu. Sit there and eat it slowly for your whole lunch break to enjoy the AC. The wind (le mistral) is brutal. It made me feel panicky at times – it never stops, just constantly blows. It comes in threes (if it blows for four days, it will blow for six. If it blows for the seventh day, it will blow for at least two more days. And so on). The combination of le mistral and the Rhône in Avignon makes it impossible to ride a bike over the river, and you need a windbreaker rather than a heavy coat. Pedaling against the wind, it would take us 40 minutes to get to church (and we’d be soaked with sweat when we got there), but we’d be home in 20 minutes with little effort. (Melissa)
  • Mostly lovely but did get snow a few times. Le mistral could be bone chilling. (Warren)

Any things you really like about the area/people?

  • The people of southern France are awesome! The members there are great and most people are friendly whether or not they want to hear your message. (Ben)
  • The food, the beautiful surroundings (the sea, the mountains, the sunflower and lavender fields), the warmth of the people once you break through their outer shells, the language. (Spencer)
  • The people are very friendly. We ended up with several illiterate investigators at one point. The gypsy culture is fascinating and we had a gypsy investigator that we learned a lot from. Americans are still loved for saving France in WWII, but most people initially thought we were British. They consider American and English to be two different languages! I loved living inside the city walls in Avignon and going running every morning at the Palais des Pâpes. There are plenty of cool things to do and places to see in your zones on p-day. (Melissa)
  • Loved pace of life and mix of cultures. (Warren)

Any packing/clothing advice?

  • Variation is good. It’s hot in the summer and can get cold in the winter. (Ben)
  • Bring some long underwear. You may not wear it much, but there will be some days when you’ll be so glad to have it. (Spencer)
  • Don’t bring really full or really slim skirts, since you’ll probably be riding bikes (we only had four cars in the mission – three for the office elders and one for the most spread-out zone leader). Sturdy shoes in case you’re in a walking ville. Back then, soeurs had to wear dark skirts, but now I’d recommend light colors for the summer. The marchés have really cheap clothing, because you’ll get really tired of the same seven outfits after about six months. Dead piles in the apartments are good for wardrobe changes, too. We weren’t required to wear nylons, thank heavens! Even so, in the summer your feet will still sweat like crazy. Forget dresses – separates are better. (Melissa)
  • Get good shoes, trench coats are not really practical. (Warren)

What blessings did you receive from serving a mission?

  • Mostly in knowing some great people and strengthening my testimony. (Ben)
  • Innumerable. I’m so grateful to have learned how to love people who don’t necessarily want to be loved (by you), to have learned to work hard and until you have truly expended all of your energy, to have life-long connections with a handful of members and missionaries (whom I still talk with regularly), and to have developed a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, of the Book of Mormon, and of living prophets. (Spencer)
  • Confidence in myself and my abilities. I’ve been able to be a translator a few times at work for French speakers. I also got to live in a culture different from America and appreciate a different viewpoint. I had access to great cultural experiences and historic buildings/museums/works of art. I figured out how to calculate exchange rates in my head (I served before the euro). (Melissa)
  • Appreciation for those who live and serve in branches. I respect and have come to adopt the contrarian view of the world that seems so French. The type of testimony that can adapt to reality. (Warren)

What are some skills you gained?

  • French proficiency, soccer (futbol), interpersonal communication. (Ben)
  • French language mastery. Courage to speak with people I don’t know. Strength to serve with people very different from me. Leadership. (Spencer)
  • Confidence, language (of course), navigation. (Melissa)
  • Public speaking and teaching, decent French, ability to work with and love those different from me. (Warren)

What do you wish you knew/did at the beginning of your mission?

  • How to see the divine potential in people. It’s still hard. (Ben)
  • Understand that companions come with different backgrounds in the Gospel, in their families, in their lives, and that while you can still be the best missionary you can be, you need to be attentive to their needs and expectations and the sacrifices they are making to serve. (Spencer)
  • This will be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. You might get a badly matched companion. You won’t teach many lessons or have many baptisms. I think I taught the fifth and sixth discussions maybe twice. Things haven’t changed in the European missions – most of your converts won’t be French, they’ll be Africans or other immigrants. You will be exhausted. Spend more time appreciating the chance you have to live in a foreign country and get a bigger outlook on life. Learn to appreciate other cultures. Find out where the AC is right away. (Melissa)
  • Don’t be so fixated on baptisms. Focus on learning and improving every day. (Warren)

Any advice/testimony for pre-missionaries going to France Marseille?

  • Come prepared to love the people, serve the Lord, and experience lots of emotions as you learn to love the people more and more. (Ben)
  • Know the Book of Mormon and have a testimony of it. As you use the Book of Mormon to answer investigator/member questions, they will learn to turn to the scriptures to find answers for themselves. Learn to work HARD and don’t be afraid of it. You’ll never be happier than when you’re serving with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. (Spencer)
  • Enjoy talking/teaching/arguing even if it technically doesn’t lead anywhere. You are the most important convert. (Warren)

What was a funny language mistake?

  • I once called an investigator’s wife his ‘marie” because I couldn’t remember how to say wife and I thought maybe just adding an extra “e” to husband would make it feminine. Wrongo. We laughed it off. (Ben)
  • Watch out for faux amis! Don’t ‘blesse’ someone with the Holy Ghost…that means hurt. (Melissa)