Nevada Las Vegas West Mission

Free resources about the Nevada Las Vegas West Mission:

• Mission address and phone number
• Mission map
• Video interviews with returned missionaries
• Missionary blogs
• Facebook groups
• LDS Mission t-shirts and gifts
• List of past mission presidents
• Cultural articles written by returned missionaries
• Survey with RMs

*Other Mission Pages: Nevada LDS Missions.

Las Vegas West Mission Address

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

Nevada Las Vegas West Mission Map

Here’s a link to the mission map for the Las Vegas West Mission (LDS). To access the official LDS.org map for the mission:

1. Log into your LDS account here.
2. Click here.

Videos with Las Vegas West RMs

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

LDS-Friendly Videos about Nevada

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

Las Vegas West Missionary Blogs

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

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

Las Vegas West Mission Groups

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

1. Nevada Las Vegas West Mission Facebook Group (518 members)
2. Las Vegas West Mission Reunion Facebook Group (151 members)
3. Las Vegas Mission 2013-16 (Pres. Ahlander) Group (125 members)
4. Las Vegas West Mission (1997-00) Group (72 members)
5. Las Vegas West Mission 2008-10 Pres. McCracken Group (1 member)

Las Vegas West Mission T-Shirts

Here are T-shirts for the Nevada Las Vegas West Mission!

Shirt designs include Las Vegas West 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: Las Vegas West missionary aprons, Christmas stockings, ties, pillow cases, teddy bears and Christmas ornaments.

*Click here to browse Las Vegas West Mission gifts

Las Vegas West Mission Presidents

Here’s a list of current and past Mission Presidents of the Las Vegas West Mission.

1. 2016-2019, Martin N. Walker
2. 2013-2016, Michael Brown Ahlander
3. 2010-2013, Jerry B. Black
4. 2008-2010, Kevin D. McCracken
5. 2006-2008, Douglas M. Andrus Jr.
6. 2003-2006, Bruce Smith
7. 2000-2003, Walter E. Hill
8. 1997-2000, Grant E. Starley

Nevada LDS Statistics (2015)

• Church Membership: 182,072
• Missions: 3
• Temples: 2
• Congregations: 330
• Family History Centers: 29

Helpful Articles about Nevada

Coming soon..

Las Vegas West Missionary Survey

Here are survey responses from Nevada Las Vegas West RMs, to give you a snapshot into what it’s like to live in the mission.

When did you serve?

• 2010-2012 (Brandon)
• 2009-2011 (Jo)
• 2008-2010 (Jared)
• 2006-2008 (Alexis)
• 2009-2011 (Andrew)
• 2007-2009 (Daniel)
• 2007-2009 (Mallory)
• 2011-2013 (Michae)
• 2011-2016 (Anita)
• 2005-2007 (Nick)
• 2004-2006 (Tyrell)
• 2013-2015 (Austin)
• 2013-2015 (John)

What areas did you serve in?

• Las Vegas and Reno. (Daniel)
• Las Vegas/Tule Springs. (Mallory)
• Reno, Las Vegas: Mountains Edge/Enterprise area, and Mesquite. (Michae)
• Las Vegas, Fallon, Lone Mountain, Red Rock. (Anita)
• All over Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Reno. (Nick)
• Las Vegas l, Gardnerville, Carson City and Reno. (Tyrell)
• Just Vegas. (Austin)
• Las Vegas. (John)

What were some favorite foods?

• Food I made – spam, eggs, and rice. Food someone else made – Steak and lobster from the Palms, crab legs from the Rio, and a sister baked turkey and mac n cheese. (Brandon)
• In-N-Out; ask for animal style fries. (Jo)
• Authentic Mexican food. (Jared)
• Indian Tacos In n Out Burger Steak Country Fried Steak from the Country Cage in Mountain’s Edge Port o Subs (Brent)
• Lumpia, Elk Steaks, Capriotti’s (Andrew)
• In and Out, Chipotle, Mexican, American. (Daniel)
• In and Out, sweet and sour meatballs, fresh food. (Mallory)
• There was a sandwich place called Capriotti’s that was really great. Everything else was pretty standard; Smash Burger, In-N-Out, Cafe Rio…(Michae)
• Tortilla Soup. Hamburger Soup. Chicken Crescent Rolls with mushroom gravy. (Anita)
• BBQ, ribs, steak, shish-kabobs. (Nick)
• Normal American foods roasts, burgers, lots of Americanized Mexican foods. (Tyrell)
• Steak, chicken Alfredo, cereal, Tillamook cheese, Naked juice. (Austin)
• Ceviche. Sopes. Banana Creme Pie (all types of pie). Huaraches. Fish Tacos. Discada. (John)

What was a funny experience?

• Not  “joke” funny, but I did meet a couple that my Grandpa baptized in the 1970s. (Brandon)
• Members randomly joining in during street contacts. (Jared)
• Towards the end of my mission, most missionaries knew I liked to draw comics, and my Zone Leaders at the time asked me to make a comic about our Mission President fighting Satan on top of the Luxor. I did, xeroxed it and gave a copy to our president, who at least didn’t seem offended haha. (Brent)
• Riding a bike down a busy street in Vegas while trying to hold my skirt down on a windy day, didn’t work so well. (Alexis)
• I was tracting and a man drove out of his drive way. When I got to the door I said “Hi ma’am we saw you husband leave.” It was definitely the most awkward door contact I’ve ever done- I was two weeks out in the field. (Daniel)
• Accidentally passed gas during a serve playing volleyball on a P Day. Thankfully only a couple of elders heard it but it was still funny/embarrassing. (Mallory)
• We were with our Zone Leaders trying to help this homeless man at the Stake Center in Mesquite and he suddenly dropped his pants! Luckily we all knew what was happening and we looked away just in time! Lol He only spoke Spanish so that’s why it was hard communicating with him. (Michae)
• One of my companions had wise cracks about everything. Most were movie quotes that I hadn’t heard, yet perfectly fit the situation. One time I had to pull our car over and just laugh because I was laughing so hard I was crying. I didn’t want to wreck the car. (Anita)
• When one of my companions got caught while tracting when he “had to go real bad”. (Nick)
• Every day with my companions. Seeing a Tongan try and speak Spanish to a black man that did not speak Spanish. (Austin)
• I was given a bad haircut by a recent convert and I had to go around being a missionary with everyone asking me about my horrendous haircut. (John)

What was a dangerous experience?

• Getting threatened while tracting. Having a gun pulled on me while biking/walking the streets at night in the sketchiest part of town. Flash floods. (Brandon)
• A drunk guy trying to steal my bike off of Alta in Sandstone Stake. (Jared)
• We were playing corner soccer and a Sister missionary and myself both ran for the ball at the same time. Once I realized we would collide, I pulled back a bit, but not before she kicked full force at the ball, also, my foot. I feel like I did a complete flip, and definitely had a sore toe for a while. (Brent)
• Walking into the middle of a gang fight. (Andrew)
• Riding my bike through Vegas and my companion got hit by a car. Not bad, just a little bump- the guy was pulling out and didn’t see my companion. (Daniel)
• Run ins with the police. We were going into an apartment complex to teach a lesson and there were several policemen in SWAT gear hiding in bushes and behind their cars. (Mallory)
• We went to meet some Elders in our district one night to drop off something at their apartment, but we saw them talking to this guy on the sidewalk. We didn’t want to interrupt them so we just pulled over down the street a bit. Then one of the Elders came up to the car and said that the guy had a gun and he thought someone was after him and he wanted to go into their apartment. They had called their ward mission leader who was a detective though. So we told him we would wait to see if anything happened. Their ward mission leader showed up, told them to get in the car and peeled out. We quickly followed! Lol (Michae)
• Letting a less active member take us to get frozen yogurt at her daughter’s work. It would have been fine except that the daughter hated missionaries, and the member was only doing so to be spiteful to her daughter. My protests were not understood by the member or by my companion. That’s not what we as missionaries represent. (Anita)
• Chased by a crazy guy and that turning into a high-speed car. (Nick)
• Got hit by a truck. (Austin)
• The craziest experience I encountered on my mission was when we entered someone’s home and it turned out that the person who let us in was in the gang MS-13. We taught him right before he took out a knife and threaten one of his roommate’s life. (John)

What was a spiritual experience?

• Baptisms were pretty much the best. (Brandon)
• Finding that one investigator who was ready. She was a middle aged single lady who referred herself to us and on our second visit we planned to teach the plan of salvation, but we were only able to do about half of it before she began telling us about some of the struggles that she had and how she had persevered through them and though it all had seen God’s hand in her life. The spirit was so strong when she was finished all we could do was extend the invitation for baptism, which she accepted. (Jo)
• Testifying of the power of the Atonement to a women who had tearfully confessed a gambling addiction. (Jared)
• We were knocking doors one day before a dinner appointment, and one man opened the door and told us that he couldn’t talk to us then because he was sick, but really wanted us to come back. We took his number and promised to call him the next day. He ended up calling us back that night to set up an appointment for the next day. Turns out he had been inactive for so long that his records were who-knows-where, and he really wanted to come back to church. We taught him and his girlfriend, who was not a member but was interested in learning, and she ended up getting baptized,. It was an amazing experience to be a part of, that wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t been looking for someone who was ready to hear the gospel. (Brent)
• I watched many lives change as they accepted and used the atonement. I watched an addict give up his addictions that he struggled with for over 20 years in one week. I also had the opportunity to come back to Vegas to see him enter the temple. (Alexis)
• Having a feeling we needed to go back into a hospital after leaving and being asked to give a blessing to an older brother passing away. (Andrew)
• The whole thing. It felt like every time I got to bear my testimony it was a spiritual experience. (Daniel)
• Teaching. I still get tingly and shaky when I talk about the First Vision. (Mallory)
• There were obviously many spiritual events that happened. Sometimes it’s the little things you remember like getting chills while reciting The First Vision, or seeing the way an investigator reacts when they feel the Spirit. (Michae)
• My favorite was teaching a 13 year old boy who was ready to hear the gospel. He asked well thought out questions and took notes at the lessons. Those lessons had the Spirit so strong, and seeing him take it in was incredible. (Anita)
• Going through the temple with a couple families we baptized earlier on the mission. (Nick)
• We were teaching all the time. If you weren’t teaching you weren’t looking. (Tyrell)
• Healing the sick. Being healed. (Austin)
• My companion and I found out that our recent converts of a week were planning on getting divorced. The wife was crying and we invited her to pray and ask God for help. She said she didn’t want to, we invited her to give a prayer once again. She gave the most sincere prayer. We came back a couple days later and she told us that everything was better. And she said it was because of the prayer that she had given. (John)

What are some interesting facts about the mission?

• Viva Las Vegas! It was founded by Mormon settlers. (Brandon)
• Las Vegas was actually founded by Mormon pioneers. Surprisingly about 10% of the population of Vegas is LDS. The Goldfield Hotel in Goldfield Nevada is one of the most haunted places in the US. Half the people in Tonopah Nevada work at Area 51. (Jo)
• The I’m a Mormon campaign was tested here. (Jared)
• It was huge! I believe it is split now, but it used to be all of Western Nevada. There are a lot of different types of areas, from the hugely populated Vegas, to places desert like Pahrump. There are a lot of LDS people there, and almost everyone you talk to is really nice and always willing to give out water to tracting missionaries. (Brent)
• Our mission covered half the state of Nevada which means that you could spend the winters in knee deep snow and then spend the summers in up to 120 degrees. (Alexis)
• It’s Las Vegas haha! (Andrew)
• It covers Nevada and parts of California. And Vegas was one of the worst cities hit with the housing market crash, every few doors there were foreclosures. We helped a lot of people move. (Daniel)
• When I was there, there were about 20 stakes just in Las Vegas alone. I’m sure there are more now. The Church is really growing out there! (Mallory)
• Well, when I started, there were only two missions in Nevada. By the end, there were three. I served in parts of all three. Now, I think my last area, Mesquite is in the St. George mission. (Michae)
• Las Vegas is in a bowl surrounded by mountains. I realized that one day as I just looked around and saw mountains in every side. There really are 50 or more shades of brown. The houses all resemble one another. I’ve heard them called “cookie cutter houses” because of that. (Anita)
• Lots of members. (Tyrell)
• It’s in Vegas! Top baptizing region. We also had like 90 cars and I was on a bike my entire mission. Even as a district leader, only got a car when I was zone leader. (Austin)
• Our mission was one of the highest baptizing missions in the world. (John)

What was the weather like?

• HOT! (Brandon)
• 120… in the shade. The official thermometer for Vegas is located at the Airport and is in the shade. (Jo)
• Hot hot hot. For reference, open a running dryer and stick your face in. (Jared)
• Too hot, and then too cold. Vegas is of course a desert, so it would get into the 110s during the summer. Even Reno would get over 100. Then in the winter it would be in the 10s, which did not sit well with me. I had to buy long underwear to cope. Vegas doesn’t get too cold, but even a little cold is awful on bike. (Brent)
• Really really hot! Or, if north, really really cold. (Andrew)
• Hot, 107-degrees for nine months of the year. (Daniel)
• Very dry! It would be over 100 in the summer during the day. We got some interesting tan lines from our shoes and watches. I remember, at night, we’d roll down the windows in the car because it felt so nice outside only to look at the temperature reading in the dashboard to find out it was 91°! Hahahahaha! But the fall/winters were almost perfect. It snowed my second Christmas! But there’s very little humidity there so even if it’s cold, it’s still bearable. I did buy a thick jacket but I was in Las Vegas the whole time. I never went to Reno or up north (which is now a different mission) where it’s much colder. In Las Vegas, it doesn’t rain much. If you Google it, they get less than 5 inches per year! (Mallory)
• It gets really hot in the summer. It will randomly flood during the end of summer too. And it can get pretty cold in the winter. (Michae)
• Because the city is shaped like a bowl, there are flash floods. Especially in the rainy season Aug-Sept. During that time it also retains humidity. Usually, the sky is blue with few clouds. It is hot but bearable if you stay hydrated. There are some pretty cool cloud formations and sunsets as well. (Anita)
• Hot. (Nick)
• Hot hot hot… Flash floods. (Tyrell)
• Hot. (Austin)
• It was hot and dry. (John)

What advice would you give pre-missionaries going to Las Vegas West?

• Have a willingness to learn with an open mind. Just because you have the Spirit with you doesn’t mean you know everything: have an one mind and be willing to learn. I wish I had read and gotten to know Preach My Gospel more. (Brandon)
• To loosen up. I went on a mission practically thinking I had to be a robot, but it’s super important to be yourself and have fun while working. (Brent)
• Use your time wisely and be very prayerful about how you use that time. Work hard but be smart about it. Some areas we couldn’t tract in because there were so many gated communities so we taught the members about Peach My Gospel. Some areas, tracting was a great finding tool. Try to find something good in every companion. Don’t write them off just because they’re different from you or the expectations you have for them. Don’t pray to change them. Pray to see what you can change about yourself so you can work together. Don’t be nervous about teaching. That was my strength but I know that’s not everyone’s. Heavenly Father will help you say what you need to say as long as you study the gospel. Practice. Be patient with yourself and the people you’re teaching. It’s not about the numbers. Take your time with the people to make sure they know what they’re really committing to. (Mallory)
• One thing I told all of the sisters I trained was to never compare your mission experience to anyone else’s. Also. Have fun every day. The mission is fun. Yes, it is hard, tiring, exhausting, whatever, but it is so fun. If you aren’t laughing every day, then you’re doing something wrong. Find the little victories every day. That will keep you going. (Michae)
• Learn who you are. The scriptures teach you who you are and what you are here to accomplish for the Lord. That was what motivated me to serve a mission in the first place and helped me overcome a lot of fears. (Anita)
• Work Hard, Be Obedient, and Have Fun! (Nick)
• Just live every moment good and bad its over to fast. (Tyrell)
• Just go for it. Just do it, don’t worry about being scared. All good things are scary. Your mission will be the greatest thing ever. It will shape you and change you in ways that you can never imagine. It will be hard at time, it will challenge you, but you will never feel as happy as you did on your mission. No one that has ever served a mission can ever convey to you or anyone what a mission means. But they will tell you that their mission meant and still means the world to them. So go on a mission, you can only gain everything by going on one. (John)

What are some things you like about the place/people?

• The desert is more beautiful than people realize. It is a giant melting pot – so many different cultures. (Brandon)
• People can be humble. (Jared)
• Everyone was very nice! Despite what Vegas is known for, the town is really family oriented, and that goes for every city in Nevada I served, It also has a lot of great features like Lake Tahoe and Redrock, that were really fun to visit. (Brent)
• The members in the Vegas mission are amazing examples to those are them. They make it very easy on the missionaries. Plus the population of members is quite large. (Alexis)
• Strongest members I have ever meet, truly amazing wards! (Andrew)
• The people were either in or out- no middle ground- you had to be in The Church to not let temptation get you. They’re strong, real people. (Daniel)
• The people in the church were so great! They love the missionaries and our meal calendar was always full! In my first area, we even had a lunch calendar because the dinner calendar was so full but we decided we needed that time for napping or being at the apartment to have some time to ourselves. Outside the church membership, people were generally nice. We really only ran into a few mean or rude people. When I was filling out my mission papers, I checked the box that asked if I wanted to serve a foreign mission (I’m from Texas), and Las Vegas was pretty much a foreign mission because you would meet people from all over the world there. (Mallory)
• You just never knew what kind of people you would meet! We taught strippers, business execs, millionaires, and homeless people. Sometimes in the same areas. (Michae)
• Most people are really nice about offering water even if they aren’t interested in what you have to say. We helped someone put away their yard sale a few times and they later on asked about the message when they were ready to hear it. (Anita)
• Neat meeting people from all over the world. Some awesome members live there. (Nick)
• People loved the missionaries there. (Tyrell)
• They people in Vegas were some of the best in the world. The members were amazing. Nice, served with out reserve. Very loving. (Austin)
• I served among Latinos and I loved them because they were so down to earth and friendly. They were always so kind and open to let us in even if they didn’t accept our beliefs. (John)

Any packing/clothing advice?

• I brought random knick-knacks and junk – only bring what you need. You can buy virtually anything you want in Vegas. (Brandon)
• Now that it is just the south, remember that it is hot, really hot, but nights can get really cold, don’t forget that. (Andrew)
• Light, short-sleeved shirts and gray pants. (Daniel)
• What sisters are allowed to wear now are totally different than what I was allowed to wear. The only thing I can think of is if you’re going to the MTC before it starts getting really cold, just pack light cardigans. Wait until you get to the mission field to buy a thicker jacket. My favorite pair of shoes that were comfortable and cute were Sketchers. They were churchy-looking flats but had a tennis shoe-like sole and lasted much longer than the other pairs I had bought previously. Watches are always good. I know people use their cell phones but it looks weird when you’re constantly checking your phone for the time. It’s less conspicuous if you’re looking at a watch, and if you turn it so the face is on the underside of your wrist, then it’s even less noticeable. (Mallory)
• Bring stuff to layer. It may start cold and then get hot. Bring some bigger clothes too. I know a lot of missionaries who gained some weight on their mission. (Michae)
• Pack light. Most things you need can be obtained or replaced at local stores, granted, you have limited time on P-day so use it wisely. You pick up a lot of things as you go from area to area. The MTC gives you a bunch of books, too, so plan for that. (Anita)
• Bring 2 suits, 5 pairs of church pants, white shirts for every day, ties, a pair of Pday clothes, something to play sports in and that’s it. Everything you would need is there. (Tyrell)
• Bring cold weather stuff, and a wind breaker. Good camel pack. Multiple pairs of shoes so they can dry out (your feet get really sweaty). Fan. (Austin)

Anything you wish you brought on your mission?

• More of my family history; my mom ended up mailing it though. (Brandon)
• Short-sleeve light-fabric white shirts. (Jo)
• Bring extra layers, it gets freezing! Ear Muffs are a must have, especially since individual areas are small, so you would likely be on bike. Not much you can do about the summer, but just make sure to have plenty of short sleeve shirts. (Brent)
• I wish I had been more friendly. It’s hard as a new missionary to not want to do everything according to the rule book. You’ve just come from the MTC where it’s more rigid and scheduled so you’re in that mindset when you enter the mission field. Maybe it was different in my mission but everything and everyone was a bit more relaxed, and I think some of the other missionaries thought I was a prude. A mission has rules that you should follow 100% but a mission can also be fun, and it’s about finding the right balance. Work hard during the week and have fun on P-days or at other missionary meetings. I wish we had spent more time teaching our investigators instead of trying to baptize them all after four lessons. I know a lot of missionaries and mission presidents would rather baptize someone so they can have the Spirit but if they’re not able to live the gospel afterwards, then they won’t have the Spirit anyway. They don’t have to be perfect but I do wish we had taken more time with them. (Mallory)

What blessings did you receive from serving a mission?

• Too many to list! Greater love for the Lord, the gospel, and greater understanding of how the spirit works with me. (Brandon)
• A testimony that the Savior will lead his servants to his children at the time of their need. (Jared)
• I can safely say where I am today is because of my mission. My wife, my home, my job: I wouldn’t have any of it without it. (Brent)
• I have an undeniable testimony of our Savior and the atonement. I am still learning all the atonement is able to do. I know that God has a plan for us and if we follow his plan he can make so much more of our lives than we ever could. (Alexis)
• What didn’t I receive! (Andrew)
• Everything I have and my knowledge. I wouldn’t be the man I am without it. (Daniel)
• I became spiritually independent. I used to depend a lot on my parents and others for guidance in my life and didn’t really make a lot of my own decisions. But being a missionary really helped me to see that it was really the Lord who I could turn to and He would always guide me in the right direction. I also learned more about the importance of the Restoration. It made more sense in the MTC knowing that because there was an apostasy that we would therefore need the Restoration. I learned a lot about loving myself, loving others and feeling Heavenly Father’s love for myself and others. I would feel so strongly His love for people I didn’t even know. And mostly I developed a strong love and knowledge of the scriptures. I’m not great at reading my scriptures as I used to be but I can still remember certain passages and find them. (Mallory)
• Wow, Ive been home 3 years and I’m still finding that experiences I had on my mission were preparation for my life today. (Michae)
• Experience. Understanding. Humility. These are things I saw displayed in my life or the lives of those around me. I truly saw the gospel at work in lives and understood how what we taught is true. (Anita)
• Too many to count. (Nick)
• Beautiful wife. (Tyrell)
• A hot, hot girlfriend. Knowledge of the Atonement and gospel, so many friends that I didn’t even know I could have this many, how to love, how to listen and speak with God. (Austin)
• I was given the blessing of seeing miracles constantly. I was able to see people’s lives change and help them. (John)

What skills did you gain from serving a mission?

• Public speaking and confidence. (Jared)
• Public speaking, leadership, forgiveness and conquering fears. (Alexis)
• I attribute most of my success in school and my career to the foundation I built on my mission. (Andrew)
• Study skills for school. I really learned how to do it right. (Daniel)
• Teaching! I was very comfortable with public speaking and teaching prior to my mission but I really developed more as a teacher. And I love teaching the gospel!! I think that’s probably why I still love sharing my testimony with my nonmember friends. (Mallory)
• I can literally talk and have a conversation with anyone, which has really helped in the job field. (Michae)
• How to listen. How to understand another and thus avoid conflict but resolve differences instead. How to communicate the gospel in simple terms, and that is an ongoing skill. It fades without practice. (Anita)
• Social/people skills, public speaking, confidence. (Nick)
• Studying, planing, public speaking. (Tyrell)
• I gained people skills, being able to work with people and talk to them is something so essential. I also gained leadership skills which is great in helping people. (John)

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

• I wish I would’ve know how important and helpful keeping a journal is. (Brandon)
• To not rise to the challenge of an ignorant or anti Mormon attack. (Jared)
• That it is all worth it. Every hard moment and day is worth the miracles that you get to participate in. (Alexis)
• Don’t care what other Elders think or do, love them and serve. (Andrew)
• Read The Book of Mormon more to know it better. (Daniel)
• I wish I had been more friendly. It’s hard as a new missionary to not want to do everything according to the rule book. You’ve just come from the MTC where it’s more rigid and scheduled so you’re in that mindset when you enter the mission field. Maybe it was different in my mission but everything and everyone was a bit more relaxed, and I think some of the other missionaries thought I was a prude. A mission has rules that you should follow 100% but a mission can also be fun, and it’s about finding the right balance. Work hard during the week and have fun on Pdays or at other missionary meetings. I wish we had spent more time teaching our investigators instead of trying to baptize them all after four lessons. I know a lot of missionaries and mission presidents would rather baptize someone so they can have the Spirit but if they’re not able to live the gospel afterwards then they won’t have the Spirit anyway. They don’t have to be perfect but I do wish we had taken more time with them. (Mallory)
• Missionaries are regular people. We have this habit as a Mormon culture to glorify missionaries. Honestly, yes they are on the Lord’s errand, but they are not perfect. (Michae)
• I wish I wrote down more of my feelings in my journal. My insights and understanding. I didn’t take much time (there wasn’t much to take) to journal, but the insights of the moment would be nice to reflect on. (Anita)
• Realized much earlier that I could be myself and have fun and still be obedient and follow the rules. (Nick)
• The scriptures better. (Tyrell)
• How to repent, how to study, how to pray, how to work, that everyone I speak to is a person and that the gospel is not something that I should be afraid to share. Just be real. (Austin)
• I wish someone had told me that it would be difficult, the most difficult thing I would ever experience but along with that difficulty I would feel so much satisfaction and so much happiness. And the only way to fix anything was to work hard. (John)

Anything you’d say to pre-missionaries going to Las Vegas West?

• Be patient with yourself;  line upon line applies to a variety of aspects of life. (Brandon)
• Don’t aspire to any position in the mission field; AP, ZL, DL, office elder, not even senior companion or trainer. If you’re not ready or capable to do such a task God will humble you and you will not enjoy it. Watch the amount of food you eat. I gained about 70lbs over the two years and I was riding a bike for the majority of the time I was there. You will NOT starve in this mission. (Jo)
• Read the Book of Mormon. But make it a point to read through the Bible on your mission. We don’t know that book well enough as a people. (Jared)
• Read your scriptures daily! You never know what you will find, and how it will be helpful, so all you can do is read. And of course, WORK HARD. Results don’t come without trying. (Brent)
• Don’t judge those you see. Many people are lost and just need to find their way. (Alexis)
• You got this! (Andrew)
• Do your Duty to God, become an Eagle Scout and gain a testimony- all these things will prepare you for your mission. That’s what they’re there for. (Daniel)
• Just go for it. Just do it, don’t worry about being scared. All good things are scary. Your mission will be the greatest thing ever. It will shape you and change you in ways that you can never imagine. It will be hard at time, it will challenge you, but you will never feel as happy as you did on your mission. No one that has ever served a mission can ever convey to you or anyone what a mission means. But they will tell you that their mission meant and still means the world to them. So go on a mission, you can only gain everything by going on one. (John)
• Use your time wisely and be very prayerful about how you use that time. Work hard but be smart about it. Some areas we couldn’t tract in because there were so many gated communities so we taught the members about Peach My Gospel. Some areas tracting was a great finding tool. Try to find something good in every companion. Don’t write them off just because they’re different from you or the expectations you have for them. Don’t pray to change them. Pray to see what you can change about yourself so you can work together. Don’t be nervous about teaching. That was my strength but I know that’s not everyone’s. Heavenly Father will help you say what you need to say as long as you study the gospel. Practice. Be patient with yourself and the people you’re teaching. It’s not about the numbers. Take your time with the people to make sure they know what they’re really committing to. (Mallory)

What was a funny language mistake?

• As an English missionary, I would still run into different languages all the time, especially Spanish. Trying to learn Spanish on the go but never actually studying it made for some interesting conversations. (Brandon)
• I spoke English- didn’t have too much trouble. (Daniel)