Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission

Free resources about the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar 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

Ulaanbaatar Mission Address

Here’s a recent address for the Ulaanbaatar 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.

Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission Map

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

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

Videos with Mongolia RMs

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

Videos about Mongolia

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

              

Ulaanbaatar Missionary Blogs

Here’s a list of LDS missionary blogs for the Ulaanbaatar 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.)

Ulaanbaatar Mission Groups

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

1. Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission 2007-2010 Group (336 members)
2. Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission Facebook Group (18 members)
3. Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission 2010-2013 Group (3 members)
4. Ulaanbaatar Mission Moms and Friends (LDS) Group (2 members)

Ulaanbaatar Mission T-Shirts

Here are T-shirts for the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission!

Shirt designs include Mongolia Ulaanbaatar 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: Mongolia Ulaanbaatar missionary aprons, Christmas stockings, ties, pillow cases, teddy bears and Christmas ornaments.

*Click here to browse Ulaanbaatar Mission gifts

Ulaanbaatar Mission Presidents

Here’s a list of current and past Mission Presidents of the Ulaanbaatar Mission.

1. 2016-2019, Jeffrey C. Harper
2. 2013-2016, Joseph P. Benson
3. 2010-2013, Jay D. Clark
4. 2010-2010, Mecham
5. 2010-unknown, Jay D. Clark
6. 2005-2007, Wallace Bryner
7. 2004-2005, Steven James Sorensen
8. 2002-2004, Gary R. Gibbons
9. 1999-2002, Glen Harian Clark
10. 1996-1999, Gary E. Cox
11. 1995-1996, Richard E. Cook

Mongolia LDS Statistics (2015)

• Church Membership: 11,028
• Missions: 1
• Temples: 0
• Congregations: 23
• Family History Centers: 4

Helpful Articles about Mongolia

Coming soon..

Ulaanbaatar Missionary Survey

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

When did you serve?

• 2015-2016 (Emily)
• 2008-2010 (Bradley)
• June 2007 – July 2009 (Stephen)

What were some favorite Mongolian foods?

• Tsuivan; its kind of like the mongolian version of a stirfry with flour noodles, beef, and sometimes vegetables like carrots, potatoes, onions, and peppers. Also all the russian ice cream!! fifty fifty is the best! (Emily)
• Super Kontiks- Ukrainian Cookies, Khuushuur- Fried meat pies (Bradley)
• Huushur, tsuvian, Super Kontik bars (yummy Ukrainian circles of chocolate deliciousness), choco pies, buuz and lots of meat. Your whole mission is like living on an Atkins diet for two years. (Stephen)

What was a funny experience?

• My first week there, my comp and I were out in a far off ger district waiting for a bus to go home. A drunk man saw me and yelled, “yellow hair! white skin!” and started running after me. Even though he was drunk, he chased me around that bus stop in circles for about 10 minutes while everyone watched and laughed. Eventually a bus showed up, we jumped on and the bus driver blocked the door. It wasn’t funny then but now it’s hilarious. Another funny story was one of my Mongolian comps used to laugh because I slipped on the ice so much. One morning, we were climbing a mountain to pick up a less active for church, amd my comp totally biffed it! She got up took a step and fell again. It was like this the whole way up the mountain and we could not stop laughing. She never lived that down. (Emily)
• Took a taxi ride. The driver (a Mongolian) starts speaking English to us in a perfect Mexican accent “Sooo whair are jew gies frum?” We are Americans. Where did you learn English?” he responds ” I yous tu du constructchon een washeengton Deee Ceee. Now I has a fairm. I fairm piiiiiigs”. (Bradley)
• My companion and I had taught zero lessons during the whole day because everyone wasn’t home and then our last appointment, Ganbaatar, we went to his ger at 8 p.m. The clouds covered any light from the moon or stars that night. We knocked and no reply. We knocked again (on the gate) and no reply. This seemed suspicious. So I turn my flashlight on and lo and behold, the ger was not there! It had been taken apart and was lying all over the property! Oh boy! I just said “Aaaand…there’s no ger”. This investigator literally left town a day after we had met him. (Stephen)

What was a crazy experience?

• I had a few run ins with pick pockets and too many experiences with drunk people and evil dogs to even count. The scariest experience I can think of right now is one night at 3am, my comp and I woke up to a loud angry drunk man pounding on our door and screaming threats. We called our leaders and eventually got a hold of our mission president who told my comp to pray and me to grab a frying pan from the kitchen just in case. He was in a city 12 hours away, so it was up to us to call the cops and wait it out. I sat clenching that pan on my bed for 45 minutes until finally we heard the cops show up and clear the guy out. We switched apartments with the elders that next day. (Emily)
• Being detained and threatened by police and having a local missionary lock he and myself in a room and try to beat me up mafia style. (Bradley)
• Anything having to deal with drunk men. I’ve had rocks thrown at me, been spit at, cursed out, chased, roughed up, and fought with- all of this involving alcohol. (Stephen)

What was a spiritual experience?

• All 18 months was full of spiritual experiences. On multiple occasions, people we met explained that they had had dreams about us and they wanted to learn and in the first lessons, they felt the spirit so strongly that they were bearing testimony of the truths they knew must be true. It was amazing! (Emily)
• On some interesting thoughts of the day- we taught Ocherbat the first lesson as a review today. This is what I wrote in my planner: “Ocherbat always flips through the scriptures and turns to the scriptures to find the answers to our questions, even though she is illiterate and can’t read very well. WE should always look in the scriptures, like Ocherbat, for answers we don’t have, in our studies and in our lives. What a great example Ocherbat is to me. She constantly searches the scriptures, as should I.” Oherbat is great, she reminds me of Grandma (although she’s only 3 years older than Mom and Dad). She seems to forget things all the time, but instead of being embarrassed, she just smiles and asks for help. (Stephen)

What are some cool facts about the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission?

• -dont wear nametags in public
  -we all teach english
  -mission has 2 stakes and 1 district
  -we are one of only a few missions with its own mission doctor!
  -its the best mission on earth!!! (Emily)
• 1 in 10 members from the country serving a mission at any one time. Coldest capital city in the world – at the time highest percentage of sister missionaries outside of Salt Lake. (Bradley)
• I believe you still can’t knock on doors when out and about. You have to be invited. Also, you also can’t bring up the church unless asked. (Stephen)

What was the weather like in Mongolia?

• summer from about June to September is hot! around 70-100 degrees Fahrenheit and dry. Winter from October till may with consistent negative degree temps often reaching -40. also windy!! spring and fall don’t seem to exist (Emily)
• Averaged -40 Celsius. (Bradley)
• I like to say Hell isn’t fire and brimstone, but a winter night in Mongolia as the Siberian winds blow down on you. Expect cold weather. Cover your ears, face, hands, etc. Summer is pleasant, but can get hot as well while you are in the city. You hike up lots of hills in certain parts of this mission (UB suburbs). (Stephen)

Any things you really like about Mongolia/Mongolians?

• the people are the kindest, most humble, and most generous people I’ve ever met! even if they have nothing, they will share everything with you! The landscape is absolutely breathtaking! especially in the countryside. They are quite spiritual people already which make them very receptive to the spirit. (Emily)
• Endless blue skies and amazingly humble, friendly people. People who are family-focused, generous and truly receptive to the Spirit. (Bradley)
• There are good people here! You will meet some of the most humble people here, that will open up their homes to you- a total and complete stranger- to feed you and keep you warm from the elements. You will also meet people who are proud of their heritage and history. They are all grateful for Chiingis Khaan. (Stephen)

Any packing/clothing advice?

• I loved the vacuum bags for my clothes, made transfers super easy! Clothing wise, bring things you feel comfortable in and are durable… this mission is quite a physical mission. (Emily)
• Cold weather stuff (cheaper and better stuff in the country). Outside of the capital city American import goods were tough to find, but half of the mission areas were in the city. (Bradley)
• Bring a really nice, high quality scarf. (Stephen)

What blessings did you receive from serving a mission?

• Too many to count! It completely changed my life. My eyes were opened to how much I take for granted, and how much i waste. I fell in love with a place and people I otherwise never would have even thought about visiting. I built my testimony so much stronger and it gave me goals for my life. I learned how to eat anything and endure harsh weather and how to go without running water (I’m a pro at showering from a water bottle now). (Emily)
• Countless, biggest of all it strengthened and refined my testimony. (Bradley)

What skills did you gain as a missionary?

• I can swallow any gross food now without gagging, I speak Mongolian, I gained a ton of experience and skill in teaching (both from teaching the gospel and English classes), and I can figure out bus systems and transit issues in foreign countries now! (Emily)
• I learned how to cook for myself. I learned how to approach total strangers on the street and start up a conversation with them. (Stephen)

Is there anything you wish you knew/did at the beginning of your mission?

• I wish I would have better understood that the people want to listen to us and when they don’t understand what we are saying it is not because they aren’t trying! Have patience with yourself and your language skills and just keep opening that mouth!
• Mongolian. (Bradley)
• I wish I spoke Mongolian more often and asked for help from better Mongolian speakers.

What’s a principle particularly helpful to missionaries?

• Christlike attributes, effective planning. (Bradley)

Any advice/testimony for pre-missionaries going to Mongolia?

• Missions are hard and serving in Mongolia can feel really rough at times, but don’t let it get you down. Focus on the positives and be happy! Mongolia is a very special country full of the most amazing people! I am so grateful God sent me there, and I treasure every moment I spent there. My mission blessed my life immensely, and I think about it every day. I love the gospel and I pray that the people of Mongolia will be able to hear it and be open to it every day. God is preparing people for you there right now. (Emily)
• Prepare to be humbled. (Bradley)
• Be humble, because you will get a huge helping of humble pie when you get there. It will be the most foreign experience of your life. From the food, to the language and culture, expect to be shocked at times. (Stephen)

What was a funny language mistake?

• It took me some time to hear and learn the difference between “kiss” and “see”, which created far too many awkward situations. Also once at an FHE with a member family, I started a prayer with “in the name of Jesus Christ amen”… that was embarrassing. (Emily)
• The difference between “sexual” and “preparation” are off by a few letters…I tried and failed to asks a sister missionary if she was excited for Preparation day…(Bradley)
• One time, I invited a contact to church on a Saturday over the phone. It was hard to hear him on the other line, but I remember hearing him say two, and I said, “Yes, there are two of us. Two of us will be there”! Well on Sunday, my district leader comes to me while I was in ward council, and he says, uh “Elder Tanner, did you order a bus”? I said “No….” and he said, well there’s a guy in the church parking lot with two buses that says some foreigner yesterday called him and ordered two buses, and he had the phone number who called him”. It was MY phone number! My District Leader was kind enough to talk to the driver and say we didn’t need two buses and that it was a translation mistake. I tell you this story because this happened when I was a trainer! I was almost halfway through my mission and still messing up on some language. It will take time, but you will get it. (Stephen)