Missionary Training Center addition in Provo nearing completion
Construction workers work on the new Missionary Training Center on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016, in Provo. DOMINIC VALENTE, Daily Herald
The rush in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to hasten missionary work four years ago has slowed a little, but the need for a Missionary Training Center expansion has not decreased.
The first expansion on the church-operated Provo MTC is expected to be completed in 2017. A second phase is anticipated to replace some of the internal living quarters in the future. No date has been set for the second phase.
The number of full-time missionaries serving missions for the LDS Church is approximately 74,000, according to church information.
Following a change in the missionary age requirement in 2012, the total went from around 50,000 to 84,000 nearly overnight. The number peaked and then tapered as anticipated. Currently there is a steady upward trend, but there are some seasonal fluctuations.
That increase over the past five years means there is still a need for additional classrooms and other rooms and upgrades at the Provo MTC. The church is also adding state-of-the-art technology.
Construction update
Anyone traveling north on 900 East in Provo or in the area of the Marriott Center can’t help but notice the towering buildings that are being added to the MTC complex.
The two large buildings under construction on the corner of University Parkway and 900 East are an answer to part of the church’s missionary growth needs. Those buildings are changing the look of the Pleasant View and Oakhills neighborhoods and the northern edge of Brigham Young University’s campus.
During the years of planning for the MTC, the LDS Church announced the younger age restriction for missionaries. The announcement brought the MTC planning and building to a screeching halt while leaders figured out where they were going to house the massive increase in missionaries.
The answer was to lease the nearby Raintree Commons apartments in Provo, which were then affectionately called the MTC West.
The Raintree apartments were used for nearly two years to help with the increased numbers. At the same time, the living quarters at the MTC were reconfigured to house more missionaries.
In November 2014, residents in the Pleasant View neighborhood got a sneak peek at the new renderings showing the Phase I construction for the MTC; the church had been looking for space to expand since 2012.
“Everybody is pretty happy with it,” said Mark Cannon, Pleasant View neighborhood vice chairman at the time. “I haven’t heard any negative. I feel what the MTC has done in terms of planning has been very good.”
The project consists of two six-story buildings with classrooms and study halls, underground parking for approximately 340 cars and a large landscaped courtyard. All full-time employees, part-time student employees and volunteers will have access to and from the underground parking via the main entrance at 900 East and Temple View Drive.
The Phase I expansion is being built around a quad on the southwest corner of 900 East and University Parkway where the Brigham Young University laundry building and auxiliary maintenance buildings formerly sat.
“The new construction at the Provo Missionary Training Center continues to progress on schedule,” church spokesman Erick Hawkins said in January.
According to renderings and a 3-D diorama, the perimeter of the entire MTC campus will be softened by increasing landscaping and replacing chain-link fences with more decorative fences that will be set back further from the property lines. Trash bins adjacent to residences along the west side will be relocated away from the homes.
The new construction does not include living quarters.
Though the Provo MTC is the most common and well-known training site for missionaries, there are 14 other worldwide training centers that are helping to alleviate the number of missionaries who used to come to Provo.
Within the walls of a MTC
After being extended a mission call and it being accepted, a missionary’s first encounter is at one of the 15 missionary training centers throughout the world. Depending on his or her call, a missionary can spend as little as two weeks or as long as nine weeks at the MTC in training and, in some cases, learning a foreign language.
Foreign language training helps missionaries prepare to serve in one of more than 400 missions worldwide.
While missionaries receive early religious training at home and in church auxiliaries, according to a church statement, “It should be noted that MTCs provide a decidedly more rigorous curriculum rooted in gospel fundamentals.
“The meat and drink of MTC life is daily practice teaching situations, intense gospel classroom instruction from teachers who are former missionaries, weekly devotional addresses from Church leaders and MTC staff, and weekly service opportunities.”
The Provo MTC teaches more than 50 languages. Each instructor who teaches a language is either a native speaker or is fluent, thanks to his or her own missionary service.
In addition to language instruction, teachers provide cultural training to help missionaries make a smoother transition into their assigned foreign country.
Missionaries also have physical education, and preparation days to write letters, do laundry and study — sometimes they even sleep.
The LDS Church currently operates mission training centers in 15 locations:
Provo, Utah, United States
Areas served: Worldwide
Training languages: 50 different languages
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Areas served: Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay
Training language: Spanish
São Paulo, Brazil
Areas served: Brazil, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Angola
Training language: Portuguese
Santiago, Chile
Area served: Chile
Training language: Spanish
Bogota, Colombia
Areas served: Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela
Training language: Spanish
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Areas served: Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, West Indies
Training languages: English (native speakers only), French/Creole (native speakers only), Spanish
Preston, England
Areas served: Great Britain, German-speaking Europe
Training languages: German, English
Accra, Ghana
Areas served: West Africa, DR Congo, Madagascar
Training languages: English (native speakers only), French
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Areas served: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
Training language: Spanish
Mexico City, Mexico
Areas served: Mexico, other countries of North, Central and South America
Training language: Spanish
Auckland, New Zealand
Areas served: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga
Training languages: English, English as a Second Language, French (native speakers only), Samoan (native speakers only), Tongan (native speakers only)
Lima, Peru
Areas served: Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru
Training language: Spanish
Manila, Philippines
Areas served: All missions in the Philippines and Asia areas
Training languages: Cambodian, Cebuano, English, Indonesian, Mandarin, Mongolian, Tagalog, Thai, Urdu, Vietnamese (all languages except Tagalog native speakers only)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Areas served: Kenya, Madagascar, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Training language: English (native speakers only)
Madrid, Spain
Areas served: Belgium, Cape Verde, France, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine
Training languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Russian (all languages except Spanish and Russian native speakers only)