in 1971, this was published in the new era:
in 1979, this was published in the ensign:Farewells—“Since September 1966, it has been Church policy that no missionary farewells be conducted in sacrament meetings. Failure to observe this policy in some areas makes it advisable to reiterate the policy concerning the recognition of departing missionaries: (1) The bishop or branch president should invite the departing missionary to speak in sacrament meeting, not as part of a farewell program, but simply as a sacrament meeting speaker concerning whom no special notice, publicity, or fanfare is given. (2) Farewell program leaflets and newspaper notices are not to be printed. (3) Collections are not to be taken up at the door; however, members may well be encouraged to contribute to a ward or branch missionary fund from which missionaries are assisted with travel and other expenses. Individuals are free to make personal contributions directly to missionaries. (4) Bishops and branch presidents should counsel families against holding receptions or open houses for departing missionaries; accordingly, announcements in church meetings of such receptions or open houses would be out of order.”
"Policies and Procedures", New Era, April 1971
in 1981, this was published in the ensign:Church Policies and Announcements
The following items appeared in a recent Messages to stake, mission, and district presidents and to bishops and branch presidents:...
2. Missionary Farewells for All Full-time Missionaries. Parents and other family members of missionaries, as appropriate, might be invited to sit on the stand at missionary farewells. It is also appropriate to invite parents and other family members to participate in the services by speaking, offering prayers, or presenting special musical numbers. As with every sacrament meeting, participants should be reminded that such meetings are to be planned and conducted by the bishopric and should maintain the high standards of music, sermon, spirituality, and worship requisite on such sacred occasions.
"News of the Church", Ensign, May 1979
in 1987, this was published in the ensign:Policies and Announcements...
The following items appeared in the May 1981 Bulletin.
Farewells and Open Houses. As stated in the General Handbook of Instructions no. 21, p. 69, “parents and other family members of missionaries, as appropriate, might be invited to sit on the stand” at missionary farewells. Bishoprics also may invite parents and other family members to participate in the services by speaking, offering prayers, or presenting musical numbers. As with every sacrament meeting, participants should be reminded that such meetings are to “be planned and conducted by the bishopric and should maintain the high standards of music, sermon, spirituality, and worship requisite on such sacred occasions” (p. 69).
In addition, bishoprics should make sure that the families of full-time missionaries understand that “open houses, except for family members, should not be held on the Sabbath day” (p. 69) or on Monday evenings.
"News of the Church", Ensign, July 1981
in 1994, this was published in the ensign:Policies and Announcements
The following letter from the First Presidency was to be read in sacrament meetings throughout the Church.
Missionary Farewells
We deeply appreciate the faithfulness of those who respond to the call to serve missions. It is appropriate to honor newly called full-time missionaries by asking them to speak in sacrament meetings before their departure. The bishopric is to plan and conduct such meetings and invite those who speak. Family members of the missionary may be invited to offer prayers, present musical numbers, or speak. Talks and music should be worshipful, faith promoting, and gospel oriented.
We are concerned that some inappropriate practices have arisen that detract from the sacred nature of the mission call or that create unnecessary expense. We urge members and local leaders to discontinue such practices as holding open houses for missionaries (except for family gatherings), sending out formal printed announcements or invitations, printing special programs for the sacrament meeting, or forming reception lines at the meetinghouse following the meeting.
We appreciate the devotion of missionaries and their families and their willingness to sacrifice much in serving the Lord.
"News of the Church", Ensign, April 1987
in 1996, elder boyd k. packer stated the following during a byu devotional:Policies and Announcements
The following instructions have been sent to general and local priesthood leaders and stake and ward Primary presidents in English-speaking areas:
Missionaries Speaking in Sacrament Meeting before Their Missions
Leaders and members are reminded of the following statement from the General Handbook of Instructions, page 7-2:
“Bishoprics may honor newly called full-time missionaries by asking them to speak in a sacrament meeting before their departure. The bishopric plans and conducts such meetings and invites those who will participate. Family members of the missionary may offer prayers, present special music, or speak. Talks and music should be worshipful, faith promoting, and gospel oriented. The regular time of the sacrament meeting should not be extended.
“Members and local leaders should avoid practices that may detract from the sacred nature of a mission call or create unnecessary expense, such as holding open houses for missionaries (except for family gatherings), sending [or publishing] formal printed announcements or invitations, printing special programs, or forming reception lines at the meetinghouse after the sacrament meeting.”
Leaders should review these instructions with members in priesthood, Relief Society, and sacrament meetings. Bishops should specifically discuss them with newly called missionaries and their families well before the missionary’s departure date.
"News of the Church", Ensign, November 1994
also in 1996, this was published in the ensign:Another point of order: Bishops should not yield the arrangement of meetings to members. They should not yield the arrangement for funerals or missionary farewells to families. It is not the proper order of things for members or families to expect to decide who will speak and for how long. Suggestions are in order, of course, but the bishop should not turn the meeting over to them. We are worried about the drift that is occurring in our meetings...
Our bishops should not give our meetings away. That is true of our missionary farewells. We’re deeply worried that they now have become kind of reunions in front of ward members. The depth of spiritual training and teaching which could go on is being lost. We have failed to remember that it is a sacrament meeting and that the bishop presides.
"The Unwritten Order of Things", Boyd K. Packer, BYU Devotional Address, October 15, 1996
in 2002, president hinckley stated the following during the priesthood session of general conference:I Have a Question
Questions of general interest answered for guidance, not as official statements of Church policy...
What are the guidelines regarding sacrament meetings during which departing missionaries or returning missionaries speak? Are open houses appropriate?
Hoyt W. Brewster Jr., president of the Netherlands Amsterdam Mission, former managing director of the Church’s Priesthood Department.
To understand Church direction regarding missionary farewells and homecomings, we need to remember that sacrament meeting is a worship service. Our main purpose in attending sacrament meeting is to renew our covenants through partaking of the sacrament and to worship our Heavenly Father through hymn singing and prayer. Sacrament meeting provides an opportunity for members to strengthen their faith, find inner peace and spiritual healing, receive inspiration, and be instructed in the gospel.
President Joseph Fielding Smith declared that sacrament meeting is “the most sacred, the most holy, of all the meetings of the Church” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 2:340; emphasis in original). Sacrament meeting, he further stated, “is an occasion when the gospel should be presented, when we should be called upon to exercise faith, and to reflect on the mission of our Redeemer, and to spend time in the consideration of the saving principles of the gospel, and not for other purposes” (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:342; emphasis in original).
The ordinance of the sacrament is the focal point of this special worship service. Partaking of the bread and water, emblems of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, “should be a powerful, reverent, reflective moment,” said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “It should encourage spiritual feelings and impressions. As such it should not be rushed. It is not something to ‘get over’ so that the real purpose of a sacrament meeting can be pursued. This is the real purpose of the meeting. And everything that is said or sung or prayed in those services should be consistent with the grandeur of this sacred ordinance” (Ensign, Nov. 1995, 68).
While departing and returning missionaries may be invited by the bishopric to speak in a sacrament service, the focus of the meeting remains on our Father in Heaven and on the supernal gift of the Atonement wrought by his Son, Jesus Christ. Departing or returning missionaries, along with others who may be invited to speak or perform a musical number, should concentrate their message on the doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught in the scriptures and by Church leaders.
Neither missionaries nor their families plan sacrament programs. If invited by the bishopric, they may make suitable suggestions; however, Church policy states that bishoprics are to plan sacrament meetings and see that they are conducted in a reverent manner. In a recent announcement, the policy regarding the participation of departing and returning missionaries in sacrament meetings was again emphasized:
“Bishoprics may honor newly called full-time missionaries by asking them to speak in a sacrament meeting before their departure. The bishopric plans and conducts such meetings and invites those who will participate. Family members of the missionary may offer prayers, present special music, or speak. Talks and music should be worshipful, faith promoting, and gospel oriented. The regular time of the sacrament meeting should not be extended” (Ensign, Nov. 1994, 112). This policy also applies to returning missionaries.
Regarding open houses, we have been instructed that “members and local leaders should avoid practices that may detract from the sacred nature of a mission call or create unnecessary expense, such as holding open houses for missionaries (except for family gatherings), sending [or publishing] formal printed announcements or invitations, printing special programs, or forming reception lines at the meetinghouse after the sacrament meeting” (Ensign, Nov. 1994, 112).
If we remember the purpose of sacrament meeting, the importance of the Lord’s day (see D&C 59:12–13), the sacredness of the ordinance of the sacrament, and the sacred nature of a mission call, our actions will be consistent with Church direction and gospel guidelines.
"I Have a Question", Ensign, September 1996
Another item.
Elder Ballard has spoken to you concerning missionaries. I wish to endorse what he said. I hope that our young men, and our young women, will rise to the challenge he has set forth. We must raise the bar on the worthiness and qualifications of those who go into the world as ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now we have an interesting custom in the Church. Departing missionaries are accorded a farewell. In some wards this has become a problem. Between outgoing missionaries and returning missionaries, most sacrament meetings are devoted to farewells and homecomings.
No one else in the Church has a farewell when entering a particular service. We never have a special farewell-type meeting for a newly called bishop, for a stake president, for a Relief Society president, for a General Authority, or anyone else of whom I can think. Why should we have missionary farewells?
The First Presidency and the Twelve, after most prayerful and careful consideration, have reached the decision that the present program of missionary farewells should be modified.
The departing missionary will be given opportunity to speak in a sacrament meeting for 15 or 20 minutes. But parents and siblings will not be invited to do so. There might be two or more departing missionaries who speak in the same service. The meeting will be entirely in the hands of the bishop and will not be arranged by the family. There will not be special music or anything of that kind.
We know this will be a great disappointment to many families. Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and friends have participated in the past. We ask that you accept this decision. Where a farewell has already been arranged, it may go forward. But none in the traditional sense should be planned for the future. We are convinced that when all aspects of the situation are considered, this is a wise decision. Please accept it, my dear brethren. I extend this plea also to the sisters, particularly the mothers.
We hope also that holding elaborate open houses after the sacrament meeting at which the missionary speaks will not prevail. Members of the family may wish to get together. We have no objection to this. However, we ask that there be no public reception to which large numbers are invited.
Missionary service is such a wonderful experience that it brings with it its own generous reward. And when a missionary returns to his family and his ward, he may again be given opportunity to speak in a sacrament meeting.
"To Men of the Priesthood", Ensign, October 2002
