A Major Blessing

July 2024

Elle Larson was 10 years old when the missionary age change was announced by President Thomas S. Monson, and for the first time ever her ward had sister missionaries. After interacting with several sister missionaries, Larson knew that she also wanted to serve a mission.

Larson took Spanish classes throughout high school. She says, “I wanted to go on a Spanish-speaking mission so bad that I read the whole Book of Mormon in Spanish during high school. I would read a page out loud to myself every day.” This excitement and preparation for serving a mission was a blessing in her life. Larson served as a Spanish-speaking missionary in the Kansas Wichita Mission, where she was able to teach individuals from different parts of the world, including Mexico, Guatemala, and Haiti.

Larson received contributions from the General Missionary Fund to provide financially for her mission. “I felt very supported,” she says. “There was nothing holding me back from serving a mission. I have heard from a lot of people that financials are the big thing that holds them back from a mission. It was heartwarming to know that people were contributing. I never had to worry about the financials on my mission, which was a major blessing in my life.”

To those who donate to the General Missionary Fund, she says thank you. “There is no better place to invest your money than in the future of the Church—especially the young adults because they are the future. It means a lot that people believe in us enough to help us go out and serve a mission,” Larson says. “The Lord is taking care of us through your donations.”

From a young age, Larson’s desire to serve a mission and her efforts to learn Spanish prepared her to serve, giving her confidence to reach out and bring others unto Christ. Throughout her mission, people were put in her path in such a way that Larson knew she was serving where she needed to be.