When I decided that I was absolutely, positively, 100% for sure serving a mission, I was excited but I had no idea what to do to continue the process. I knew there were these obscure "mission papers" I had to fill out, but I really was clueless as to what I needed to accomplish before submitting them. For those of you who are feeling the same confusion I have felt, I will walk you through the process.
The first step is meeting with your bishop. I made an appointment with mine and we had our first worthiness interview, then he opened my papers about a week later. Aside from filling out your actual mission papers, you'll have about three interviews with your bishop (varies) and one with your stake president.
Once your bishop has opened your mission papers, you can access them by logging in to lds.org and going to Resources --> Callings --> Missionary. You can access that page here: https://www.lds.org/callings/missionary?lang=eng.
Following the above steps will you take to a page like the one above. To access your papers, click "Start the Rcommendation" and you will be taken to a checklist that looks like this:
The first section of 6 items are documents of information that you need to fill out and can be submitted online, such as basic information, health records, insurance information, language background, etc. The second section of 8 items include documents that must be printed out. In order for your mission papers to be complete, you must have completed the online documents in the first section, printed the health and dental forms, had a physical examination done through your family doctor, had a dental examination done through your family dentist, had your health and dental forms mailed to your bishop, met with your bishop as many times as deemed necessary, and read and agreed to the privacy agreement on the checklist. After everything has been done and you are sure all the information is correct, you can click "Submit Electronic Recommendation," and it will be sent to your bishop and then to your stake president.
Once your papers have been submitted, it can take anywhere from a week to a couple of months for your call to be assigned. Generally it takes no longer than 2-3 weeks, although it feels like an eternity!!! The wait was easiest for my when I tried to focus on other things. Get really involved in your schoolwork or other worthy pursuits, and your call will come when it comes. And it is totally worth the wait. I am thankful a million times over for the spirit of revelation and the fact that God knows exactly where I need to be and when. Missionary service will truly bring you amazing blessings and will change your life.
Pictures taken from https://www.lds.org/callings/missionary
