1 of 5 Rebekah Cooper, Former Mormon Missionary Had Her Name Dropped — Photo: BBC Rebekah Cooper, Former Mormon Missionary Had Her Name Dropped — Photo: BBC
Each year thousands of young Mormons serve missions to try to attract more believers to the religion. The BBC had access to one of the training camps in the UK where missionaries learned how to teach the Mormon faith and how to use social media to reach out to potential converts.
When 19yearold Rebekah Cooper began her mission, she had to give up her first name, stop calling her friends, and give up whenever she was alone except when she was going to the bathroom or taking a shower.
Known only as Sister Cooper during her religious mission, she also began with a strictly planned daily routine: prayer, study, exercise, volunteering in the community, and seeking out potential converts.
The working day started at 6:30 am and ended with an early evening curfew.
Along with common Mormon rules based on religious scriptures, such as prohibiting premarital sex and drinking tea and coffee, missionaries are not allowed to be off the field late or watch television or movies. Typical Gen Z hobbies such as gaming and TikTok are also prohibited.
Rebekah is one of tens of thousands of young Mormons around the world who volunteer each year to serve in missions aimed at recruiting others to join the faith group.
Most are under the age of 25 and have lived away from home for up to two years.
Europe’s largest training center for these young missionaries is in Chorley, in Lancashire, northwest England. TV cameras were allowed into the training center for a BBC documentary called The Mormons Are Coming.
2 of 5 Temple and Formation Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints in Chorley, England — Photo: BBC Temple and Formation Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints in Chorley, England — Photo: BBC
Officially known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (LDS), the church believes in Jesus but is separate from other Christian groups. The religion has more than 16 million members around the world, but its fulltime missionaries are the largest in the world.
The awareness of these young missionaries has been raised in recent years by the Broadway musical in New York, also performed in London’s West End The Book of Mormon. Some missionaries even try to find new converts among the theatergoers.
Rebekah says the strict life of a missionary is “an entirely different lifestyle” than that of the average Mormon.
“Even though I was raised in the Church, it was still a big lifestyle change for me.”
Adds President Ostler, who oversees missionaries at the Chorley Training Center, “Missionary life is very different from the normal life of young adults, and they are ready to be it.”
“Sometimes you feel like an influencer”
Rebekah says growing up in the Mormon Church was often “difficult” — and she felt “very different from my peers.”
But her religion also helped her through a period of anxiety and depression after one of her friends committed suicide. “This kind of thing set off a series of events that made me realize that not only did I have clinical depression, I had it my whole life.”
For about a year, Rebekah went through different types of treatments. He says he struggled with his faith. She recalls crying and praying for a day before finally feeling like she should start taking medication — something she had resisted up to that point.
After that, “everything got better and I was a lot more stable,” she says. “It sounds a bit strange, but there were a lot of little spiritual nudges that helped me.”
3 out of 5 Missionaries are taught how to create Instagram Reel Videos to find potential converts — Photo: INSTAGRAM Missionaries are taught how to create Instagram Reel Videos to find potential converts — Photo: INSTAGRAM
This experience convinced her to become a Mormon missionary.
Rebekah’s friends were sent to other countries for their missions and Lancashire would not have been their first choice.
When she found out she wasn’t going abroad, she hid her phone and refused to look at it. “I was a little bitter for a few days,” she says.
Rebekah and her fellow missionaries spent two weeks at the England Missionary Training Center on the grounds of the Great Mormon Temple in Chorley.
There she learned how to recruit new believers by writing a book called Preach My Gospel! used, which lays out the foundations of the faith of the Church. They were also taught how to stick to a tight work schedule using an app to plan every minute of their day.
Chorley’s training also teaches missionaries how to use social media to find people to convert by creating targeted Instagram reel videos and Facebook posts. The church expects them to send at least 50 messages per day for potential conversions based on who engaged with or interacted with the posts.
“It was a little weird,” says Rebekah. “You have to be very open about your life and try to get interactions from people. Sometimes you feel like an influencer,” he says.
Posting so much on social media has had a few downsides for Rebekah, including being ridiculed online. She recalls feeling “angry” and “lonely” after someone shared one of her posts with the caption “Psychopaths are back.”
“It made me really sad,” she says. “Little things like that make things really difficult.”
During the mission, internet usage is strictly monitored and strictly limited to missionary work. “Once you’re on your mission, your phone isn’t a source of entertainment, it’s your job,” says Rebekah.
At the Chorley Training Center, missionaries will receive their first associate with whom they will live and spend all of their time. In the course of a quest, they will be assigned to other companions.
Rebekah was initially assigned to live with two roommates in a flat in Wrexham, Wales, which she said was so small the room could only fit two sets of beds. A third missionary sleeping on a mattress on the floor, he says.
“It was really tight. I think I struggled to find my place at first. It was difficult to adjust.”
4 of 5 Missionaries before the premiere of the musical Book of Mormon in Liverpool, England — Photo: BBC Missionaries before the premiere of the musical Book of Mormon in Liverpool, England — Photo: BBC
It can also be difficult to speak to the public on the street or on the phone during an outreach, Rebekah says.
While most people find the missionaries “pretty friendly,” she says some people don’t like them and argue and call them crazy.
Some people on the street also give out friends’ phone numbers for fun, which can result in missionaries being yelled at and verbally abused when they call to make contact.
But Rebekah recalls being given a phone number that she assumed was a hoax, but when she called she found a potential new ally: 19yearold auto mechanic Josh.
“We talked about the Book of Mormon,” says Rebekah, “and from there he just wanted to learn more.”
After five weeks, Josh was baptized in the church.
Back to life after the mission
5 of 5 Church Manchester Mission President Peter Johnson believes missionism is good for young people — Photo: BBC Church Manchester Mission President Peter Johnson believes missionism is good for young people — Photo: BBC
The hardest part of Rebekah’s missionary life was not being able to talk to her friends at home. She also struggled to do anything in her limited free time — at home, she spent a lot of time on her computer or playing Xbox games.
However, there were also positive aspects, like spending months without having to read the news. “I’m really grateful to have had this time away from the world.”
And Rebekah says she’s gained a lot of confidence in her mission. “I think you have to because in those situations you’re thrown to sink or swim.”
Peter Johnson, Church mission president in Manchester, England, responsible for Rebekah and her fellow missionaries, says that strong missionary standards “help young people be more productive.”
“Missionary life is one of discipline, dedication, and focus,” he adds. “But these are the same attributes that they must use throughout their lives, whether at work or at school.”
Now that she’s back to her normal life, Rebekah hopes to study psychology and child development at university.
And she’s still adjusting to life after her time as a Mormon missionary, like being alone again after spending so much time with another church member.
“It’s hard not to have someone by my side all the time. I would go shopping alone and I would feel very bad. It was a strange adjustment getting used to it again.”