Essay

Worthiness, Identity, and Missionary Service

Maybe you want to serve a mission but wonder whether something you experience makes you less qualified to represent Jesus Christ. What if I experience same-sex attraction? What if I have gender dysphoria? Do I need those feelings to go away before I can serve? Will telling my bishop automatically close the door?

Those are sincere questions, and it helps to separate things the Church itself separates. Experiencing same-sex attraction is not a sin and does not, by itself, make you unworthy to serve a mission. The Church has specifically described missionary service as a possibility for a worthy person who experiences same-sex attraction. Gender dysphoria is a different circumstance, and the Church says feelings of gender incongruence are “not a measure of your faithfulness.” Because circumstances involving gender can vary, however, questions about missionary service should be discussed honestly with your bishop and stake president.

The larger principle is important: a mission is not reserved for people who have reached mortality without complicated feelings, temptations, questions, health concerns, or weaknesses. Missionaries are disciples who are choosing to follow Jesus Christ, live His commandments, repent when needed, and offer themselves to His work.

What Does the Lord Look for in Someone Who Wants to Serve?

Doctrine and Covenants 4 was given in 1829 when Joseph Smith Sr. wanted to know what the Lord would have him do as the Restoration was beginning. The Lord answered, “If ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work,” and then named qualities such as faith, hope, charity, love, and an eye single to God’s glory (Doctrine and Covenants 4:3–5).

That verse does not mean everyone who desires to serve will receive the same missionary assignment. It does tell us something important about what the Lord is developing in His servants. He is interested in your faith, desires, character, obedience, and willingness to give yourself to Him.

That helps clarify the question about same-sex attraction. The Church’s current Same-Sex Attraction topic explicitly distinguishes attraction from behavior. Experiencing same-sex attraction or identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual is not a sin and does not prevent a worthy member from making covenants, holding callings, or attending the temple. The law of chastity governs how all disciples use their sexual powers, whatever the direction of their attractions.

Your Feelings Are Part of Your Mortal Experience, Not the Whole of Your Identity

The Family: A Proclamation to the World places this question inside a much larger understanding of who you are. You are a beloved son or daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and destiny. You lived before mortality, came here to receive a body and exercise agency, and are learning through Jesus Christ to make covenants and become more like God. The proclamation also teaches that gender is an essential characteristic of premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

That matters if you experience gender dysphoria. The Church acknowledges that some people experience a conflict between their inner sense of gender and their biological sex at birth, and it does not teach that the persistence of those feelings means you lack faith. What remains within your agency is how you respond to what you experience and whether you continue seeking to align your life with God.

Ty Learned to See His Life Differently

Latter-day Saint therapist and teacher Ty Mansfield has spoken openly for years about experiencing same-sex attraction.

In this short clip,Ty talks about understanding same-sex attraction within a Latter-day Saint framework rather than allowing one part of mortal experience to explain everything about a person. His life has continued to involve real questions and choices, but his faith has given those experiences a larger context:

Ty’s experience illustrates something useful for a prospective missionary: you do not have to wait until every question about yourself has disappeared before you begin becoming useful to God.

What Christ teaches about who He calls

The Savior’s pattern of calling is striking: He chose ordinary, struggling people and trusted them with His work. When He called Peter — who would soon weep over his own weakness — He simply said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Service is part of how the Lord finishes us. That same Apostle Peter later taught that “God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” (Acts 10:34–35).

And Paul, who carried his own private “thorn in the flesh” (which was never specified), learned that Christ’s grace is “sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). A missionary who carries a quiet struggle is not less qualified to testify of that grace — often he understands it more deeply, because he has needed it more.

President Nelson Taught Young Adults Where Identity Begins

President Russell M. Nelson gave young adults an especially helpful way to think about this. In “Choices for Eternity,” he taught that your three most important identifiers are “child of God,” “child of the covenant,” and “disciple of Jesus Christ.” President Nelson warned against allowing another label (like LGBT) displace those eternal truths.

That teaching does more than tell you what label to use. Being a child of God tells you where you came from. Being a child of the covenant tells you the relationship you have chosen with Him. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ tells you something about what you are becoming.

What Does Worthiness Actually Mean?

The Church publishes the questions used to interview prospective missionaries. If you experience same-sex attraction and are living the law of chastity, the attraction itself is not something you need to repent of. If there are sexual choices you need to repent of, you can repent just as any other prospective missionary can. Jesus Christ gave us repentance so His disciples can be cleansed, changed, and prepared to move forward.

When Shame Starts Answering the Question for You

Once you understand the doctrine, you can recognize a few messages that can quietly distort this question. One is that a strong sexual feeling or inner sense of gender must become the controlling explanation of who you are and therefore determine how you should live.

Satan uses confusion to prevent spiritual growth and mission service. Shame can persuade you to hide from God and priesthood leaders; reducing identity to mortal feelings can persuade you to distrust what God has revealed about your eternal nature. The better path is honest discipleship—telling the truth about what you experience while also allowing revealed truth, covenants, and the Holy Ghost to teach you what those experiences mean.

Research Helps Us See Why Belonging Matters

Research can help us understand something about the importance of connection to a faith community. In a study of 308 of Latter-day Saints, who either experienced or resolved their feelings of same-sex attraction or gender confusion, researchers found that among participants who were current Church members, a stronger sense of belonging within the Church was associated with lower depression. It suggests that meaningful religious belonging can matter for people navigating both faith and sexual orientation.

That has a practical implication for missionary preparation. You need people with whom you can be truthful—parents, trusted friends, Church leaders, and, when helpful, wise professional support.

A Few Questions Worth Thinking About

• Have I begun to assume that experiencing same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria tells me whether God can use me?
• When I think about missionary service, am I focusing mostly on whether I fit an imagined missionary mold, or on becoming a worthy, capable disciple of Jesus Christ?
• Is there anything I am withholding from Heavenly Father or my bishop because I am afraid that honesty will automatically mean rejection?
• Which identity has been shaping my decisions most strongly lately: child of God, child of the covenant, disciple of Christ—or something else?

What Can You Do This Week?

Begin by reading Doctrine and Covenants 4 slowly. Instead of only asking, Can I serve? notice the qualities the Lord asks His servants to develop, and ask Him which of those qualities He wants you to strengthen now.

Then make an appointment with your bishop if you have questions about your own circumstances. Tell him honestly what you experience, how you are living, and why you want to serve.

Finally, listen to President Nelson’s “Choices for Eternity” during a walk or drive. Pay attention to what he teaches about identity, covenants, agency, and your divine future. Then ask Heavenly Father how missionary service might fit into the person He is helping you become.

If you desire to serve, bring that desire to Jesus Christ. Let Him help you become worthy, honest, prepared, spiritually strong, and willing to receive whatever direction comes. You do not need to have every mortal difficulty resolved before Christ can work through you. You need to keep turning toward Him—and if missionary service becomes part of your path, you can go to teach about a Savior whose grace you have already begun to know for yourself.