Missionaries in Mongolia

At the request of the government of Mongolia, the Church is sending six missionary couples to help the country improve its higher education system.

The six couples assigned to Mongolia were chosen because of their experience and educational preparation, said Elder Monte J. Brough, of the Seventy, president of the Asia Area. They will assist the government and the leaders of Mongolia’s five universities and other professional and technical institutes with policy development and planning, curriculum development, and other related concerns.

“As far as we know, they will be the first missionaries to enter Mongolia,” Elder Brough said. “They are going as missionaries and it is understood that they will be teaching others about our faith and holding Church meetings.”

All of the couples will be based in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, and will work under the direction of the Asia Area presidency.

Mongolia, about the size of the state of Alaska, has a population of 2.1 million, with half of the population under eighteen years of age. The nation’s literacy rate of 90 percent is one of the highest in the world.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Mongolian government sought help in providing many of the services previously provided by the Soviets, including the knowledge of how to run a higher education system.

The missionary couples assigned to Mongolia are trained educators, including a former business college president, a medical doctor responsible for postgraduate studies at a university medical center, a computer science professor, a business professor, a professor of curriculum development and administration, and an educational administrator.