Missionary work is a key part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and, for full-time missionaries Elder Brooks Johnson and Elder Bodhi Chivers, it is all about serving the church and the wider community.

Members of the church are required to perform two years of full-time missionary work between the ages of 18 and 25, which generally takes place in another country and involves working in pairs, proselytising and performing community service.

Elder Chivers grew up on the Sunshine Coast and is nine months into his two-year mission. He told Orange City Life how he serves Orange in this role.

“We look for ways all the time to help others, whether it’s mowing the lawn for someone who may need it done, or if there’s a community garden we will do service,” Elder Chivers said.

“Spiritually, we go out proselytising and invite people to learn and come along to see what the gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ is actually like.”

Elder Chivers told Orange City Life he believes the Church of Jesus Christ community in the region is growing.

“It feels just like how plants don’t grow much over winter, but now the sun has come out and they are beginning to bloom,” he said.

“Across the district – in Cowra, Mudgee and Dubbo – the members are really excited about the new people that are coming in and exploring, asking ‘what is this place?’ and ‘how can what they teach help me?’”

Elder Chivers said he was new to the Church of Jesus Christ and that his service was about giving back for the missionaries who changed his life.

“Two years prior to this, I wasn’t going to church, so I’m fairly new. I’m grateful to missionaries for bringing me the gospel, for bringing that light into my life, and that is why I serve; I want to do that for someone else,” he concluded.

Elder Johnson comes from Memphis, Tennessee, in the US, and is 13 months into his service. He told Orange City Life he was excited for the opportunity to travel internationally as part of his mission.

“First of all, I was super excited. I had never been out of the US before,” Elder Johnson said.

“When I got to Australia, the seasons were different, but there were some similarities. Australia has been great.”

Elder Johnson told Orange City Life that missionaries rotate every six to 18 weeks between towns. He said he was new to Orange, having only been in the Colour City for two days at the time of the interview.

Elder Johnson and Elder Chivers had previously served together in Goulburn, before being reunited in Orange. For Elder Johnson, serving others brings a sense of peace and love, for the people he helps and for himself.

“I love helping other people. It is where I find peace, and where I find I can feel Jesus Christ’s love and God’s love for everybody,” Elder Johnson said.

“Being able to spend two years helping people experience a change in their lives, to be there with them, as a small part of their story, helping them have a better life is really awesome.”

Elder Johnson and Elder Chivers were undecided about what they will do after their missions, saying Church of Jesus Christ missionaries typically return to a “normal life” – including study, work or starting a family – while continuing to serve the church in other ways.

“We like to say everyone in the church is a missionary,” Elder Chivers said.

Missionary service in the church is unpaid and fully self-funded. Both missionaries told Orange City Life they had saved thousands of dollars over multiple years to fund their missions.

Elder Johnson said he had tried Vegemite, telling Orange City Life he didn’t immediately take to it, but with some encouragement, it has grown on him.

“At first I didn’t like it, but once someone told me it’s meant to be salty, it just clicked and now I love it!” Elder Johnson said.