What makes a great pre-mission gift
A missionary packs light and lives out of two bags for a year and a half or more. The gifts that matter share three traits: they’re useful daily, they’re personal enough to carry the sender’s voice, and they survive heavy use. Journals, quality garments-adjacent basics, a good camera, and prepaid calls home all qualify. But the gift missionaries mention years later is almost always a set of scriptures tied to the people who sent them out.
Why a personalized Book of Mormon is the keepsake
A missionary opens the Book of Mormon every single day of their service. When the first pages of that book hold their mission call, a letter from mom and dad, family photos, and their patriarchal blessing, daily study starts with a reminder of who they are and who sent them. That’s what the Called to Serve edition was built for: the complete text of the Book of Mormon with mission-preparation study threads, themed verse highlights, a study guide, and original line art — plus your own pages bound into the book itself, not tucked loose inside the cover.
- A cover with their name and a subtitle (“Elder Sorensen · Argentina Buenos Aires North”).
- Up to 20 of your own pages printed and bound in: the mission call, letters, photos, their patriarchal blessing.
- Themed highlights and study threads chosen for missionary preparation — the references a new missionary reaches for in lessons.
- Optional notes and markings printed throughout the text, so a parent’s testimony sits beside the verses that taught it.
Timing: order before the farewell
Every book is printed to order and proofed page by page before printing — you’ll approve exactly what ships. Plan on about two weeks from proof approval to delivery, so ordering three to four weeks before the farewell or setting-apart leaves comfortable room. If the departure is sooner, a gift card lets the missionary (or their family) build it themselves and have it sent to the mission home.
What it costs
The base 6×9 edition is $69 with shipping included. A hardcover linen cover adds $5, a custom cover $5, bound-in uploads $10, and notes-throughout $10 — a fully loaded large-format build tops out at $114. There’s one price on the page and no shipping surprise at checkout.
For the companion gift-givers
Grandparents, aunts and uncles, and ward members often want to contribute without duplicating the family’s gift. Gift cards cover either the base set or any fully customized build, and several families split one customized book — one person buys, everyone sends a letter or a photo for the bound-in pages. One book, every voice in it.