Stories & Guides
The Journal
What to Write in Your Mission Journal: A Week-by-Week Guide
A mission goes fast. Here's how to make sure you record the parts that matter — the lessons, the people, the quiet moments between.
March 15, 2026 · 8 min read
How to Choose the Right Leather Journal for Your Mission
Not all leather journals are created equal. Here's what to look for — and what to avoid — when choosing a journal that will survive two years of daily use.
February 28, 2026 · 6 min read
The Best Gifts for a Missionary (From Someone Who Actually Cares)
Skip the plastic. Give something that will be carried, worn in, and treasured long after the mission is done.
February 10, 2026 · 5 min read
How to Care for a Genuine Leather Journal
Leather is a living material. Here's how to keep your journal looking beautiful and aging gracefully for decades.
January 20, 2026 · 4 min read
Why Handwritten Journals Still Matter
In a world of screens, there is still something irreplaceable about putting pen to paper. The science, the history, and the personal case for writing by hand.
January 5, 2026 · 7 min read
A Letter to the Bishop Sending Missionaries
You're about to send someone into the hardest, holiest thing they've ever done. Here's how to make the send-off matter — and give them something they'll carry home.
March 28, 2026 · 7 min read
What Your Mission Journal Will Mean in 20 Years
You can't see it now. But the journal you're writing in today will become one of the most important things you own. Here's why returned missionaries say the same thing.
March 22, 2026 · 6 min read
How to Start a Journaling Tradition in Your Ward
A practical guide for bishops, Relief Society presidents, and Young Men/Young Women leaders who want to build a culture of record-keeping in their congregation.
March 18, 2026 · 6 min read
Scripture Study and Journaling: How Writing Deepens What You Read
Reading scripture is good. Writing about what you read changes everything. A practical guide to journaling your way through the word of God.
March 10, 2026 · 7 min read
What I Wish I'd Written Down: Advice from Returned Missionaries
We asked returned missionaries — 2 years out and 20 years out — what they wish they'd recorded during their missions. Their answers might surprise you.
March 5, 2026 · 8 min read
The Gift a Bishop Can Give That Lasts Forever
You'll serve for five years, maybe less. But what you put in a missionary's hands on their last Sunday in the ward can outlast everything else you do in your calling.
February 18, 2026 · 5 min read