Emma Doty of Nevada and Brielle Anderson of Utah are spending time in the Temple area as part of 18-month missions through the Mormon church. Part of their mission is to use social media to spread the word of God. David Stone photo

DAVID STONE | June 5, 2022

Like 20 year olds across America, Emma and Brielle get up early every morning to workout before hitting the books and heading to work. They also find time for a couple hours on social media.

It appears they live typical lives. But instead of chasing degrees or the almighty dollar, these Mormon missionaries spend their days serving the Lord.

“We start at 6:30 a.m.,” said Sister Emma Doty, a missionary from Las Vegas who has fulfilled about 8 months of her 18-month commitment. “We plan our day, then exercise. Brielle and I both love soccer, and we also enjoy basketball, but my big thing is running. I ran cross country and track in high school. We also use the fitness center at our apartment complex.”

After a brisk workout, the young women hit the textbooks — in this case, The Bible and the Book of Mormon.

“We study and read scriptures,” said Sister Brielle Anderson of Provo, Utah. “Then we leave our apartment at about 10 every morning and go to work. When I committed to my mission, I thought I’d be knocking on a lot of doors. But that’s not something we really do — I think COVID put a stop to that.”

Instead of going door-to-door, Emma and Brielle go to local parks and visit with people. They also volunteer their time in local food pantries and do yard and house work for the area’s elderly residents.

Their day also includes at least two hours of talking and praying with people on Facebook, often in local social media groups such as Our Town Temple.

“That’s part of our mission,” Emma said. “We create social media content and bring people to Christ. We message them or send them voice recordings.”

“I really didn’t expect to use Facebook as a tool,” she said. “But social media is where a lot of people are in their free time.”

Emma and Brielle — and all Mormon missionaries — take Monday’s “off” to prepare for the week. That’s when they do laundry, clean their apartments, go shopping for essentials, play sports and call their families.

“We also try to take in the cultural sites an area has to offer,” Brielle said.

The women — they both attended colleges in Utah before committing to their journeys — are two of about 12 Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints missionaries assigned to the Temple and Belton area.

“We will be here for about six weeks, then we will be called elsewhere in this district,” Emma said.

Britton and Scott Fox, a Tulsa couple living in Pflugerville, are serving a three-year stint as mission leaders for a district that stretches between Waco and San Marcos. Britton said about 200 Mormon missionaries are working the district at any given time. The church leases 75 apartments in the district, and the missionaries stay in the temporary homes.

“We usually have two to four people per apartment,” Britton said. “The missionaries come and go, but the apartments are the same. We also help the missionaries obtain transportation so they can meet people and spread the word of Christ.”

“A lot of what we do as mission leaders is to handle logistics,” she said. “We make sure they have apartments and cars, and we help with their training. They know to call us if something comes up like a medical situation. In a way, we are their substitute Mom and Dad.”

Emma and Brielle met several weeks ago when they were assigned to the same area, and they know they will soon be moving forward on different paths.

Both Emma and Brielle grew up in the Mormon church, but the decisions to become missionaries were their own.

“In high school, I wasn’t sure this was what I wanted to do,” Emma said. “I started college at Utah State, and I decided I wanted to take time off for my calling.”

Brielle also was a sports nut in high school.

“I loved sports and anything to do with being outside,” she said. “I attended Snow College — a local community college — and that’s when I made my decision to do this. My parents were very supportive, but it was solely my decision.”

As of today, Brielle has completed 7 months of her commitment.

When the women — they hadn’t met at the time — made their decisions, they filled out the proper paperwork and waited for their assignments.

“They had no say in the process,” Britton said. “The decision is made for them. They got called to Texas, and were assigned to our district.”

Emma and Brielle both said they love their work.

“The world today is a crazy place and a lot of people are just seeking peace,” Brielle said. “Our biggest objective is to build relationships with the Lord. We strive to help people strengthen that relationship.”

Once their tours are complete, both women plan to return to college in Utah. Brielle plans on becoming a dental hygienist — Emma hasn’t quite determined her next pathway.

“I don’t think I’ve missed out on anything by taking a break from school,” Emma said. “The Lord needed me to do his work, and I’m OK with putting life and college on hold.”

“I will go back to my normal life, but I will continue to represent Christ,” she said. “Just because you take off the name badge, that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to spread His love and gospel. I’ll always share the happiness with others.”

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How many books were in the Temple library in 1900? ANSWER IS AT END OF TODAY’S ISSUE

On this day in 1880, Myra Maybelle (Belle) Shirley Reed, the "Bandit Queen," married her second, or possibly third, husband, Sam Starr, in the Cherokee Nation. Belle Starr was born near Carthage, Missouri, in 1848. During the Civil War her family supported Confederate irregulars such as the raider William Clarke Quantrill. By 1864, after Carthage was burned, the family had migrated to Scyene, Texas, near Dallas. There, in July 1866 Cole, Jim, Bob, and John Younger and Jesse James, Missouri outlaws who had ridden with Quantrill, used the Shirley home as a hideout. Her first husband, Jim Reed, became involved with the Younger, James, and Starr gangs, which killed and looted throughout Texas, Arkansas, and the Indian Territory. After Jim Reed was killed by a deputy sheriff at Paris, Texas, in 1874, Belle may have married Bruce Younger. If that relationship existed, it soured before she married Sam Starr. Belle and Sam Starr were later charged with horse stealing, and she received two six-month prison terms. In 1886 she was acquitted of yet another charge of horse theft, but in the meantime her husband and an Indian policeman had shot each other to death. Belle Starr subsequently took several lovers, including Jim July (or Jim Starr), Blue Duck, Jack Spaniard and Jim French. In 1889, while Starr was living in the Choctaw Nation, near the Canadian River, an unknown assassin killed her from ambush with a shotgun.

TODAY’S TEMPLE TRIVIA ANSWER: In 1900 the Temple library boasted 200 books.