Review
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Title: Three Mormon Missions (Sisters)
Author: Terry Cook
Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services: Raleigh, NC
Genre: Religion & Spirituality
Year Published: 2016
Number of Pages: 165
Binding: softcover
ISBN10: n/a
ISBN13: 978-1-4834-5122-0
Price: $9.00 / Kindle $4.99
Reviewed by Elizabeth W. Roach for the Association for Mormon Letters
What would three young adult women, Jessica Mitchell, daughter of a United States Senator from Utah, Christy Beck, from Charlotte, North Carolina, and Angela Johnson from Burley, Idaho have in common? Not much except that they all receive calls to serve as LDS sister missionaries far from home and their comfort zones. Their experiences are chronicled by Terry Cook in “Three Mormon Missions (Sisters)”, as he shares the excitement of preparing and waiting for a call, and the mixed emotions that come along with accepting the call. They have different needs and gifts and experience their missions in very different ways, each learning unique lessons meant for their personal growth. Cook chose to highlight situations that are common across many mission experiences. I certainly could relate to several scenes.
Reading “Three Mormon Missions (Sisters)” brought back floods of memories from when I served as a sister missionary. I remember a lawn chair set up by the mailbox for about two weeks while waiting for the mail carrier to bring that long white envelope. I remember wavering between elation and sheer terror at the thought of going abroad and speaking a new language with a people I knew very little about. There were bittersweet moments when saying goodbye and knowing family members may not be alive or friends may have moved on by the time I returned, then more bittersweet moments doing it again before returning home.
That time was full of the beginning and closing of chapters in life. Cook overlaps and alternates relating the three sisters’ chapters so they go through the stages of mission life together. Each passes through defining moments, triumphs, self-doubt, and searing conflict. There are funny, heartwarming, and endearing scenes.
In Cook’s stories, just as in a real mission, things do not go perfectly every day. Sometimes the Lord lets us struggle to grow. Each missionary accepts her call and then needs to accept what her mission entails. The book also explores the questions of “Why does God not answer my prayers, the way I want Him to, when I want Him to?” and “If I am trying to do everything right, why am I still having problems?
For readers not familiar with Latter-day Saint terms, Cook includes a glossary in the back to explain the Missionary Training Center, the difference between an elder, a bishop, a general authority, etc. There is also one storyline that includes international intrigue and conflict with the drug cartels, so there are a few surprises that keep readers engaged throughout the book. (Wait, was that a spoiler? Don’t re-read that last sentence.)
“Three Mormon Missions (Sisters)” is the second novel in a series that started with elders and will have a third volume highlighting senior missionary experiences. It is an enjoyable read to live out or re-live some missionary moments. I am really grateful for the time and dedication Cook has shown to bringing this book from the idea stage to a published book where we can share in the tears and triumphs of these three faithful young women. I am looking forward to the next installment.