LDS Missionaries Turn to TikTok. Does That Work?

They sing in fields of flowers. They dance in living rooms. They jump ropes and do backflips in open streets. They play guitars and ukuleles. They lip-sync to a Jim Gaffigan shtick and rap to Bible verses, as well as bear testimony and preach from pulpits. What these young people have in common is the iconic black nametag pinned to their chests -- signaling that they are missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- and their desire to disseminate the faith via online platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. It is a new age for Latter-day Saint proselytizing, prompted by internet avenues popular among millennials and Gen Zers and by the pandemic that largely limited the young missionaries to their apartments.