New LDS Utah St. George Mission leaders: Seeking and Expecting Miracles

Meet President Kevin D. Staples and Sister Sonja Staples—the new mission leaders of the Utah St. George Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—and their family of five. On June 29, 2022, the Staples family arrived in St. George, Utah from Kalamazoo, Michigan to embark on a journey most families never get to experience.

The Utah St. George Mission covers a large geographic area. It takes in the area south of the Utah Provo Mission, which extends south from Provo to Nephi and Price. From there, the mission extends south to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, then west to the Milford/Minersville area and east to Escalante. The Utah St. George Mission is comprised of 66 stakes and seven Coordinating Councils within the mission boundaries. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Coordinating Council is a geographic area comprised of 8 to 10 stakes. There are four Coordinating Councils in Washington County which includes Mesquite, Nevada, and Kane County, as well as one coordinating council in Iron County, one in Richfield, and one in Manti. The presidency mission is made up of President Staples and his two counselors who are Dennis Leavitt from St. George and Rob Wankier from Cedar City.

There are currently 127 full-time missionaries making up 63 mission companionships serving throughout the Utah St. George Mission, along with about a dozen senior couples. The Utah St. George Mission is made up of missionaries from all over the world. Most of the missionaries serving in the Utah St. George Mission hail from the USA and Canada. The missionaries who live furthest from St. George will be two missionaries who will arrive from Germany in January 2023. The closest missionary is from South Jordan, Utah. The St. George Visitors’ Center is the counterpart to the mission and includes sister missionaries who are called to serve at the St. George Temple Visitors’ Center for 3-4 hour shifts a day. However, the sisters serving outside of St. George serve as proselyting missionaries. There are several French-speaking missionaries and about 38 Spanish-speaking missionaries.

The story of how the Staples family began their mission journey to St. George has many twists and turns…and miracles. Most mission leader assignments get extended to new leaders in September of each year. Then, each leader is given his/her respective mission assignment at the beginning of the following year with a start date of July 1 in their assigned area. While this is the norm, the Staples assignment is anything but normal. You see, their mission call was originally issued back in 2019, when they were first interviewed and assigned to serve as mission leaders of the Russia St. Petersburg Mission. Because President Staples had served a proselytizing mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a young man in the Ukraine Kyiv Mission from 1995 to 1997, he had knowledge of the Russian language and culture. Sister Staples also served a proselytizing mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Paraguay Asuncion Mission learning Spanish. The Staples’ service was much needed in Russia. Over the next few months, the Staples family began their preparation to serve in Russia, studying the language and buying clothing for the family for a much colder climate. According to Sister Staples, it was through the many months studying the language and learning about these special people, that she felt an overwhelming spirit confirming this is where they were to serve, to love the people with whom she wouldn’t easily be able to communicate, and amongst whom she had never lived.

As COVID settled in, it became apparent that the July 1, 2020, start date for their full-time church missionary service would possibly not happen. As they saw many of the other new mission leaders leave the virtual seminar for New Mission Leaders in late June 2020 to head off to their assignments, there were feelings of uncertainty. The Russian consulate was still not accepting new visa applications and there was no sign of when it would again. As the days became weeks and weeks became months, the Staples’ experienced a roller coaster of emotions.

February 9, 2021, marked an especially challenging day for the Staples. They were released from their Mission Leader call by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf because of the pandemic, and he promised them all the blessings they would have received had they been able to faithfully complete their full 3-year mission. It was hard for the Staples to realize that—out of all the 134 mission presidents called in 2020—they were the only ones who could not physically get to their assigned mission.

On August 16, 2021 they received a call from Elder Gary Stevenson’s secretary who had interviewed them before their call to Russia. The Staples were willing to be called again to serve, but they did not know exactly what the Lord’s will was for them yet. Two weeks later, they were able to talk to President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he extended a call to the Staples again to serve as Mission Leaders. They were so excited, but this time they had to wait until December to get their mission assignment, which felt like forever since they only had to wait 10 days the first time they were called. They had no idea where they would be serving, but as they waited for their assignment, they were blessed to meet with over 10 general authorities and get acquainted with them and their amazing spirits during this time.

Finally, the waiting ended when they had the precious opportunity to open their new mission assignment in early December 2021. They did not get called again to St. Petersburg, Russia. Instead, this time, it was to St. George, Utah! Both Staples’ feel that St. George is the place for them to live and serve right now, and Sister Staples has a long list of blessings that she has seen from being asked to serve in St. George, Utah. Many of these experiences would not have happened in the manner they did had their family left when they were originally scheduled to depart for Russia.

So, here we are, three years after the date that the Staples family was to begin serving, and they are not in Russia. But the miracles have been countless along the way. One miracle is that because of this delay in assignment, they had the opportunity to experience the “virtual MTC” in their home for 2 months with their 20-year-old son Kamren prior to his full-time mission service in the California Riverside Mission -Spanish speaking. Having that MTC experience with him of feeling the spirit and seeing his growth may not have happened had they been in Russia. They enjoyed the blessing of watching him grow on his mission and focusing on his service and not their own.

Another blessing for the Staples is their oldest daughter Ashleigh’s missionary service. Despite the plan for her family to go to Russia in 2020, Ashleigh felt prompted to move to Utah for her senior year of high school and to live with cousins ​​who were attending BYU. She attended her Michigan high school virtually. Following graduation, Ashleigh was accepted to BYU-Provo and surprised the family in October 2021 with her plans to serve a mission. She began her missionary service May 2022 and is currently serving in the Vancouver Washington Mission.

Yet another blessing or “miracle” that came because of their mission delay was their daughter Brynn’s ability to have an X-Ray to see how her mild “monitor-case” scoliosis was doing after not having had a scan for some time. To their surprise, Brynn’s scoliosis had progressed to a severe diagnosis (7 months after they were to be in Russia). Because they were still in the US, they had the opportunity to treat her scoliosis with a variety of approaches that prevented surgery.

Like most families, the Staples children are involved in school activities, have friends, and attend local schools. They all say they love St George, and they are excited to be here. The Staples are involved in their young children’s lives and activities. When they attend tennis matches, band concerts, or other of their children’s events, they are just like any other parent enjoying one another’s company and supporting them in the things they love to do. However, at times they may be seen at an event wearing their missionary badges while representing the Church but focused at the moment on their children. When they are with their children, whether it be swimming or playing pickleball, they are parents first and foremost.

Since arriving just a few months ago, 16-year-old Brynn Staples, who’s a sophomore attending Dixie High School, made the girls tennis team, is loving her classes and is planning to start attending cosmetology school soon. The biggest difference she noticed right away is that St. George is “hot” compared to Michigan where they used to live. The Staples’ son Andrew, 13, attends Dixie Middle School and enjoys playing the piano and trombone, loves to read and play pickleball, which he plays with his older neighbors and family at a nearby pickleball court. Conner, 11, attends Tonaquint Intermediate and enjoys Legos, soccer, and is playing the trumpet in the school band. The Staples also have the two older children who are not living at home currently. Kamren, 21, recently returned from his mission to Riverside, CA and is currently enlisted in the Marine Corps. He just recently graduated from Special Forces Basic Reconnaissance Course Training, and is currently stationed at Camp Pendleton with a 3-year assignment and their daughter Ashleigh, 19, continues to serve a full-time mission in Vancouver, Washington.

President Staples says his background as an engineer and team manager has helped him in his current mission assignment. He says he loves numbers and, is very analytical and detail oriented. According to President Staples, “I also worked not just as an engineer, but I managed a number of teams and engineers at work, and I really feel this assignment has prepared me for this mission, and it is going to prepare me for the future .”

As far as current mission goals are concerned, the Staples are continuing to carry on with the goal of their predecessors, which is to build lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. According to President Staples, “That is the primary goal and focus for these young missionaries. That is very individual-focused—and not necessarily missionary work—but will be the greatest blessing for them.” Other inspired mission goals are seeking and expecting miracles, serving others, and bringing individuals and families to Christ.

In reflecting on the blessings and miracles that have brought the Staples family to their current circumstances, Sister Staples testified that as we reflect on our lives, we will see God’s guiding hand everywhere, we will see His blessings, His power, and His love. We may not understand why things happen, but we know it will be for our good. She testifies of God’s love for each of us, as He is in every detail, every trial, every struggle in our lives.

As mission leaders of the Utah St. George Mission, the Staples family is excited to be here and look forward to meeting members of the communities in which they serve.