I just turned 19 and was wondering if anyone on here was LDS or knew anyone who was and if they were able to go on a Mormon mission or if it would just be too difficult being that your meals are all provided by other LDS members.....if anyone could help me out or give me advice i would appreciate it.

Hey Stud1717
I'm LDS, but unfortunately I do not know the Church's take on those with Celiac. My brother served his mission before he found out he had Celiac. My best suggestion would be to talk to your Bishop and see if he can give you any insight. I'll see if I can't ask other Celiacs around here at BYU-I and get their suggestions/insight. I wish you the best of luck. You can email me at WIL02086@byui.edu if you need any other help or would just like another lds celiac to talk to. Take care
Emily

I haven't any personal experience here (not being LDS, my best friend is though ) But, here's something to consider. My son wants to be an exchange student next year, but he has the same issues going. We've been working with the organization and they believe sending him to a country that is aware of celiac disease is a workable option. Because of certain rules (it has to be a country that speaks a different language from our native language) we're all pushing for Italy. In your case, could you speak with someone that might be able to direct your mission toward Italy or England? Like I said, just something to consider.

Good luck!

thanxs a bunch guys, and emily yes please do if you find out about any celiac missionaries please let me know

Hey Dude,

I served an LDS mission but did not know I was celiac at the time. I was aware tho of milk allergies hypoglycemia and here's how it went:

The MTC was very accomodating. The head cook knew me well and would make me any dish I wanted or buy me anything from any store/ health food store and have it ready by whatever time I asked him to. He set aside a shelf in the kitchens where I could access the soy and rice milk he bought for me. This was pretty amazing as there were how many thousands of missionaries there he had to take care of...

The mission was ugh.. ..could have been a lot better if I had known what I was up against (celiac). If I had known, I would have made arrangements with members who cooked dinner for us to cook gluten-free or simply bowed out of dinners and cooked for myself. WHile I enjoyed getting to know the members over dinner, it wasn't worth the price my gut paid, if you know what I mean. I went stateside so we had dinners scheduled EVERY night. The RS was usually more than willing to accomodate any food prefferences or allergies in the English wards, but in the Spanish speaking wards/branches, the folks were generally less educated about ingredient lists and food in general ("but it's NOT wheat Sister, it's white bread, see?").

My husband went to Russia and they never had a meal cooked by the members because the members were so poor. You would need supplemental $$$ from your family tho bc eating brands you can trust (there's no FDA in Russia is expensive over there.

My point is, you can do it. It's just a matter of 1.) being educated yourself - what can you buy for yourself, how to prepare, or eat straight from the can, etc. 2.) educate your bishop, and stake pres. Specify your special needs on your papers before you send them in. Stake Presidents are allowed to make recommendations for where to send you based on stuff like this. 3.) Get to know the head cook at the MTC. If you need to, also educate your branch pres at the MTC. Wives of the presidency enjoyed bringing me food from the Outside World now and then. 4.) Educate your mission president and comps. That ought to do it. Oh, and don't be afraid to stick up for yourself. If dinners with members are still getting you sick despite your educating everyone who'll listen, graciously cancel all dinners at members' houses. Be sure to visit them anyway, just don't eat there!

Good luck!

Hi! Iam an LDS mom and would encourage you to make your concerns known to your bishop. Celiac is not an out for doing things you want to do. I know that I would welcome a missionary with Celiac. He/She would have dinner every night and maybe lunch and breakfast, too. We are everywhere. We will help you. Keep the faith. You can do this. I'll even mail brownies. Keep me posted.

Hey I am new on the board but have served a mission. I went to Thailand and rarely ate at members homes as they were too poor to feed us. It would be a celiac paradise for you in a lot of ways as they rarely eat bread and have a rice based diet (even their noodles). The food is not so heavily processed like it is here. Eastern Europe would be a gluten nightmare, as would a lot of places, but if the missionary committee is aware of your needs you will be sent to a place where your needs will be accomodated. If you end up speaking a foreign language, you will need to learn to explain your dietary restrictions in that tongue, and people are very understanding. You might even find they go out of their way to find you special gluten-free food items! Go and don't look back. I wouldn't trade my time out for anything in the world.

I definitely think it's do-able. I'm an LDS Mom and my daughter is the one with Celiacs. We fed the missionaries all the time and I remember one missionary with major food allergies that just handed out a list of foods he could have and couldn't have and we just all did our best. South America would be a good place to be called - lots of rice & beans.

Talk to your bishop! What do you do now about sacrament bread?

i just wanted to say that i am LDS too! there was a sister missonary that came here with celiac, but we never had the chance to feed her and her companion (3 people in my family with celiac). i think that it could be done. i have another question what do u guys do about the sacrament bread, we have another lady in our ward with celiac who makes bread for us and they bless it for us and pass it out in a seperate tray. is any one else on here an lds teen or close to age?

I am not LDS, but there is a thread on the meeting room ("Anyone in Utah?"), and there are lots of folks there who would also have advice and help...I definitely think you should go for it. Having to deal with the food issues adds a whole new dimension to your mission....what a chance to learn and grow for yourself.

I think the folks above said it all...just be open and honest.

I wish I knew I couldn't eat gluten when I was on my mission in France. I was sick (plus depression) a lot of my mission. That's all changed now I'm on the diet. There's actually 4 of us (in a ward of 150) who are gluten free and we sit together and have our own tray for Sacrament (rice bread for the other 3 and bread made from bananas for me - can't eat rice).
I travel a lot and it would really depend where you go on how easy it is to manage the diet.