Elder Bangerter (left) and Elder Rogers (right) are two LDSTech Church service missionaries serving in the Church's Information and Communication Services (ICS) department.

Elder Joshua Bangerter, like many LDS young men, always knew he wanted to serve a mission. And, like many LDS young men with a medical condition, he still had the desire to serve – no matter what.

“Once I was released from full-time service, I met with my bishop the second day home to see what options were available for Church Service missionaries,” he said. “He suggested I go to work in the temple, which I did, and then I was directed to Alan Smoot, who suggested I come serve within the ICS Department.”

During the seven months he has served in the Riverton Office Building as a quality assurance assistant, Elder Bangerter has found working for the ICS Department has brought many blessings into his life. For example, with a desire to become an electrical engineer, serving a mission within the ICS Department is helping him prepare for his career.

“I find serving in the ICS Department has helped me develop my ability to both build relationships with others in a business setting and expand my knowledge of technology, both of which I feel are not strengths of mine. Thanks to my mission and the people I’m surrounded by, I’ve been able to strengthen those weaknesses in ways I feel will benefit me greatly in the future," Elder Bangerter says.

Having learned what to look for when properly testing an application has given him the ability to wrap his brain around a product, he says. Among the 10+ projects he has served on during his service here, his favorite experiences have been testing the Gospel Library for the Android and testing LDSTools for Blackberry. But the most rewarding, he says, is the privilege to be in contact with volunteers from around the world.

“Since the beginning of the year, I’ve had the opportunity to speak weekly with the volunteer project leads of about 30 individual projects who give of their time and talents in testing various programs. It’s such a blessing seeing how many hours are served and dollars saved in the Church through their volunteer work each week.”

With less than a month left before being released, Elder Bangerter is adamant about how he has been blessed when it comes to learning about technology. He hopes to take these teachings and apply them to building up the Church as a member.

“I’ve gained a testimony of technology and how the Lord directs it for the spreading of His Gospel. There are so many good things about technology that are hidden by the bad that people may think technology is evil. But I’ve found there are many ways to use technology to benefit all of God’s children in forwarding His Work. Whether it’s indexing or anything else technology related, it’s become evident that technology benefits people, especially as the leaders of the Church emphasize the need to learn about it and how to use it to help others.”

About Church service missions

Church Service missionaries come in all ages and with a variety of skill sets, with each one being screened by LDSTech for technical skills and experience before being given an ICS assignment. This ensures each missionary is assigned a project that he or she is qualified to work on.

Integrating LDSTech missionaries into ICS projects allows the ICS workforce scale to meet the growing human resource needs and to more effectively hasten the Work. We have a lot of work to do, and many willing, qualified helpers from the community.

If you have any questions about LDSTech missionaries, contact Elder David Sierakowski, LDSTech Zone Leader, at Sierakowski@ldschurch.org or ldstech-mission@ldschurch.org. You can also call him at 361-648-6481.

For more information, see Church-service missionary opportunities with LDSTech.