All About Mormons

Missionary Work

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has over 5,000 service missionaries (another site said 3,000) that work without pay to aid the poor.
(Accurate as of ~2003.)

61,000 proselytizing missionaries in over 300 missions in 165 countries work without pay.

Aside from providing service missionaries, the Church also has 61,000 proselytizing missionaries in over 300 missions in 165 countries, distinct from those mentioned above, that also work without pay. Trained in 17 missionary training centers scattered across the globe, these proselytizing missionaries provide those who are seeking God with more information about our beliefs. 93% of LDS missionaries are college-age, and 22% are female. Proselytizing missionaries are instructed to donate half a day each week doing non-proselytizing community service. ()

• Some are offended by this missionary program, likely because they confuse our religion with others that proselytize more aggressively.
• Missionaries are instructed not to aggressively force their beliefs on others but instead to find and teach those interested in our message. While an occasional missionary many erroneously fail to follow this instruction, most follow it closely.
• 

  Missionaries: An Introduction
  Truth be told, this missionary activity is probably the most impressive of our humanitarian programs. I personally know of many individuals who were seeking God and whose spiritual lives have been forever enriched because a missionary left the comfort of his home to share something that had brought him great joy. Some of the experiences I had as a missionary illustrate this point. Please see my personal essays entitled The Prayer, The Chain, The German, Whisperings of the Spirit, The Sacrifice, and The Real Difference.

If you’re interested in gaining a further glimpse into the mind of a missionary, I’ve also written other mission-related personal essays that might interest you. They are entitled Diadema, The Master and the Message, Little ones, and I’m a Hero and I Know it.
(Accurate as of ~2003.)