How Follow My Mission works
A missionary writes the weekly email as usual. That email becomes a journal entry. Approved family and friends follow along in one private place, instead of relying on a long forwarded email chain. That is how you share missionary emails with family.
The journal is $49 one time. There is no subscription. Followers follow free with a free account.
Journals stay forever. The church removes the missionary Google account about 60 days after the missionary returns from the mission, so weekly emails kept only in that account can be lost.
From a weekly email to a private journal
A family sets the journal up once, then each weekly email takes its place, and approved people follow along.
Step 1 — Create the journal
The journal is created once. It costs $49 one time. There is no subscription to keep it running.
Step 2 — Add the weekly entry
Each weekly email becomes a journal entry. Entries are unlimited, so a family never has to choose which weeks to keep. What they keep is a missionary weekly email blog in one private place.
Step 3 — Approve who can follow
The journal is private. Only approved followers can follow it. There is no limit on the number of approved followers.
Step 4 — Family and friends follow free
Following costs nothing. Each follower needs a free account.
A simpler missionary email list alternative
A single email list means forwarding chains, people left off by accident, and no single place where the whole mission stays together.
One private journal keeps every weekly entry in one place, controlled by approval, with room for unlimited approved followers.
Started late? Backfill the journal with past emails
A family does not have to start in week one. Past emails can be forwarded or imported to backfill the journal, with no maximum number of past emails.
This works for a mission that is already in progress, and for a mission that is already finished.
There is also no cap on how many photos a journal can hold. Families never have to choose which weeks, letters, or photos to leave out for space.
How past emails, photos, and videos get in
Forward past emails to the missionary's Follow My Mission address. They can be forwarded one at a time, or several in the same message.
If one forwarded email contains several letters, Follow My Mission separates them into individual entries, so each letter lands in its own place in the journal. Letters attached as .eml files are read too.
Photos and videos attached to an email are saved with the entry. If a forwarded email includes a Google Photos link-preview image, that preview is skipped so the originals from the shared album are used instead.
Photos and videos can also come from a Google Photos shared album. A HEIC or HEIF photo from the album is saved as a JPEG. A video stays a video, using the highest playable version available. If an album comes back empty, Follow My Mission tries again right away, then up to three more times, three minutes apart.
| Where photos and videos come from | Photos | Videos | How many at once |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attached to an email | No size check in the app | No size check in the app | Every photo and video on that email |
| Google Photos shared album | Up to 80 MB each | Up to 80 MB each | 8 per pass, then up to 20 more passes in the same follow-up |
Anything over those sizes is skipped. A file that matches one already saved is not saved again.
Parents and delegates can help run the journal
A parent or delegate has the same level of access as the missionary. The person with time to organize entries or approve followers can do so without waiting for the missionary.
The journal stays after the mission ends
Journals stay forever.
The church removes the missionary Google account about 60 days after the missionary returns from the mission. Weekly emails kept only in that account can be lost when the account goes.
What it costs
The journal is $49 one time, with no subscription. Following is free with a free account.
A printed photo book can be ordered later for $119, and it requires the journal. See the photo book for the detail. See full pricing.
Common questions
Do followers need an account?
Yes. Every follower needs a free account. Read the full answer
Can a parent help manage the journal?
Yes. A parent or delegate has the same level of access as the missionary. Read the full answer
Can we add emails from earlier in the mission?
Yes. Past emails can be forwarded or imported to backfill the journal. Read the full answer
