The missionary spirit has surged forward in the Prescott stake during the past five months after 49 couples accepted calls to serve full-time missions.

Stake Pres. Phillip T. Larson said the callings also revitalized other aspects of missionary work in the stake. He expects that within the year more than 75 couples will be serving.President Howard W. Hunter of the Council of the Twelve, in a recent message, encouraged older couples to accept missionary calls, said Pres. Larson.

"His remarks about the walls we have in our lives that prevent us from accepting calls really is true," said Pres. Larson. "Some couples had tremendous problems. However, with prayer, many of these challenges miraculously faded away."

The calls had an impact on the membership of some congregations. For example, of the 70 active members in the Mayer Branch, 10 are leaving for missions. But leaders are renewing efforts to fill the gaps through missionary and reactivation efforts.

A secondary effect of the increased calls is that more young men are now willing to serve missions, said the stake president. And several couples not able to serve full-time missions are now serving in the Arizona Temple.

The increased number of mission calls for couples in the stake began in September 1990 as Pres. Larson held a regular interview with Bev Neally, a priesthood leader in the Kirkland Branch. "When he came in, the Spirit told me very strongly to ask where his wife, Melba, was," said Pres. Larson. He learned that she was waiting in the car so he invited her in. Then he asked the couple to serve a mission.

"Sister Neally became very emotional and said she had been praying for a call for a long time, but didn't think her husband was in a position to go," said Pres. Larson. However, Brother Neally accepted the call and the couple is now serving in Lingayen, Philippines.

A short time later, before a session of stake conference, Pres. Larson and Elder Alexander B. Morrison of the Seventy, who presided at the conference, agreed to encourage 25 couples to serve full-time missions. Pres. Larson announced their intention in conference, and then sat down and began writing names of those in the congregation whom he felt might be eligible.

"The first night of interviews, I interviewed four people and all four accepted. The next night, the same thing happened. It started to snowball after that and in a matter of a few weeks, 25 couples were called."

He explained that in the interviews, he and a couple would go over various problems in their lives that created "walls" to prevent them from accepting a call. Often, Pres. Larson and the husband would give the wife a blessing, and then he would give the husband a blessing.

"Great things happened," he said. "Homes were sold even in this depressed real estate market. Financial aid came from families and unexpected sources, and even problems with dependent children were solved."

Ray and Marcia Lambson faced the difficulty of caring for her 89-year-old mother. After fasting and prayer, they were able to sell the home of her mother that had been on the market for a long period of time, arrange for her care, and receive the mother's blessing for their full-time mission. They will serve in the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission as public information specialists.