Ursula Gamble of West Valley City, however, said she enjoyed her time at the training center before embarking on two of her three missions. It helped prepare her, she said, to spend 24 hours a day with the young female "companions" she was assigned to.

"It was a truly wonderful experience," Gamble said. "It was so neat. I was touched by the spirit all the time."

"Mature missionaries" — married couples, widowed women or single female adults — make up a small fraction of the church's missionary force that numbers 56,237 worldwide.

But their unique abilities make them invaluable to the missionary program, said returned missionary Margaret Taylor of Salt Lake City, because they bring a life of experience with them.

Unlike their youthful counterparts, adult missionaries are allowed certain freedoms, like taking naps during the day — if they manage to find time. They are also allowed to request special missionary assignments, like working at an LDS temple or administering humanitarian aid.

No matter where they are going, Graham said the senior missionaries will receive excellent preparation at the MTC — including the added bonus of interacting with the younger missionaries and vice versa.

Still, Graham dreams of a day when the MTC won't be able to house all the senior missionaries due to increasing numbers.

"We wish there were more because we need them," he said. "We need them so badly."

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E-mail: lwarner@desnews.com