Fifty years ago as he closed the April 1959 general conference, President David O. McKay twice pronounced the phrase "every member a missionary." That simple, four-word statement immediately thrust missionary work into the consciousness of the general church membership and has since thrived over the past half-century as an oft-repeated reminder.

"I think it was revolutionary, because the members of the church up until that time had felt no responsibility for missionary work," said Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve, recalling that the full-time missionaries — comprised mostly of young men — did virtually all of the proselyting work of that day, with little involvement from the members.

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