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Reading the archive

The Letter Archive holds every letter and photo a missionary has sent, in one place. It's just for subscribers, so it asks you to confirm your email the first time on a device — but it tries hard to make that a one-time thing.

The easiest way: open it from a letter

Every letter you receive has a link to the archive in its footer. If you open the archive from one of those emails, it usually recognizes you right away — no code, no sign-in.

Bookmark it once and you're set

When you reach the archive from an email link, it can remember your device for a year. Save the page as a bookmark and you can tap it anytime without signing in again.

If it asks you to sign in

If you open the archive on a new phone or computer, it confirms it's really you. You have two easy options:

  1. Type the email address you used to subscribe.
  2. Select Email me a sign-in link.
  3. Open the email and tap the link. You're in.
  1. Type the email address you used to subscribe.
  2. We email you an 8-digit code.
  3. Type the code into the box on the archive page.

Either way works — pick whichever is easier on your device.

What each letter shows you

Open a letter and you'll see, above the title:

  • Where the missionary was when they wrote it. Tap the place name and you'll jump to the map on the home page.
  • Week number in the mission, so you always know how far along they are.
  • The date the letter went out.

Then the letter itself. If the letter is very old, one or two of those bits may be missing — the mission location started being recorded partway through — but the letter always shows.

Tidier formatting than the raw email

The archive quietly tidies up a few things that email programs mangle on their way from the missionary to your inbox:

  • Dashes become real bullets. If the missionary writes a list as -cinnamon rolls, -freezing rain, -Dr Pepper, the archive turns those lines into a proper bulleted list — spaced out and easy to skim. A single line starting with a dash (a signature like - Elder Pehrson) is left as a paragraph, not a one-item list.
  • Extra blank lines become a section break. When the missionary hits Enter a few times to separate two sections, the archive replaces the empty gap with a small · · · divider. A single accidental blank line is quietly dropped so there's no awkward whitespace.

The letter in the archive still says exactly what the missionary wrote — just easier to read.

Writing back to the missionary

Open a letter and scroll to the bottom — there's a Reply by email button. Tap it and your phone or computer's mail app opens a new message already addressed to the missionary, with the subject line filled in like a reply to the letter you were just reading. Type your note and send. The reply lands in the missionary's inbox alongside the original letter, the same as any email.

It uses your normal mail app

The button just hands the pre-filled message to whatever you already use for email — Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, whatever's on your phone. Nothing is sent from Mission Broadcast; the missionary sees the reply coming from your usual address.

Letters stay private

The archive is only for people on the missionary's list. Only subscribers who have confirmed their email can open a letter, so it stays with the family and the people they've invited — not out on the open web for a stranger to stumble onto. Sharing the archive with someone new is easy: just have the family add them to the list.

Trouble getting in?

  • Use the same email you subscribed with. The archive matches you by that address.
  • Check spam for the sign-in link or code email.
  • Still stuck? A family member who manages the site can re-send you a link, or you can reply to any letter you've received and ask for help.

Not subscribed yet?

The archive is for subscribers. If you haven't joined the list, subscribe first — then the archive opens right up.