Marcus Journey follows the 18-year-old Mormon elders tasked with converting people

Marcus Journey’s series Missionary is a coming of age story that’s rarely told about the teenage Mormons who are expected to step up their responsibility in their community. Mormon missionaries are volunteer representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), often tasked with converting others, humanitarian aid and community service. “People typically see these young men in white shirts and ties, knocking on doors or riding their bicycles around the neighbourhood. The spiritual conversations people have with Mormon missionaries are carried between front porches and screen doors, creating an awkward and guarded experience for both parties,” explains Marcus. “My series follows them as they cope with unfamiliar surroundings while being stationed far from home.”

Completing a mission is described as a rite of passage for a young Latter-day Saint. The usual starting age is 18 where they are encouraged to fulfil a two-year, full-time proselytising mission in which they have to go out into a community (often away from home) and actively try to convert non-believers. “The missionaries proselytise in pairs; they live together and experience sacred and social rituals while teetering somewhere between adolescence and adulthood,” says Marcus.

Focusing on young men, Marcus was keen to look at the “struggles and successes” of their experiences as they “encounter the world around them” and ask questions like, “how do the missionaries adapt when placed in a new area? And are they adequately prepared to embrace the title of elder?” Accompanying the missionaries as they go about their days, Marcus was careful to get to know the guys before simply photographing them. “I asked them questions about home life and also explained why this project is important to me. Some of the young men I photographed were visibly uncomfortable at times, and others enjoyed being in front of the camera, as a break from knocking on doors,” says Marcus.

The time spent getting to know them as more than just subjects has allowed Marcus access to the elders during their down time as they play with water pistols, wear basketball vests and skateboard. Marcus also focuses on the environment these boys live and work in, which is lined with identikit houses and wide, empty streets. Inside, the elders inhabit beige living rooms and bedrooms decorated modestly with religious posters and the odd nod to pop culture.

Marcus enjoys capturing “subtle and sometimes expressionless body language” so many of his photographs portray deadpan faces with uncomfortable poses that remind us of the difficult age these boys are going through.

“While fulfilling their two-year mission, many of these young men feel inadequate due to the social learning curve and spiritual expectations placed upon them by family members and the Church organisation,” says Marcus. “The photographs reveal the transitory conditions in which missionaries live as they embed themselves in a place for six weeks to six months, then are transferred to the Church to a new city just as they are becoming familiar with the area and its people. The process of getting to know strangers and one another repeats as the elders move elsewhere and a new group takes their place in the neighbourhood, as well as in my series.”