Feature Story
SVU Alumna Tayma Vanek Johnson (’23) to Publish Book on Women’s Decision to Serve a Mission
When Tayma Vanek Johnson (’23) enrolled at Southern Virginia University, serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wasn’t part of her plan. But new friendships sparked conversations about her future and missionary service in ways she never anticipated.
A cross country teammate asked, plainly, whether she’d considered serving a mission and why. The question carried more weight than she expected. “It felt weighty to have that decision placed on me,” Johnson said. As she worked through her own answer, she noticed other young women on campus were quietly navigating the same question.
That recognition and ensuing discussions with peers eventually became a book: “Called to Serve? Women’s Stories of the Decision,” published March 2, 2026, through Cedar Fort Publishing and Media. The book features 27 women’s accounts of their decision to serve—or not to serve—a mission.
Johnson began collecting stories in May 2023. Each contributor told her own story in her own words, either self-written or in an interview with Johnson. After working with an independent editor, Johnson submitted the manuscript to Cedar Fort, which accepted it in August 2025.
The book is a companion for anyone making difficult decisions — not a case for missionary service specifically. “I want to make sure people know it’s not just for people going on a mission,” she said. “It’s for those going through the decision-making process, and it’s perfect for those who don’t know what to do, or need reassurance and comfort in the process.”
For Johnson, the process of deciding proved as formative as the decision itself. “Regardless of whether or not I decided to serve a mission, it was really good for me to learn how the Spirit speaks to me,” she said. Johnson says the key was focusing on the habits that strengthened her testimony and her relationship with God — praying, reading scriptures — regardless of where the decision landed.
“I think back to my freshman year at SVU, sitting at my desk at 5:30 a.m. every morning before cross country. It was a sacred, holy place,” Johnson said. “That was where I really came to recognize the Spirit and had my own spiritual experiences reading the scriptures and praying and searching.”
Johnson ultimately decided to serve.
She returned to SVU to study psychology after completing a Spanish-speaking mission in Austin, Texas. As a student, Johnson ran on the track and cross country teams, worked as a TA for statistics, and began writing her book. She married her husband, Grant Johnson, in 2023 and now lives in Washington state with her family, where she stays busy raising her son, working as a hypnobirthing instructor, and marketing the book.
“Called to Serve? Women’s Stories of the Decision” is available through Cedar Fort Publishing, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.