Austin Collie, a wide receiver drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in 2009, served on a mission in Argentina before turning professional. Xavier Su’a-Filo, an offensive lineman, left U.C.L.A. to serve a mission for two years in Florida and Alabama. He was the N.F.L. draft’s 33rd pick last month, and he said he believed even star athletes should serve.

Image Parker’s decision has raised some eyebrows among Mormons. Credit... Cooper Neill/Getty Images

“If someone’s worried about going on a mission only because they can’t play or they’re not going to love the sport when they get back, I don’t think that’s a good reason,” Su’a-Filo said in an interview.

Parker Mangum was recruited to play quarterback out of high school and served a mission in Italy after his first college season, later transferring to Brigham Young. His brother Tanner was a highly rated quarterback coming out of high school and decided to postpone his college career at Brigham Young until he served his mission in Chile.

“I believe that there are no exceptions if you are physically able, as the prophet of our church has counseled,” Parker Mangum said. “They’ve personally made a decision not to serve, and I respect that.”

But those players were not as coveted a prospect as Parker, a 6-foot-8 forward who is widely expected to be the first or second pick in the N.B.A. draft. Basketball is a tradition in Parker’s family; his father, Sonny Parker, played in the N.B.A., and his two older brothers played in college.

Most high-profile Mormon athletes make the same decision as Parker to forgo mission work. Former and current pro athletes such as Steve Young, Bryce Harper, Danny Ainge, Johnny Miller and Jimmer Fredette did not serve.

Parker declined to be interviewed for this article, but his bishop, Eddie Blount, said Parker had been seriously considering a mission. Parker was a regular and active participant in church meetings, but he saw the N.B.A. as an opportunity that was good for him and for the church, Blount said.