Church leaders asked Donny Osmond not to serve a mission?

True, according to Donny

The legend is that the prophet (or some other church leader) told Donny Osmond that he would do more "good" by not serving a mission. Accodring to Donny, that is pretty much how it went down, but the exact position of the church leaders are not revealed.

The following is taken from a question about serving missions that someone asked Donny on his website www.donny.com:

"I've always felt that it would have been great to serve a full time mission, but circumstances as they were, I never was able to. My parents and church leaders at the time all believed that I was able to do much more good if I remained in the public eye, so to speak, and lived the standards of our religion. Although, I have always tried to share my beliefs and my deep convictions in an non offensive way. I have been very touched by the many who say they first became interested in finding out about our Church as they became acquainted with my family and our family values. I do look forward to the time when my wife, Debbie and I can serve a full time mission for the Church. As you may know, our first three sons (of our five) have now completed two year missions and this has been a source of great joy to us and to them."