Missionary Age Lowered to 18 for males, 19 for females

[_Rollo Tomasi]

for what it's worth, my $.02 about the missionary-age change:

1. The number of full-time missionaries will boom with all the new sister missionaries. Although there will still be no requirement that young women go (no "priesthood" duty, as with the boys), I think 'sisterly' peer pressure will become a big push. Clearly the policy of making girls wait until 21 to see if they can get married first, is gone (and only a few years after GBH pretty much pooh-poohed girls going on a mission). This is a pretty significant development, and tells me the Church is really hurting for missionaries. I always thought it was just a matter of time until the Brethren finally recognized the huge well of worker bees available with the young women.

2. As for the boys, I agree with those who believe the age was lowered to keep the boys away from that one year of college or whatever after high school graduation. Apparently many who intended to go on missions at 19 were being lost during that one year. This way the boys can be essentially kept in a cocoon until the day they enter the MTC, and that, too, will be good for the numbers. The down side is that an 18-year old boy is very, very immature (even when compared to a 19-year old), so I think the "quality" of male missionaries will go down (how much, I don't know). And that lack of experience during the one-year hiatus (like at college, etc.) will have consequences, particularly with homesickness (a problem the MP's will have to figure out).

3. The frequency with mission romances was lessened when mixing 21-year old more mature sister missionaries and 19-year old immature male missionaries. Putting more immature 18-year old boys with less mature 19-year old girls will cause more problems, in my opinion (and, let's face it, a 21-year old female is far more mature than a 19-year old female). This is another problem with which the MP's will have to deal.

4. A final point: how soon before a stigma arises for boys who choose to leave for a mission at 19 instead of 18? Or, because the bishop apparently has a big role in deciding if a boy is ready at 18 or 19, will the 18-year old called be viewed as better or more "worthy" than a 19-year old? And how will this effect the male freshmen class at BYU and BYU-I? Will the male 18-year old be an 'endangered species' at BYU? My bet is that within a few years the male freshmen class at BYU and BYU-I will be a bunch of 20-year olds, and female freshmen class still 18-year olds, meaning a bunch of RM's are going to be chasing after these young female freshmen, whereas the 18-year old male freshmen class used to provide at least some sort of a buffer.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

[_sock puppet]

for what it's worth, my $.02 about the missionary-age change:

1. The number of full-time missionaries will boom with all the new sister missionaries. Although there will still be no requirement that young women go (no "priesthood" duty, as with the boys), I think 'sisterly' peer pressure will become a big push. Clearly the policy of making girls wait until 21 to see if they can get married first, is gone (and only a few years after GBH pretty much pooh-poohed girls going on a mission). This is a pretty significant development, and tells me the Church is really hurting for missionaries. I always thought it was just a matter of time until the Brethren finally recognized the huge well of worker bees available with the young women.

2. As for the boys, I agree with those who believe the age was lowered to keep the boys away from that one year of college or whatever after high school graduation. Apparently many who intended to go on missions at 19 were being lost during that one year. This way the boys can be essentially kept in a cocoon until the day they enter the MTC, and that, too, will be good for the numbers. The down side is that an 18-year old boy is very, very immature (even when compared to a 19-year old), so I think the "quality" of male missionaries will go down (how much, I don't know). And that lack of experience during the one-year hiatus (like at college, etc.) will have consequences, particularly with homesickness (a problem the MP's will have to figure out).

3. The frequency with mission romances was lessened when mixing 21-year old more mature sister missionaries and 19-year old immature male missionaries. Putting more immature 18-year old boys with less mature 19-year old girls will cause more problems, in my opinion (and, let's face it, a 21-year old female is far more mature than a 19-year old female). This is another problem with which the MP's will have to deal.

4. A final point: how soon before a stigma arises for boys who choose to leave for a mission at 19 instead of 18? Or, because the bishop apparently has a big role in deciding if a boy is ready at 18 or 19, will the 18-year old called be viewed as better or more "worthy" than a 19-year old? And how will this effect the male freshmen class at BYU and BYU-I? Will the male 18-year old be an 'endangered species' at BYU? My bet is that within a few years the male freshmen class at BYU and BYU-I will be a bunch of 20-year olds, and female freshmen class still 18-year olds, meaning a bunch of RM's are going to be chasing after these young female freshmen, whereas the 18-year old male freshmen class used to provide at least some sort of a buffer.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Having girls ineligible until 19, thus preserving for them a freshman year at BYU or BYU-I gives RMs the first crack at perhaps marrying one of these young girls too. While shortened from 3 years to 1 year, given the no-mandate for girls, still giving them a chance to find a male RM to marry, and if not, then a mission. This looks more like a compromise by the Committee (FP/12) more than revealed from a single mind, a god.

[_BartBurk]

I happen to think this is a good change. My children are all past missionary age, but I believe for the most part they would have benefited to have gone on their missions before starting college. I think they would have been more ready for college, and they would have been more mature when they began thinking of what majors they wished to begin in college. The LDS Church knows what it is doing in this regard. Since young women only serve 18 months the decision to make it 19 instead of 18 makes sense.