MAJOR Gender MIlestone in LDS Missionary Work

[_zerinus]

For the first time in LDS History...Female missionary candidates will out number male candidates at the Provo MTC. This milestone will be reached within the next few weeks according to a source. The impact this will have on the overall make up of the missionary force, if it is a trend and continues, will be significant. What it says about young Mormon males is also telling...fewer males are choosing to go on missions.

Female LDS have always been more faithful than males, nothing unusual about that. When I go to the temple, there are always more women in there than men. The only thing unusual about this one is that it hadn't happened sooner. That is because until now there has been a positive encouragement for elders to go on missions rather than on the sisters. The expectation has been on the elders, whereas for the sisters it has been left to their own personal choices. Once that imbalance was lifted, sister missionaries would invariably outnumber the men.

[_MsJack]

The purpose of the prior disparity in age requirements was to discourage women from serving missions. Then-President Gordon B. Hinckley said (in 1997), "Over a period of many years, we have held the age level higher for them in an effort to keep the number going relatively small." Full context here, good discussion of the matter here.

It is actually quite unsurprising that female numbers are surging now that they are no longer being artificially reduced.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Female LDS have always been more faithful than males, nothing unusual about that. When I go to the temple, there are always more women in there than men. The only thing unusual about this one is that it hadn't happened sooner. That is because until now there has been a positive encouragement for elders to go on missions rather than on the sisters. The expectation has been on the elders, whereas for the sisters it has been left to their own personal choices. Once that imbalance was lifted, sister missionaries would invariably outnumber the men.

Do Mormons still believe this patronizing crap that infantilizes women and makes men out to be oafs? There are hundreds of reasons why a girl might serve a mission and spirituality may or may not have anything to do with it.

- Doc

[_I have a question]

Not necessarily. Same numbers of missionaries as before the surge, but half as many males, means half as many potential faithful families to produce little tithe payers going forward.

With convert baptisms in Europe and North America in steep decline, the Church might well be in for a period of low growth, followed by no growth and then negative growth, falling behind the rate of increase in overall population.

That's exactly the cause for alarm.
The Church is retaining females but losing males - more single sisters, fewer Priesthood holders.
That's not a formula that works for an organisation run by Priesthood holders and almost totally reliant on it's baby pipeline for growth.