Saturday’s big announcement regarding the change is missionary service age is definitely making the rounds. For those who are living in a deep, dark cave, the Church is now allowing young men to serve at 18, instead of 19, and young women to serve at 19, instead of 21. (If you didn’t know, that would also mean you missed Conference. Sheesh!)
Lot’s of media attention to the change – TV reports, news articles, blog posts, and Social Media chatter. Most that I have seen has been positive. The world has taken notice, and now would be a good time to invest in companies selling “No Soliciting” signs.
And, like clockwork, outspoken church critics (from within the very Church itself) are already hijacking this wonderful, prophetic change to bolster their own apostate agendas. (Did that sound harsh? Good.)
There has been much written and discussed, so I probably don’t need to add more to the conversation. Besides, I don’t have anything particularly important to say – but that has never stopped me before…
My thoughts on this topic are mine, and mine alone. They are not official, or even that interesting. They are based on my experience as a father to one daughter, who did not serve a mission, 4 sons, one who did, one who is, and two who should. My only sister served a mission, I also served a mission, but my EC did not. I also had the great pleasure of sending oodles of young men into the mission field as a bishop, and the sadness of watching some evade service.
In no particular order:
I think the age changes are great, wonderful, inspired. and…fraught with peril, and great changes that will impact all of us.
For the Church, and Society: The more missionaries the better. This change is not really about the missionaries – it is about hastening the work.. To fixate solely on how it impacts “girls” or “boys” is a self-absorbed view of what should be a much bigger picture: Establishing Zion to prepare for the Second Coming of the Savior.
The missionary ranks will be increased by more Sisters serving than ever before – and that surge should maintain indefinitely. There will also be a temporary bubble of Elders as the 18 year-old move into the system. This bubble will flatten back out in a couple of years, but, hopefully, a higher percentage of Elders will be able to serve even beyond the bubble.
More missionaries will yield more baptisms. From my experience, they are like the Elders in that a minority of the missionaries find the majority of success. I have seen some stellar sister missionaries. And some not-so-stellar, just like the Elders.
The Church wil also see long-term benefits as more sisters serve missions. So many of the women I know in the ward that served missions are really, really solid. I think serving gives the an increase in confidence is teaching and testifying that benefits them their entire lives. Stronger teachers, advisors, mothers, etc.
For the Sisters: The world will be a better place with more sister missionaries in it. So will the Church, so will wards, and finally so will families. An opportunity to serve at an earlier age makes it much easier for a young woman to add “mission” into her life than at 21. By the time 21 rolls around, sometimes life will have already moved beyond missionary service: School, career, marriage, kids, etc. At 19, many, many more will serve. Coincidentally, if they leave at 19, they’ll get back around the same time that the Elder’s their age will. (I hear lots of wedding bells for 21 year-olds.)
There are tons of articles out there right now with much better insight about how the sisters will benefit, so I’ll move on.
For the Elders: I had 20 months between my high-school graduation and my 19th birthday. A lot can happen in 20 months. Luckily, I was either working or attending BYU at that time, so I never did anything worse than act like an idiot freshmen. (You guys know what I’m talking about.)
19 has been a pretty hard line drawn in the social sand of the Church. When a young man hits 19 and is not on a mission, he becomes a sort of “problem” in the eyes of many – including himself. While this is not right, it is real. The 18+++ age blurs that hard line and makes it more about if the young man is ready or not.
For Both Elders and Sisters: There are so many considerations for both young men and women – emotional preparedness, spiritual preparedness, financial preparedness, health, etc. in determining if a missionary is good to go. The prospective missionary, parents, bishops and stake presidents all have to be very involved in this determination. The calendar should not dictate.
Anything that blurs that hard age line and helps the young man leave when he is READY to leave, is a good thing. For the sisters too. Remember 18 is not the age a young man is commanded to serve. It is the age he can serve. Remember too, 19 is not the age a Sister is commanded to serve, because she is not commanded to serve. At all. Should she choose to serve, 19 represents the age that she can serve. Don’t believe anybody that tells you that 18/19 are the ages a missionary is supposed to serve. They are wrong. And dumb.
Serving a mission establishes spiritual habits and comprehension that can set a great pattern for your entire life. (No, my EC did not serve a mission, neither did FOML1, and they are both ROCK solid, so don’t get defensive.) It would seem to me that shared mission experience could lend great foundational stability to a marriage.
I just looked and realized how long this is getting – sorry about that. I’m just a little excited about al the changes. (I think I’ll break it up and talk about the “Peril” and “Changes” in my next post.)
Hope the “Post-Conference High” is still warming your hearts…
I have two boys, ages 10 and 8. When I heard the Prophet’s annoucement I first thought “hurray! They’ll be able to leave sooner!”. But then the natural woman in me said “oh no! They are leaving sooner!”. LOL. The day I knew I’d have a boy I KNEW he would serve a mission. Then came my second son and I got even happier. But, oh gosh, how does a mother get ready for it? Would you please ask your wife to tell us, convert mothers (I should add neurotic mother, in my case), how can we get prepared for it?
I have two boys, ages 10 and 8. When I heard the Prophet’s annoucement I first thought “hurray! They’ll be able to leave sooner!”. But then the natural woman in me said “oh no! They are leaving sooner!”. LOL. The day I knew I’d have a boy I KNEW he would serve a mission. Then came my second son and I got even happier. But, oh gosh, how does a mother get ready for it? Would you please ask your wife to tell us, convert mothers (I should add neurotic mother, in my case), how can we get prepared for it?
Our friends daughter complained to her mother not 2 weeks before conference that she wished that she didn’t have to wait to go on a mission. Her mother told her to take it up with the Lord, which I’m assuming she did because here we are. She called her bishop between sessions and had all of her paperwork finished and turned in before the next session started. lol
I may not know or understand but I’m pretty sure that the Lord knows His business better than I do.
Ha! I love that. If this had happened 10 years ago, that is exactly what I’d have done. 🙂 I could have served at 19 and I would have. I even would have come home shortly after my husband would have, so we still would have worked out as I firmly believe we were supposed to. 😀
You crack me up! “So don’t get defensive.” “and dumb.” I love it. I wish I could have gone on a mission, I wanted to go so bad when I was 19 but I knew my husband wouldn’t wait for me. Mormon girl problems.
I really hope to see less young men getting lost after high school. It will be really exciting to see the next year or two in missionary work.
-Paige
Your thoughts are my thoughts. But feel free to take all the credit.
We were all watching conference together when the announcement was made. It only makes 6 months difference for him, since he will turn 18 in December of his senior year. My 17 year old daughter was watching too. She was all smiles and tears, and said that it was going to be life changing for so many people. Later as we were talking about it she said that she is not supposed to go on a mission, but is supposed to go to school. A few minutes later one of my closest friends posted on face book that that her oldest daughter is going. I kept thinking that it is absolutely beautiful that two girls got two different confirmations and they are both totally right. I am so excited for both of them and the adventures that they are going to have.
I was so excited to hear this! Like you said, I was wanting to serve a mission but got married before I was 21. Actually the new age for girls wouldn’t have helped much as I got engaged at 19…
I’m with Patrick and I also see many good reasons for this change. There is a need for more missionaries as the work needs to move along faster.
Patrick: Exactly!
If the Prophet says it
It was divinely inspired
I believe it
Nuff said
Amen!
I haven’t heard any negative comments here in Happy Valley. I work for BYU and it is going to take a couple of years to adjust to the “new normal.” I think our son would have gone at 18 – at 19, he was overcome by events, but has always remained active in the Church. I’m very grateful for that.
I am excited about the announcement. As the mom of five boys it does make me realize that the time to prepare them is shorter. I would disagree with the previous person who said it is not a mom’s job to prepare our sons. I think Elder Holland said in the press conference that there needed to be preparation in the home as well (I don’t have an exact quote though). FHE, family prayer and family scripture study will certainly do a large part of that, but I think we can always do more, cooking, cleaning, money management, etc.
Oh, and I am sooooo excited about the age for girls being lowered. I know so many wonderful 19-year-old girls who really want to serve a mission, but they have had to wait. And often, by the time they hit about 20-1/2, they meet a nice returned missionary, and the mission plans have to be relegated to “some day we’ll go as a couple.” This will strengthen women, which in turns strengthens their families. In one day, my daughter had 6 friends state that they’re going on missions. Previously all she reported about her FB friends is that 6 of them got engaged in the last 2 weeks (she feels old–at 20!). Now FB is abuzz about missions…yea!
First a question: Did you skip a grade of school or what? I was the very very youngest in my class with a December birthday, and I still turned 19 only 18 months after graduation.
As a returned missionary, I have to say that a mission prepared me better for my life than anything I could have done. I was more prepared for marriage…and for divorce. I needed the strength and testimony I gained on a mission as I went through that ordeal and continue to need it as I raise three kids by myself. I totally agree that this is just an opportunity to go earlier, but kids really need to be ready. My 20-year-old daughter is old enough to go now–but is nowhere ready to do it. BUT, since the announcement, she’s actually said “maybe” about a mission, where she has been vehement about not going in the past. And my almost 18-yo likely won’t be ready as soon as he graduates, but we’ll see what progress he can make in the next 8 months and go from there.
My seminary class was elated at the age change. They said “We better get busy and pay closer attention in here”. Perk!
My granddaughter announced on facebook that she was setting school aside (Sophomore in college) and getting her paper work started this week!
Excited? Absolutely!
I think this is a fantastic change. My oldest might have gone if she could have at 19. My 18-year-old boy is already in college, and will probably finish out the year and go in the spring, per his pre-announcement plan. The one the announcement really affected was my 17-year-old. Four years out was way off in the future; two years away suddenly feels close and real and concrete. She is excited, and is now literally counting down the days.
Regardless of whether we agree, a prophet of God gave this pronouncement, which makes it inspired and doctrine. I’m sure there’s no criticism of the change that hasn’t been discussed by the apostles.
That being said, I’m excited to see more people serve. My EC is an RM, and our family is better for it. I’m tired of hearing sisters quietly lament that they don’t feel comfortable teaching Gospel Doctrine or commenting in class, because they don’t “know as much” as the men who served missions. That’s crap. With more sisters serving, hopefully that excuse will go away. My only complaint about the age change is that now my oldest daughter and oldest son will both be eligible for missionary service the exact same month 🙂
I was one of those young women who would have loved to have gone on a mission, but by 21 I already had an internship in a program that would have been difficult to postpone. I think the 19 year old change for women is great. I just hope young people are cautious about not rushing to get married the second they get home and instead see it as more time to evaluate the options of different EC choices and finish school/save money so they can support their families. If men leave at 18, they can potentially start college after a mission with no paid work experience and try getting married with ZERO income. That is VERY scary to me.
My husband and I are both RMs and it DEFINITELY helps solidify our relationship as spouses and parents. It rocks. It’s awesome to be able to relate to him on that level too and tell each other mission stories.
My second thought (after “oh man, another way for unhappy Mormon Moms to judge each other”) was, “Oh man, I have got to step it up! I have a 15-yr old and will I have enough time to get him ready?” and felt stressed about “my” progress in preparing him, like it was “my” mission. ha! Something in your post made something click in my head and I realized that this actually has very little to do with me and everything to do with him. I will just keep doing what we have been doing (prayer, scriptures, FHE) and the rest is his agency. That is so liberating! You can say it all you like, but until it clicks in my head, bah. (dismissive hand wave) Of course I think I should start making him iron his white shirts instead of hiding the wrinkles under a suit jacket, but… Thanks for the liberation you facilitated, MMM. You’re great. 🙂
I think I would have gone at 19…I got married at 21. I think a mission would have helped me be more confident in talking with people I don’t know very well, I think I would be able to teach principles and doctrine better. But I did other worthwhile things before I got married and even though I didn’t convert anyway, I hope I changed people’s lives for the better and helped others come closer to Christ. Still a little jealous, but at least I have no regrets. I am excited to see if my sisters or younger cousins will now go!
Another perk for the young men is coming home in time for school. My brother-in-law may miss a semester of school because he feels guilty coming home a week or two early (everyone told him that it’s ok to come home for school). He left as soon as he was 19 but if he could have gone at 18 he could’ve worked it better around school. Then he wouldn’t have to stress about it on his mission and focused more.
It’s nice to see some positive feedback. Such a strength to be among those who support the brethren and love the words and direction that comes from them.
I think the change is wonderful. I did serve a mission, which was the right choice for me even though many people thought I was crazy. (My future husband was returning 7 months after I left.) I hope that over the years people will remember that girls are not commanded to serve and not start making them feel bad if they choose not to serve. (I know you pointed that out) Even if a girl doesn’t have a prospective husband at that point it just might not be Heavenly Father’s plan for her. I have 4 sisters who didn’t serve missions and they are wonderful mothers, wives, and church members. The other four girls in my family did serve (as did my four brothers) and those of us who are married are wonderful wives, mothers, and church members and we would have been anyway. I guess I’m just rambling now, but my concern is girls who don’t go, being thought of as less spiritual than those that do serve. I guess I will have to teach my 5 daughters to make a decision, pray about it, and do whatever the Spirit directs.
I think our family is one of the few families that may be affected negatively by this but we’re still elated! We’ll definitely be affected for the better in the most important ways…in fact I have 3 girls 13-17 who are all giving serving some serious thought, and with no pressure from us. We couldn’t be happier with the changes.
When I heard the news (no I didn’t catch the first session live, I was running a little thing we like to call a marathon), I was CHEERING! Looking back, it wouldn’t have made a difference in two of my sons – they weren’t going to serve missions regardless so having the age 18 or 19 didn’t matter. For the middle son who did serve, it would have been fantastic and he whole heartedly agrees! He wished he could have graduated high school and reported to the MTC the very next day. I’ve heard arguments about whether or not a young man is emotionally ready at 18. In my experience with my own and their flock of friends, if they aren’t ready at 18, they very likely aren’t ready at 19 and more often than not, don’t go at all thus missing out on not just obedience but life altering experiences that shape who they are the rest of their lives.
And for the sisters, I love the fact that it allows them to include mission in their resume’s so much easier. Now it’s not “serve if don’t get married” – it’s serve and then get married – if that’s for you. LOVE IT!!
Well, of course it’s awesome — it’s prophetic action.
When I first saw the photo, I thought — No! It’s eighteen YEARS, not MONTHS! Glad you saw the same memo… 😉
I’ve thought about all the growing up I did personally in that freshman year of college at BYU. I learned a lot about myself, the gospel, and how the Lord answers prayers. Those lessons really strengthened me as a missionary. That said, I entered the LTM when I was 18 anyway (three weeks before my 19th birthday — I turned 19 while there). Guess I was before my time….
Paul: I celebrated my 19th birthday on the MTC as well. Yet another evidence that we are spiritual siblings.
I love the above quote. It really supports what I was thinking. And if you’d like a blog post that backs you up, you can read my insights that I felt and was given with the whole announcement. Here’s a link: http://www.allaboutbecoming.com/like-him/new-announcement-of-missionaries-and-stripling-warriors/
I think you’ll like it even though I don’t mention bacon. =)
The time is short. As Pres Woodruff related from his dream:
“Every dispensation that has had the Priesthood on the earth and has gone into the celestial kingdom, has had a certain amount of work to do to prepare to go to the earth with the Savior when He goes to reign on the earth. Each dispensation has had ample time to do this work. We have not. We are the last dispensation, and so much work has to be done, and we need to be in a hurry in order to accomplish it.”
Great quote!
I am so excited about it. I think its great!
Although, I do have to admit that I felt just a little bit sad. If the age for sisters would have been 19 when I was 19 I probably would have gone on a mission, and I wanted to sooo badly. But at 19 I got married, and I know that it all happened the way it should have, but it was interesting to think about, nonetheless.
And an observation Ben made two nights ago…if Mitt wins, his presidential officce will impact the whole world, not just the US. I bet more people everywhere (outside the US) will be curious as to what the President of the United States believes in. We will have a fleet of missionaries, stronger and more ready when that happens so that the work can move forward and people can learn about the gospel.
I like the sound of that. The missionary part, and the Mitt part. 🙂
Giving you a hearty “amen”. Did you see the camera pan across that young man, maybe age 15, whose face just lit up at the news? One of the best moments from Conference. And I have a young friend (whom I still think of as a babe in arms) who is preparing to go; she is so excited!
I always enjoy seeing what you have to say. What a wonderful change that’s been made.
I agree with your post completely! 😉
I would like to point out that Viki had previously made a very fascinating comment, but then took it down because she got all insecure about it. But it was good.
Muito obrigado.
Agora você está mostrando que você é inteligente novamente.
Your section about the elders is soooo right. Looking back at it, I feel I was a lot more ready to serve a mission when I just got out of high school. I had seminary fresh on my mind, I had a lot to look forward to. But then I went to college and (as you said) left my brains and my spirit at home. I became heavily distracted and addicted to video games. For the first chunk of my mission, I maintained that distraction until I got a companion who helped shake me out of it.
These are exciting times!